If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen a post or two about how Wildheart is open for new members this week, and on sale no less! I found Wildheart last December when I was participating in the Stratejoy Holiday Council. One of the most delightful parts of the Council is all the fantastic conversations Molly has with other kickass, interesting women. All of the conversations were interesting but Sally Hope’s was the one that just resonated with me. I started reading her blog and had instant, “YES. THIS. LOVE.” feelings. It was personal growth stuff put in language that just sat right with me. When registration opened again February, I knew I wanted to give it a whirl.

It’s been awesome to be a part of this really cool group of awesome, powerful women doing really kickass things. It’s also been a wonderful safe space to sort through some of the things that I’ve been struggling with. I wanted to find a way to talk about that here and nudge anyone who might be thinking about it in that direction. What better way to do that than to hear about it from Sally herself?

When Sally suggested we do this interview style I realized that it’s been a while since I’ve really done a lot of proper travel blogging. AND SO, this is post is (1) A wildheart love fest -and- (2) the beginning of a new semi-regular-when-I-feel-like-it blog series, in which I pester my well-traveled friends and ask them lots of questions about their adventures.

I’m thrilled that Sally Hope is first up. Sally is a “renegade life coach, leader of the Wildheart Revolution, pun fanatic, hot-pink lipstick lover and country dancer. Native Californian who now canoodles in Montana.” She’s also a lot of fun and crazy wise. Crazy levels of wisdom, you guys. I would not lie to you.

With that, here’s just a sampling of that wisdom:

From one road trip queen to another, I have to start with the big epic road trips, first with a friend and the Random Acts of Kindness and then the solo journey. What inspired those?

I sort of feel like all my travel has been like a spur of the moment, random lightning bolt of a decision, where everything just seemed to fall into place to make it happen.

For the very first RV road trip, I was living in Costa Rica with a friend of mine. Our purpose was to get out of Oakland, CA and to see if we could run our businesses from the jungle and the beach. We discovered that not only could we run them, but we could run them better than when we were at home!

We were more fulfilled because our lives were simpler and more beautiful, and the cost of living was so much cheaper that we actually made MORE money by being in Costa Rica.

We got along so well and decided that when the five weeks were up in Costa Rica, that we didn’t want to stop traveling. I had always wanted to take an RV trip and discovered that she did as well.

One week later, a high school friend of mine posted on Facebook that he was selling his RV. Luckily is was parked one block away from my parent’s house.

But overall, I think once I got a taste of the freedom I was allowed by taking a risk to move to Costa Rica, I didn’t want it to end. I felt like the world was full of opportunities and I wanted to go see where those opportunities would lead me.

What was the biggest obstacle you encountered once you got on the road?

I think obstacles fall into two categories; 1) Actual obstacles (like flat tires and broken water pumps); and 2) Mental obstacles (like how to not scream at your travel buddy when you’re both tired and lost in the middle of Utah and you forgot to eat).

But I think that one of the biggest obstacles was to keep going and keep being resourceful when times were tough. We had A LOT of trouble with our RV. It was very expensive to repair (let alone fuel up). It would have been easy for us to say “screw it let’s go home!” But we didn’t. So I think the metaphor here is that the obstacle on the road is the same obstacle in life, which is to keep going even when the going gets tough.

What is your favorite unexpected takeaway from the solo traveling experience?

That I can make really great decisions if I trust my intuition.

Before I traveled alone I always relied on other people to make the final decisions. It would be like, “I think Montana looks cool, what do you think?”

And their answer would dictate the outcome. When you’re traveling alone, you’re the only one responsible. For the whole thing. I got way better at making decisions and tuning in really tightly to what I really wanted and how I really wanted to spend my time.
Where did the inspiration for the Wildheart Revolution come from? Why that name?

Wildheart was born out of a need I had and I didn’t see anyone filling the gap. I wanted there to be a place filled with amazing, dynamic, smart, interesting people who all wanted to be living the lives they were meant to live. People who were making “the process” a priority.

And people who don’t usually get talked to. I don’t fit into one box and I never have, so most programs that are very pointed don’t speak to me. I’m multi-faceted. Multi-passionate. Dynamic.

No program went as deep as I wanted with as much personal attention as I wanted at a price that anyone could afford.

I wanted a program with freedom and where people could really make it their own. They could show up when they needed it, and not worry about it when they didn’t.

And so Wildheart was born. The name came from a conversation I had with a dear friend (and the photographer on my website, Nikki Jumper). We were hoping to collaborate on an awesome woman’s group and use the name. That never panned out but the name never left my mind.

One day last year (2013), three years after Nikki and I had originally talked about it, the word showed up again like a lightning bolt and I just KNEW it was the name of the movement I was to create.

What’s your #1 tip for anyone looking to pack up and go on a big journey — whether it be a cross-country road trip or moving to Costa Rica?

Have fun. Be open. Use your intuition. Follow your heart, but bring your brain with you. And most of all, if you have the itch, scratch it.

Thank you to the lovely Sally Hope for answering my questions. You can check out her blog, follow her on Twitter or Instagram and, more importantly JOIN WILDHEART! Registration closes again on April 14th!

p.s. If you’d like to chat with me about your travel adventures, shoot me an email at nicole [at] sweeneysays [dot] com.