Take a trip around the world with Allan Karl – aka the "WorldRider" – and learn valuable lessons for life and business

Hello there and welcome to the Better Life Better Business podcast presented by The Speakers Group. I'm Shawn Ellis, founder of The Speakers Group, and today I'm talking with a man who one day decided to hop on his motorcycle and 3 years and 62,000 miles later he had traveled across 5 continents and, and through 35 countries. And of course, that's a very simplified version of the story, but Alan Karl is our guest today. And after riding his motorcycle around the world, Alan now takes his audiences around the world and down the road to more successful and rewarding lives, inspiring them to take chances and push their limits so they can overcome fear, tackle obstacles, and smile. And I know that we'll hear some of that today. So Alan, welcome and thank you for joining us.

Hey, good to be here, Shawn. Thanks for having me on.

Sure. Well, I know I did simplify your story there. Anything you'd like to add to that as we get started?

Well, it's 3 years, so much to put into anything, and we could sit and talk for hours. But I think the only thing you might not have mentioned, or I think that's important to understand about a journey like that, is that I did that alone. Without any of the guidance of a support team, without a passenger, and with really no understanding of any languages other than a little what I like to call kitchen Spanish. Living out here in Los Angeles, we know how to ask for a cerveza and where the baño is. But so really, I kind of dove into this thing where maybe a lot of people would have had second thoughts.

Yeah. And, you know, that's, that's a good point about being alone because we see reality TV today and, you know, we see these guys that are out in the woods or on these journeys or whatever it is, and it looks like they're out there all alone, but if you could only turn the camera around, you see the whole big crew behind them. But I can't imagine that, going on that trek all by yourself. That's amazing.

Yeah, that is true. Reality show, there is a whole team there, believe me. Helicopters waiting to swoop in at any point. I wish, no, I didn't need that though.

Yeah, that would change the story. No, I think it's just, it's a remarkable story. And of course, before you set out on your, world tour, you had started several businesses and you founded one of the top digital marketing agencies in North America, and then you decided to travel around the world going alone, as you mentioned. So now that you're back consulting with businesses and people, what are some of the key lessons you learned and how does that help and translate to our personal and professional lives at home and in business?

That's a good question, Shawn Ellis. I think first, when I decided to do this journey, most people looked at me as if I was crazy and insisting that maybe before I go, I get my affairs together, maybe even update my will. Others were convinced that I'd be either killed, kidnapped, or ripped and stripped of everything I own. And I think there was a lot of people had fear related to that. At the time, I think a lot of Americans We're afraid to travel anywhere outside, felt that the world might have been against us. But when it comes down to making a decision to go on a journey like that, that's much like an entrepreneur deciding to get into business, start something new with all the unknowns laid out in front of you. So on this journey, I learned a lot of things, but to try to bring it to focus to today is to understand that there's no question we're living in a more interconnected and interdependent world. You know, we're doing more and more business globally. We're doing business digitally. And whether it's working or negotiating with suppliers abroad or developing and marketing, distributing products and services outside our normal markets, we are dealing globally. And, you know, businesses must understand how the world works. You know, there's different cultures, languages, currencies, and, and people are motivated by many different things. But all of us, I think, can be better, do better business, be better in our personal lives if we, you know, open up, if we expand our view, expand our worldview, so to speak. So with a better understanding of our planet, of the different cultures we have to deal with, we can do better business. So that's first, you know. And I, as you know, I did travel alone, you know, way outside my comfort zone. So along that way, I needed to learn to communicate, to to negotiate, to interact, and connect with people all over the world. And I learned that the best way to do this is focusing on not what makes us different, but what makes us the same. You know, to succeed, we must move beyond our differences and focus on our similarities. We are all people. We all need to connect, and we all want to be recognized, and we all want to care and be cared for. Second, I think equally important is I learned to trust. I think too often we're told to watch out and, you know, look over our shoulder, to be afraid. And whether that's just to travel somewhere— a friend of mine just says, "Well, I was thinking of going to Guatemala, but I don't know if I should go," you know, or if it's to start business with someone new or start a new business. Well, we need to trust ourselves, you know, to listen to our gut, and follow our intuition. You know, Ron Johnson may not be a household name, but he is probably the man single-handedly, um, uh, responsible for the immense success of the Apple retail empire, who has worked very close with Steve Jobs. And he famously is, is quoted as, uh, asking, what did you learn from Steve Jobs? And he says this over and over again, is that, uh, Jobs' most powerful advice to him was to trust your intuition. And then traveling, you know, even in the most dangerous parts of the world, there's nowhere else where this is more important. You know, as much as you need to trust your intuition though, you also need to learn to trust each other. And that's how we can connect and build more meaningful relationships. And finally, Shawn, I learned that there's nothing to gain, you know, to learn or understand by simply playing it safe. You know, I mean, I learned to truly realize, to see the possibilities, to realize those possibilities is we need to take chances, to accept risks. We cannot let fear paralyze or block us in any way. We've got to be willing to fail. You know, if we insist on only choosing the safe route, how can we grow? You know, we won't expand ourselves or our worldview.

Right. Well, those are some great lessons, and I guess I wouldn't think naturally that, you know, this motorcycle trip around the world thinking, you know, how does that really relate to me or our listeners, and, you know, we're here in the office today, but just what you shared, that's amazing. I was thinking when you were talking about just the globalization of business just so far today. Of course, I've been in touch with people across the United States, but in Greece and Romania and the day's not done yet, so who knows who I'll be in touch with. So just some very relevant lessons for us today. What are some of the major problems or obstacles that you see facing businesses today, and how do you help companies face or deal with them based on some of these things that you were just talking about?

Well, you know, I think looking at the journey and what I've done, I've started several businesses. I did this journey around the world where, again, exposing myself to all the elements alone, I brought with me some of those valuable things that in retrospect I looked at how I built these businesses and how I'm building businesses going forward and what I learned and how I can apply that to actually doing better business. And the first thing I think is change. I mean, this is a problem. Well, as you'll see, actually it's an opportunity, but change is adjusting to change, promoting change. You know, there's changes that we control, and then there are changes that seem uncontrollable. In either case, I think most of us, you know, just by our nature, are afraid of change. Yet though, in this, as I said, this rapidly interconnected, interdependent, moving world, we got to learn to deal with and accept change. And, you know, when you think of change, controlling change could be as simple as promoting change within the organization. Maybe it's changing the way you build customer relationships and sell. Maybe it's changing the way you support your customers. Maybe it's changing and adapting your marketing to use social media. And then there's those greater changes that, again, as I said, may seem uncontrollable from an employer middle management point of view, is, is that impact the organization as a whole. Those things like uncomfortable things like mergers, acquisitions, downsizing. Maybe they— there's a change in product. Your product line goes away and another one appears, or, or maybe just a shift in the business direction. You know, it's here where those employees are typically caught in the middle, worrying about what to do. I mean, there's nothing that creates more fear than these uncontrollable changes. But the problem here, Shawn, is too often management does look at this, like you said, as a problem to solve, when in reality it's an opportunity to learn, to improve, and to grow. And this is what I try to get through those people I work with, I coach with, to those I speak to. And I try to get management to show in how to do this, right? How to look at the problem as an opportunity again to learn. So what I think I do is help management teach, train, and help inspire and motivate employees with change and transition. We get them to talk about change, empower them, and show them how change helps them and helps the company to learn, to grow, and to do better business. I mean, sure, change is disrupting, but we can embrace change. We can use it to learn and grow. And in fact, in my talks, a lot of time I get pretty passionate about this. So I say, "We not only learn to embrace change, we've got to grab it by the bullhorns and ride it." And we've got to enjoy that ride. So change. Yeah. And then the other thing is perspective and vision, Shawn. I mean, or should I say the lack of it? Businesses right now, I believe, are too focused on obstacles and problems and only looking at them. But, you know, true vision comes from better perspective, looking at things differently. You know, as I said before, obstacles are merely opportunities. But it's how we look at them that makes the difference. And you know, Shawn, you've seen some of my stuff. I'm a photographer as well as these other things I do. And, and you know, when looking at a potential shot as a photographer, whether it's a people shot— and I love shooting people— or maybe it's a landscape. Now we can simply look at that like a tourist on a vacation and click a photo and snap a picture, but when we get home We usually look at it and show to somebody, well, you know, the picture doesn't really do this justice. Well, of course, because, you know, nothing is like the real thing. But if we just take a moment to look at that situation from a different point of view, we begin to see things that we didn't see if we just snapped. It's perspective. Business and people can be more successful if they had vision, and vision that comes with having a different or unique perspective. And I always ask my clients, what do you see? And we look at how to change our perspective and to have vision, and that's how we can succeed and innovate.

Yeah, I love that, just that shift in perspective and talking about change. It's one of— it's come up on previous episodes of Better Life, Better Business, and also with clients here at The Speakers Group. It's a popular topic because everybody's trying to navigate change. But your Your view and what you just said, it kind of makes change sound exciting as opposed to sounding like this problem that we've got to figure out how to work around. So that's, that's great. What— you mentioned helping leaders, managers, different organizations. I know you speak to quite diverse audiences from a variety of business disciplines. What do you find resonates most with your audiences, or what are you asked about most often?

You know, a lot of— it's a lot of what we've been talking about, Shawn Ellis, but I do share an interesting story that I was in South America, in Ecuador, and I— it'd been a terrible day for me. It was raining and it was slippery and nerve-wracking. And finally, when it cleared, the clouds broke and the sun shone down, I pulled out the side of the road to get out of my wet gear, and I see this woman walking up a road in a very quick step. In each hand, she's carrying a pail of— a bucket of water, like 5 gallons. It's real heavy. Well, You know, she's walking up this steep hill fast. Now, she's 87 years old, and those who've seen me talk will remember Rosa Garcia. But the real, you know, interesting thing here is, is with all the stuff I talk about— change, vision, and, you know, taking chances and learning and growing— yeah, it all comes into perspective when you see an 87-year-old woman opens her mouth and points to the only tooth in there and asks me how I can have in my country new teeth, or can you get new teeth? And I, you know, I'm not a dentist and I have no, you know, idea, and I'm floored, don't know what to say, flabbergasted. And I said to her, I look, I'd love to give you new teeth, but I just don't know how. And she says, oh no, no, I'm not worried, I will have new teeth one day. And then later we're chatting on the side of the road again, and I have a book and I write her name in there, and she wants my book. And She says, look, can I have your book? I want— I'm trying to learn to read. I don't have any books. And I, and I think about that at 87 years old, living in most of Peru, perhaps the most impoverished country in all of South America, and this woman still has a dream of new teeth, and she still has passion and wants to learn to read. So, you know, no matter what happens in business or in life, What if we do lose sight of our dreams and if we do or cannot find our passion, you know, what do we have? We need to ask ourselves what are our dreams and what's our passion and we need to go for that in business and in life. And, you know, that's so important. So the other thing is fear. You know, there is so much fear which is just— we are just taught to be afraid. We're taught to not to fail. But if we want to realize possibilities and potential, we need to see possibilities and potential. And in order to see possibilities, we need to be open to them, not afraid of them. So I say take chances. I love that.

What's kind of one thing as we come to a close, what is one thing that you've learned out of all this? You've shared so many great things. Today, and it's hard to even bring 3 years into a short interview like this, but what is maybe one thing that you've learned and that you find to be the key to better life and better business that you could share with our listeners today?

Stay curious, Shawn Ellis, because when we're curious, we ask more questions. It's important to wonder. To ask those questions. Why? Why not?

How?

Because, you know, when you're curious, you can't help but be a better manager, a better partner, to be more creative. When we're curious, you inspire innovation and you connect with more people and you build more relationships. So stay curious.

Great tip. Great tip. Well, Alan, thank you. This is— this has been great. And I look forward to our next, next opportunity to chat. But if you'd like to learn learn more about Alan and how he can help you and your business, you can find him here at thespeakersgroup.com. Also check out Alan's personal website, it's alancarl.com, and that's A-L-L-A-N-K-A-R-L dot com, alancarl.com. Also, if you'd like to read his travel journal from his trip around the world, go to worldrider.com. And one thing we didn't get a chance to talk about today, Alan, in his previous life and even Alan still now is a great marketing consultant and guru, and his marketing consulting and coaching business is ClearCloud.com. So if you'd like to get some marketing tips and learn from Alan in the field of marketing, check out ClearCloud.com. And finally, be sure to follow him on Twitter @AlanCarl. Thanks again, Alan, and thank you for listening to the Better Life Better Business podcast, and we'll see you next time.