Sahara Rose DeVore is someone I've been connected to in the travel industry for over four years, but we've never met in person.

She's a fellow Wisconsinite, founder of the Travel Coach Network, and the creator of the world's first ICF-accredited certification program for travel coaches. She's traveled solo to 84 countries--and not from privilege, but from sheer determination, working five jobs while finishing college to save enough for that first one-way ticket. Her story is a reminder that the desire to travel will find a way.

But this episode isn't really about the countries. It's about the why behind the wanderlust. Sahara has spent years studying the psychology of why we travel, and the conversation we had honestly changed how I think about the trips I plan, the travelers I lead, and my own deeply personal reasons for doing this work.

We're talking about what we're really searching for when we book a flight, how travel builds confidence in ways nothing else can, what to do with post-travel depression when you land back in reality, the difference between using travel as escape versus using it as a tool for transformation, and how to actually bring those hard-won lessons home with you instead of losing them in the laundry pile.

Sahara also shares something she rarely talks about publicly — the real, raw reason she started traveling in the first place.

Links & Resources (Sahara)

Learn more about Sahara: https://thetravelcoachnetwork.com/

Follow Sahara on socials: @saharaRosethetravelcoach and @thetravelcoachnetwork

Links & Resources (Laura)

Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey

Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips

Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast

Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com

Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast

Join our Facebook group for women: @lolalovestravel

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