Tips on Giving Back and Cleaning Out Your Closet

Happy Monday Motivation!

** Apologies for not having written in a while. But I am BACK and will be posting regularly again– hooray! I recently decided to up and move to Europe for the summer, so there will be many more posts coming up about travel, travel tips, and living a life you love. Subscribe for the insider news!

This weekend my dear friend Melissa asked me come donate clothes with her. I happily agreed to go. I was moving out of my apartment and had so much stuff I didn’t need anymore.  Melissa is an amazing human being. She likes to do something called a Mitzvah a few times a week. A Mitzvah is a Jewish word meaning “good deed.” She really believes in giving back to those in need, and I couldn’t agree more. So, I went back into my closet and filled 4 trash bags full of clothes. It was daunting: after discarding 50 pounds of clothes, I looked in my closet and it looked… THE SAME. I hadn’t made a dent. I decided I needed to give away more. The next day, I parted with 2 more trash bags of clothes and 4 boxes of household items. After giving these away, I felt lighter and more full of energy. I wanted to give more. I could seriously clothe a village. Several villages. One person need not all these things.

More importantly, I really wanted to start fresh.  I’m going to Europe for the summer (exciting travel posts to come!) and I know that I want to come back and start a brand new life. Shedding myself of most of my things will allow me to do that.

Here are a few benefits of getting rid of your things:

1. You lighten your load, literally and emotionally. Especially as a traveler, who needs to be dragged down by a whole bunch of stuff that you don’t really need. If you end up needing something, you can always buy it along the way.
2. You release any bad or negative energy connected to your things. Ex-boyfriend’s t-shirts, clothes you thought you would fit in but don’t anymore, it all creates a heaviness in your life. Donating it to someone in need will breathe in good energy into your life. Paying it forward always is a good idea.
3. You make room for new things to come in. The more space you have in your closet, the more new things and memories you can fill it with. How exciting!

#1 Secret of Geniuses

This weekend I went to Disneyland with two good friends of mine. We went to Tomorrowland to watch this band perform. My friends had been raving about the lead singer and said that I would LOVE her. The lead singer was a girl named Tomisina. She was backed by an all-male band. I was skeptical as I sat down to watch her. While I trusted my friends’ opinions, my standard of ‘great’ singing is a bit higher as I’ve been singing my whole life.

The music started. The moment Tomasina opened her mouth, the notes that came out of her mouth filled my ears with joy. THIS GIRL WAS GOOD. I mean REALLY GOOD. She had incredible pitch and range, and best of all, she sang from the heart. Emotion poured through her voice and lit my soul on fire. This girl was an ARTIST!

She sang pop songs like “Shake it off” and “Chandelier”, but she also wailed out Gun ‘N Roses, Led Zeplin, and The Who. This girl was a ROCK GODDESS. She paid homage to the classic way that rock was sung, but she also put her own twist to it that made it her own. It was a genius set.

My friends asked me why she was so good at what she does. It appeared to me that she had mastered the #1 secret of geniuses:

SHE FOUND THE FREEDOM WITHIN THE FORM.

What does that mean? It means that she mastered the techniques of singing and then sang from her soul which brought about a different and unique sound to these classic songs. She followed the structure of the rock songs and then added her own rock flair.

Finding the freedom within the form is what separates the good from the great. You can apply this secret to your travels, your career, and your artistic passion.

Here is how you can find the freedom within the form:
1. Decide what you want to do.
– For travelers: Where do you want to travel? What do you want to accomplish on your trip?
– For your career: Do you want a promotion? Do you want to earn more money?
– For your artistic passion: Do you want to sing? Act? Write? Paint?
2. Master the basics of your craft.
– For travelers: Learn the formalities of the language for the country you are visiting. Learn the customs and the main forms of transportation for that region.
– For your career: Learn everything about your job and what exactly is required of you.      Learn how to do it to the best of your ability. Learn about the company. Learn what it’s purpose and procedures are.
– For your passion: Learn the technique. Learn the mechanics of how it works. Drill it until it becomes second nature to you. Put in the reps.
3. Break the rules. (This is the fun part!)
– For travelers: Now that you know what places to hit and what places to avoid, talk to locals once you arrive and find a local favorite spot to eat at. Take the scenic route to get to your next destination. Go on an adventure that is not written in the guide books. Open yourself up to the possibilities and allow your eyes to open to all the possibilities in front of you. You’ll explore and experience things that are better than you planned!
– For your career: Make yourself useful. Find creative ways to solve problems in other departments. Now that you know the purpose and goals of the company, think outside the box and look for ways to bring more value. The more valuable you are, the more your company will want to hold on to you at any cost.
– For your passion: Dream. Explore. Speak from your heart. Your voice is unique and different from everyone else’s. Let your own voice be heard. Sing the song the way that you feel. Paint with all the colors that you want. Write a novel based on your dreams. Your imagination is limitless. Use it. Breathe and let it flow. Speak from your soul.

Use the form you’ve mastered and expand on it. Make it your own. That’s where the magic happens. Let your imagination take over. Beauty and art will take over. The possibilities are endless!

What do you do to find the freedom within the form? Let me know by writing in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Keep believing in yourself. You’re worth it!

Much Love,
Alicia

6 Rules for Traveling with a Travel Partner

I love traveling with other people! However, sometimes we all don’t get along. We can get hangry and tired and want to do things our own way. If you are planning to travel with a travel partner (your significant other or your BFF), here are some tips to ensure smooth sailing.

For me, there were a few times on my trip where I butted heads with my travel partner. She is an amazing gal, but we both had completely different ways of planning our trip and how we wanted to experience Thailand. For example, I wanted to get blessed by a monk; she wanted to get tattooed by a monk. I wanted to book hostels in advance; she wanted to see what we could find when we got there. I wanted to have a bit of a structured itinerary; she wanted to see where the wind would take us.

NOTE: neither one of our ways of traveling was better than the other. They were just different. In order to ensure the best possible time for both parties, we had to figure out how to do everything we both wanted to do and still have a good time. At the end of the day, we both wanted the same thing: a life-changing, wonderful experience in Thailand. This was good.

If you find yourself in this situation with your travel buddy as you prepare to galavant across the world, here are some tips to help you eliminate tension and conflict:
1. COMMUNICATE. I cannot stress this enough. Talk it out. Let your partner know what you want to accomplish on the trip and what you’d like to see and do. Talk about your deal breakers, what you must have and what you can live without. For example, if staying at a place with wifi is super important for you because you will be blogging or doing business on the road, let your partner know this so you can both find a hostel/hotel you’re both happy with.
2. COMPROMISE. Be flexible. Give a little. You’re traveling with someone you love and you want them to have a good time too! For example, if you are dead set on planning ahead (like me), but your partner is adamant on doing things in the spur of the moment, maybe suggest to plan the first half of the trip and then let the wind take you both wherever it may blow for the second half.
3. DESIGNATE DUTIES. The worst thing you can possibly do is assume that your travel partner is going to be able to read your mind. If you are a planner like me, an easy trap to fall into is to do all the reservations and booking travel tickets yourself. Make it easier on yourself by designating duties to each person. For example, maybe you are in charge of booking all the hotels and your partner is in charge of booking all the travel tickets. Play to each other’s strengths. If your partner is great at seeking out excursions and adventures to go on, give her a list of the activities you’d like to do so she can seek out where it can be done.
4. FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS. Inevitably, plans are going to change. Weather is going to alter your course. You may get into a squabble. It happens. And it’s okay! You have a limited time that you are out on the road, so don’t waste it being in a fight. Instead of playing the blame game, find a solution for the problem at hand. For example, if you want to see a local band play, but your partner refuses to go and wants to hit the club, maybe agree for you two to go do your own separate thing that evening. Agree to meet up the next morning for breakfast or designate a place to meet up after you both are finished doing your separate activity. But find a solution that will make both of you happy. Again, your purpose is to have a wonderful trip with your travel partner. There is always a way for you both to experience what you want to experience!
5. TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY. Eat enough protein. Drink plenty of water. Get your sleep when you need it. I don’t know about you, but when I am sleep-deprived and hungry, I never make the best decisions. I am cranky and irritable and my fuse is short. Prevent outbursts by taking care of yourself and also letting your partner know that you need food or a quick nap. Not only will your partner thank you for not chewing their head off, but you’ll also have more energy to enjoy all the exciting sights and adventures around you.
6. LEARN FROM EACH OTHER. You may know your travel partner really well, but maybe there is even more that you can learn from them. Traveling brings out a whole new wonderful side of a person, and who knows? Maybe you will learn something new about yourself! Experience together, learn together, grow together. Traveling will enrich both of your lives if you share your experiences and realizations with each other. Show that love and compassion to your partner and you will get it in return.

I hope this helps you along your journey! Do you have any tips when traveling with someone? I’d love to hear them below.

If you want more tips on traveling and discovering yourself, please subscribe to my newsletter! Dream big. Travel far. This is your time to live the life you love.

xoxo,
Alicia

10 Ways to Stay Motivated

Happy Monday Motivation!

I’d like to take some time today to talk about how traveling taught me how to keep myself motivated in reaching my goals.

We all have goals. We all have dreams. But life throws curveballs and obstacles in the way that cause us to falter.

When I was traveling in Thailand, I had the same experience happen to me. I had a goal and a purpose for being there, but little things along the way beckoned to take me down a different path. I had to learn how to keep myself motivated towards what I wanted to get out of my trip.

I am one of the lucky ones. I got everything I wanted out of my trip to Thailand. I met people who were like-minded and who became my life-long friends, I actually met my soulmate, and I re-discovered who I truly am and what I wanted to do with my life. All in a tropical paradise.

It wasn’t always easy. And it wasn’t always paradise. I had resistance along the way, and sometimes it was hard to stay focused on having a good time.

Despite all those ups and downs, here’s how I got the most out of my trip. You can apply these lessons to your life at home or abroad:

10 Ways to Stay Motivated
1. Define your goal. What do you want to achieve? What do you want to accomplish? Write it down clearly and concisely. You have to know where you want to go if you want to get there. For me, I wanted to go to Thailand to meet my soulmate, make peace with my dad, and re-find myself and what I really wanted out of life.
2. Figure out your why. WHY are you pursuing this goal? WHY are you going on this trip? What is it that your heart really wants. Your “why” is also called your PURPOSE. For me, my purpose was to feel whole again. I wanted to find myself and my soulmate and reconnect with my dad because I was unhappy. Why did I want to go on this trip? To find true happiness and to find myself.
3. Have a plan of action. Yes, you can fly by the seat of your pants. Yes, you can overplan. Regardless, you need to have a plan of steps to take in order to get to where you want to go. For me, I wanted to get the most out of my time in Thailand, so I planned out what cities I wanted to go to, how much time I wanted to spend in each place, and charted out transportation and accommodations for each area. I also compiled a list of all the possible adventures I could do in each city. It was a nice little road map that made my trip less stressful to navigate knowing where I was going and where I was going to stay.
4. Take action. All the planning the world does no one good unless it is put into action. Even taking the smallest step towards your goal is better than doing nothing at all. Most people have dreams of accomplishing great things. But few put those dreams into action. For me, I had never planned a month long trip like this before. So I reached out and met up with some friends who had. I got great advice from them and then started booking my tickets and hostels for my trip. Each click and each reservation got me one step closer to having the trip of a lifetime.
5. Stay the course. There are always going to be tempting offers along the way that will make you want to deviate from your plan. Remember what your goal is. If it helps you achieve that goal, do it. If it doesn’t, move on. For me, my soulmate wanted me to travel with him to another northern city. My original plan was to leave the next day to attend the Full Moon Party with my friend, so I declined his offer. I knew that if it were possible, we would meet again later on our trips. As fate would have it, we did.
6. Go with the flow. Ride the wave. Be open to other possibilities. So, this might sound like a complete antithesis to staying the course, but here’s the deal: plans can change. And they often do in life. Just because you zig zag a little, doesn’t mean that you won’t reach your goal. For me, I had originially planned to go from the Full Moon Party to Koh Phi Phi. However, my new friends really wanted to travel up to Koh Tao for diving. At first, I resisted this change of plans because I had already reserved ferry tickets to Phi Phi. However, there was still time to experience what I wanted to do if I went, and I did want more time with my new friends. So, I ended up going with the flow and following the pack to Koh Tao. It ended up being one of my favorite islands to go to and I had some of the most magical experiences there with my friends.
7. Choose what makes you happy. Do you. Sometimes other people will try to rain on your parade and tell you what you need to do. Screw them. You are in charge of your own happiness. No one can make you feel inferior unless you let them. For me, I had a friend who wanted to party all the time and get involved in sexual relationships that I was uncomfortable with. Despite the arguments, I decided to do me and found people who wanted to partake in the adventures I wanted to do and who wanted to have a good time without getting wasted. I ended up having a great time doing things that made me happy!
8. Stay true to yourself. Own it. One of the best things about traveling is that most people don’t have their social walls up because you are out in different environment without having to see your new traveling companions again if you didn’t want to. People are more open to being themselves and wanting to connect with like-minded people. So, speak from your heart, be yourself, and let your inner beauty shine. It’s the most attractive quality anyone can wear. For me, the moment I opened up and showed kindness from my heart, I ended up meeting the most amazing girls from Canada who have become my life-long friends.
9. Make decisions. Getting stuck in indecision causes you to waste time. Time is valuable. You can always make more money, but you can never get time back. Especially on trips, you have a finite amount of time away from home, so make the most out of every moment. For me, I started listening to my intuition more. What did I want to eat? I asked my stomach and it told me what I wanted. What did I want to wear? Whatever was clean. I didn’t care if it matched or not. What did I want to do that day? I asked people what my options were and then chose the activity that sounded the most fun. Life can be easy. You just have to decide.
10. Focus on what you can do and less on what you can’t do. Enjoy the journey. There are always going to be moments when we don’t get our way. That’s fine. What can you do about it? Focusing on a solution will solve your problems faster than focusing on the cause of the problem. It’s easy to play the blame game and bitch about other people’s behaviors and actions. At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own actions. So enjoy it. For me, it was raining the first 2 days that I was in Koh Phi Phi and I couldn’t go snorkeling. That sucked. So, I asked myself, what can I do? Well, I can explore the island. I can go shopping. I can climb to the peak to get a bird’s eye view of the island. I can work on my blog. There were tons of other things that I could do. And so I did 🙂

I hope these tips help you find the motivation you need to reach your goals. Do you have any motivation tips that help you stay the course? Write them in the comments below. I’d love to hear them!

YES TO THE YING TIP: This is your life. This is your time. So dream big and take a step towards making that dream come true. Why? Because YOU CAN.

Much Love,
Alicia

How to Find Your Purpose

This has always been a nebulous, esoteric question: What is your purpose?

Is it to have kids, have a family? Get a good job? Make good money?

Or is it… creating change with your art? Making people smile with your cooking? Inspiring kids to live a better life?

For me, I’ve always known my purpose: to make people happy. I love to put smiles on people’s faces! Whether it’s telling a funny joke, baking them some cupcakes to celebrate their new job, or just listening to worries and offering them a shoulder to cry on, it has always brought me much joy to make other people’s faces light up with a smile.

However, being in a rut can bring you down. I know that I had lost all sense of my purpose after two years of slaving away at my job. It wasn’t until I traveled to Thailand that I remembered why I was put on this earth. Here is a poem to describe my purpose:

PURPOSE by Alicia Ying

I believe that anything is possible.

I believe that true love exists.

I believe that happily ever afters can happen.

I believe that you can find your bliss.

 

I believe in doing what you love.

I believe in loving what you do.

I believe in letting your inner beauty shine.

I believe in being the truest form of you.

 

You can pursue your passion.

You can live out your dreams.

You can turn them into reality.

The impossible is not as impossible as it seems.

 

There is a solution.

There is always a way.

I can help you find it.

Let’s make it happen, what do you say?

My purpose in life is to inspire people to discover themselves and start doing what they love for a living. Being a creative, it can be hard to turn that passion into a paycheck, but pursuing my passion for helping people has been more rewarding than any other regular job that I’ve ever had.

Here is why finding your purpose is so important:

Your purpose is the reason you get out of bed in the morning.

Your purpose anchors you when times are tough.

Your purpose fuels your fire to get the job done.

In order to find your purpose, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What are you passionate about? What excites you? What makes your eyes light up? Is it writing? Painting? Making sculptures? Helping people? Feeding the homeless? Traveling?  Making lists? Organizing? Sketching new designs? Photography? Cooking? Baking? Giving gifts? Party planning? Volunteering? Working with animals?

2. When are you happiest? What things make you happy? What puts a smile on your face? Are you happiest when you are with your friends? Watching TV? Singing karaoke? Alone reading a book? Knitting? Cooking? Eating a delicious meal? Meeting new people? Connecting? Accomplishing a new skill? Receiving flowers? Watching the sun rise? Watching the sun set? Walking along the beach? Taking a hike up the mountains? Doing a yoga class? Meditating? Giving a hug? Receiving a hug?

3. If money were no object, what would you want to do with your life? How would you spend your days? Who would you spend your time with? Would you be working with orphans in an ashram in India? Travel the world? Work with wildlife? Lock yourself up in a room and paint beautiful paintings all day? Sail off into the sunset on a private yacht with your loved ones? With yourself? Create films with your friends? Write stories that you want to tell? Make youtube cover song videos of every single country song that you love? Learn kung fu from a kung fu master in China?

Now look at your list and look for a trend. What do all these things have in common? What is the through line? Your purpose doesn’t have to be complicated either. It could be simple. To help people. To discover the world. To make art. To inspire the world. To create a change. To make an impact.

Find that purpose and start fueling that purpose/passion in life. You can do what you love for a living. You deserve all the happiness in the world. Reignite your purpose whenever you are lost. It will always be your North Star!

What’s your purpose? Comment below! I’d love to hear what you were meant to do in this world!

Much Love,

Alicia

Top 5 Reasons to Travel

 

Happy Monday Motivation!

Last night I watched The Oscars and was pretty moved by quite a few speeches. It reminded me of why I love movies and how they inspire me to travel. There are so many reasons to travel, but what I love most about traveling is meeting new people and learning their stories. Everyone has a story to tell and they are fascinating to hear about. For example , during my travel to Thailand, I met a Canadian who worked six months out of the year and took six months to travel. Most of his travels were actually through the company he worked for who used 1/4 of their profits for philanthropy work all over the globe. The company would ask for volunteers from their company to travel to Argentina to build houses, fly to India to help the orphans at an ashram, and traverse to Thailand to deliver goods to those who lost everything in the tsunami.  This Canadian would volunteer. After he completed helping others, he would take a few more weeks to travel around the area and explore more of that country. How amazing is that?! Story after story about all the sights he saw and the people he met. It made me want to turn his life into a movie!

Most of us are taught to work hard, get into a good school, get a stable job, and start a family. It ends up becoming a life that is cramped into this little bubble of a rat race where you never seem to win. If you ever feel like that and have a yearning to have an adventure, here are 5 reasons to travel the world:

1. You get to see new and exciting sights. You wake up, go to work, come home, sleep. Repeat. Maybe there’s a workout at the gym, a coffee with a friend, a night out to dinner or the movies. But it’s all the same. The same places, the same restaurants, the same shops. Seeing new countries with new places to discover automatically gets you out of the boredom and routine of your daily life. You will feel freer, more energized, and happier! Change of environment is a valid form of therapy. So if you are unhappy, pick a city that inspires you, book a flight, and go. You’ll be in a better mood because of it!

2. You get to eat delicious new food. Food is delicious. Especially when you are getting handmade pasta in Italy or Pad Thai in Thailand or Spanish paella in Spain. The food in other countries tastes a million times better because most of them do not have all the GMOs and pesticides that we have here in the US of A.  That’s not to say that you can’t get great food in America, but the food overseas will definitely tantalize your tastebuds and fulfill your stomach’s desires you may not even know it had!

3. You get to meet new people. This was definitely my favorite part about traveling! Especially if you decide to backpack, you will meet other backpackers everywhere from all over the world. Strike up a conversation. Find out why they are traveling, how long they are on holiday, what exciting places they have already seen, and what places they are looking forward to exploring.  You may even get a fun traveling partner, a life-long friend, or maybe even meet the love of your life 🙂 I met several people along my journey who met someone during their trip who they fell in love with and had that soulmate connection with.  There are 6 billion people on Earth. Like-minded friends and lovers are out there. So go find them!

4. You get to try something new. If you have a bucket list and wonder if you will ever check anything off of it, now is your chance! No one is going to judge you out on the road. Find something you’ve always wanted to do and go do it! Whether it’s cliff diving, riding a bull, eating an exotic food, bungee jumping, or kissing someone underneath a waterfall, pick one item off your list and find a way to do it.  Your life is happening now. YOLO it up! You never know if you will get a chance to do it again! Be Brave!

5. You get to discover yourself and inspire others to do the same. Probably the most incredible experience I had traveling was learning more about myself and who I truly am.  As you connect with others and see the lifestyle and condition of other less fortunate countries, you become a lot more grateful for the abundance and freedoms we have in America. You also will learn about what truly matters to you and what is truly important in life. Kindness and compassion will fill your hearts and you will be able to bring those stories back home and hopefully inspire someone else to live a life filled with more happiness.  What is the meaning of life if there is no happiness? Chase your dreams.

I learned so many people’s stories while I traveled and I am turning these stories into screenplays and hopefully movies.

So, where are you going to travel to? Need help planning? Comment below and I’ll do my best to guide you as best as I can!

Much Love and Happy Traveling!

Alicia

Top 10 Items: Travel Packing List for Thailand

Thailand is known for it’s wonderful sights and it’s cheap prices. Before you fill your bags with every item, know that you can buy a lot of items for super cheap. Here are 10 essential items for your Thailand packing list. These are items that you should definitely buy in the States and bring on your trip.

1. Mosquito Repellant. Whether you choose a repellant with DEET or a natural oil to keep the mosquitos away, bring it with you. The US brands do a better job of keeping the pesky bloodsuckers away than the Thai brands.
2. Sunscreen. Especially if you are wanting an oil-free sunscreen, buy your favorite brand at home. The sunscreen in Thailand is fine, but just as expensive for a generic quality.
3. Ziplock bags. Use them as packing cubes and to help separate your clean clothes from your dirty laundry. It will also keep all your things dry if your bags get rained on!
4. Warm jacket/fleece. Planes and trains can get really cold. Some restaurants and hotels also blast their A/C, so bring a warm jacket/fleece to stay warm. Sweaters and jackets are not as easy to find in Thailand’s hot climate.
5. Tissues. There is sometimes no toilet paper in the bathrooms, so pack a few travel packs of kleenex to keep in your purse. It really comes in handy!
6. Hand Sanitizer. Some places don’t have soap. You’ll want to make sure your hands are bacteria free!
7. Locks for your luggage/backpack. Better safe than sorry, my motto is: if they are going to steal my stuff, they are going to have to earn it! Bring a lock for your luggage/backpack. Some hostels will even have lockers. So bring one to put on that as well.
8. Feminine products. Tampons are not as readily available nor cheap. Bring your favorite brand from home. If you are adventurous, try the Diva Cup a few months before traveling.
9. Waterproof windbreaker. It does rain sometimes. This is perfect for keeping yourself warm and dry. You can buy an umbrella over there if you really need one.
10. Parasite pills. I get these from my nutritionist. These saved my stomach! The food is different and depending on your tummy, you will want some sort of supplement to keep the parasites away to prevent any diarrhea and indigestion.

These essential items you can buy for cheap in Thailand:
1. Sunglasses. You can find cheap fake name brand sunglasses everywhere. Traveling will scratch up your shades, so leave your nice pairs at home.
2. Sarongs. You find them in a wide array of vivid colors and beautiful designs for only a few dollars. They have many uses: covering your shoulders at a temple, laying on them at the beach, wearing them as a skirt/dress/scarf, using it as a sheet to sleep on.
3. Waterproof bag. They run about $10. If you plan on going snorkeling or any kind of boat trip, this is essential to keep your things dry.
4. Flip flops. You will have to take your shoes off at the temples. The pairs that look most expensive get stolen, so buy a cheap pair of flip flops (easily available) and wear those during your trip.
5. Aloe Vera. Available at any pharmacy, aloe vera is only a few dollars and will save you the packing space.

Subscribe to my blog for more travel tips. And please share below any other essential items you would want to take to Thailand! What’s your must-have item?

Much Love,

Alicia