A Journey of Intention: The Campbell Family’s Year-Long World Travel

In this episode of the Franklin Planner podcast, the host welcomes special guest Ashley Campbell, an author, photographer, and community leader who, along with her family, embarked on a 17-year-long journey culminating in a year-long trip around the world. They discuss Ashley’s inspiration behind the trip, the steps and sacrifices made to achieve this dream, and the importance of intentional living. Ashley shares various stories from their travels, emphasizing resilience, flexibility, and the value of immersing in local cultures. She also talks about the impact of the trip on her family’s perspectives and the process of writing her book.

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Episode Timeline

01:50 Ashley Campbell’s Family Travel Dream

04:08 Financial and Character Preparation for the Journey

09:11 International Travel Experiences and Lessons

13:25 Unexpected Challenges and Family Resilience

17:25 Memorable Stories and Connections Made

20:25 Immersive Travel Experiences

23:27 The Journey to Writing a Book

26:38 Processing the Trip Through Writing

28:59 Life After the Trip

32:11 Advice for Pursuing Big Dreams

35:28 Defining a Successful Life

36:28 Connecting with the Author

37:42 Final Thoughts and Challenge

Thank you for joining us on this Journey to create your best life and to lead your Life and Teams. Please share this show, and we look forward to the journey we will take together.

The Franklin Planner Team

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Episode Transcript

Welcoming Ashley Campbell – Author of I’ve Never Been Here Before

George Wright III: Alright, welcome back to the Franklin Planner podcast. I’m super excited today to be able to have a special guest in studio. And, uh, you know, John is not available today, but we are gonna have an amazing interview where we can talk a little bit with Ashley Campbell, who wrote a book. She’s an author I’m gonna introduce in a minute, but Ashley, it’s good to have you here on the show.

Ashley Campbell: Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to be here.

George Wright III: Yeah. We’ve had to coordinate a little bit, but I think for the listeners today, I want to give ’em a little bit of your background and kind of talk to ’em about why we decided to sort of feature you on the interview and talk about some of the great family things that you have going.

You’re, [00:01:00] you’re the author of I’ve Never Been Here Before. It’s a book that’s just come out and it’s a family’s year long world travels, uh, documentary. And, uh, just so that those of you that are listening know a little bit about Ashley, she’s a professional photographer, blogger, community leader, you know, along with her husband they set on this goal, it’s almost 17 years in the making. We’ll talk about goal for her and her family to take a trip, uh, around the world for a year. And it was, you know, a, a, a great lesson in resilience and strength and goal setting, character building, family. Um, and so I think this whole idea of intentionally living and leading your life is, uh, you’re such a great example of that. So I’m super happy to have you on the, the show today.

Ashley Campbell: Thank you. Thank you for that introduction. 

The 17-Year Family Dream: From Magazine Article to Year-Long World Travel

George Wright III: Yeah. Well listen, let’s do this maybe so, so people can get to know you a little bit more. Maybe you could go into a little bit of the lead up going into the book and share just a little bit about your journey, you know, as even prior to the book of photographer, blogger, [00:02:00] and what inspired you with this idea of traveling the world for a year?

Ashley Campbell: So we have five kids right now, ages 14 to 21. When my oldest was around a year old, I came across a magazine article about a family of four mom, dad, and two small kids that took a year to travel the world. And at that point, my husband and I had done some international travel to several countries. And so I read this article and thought, man, that would be so cool to do one day.

So Chris came home from work. I kind of talked to him about it and it was just this idea of, man, that’d be really cool. Well, it was an idea that we couldn’t shake. And so after reading it, it kind of became this, not just that would be cool, but hey, we really wanna do this and if we wanna do this and we wanna grow a family, we’ve gotta be really intentional.

And so that set us on a course of, um, like you said, about 17 years of waiting for this dream to come true. It was this dream that played in the background [00:03:00] of my kids growing up as they grow up. I was a photographer, blogger, like you said. Um, and we waited until our, we wanted to go on the trip when our oldest was still in the house and our youngest was as old as possible. So that landed in June of 2022. Our son graduated in May, and we packed up for a year and spent a year traveling the world.

17 Years of Intentional Goal Setting: Financial Sacrifices and Delayed Gratification 

George Wright III: It’s, it’s such an amazing journey and we’ll kind of talk about some of the stories in it, but you know, what’s interesting to me, and one of the reasons we wanted to talk to you is, you know, big dreams like that, um, they, they, they often start with small steps and certainly, you know, it didn’t just lead up to that. There was a lot of steps along the way that you and your husband had to do to plan and prepare. But also you guys made a lot of sacrifices and had to set up some habits and systems to even pull this off.

Maybe you could talk a little bit about what you were able to do, because it, that’s a, that’s a long time to plan for something. So a lot of people give up on their dreams a lot sooner than that. But I think you put a lot of [00:04:00] great systems and planning and steps and habits in place in order to help you make this happen, and then to prepare for it, right?

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, absolutely. Our two biggest areas that we knew we needed to prepare were financially. We had no idea. I mean, in 20, this was back in 2023. 2024, not 2024. 2003, 2004, five. Uh, there weren’t blog posts saying, you know, this is how much you need to travel a year. So we knew, uh, we would just need to save as much as we can.

And so over the years we were very intentional with our spending and our savings. Um, we lived below our means. We told our kids no to a lot of things that their friends’ parents were saying yes to. I tell people all the time that my kids got a masterclass in delayed gratification. They grew up, I mean, through elementary, middle school, high school hearing, you know, “no, we’re not gonna all go to the custard place and get individual custards. We’re gonna get a gallon of ice cream and [00:05:00] share it at home.” So just little decisions like where we bought our groceries, um, choosing to always eat at home. Where we bought clothes, all of those things added up over years, and that’s how the financial savings came into play. But really even more important than planning financially was how do we instill characteristics in our kids that would make, um, the type of international travel we wanted to do fun?

We knew, we, Chris and I, are very adventurous. We knew we didn’t wanna stay in resorts, we didn’t wanna stay in heavy tourist areas or even hotels. Also, our budget wouldn’t allow for that. And so we needed to teach our kids things like how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. How to not let fear be their loudest, the loudest voice in their heads.

Um, how to make calculated risks and be okay with risk taking and not letting, you know, fear be the decision. And [00:06:00] so as they grew up, we did things like we had a really old travel trailer. We traveled across the US and um, just tried to instill those characteristics, helping them learn to sleep in different places and, um, different situations, trying new foods, being curious, um, wanting to be great learners.

And so those 17 years while we were, like, travel planning as far as financial, we were really more intentional in character development. For Chris and I, we knew what type of people we like to travel with, what type of fun in challenging situations. And so we tried to do everything we could to help our kids be prepared in those ways for travel.

Building Resilience in Kids: Preparing for Immersive Family World Travel

George Wright III: Yeah. It’s interesting how, you know, you um, you have this goal, but there were so many little mini things that happened along the way, not only as lessons and learned ’cause you were, the point that I really wanna make is that you were very intentional with everything you were doing leading to this goal, I think a lot of [00:07:00] times people with their path, it’s all about the destination.

Whereas you had this destination goal, but you found the moments along the way to both learn and grow and instill habits and you know, learn those resilient things. But the reason you did that was because you were intentional. And so that’s, that’s interesting. Did you have times along the way where it was hard to, you know, especially with the kids, right? Like, uh, stay motivated and inspired to get to the end goal. When you were trying to do all these things along the way, how did you manage to keep the excitement for your goal? Because that’s a long period of time.

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, I, I don’t know that my kids were ever excited about the goal.

I think it was just something they always heard about it and it was very abstract. Um, they didn’t know anybody else whose family traveled the world for the year. Um, and so. Uh, they were looking forward to the trip, but it wasn’t that they were growing up with this excitement. I think for them, they grew up wondering, okay, our parents keep saying we’re gonna do this one day, but are we actually gonna do that? Because a lot of people say, [00:08:00] oh, you know, I wanna do this thing. And then after a couple years it fizzles out if it doesn’t happen.

George Wright III: Yeah. And consistency plays a huge role, right?

Ashley Campbell: Right. Consistency. There were definitely times that were hard when we were telling our kids no to things. You know, for instance, Christmas or birthdays, when those around them were getting tons of gifts and we were saying, you know, we’re saving for this trip that may or may not happen. However, you know, those lessons, even if the trip didn’t happen, the things that we were intentional to build in our kids during those years with that goal, I’m so grateful that they have those. I’m so grateful that we went on that journey. Um, the trip was fabulous, but that journey of getting to the trip and all that we learned in that part of the goal setting, dreaming process was just as valuable.

Why International Travel? 21 Countries with Purposeful Immersion

George Wright III: Yeah, it’s definitely something where, um, the intention was there and the goal was there, but you, you made it an, uh, a point to really along the way instill those habits. And I think it brought a, a great framework for [00:09:00] you in a lot of the things as we discussed it. Um, it, it helped when, raising your family and, and moving on.

And, you know, we’ll talk in a minute here about what’s happened since then and things, but what did you do? Um, you know, maybe talk a little bit about, because this idea, it’s one thing to travel for a year, it’s another thing to travel internationally. What did you learn and, and see and experience or what was maybe outside your normal expectation that happened as you traveled internationally? Why’d you choose internationally?

Ashley Campbell: Oh, we chose internationally because my husband and I love international travel. We love being in new cultures. We love, um, exploring new places and learning from people and just being curious. The world is full of so much, um, goodness, which right now is maybe a message we’re not hearing a lot, but it is full of incredible people, full of incredible food.

And so for my husband and I, we love international travel. Part of the dream was we wanted to be there when our kids experienced that. We wanted to see their faces when they, [00:10:00] um, see the world. So the international part was just a very given because of our personalities and our personal interest. 

George Wright III: And it was a total of how many trips? It was 21 countries, correct? 

Ashley Campbell: 21 countries, give or take. There were a few that we took some accidental detours and ended up in a country we didn’t mean to be, but they were little detours, like 10 minutes down the road.

George Wright III: Well, and you were intentional, right? You went to different parts of the country and you experienced different, so talk about that for a minute.

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, so we, in every country we visited, we were very intentional to visit a small town, a medium kind of suburban type town, and then the country’s capital, because when you visit, I mean, if you came, if someone visited the United States and only came to Oklahoma, they would have a very limited perspective of what the United States is. And it’s the same for every other country. And obviously we couldn’t visit every place in every country, but by breaking it down to small, medium, large. We were able to get a fuller [00:11:00] picture, not a complete picture, but a fuller picture of each place. We did, um, we traveled with backpacks only, like small carry on backpacks.

George Wright III: Oh, wow. 

Ashley Campbell: And so that limited us to warm climates. I also prefer warm climates, so. You know, winter cold climates, you have to pack a lot more gear. So we stayed kind of along the equator and visited countries because we were kind of, we were more on a budget that eliminated a lot of the more expensive countries and naturally put us in some that are a little, maybe more unexpected. Um, so as we journeyed, we would arrive in a new place and hit those three major areas and– 

Flexible Planning and On-the-Fly Decisions for Year-Long Family Travel

George Wright III: Well, it’s also, it’s a great, it’s a great example of resilience and flexibility, right? You know, a lot of people are dealing with things in life where they, they can’t control their circumstances. They don’t have any influence over a ton of things happening outside their world. So, you know, we, we talk a lot about being intentional with your life and leading your life and con, you [00:12:00] know, and basically working on the things you can control within your control. And, um, you know, you had to plan, did you, did you plan your entire trip in advance? Or did you have to plan it on the fly as you went?

Ashley Campbell: A little bit of both. Definitely not all in advance. We planned about four months in advance, primarily because we were a group of seven on a budget, and since we weren’t staying at hotels, it was typically guest houses or hostels. And you know, if you think a community might have seven places that would host seven people, well maybe one of those was in our budget. So we had to plan enough in advance that we could get that one place. As far as day-to-day planning, we never had a schedule or a list of, Hey, when we get to the coun, this country, we wanna visit these 10 places. It was more we would be in one spot. For instance, we were in Morocco and trying to decide what country to go to next, and it was a $45, um, ferry ride to Spain, [00:13:00] or a $25 flight to Rome. So we went to Rome and really our whole trip was planned that way, wherever we were at. 

George Wright III:Wow. 

Ashley Campbell: It was: What is the cheapest place to get to next? And we didn’t fly very often. We primarily used buses and trains ’cause it’s the most affordable transportation. And it was, where does the bus go to next? That’s where we’re gonna go. And then where does the bus go next? That’s where we’ll go and follow that route for the year. 

Handling Travel Setbacks: Real Stories of Resilience and Kindness

George Wright III: Wow. Yeah, it’s interesting ’cause a lot of people live life with all these expectations. You know, they’re planning, you know, where they want to be with their job and their career and their family and their life.

And because of those expectations, I think a lot of times it creates a lot of conflict in their lives. Whereas if you learn you, you obviously had to learn to be more in the moment with what was in front of you. Uh, being present, and travel can be really unpredictable, right? So did you have some setbacks or can you think of any examples of times that you were like, oh my gosh, this was not expected, what do we do and how do we handle this? 

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, we had a lot [00:14:00] of those. Um, we went into the trip knowing that was going to happen, obviously, and had prepared for that and prepared our kids for that knowing, you know, whatever we face, it’s gonna be for a short time. Um, one example, we were in Albania, headed to, um, Thessaloniki, Greece, and we had a driver picking us up in Albania to take us to Greece, and he arrived a couple hours late.

And so as we pull into Greece for the bus that we had already booked, the bus had already left. And communication was, you know, it was a barrier. We knew we missed our bus. This driver was stuck with an American family of seven, and all of a sudden we’re on the side of the highway and he tells us to get out of, he was in a van, tells us to get outta the van.

And so we’re just standing on this highway in Greece, not knowing what’s going on. And our best guess was maybe just, maybe he had somehow communicated with the bus driver and a bus would suddenly show up. And sure enough, about 20 minutes later, here comes a bus. And the driver knew the route [00:15:00] we were headed to Thessaloniki and just took us to a highway and somehow contacted a bus driver, and we hopped on a bus and made it. We had so many stories like that, especially with buses, that buses were missed and people just took care of us everywhere we went. I think one, people are genuinely kind and hospitable, but there was also this beautiful part of traveling with a family. A lot of the countries we went to don’t have a lot of families that come to visit, and so there was just this graciousness towards us because we were bringing our kids and uh, people were excited to see kids, they’re excited to share about their country with teenagers.

George Wright III: Yeah, that’s, I mean, just the idea of traveling with seven, five kids. You know, I have eight kids, but we’ve never traveled with all of them in that age bracket. And I, I can tell you that can be a, that can make for some stressful moments, um, you know, un, unless I guess you, you intentionally know. You, you, you sort of expect them, you [00:16:00] plan for ’em.

And, uh, I think. A lot of times people in life, they, they’re not only not present, but they, they just feel like their life is leading them rather than them leading their life. And what I’ve found a lot of times is it’s just a philosophy, right it’s, your, it’s your perspective and filter you put on, um, how you dealt with situations.

Did you find that it was more difficult for your kids than you, obviously, to look at a situation and not go, oh my gosh, this is, this is going the wrong direction fast, and you had to be that center? Or did you all, all sort of had to help each other in those moments? 

Ashley Campbell: I think we all helped each other. Our kids definitely were looking to Chris and I, and Chris and I knew that we were setting the tone. If they saw us stressed out and short with each other and worried or fearful, then they were gonna pick up on that. So Chris and I were pretty intentional to just stay calm. And you know, there were times that maybe he was more stressed and I wasn’t. So we fed off that and there were times I was more stressed than he was.

And I think as a family, we just all recognized: [00:17:00] Hey, we’re in this together and it’s either gonna work out or we’re gonna have a good story. That’s what I would, I would always tell the kids, I’m like, it’s either gonna work out. What’s the best case scenario? What’s the best that could happen? Let’s ask that question first. And if, you know, the worst case happens, it’s, it’s probably gonna be funny down the road and we can laugh at it eventually. And yeah, just keep moving forward. 

Favorite Family Travel Stories: Basketball, Gym Friends & Global Connections

George Wright III: Yeah. That is so true. That’s so true. So, um, I’m curious, you, do you have maybe a favorite story or two that sort of sums up a little bit or captures what the year was really about for you and your family? And maybe all of you have different best moments, but I’m curious what a couple of yours are.

Ashley Campbell: Ooh, I have so many, hard question. 

George Wright III:I know. 

Ashley Campbell: Um, okay. One, so my boys were all, they were, uh. 14, 16 and 18 on our trip. We were in Indonesia on a little island, and one of the things my guys liked to do, we stayed in most [00:18:00] places for a week and they would try to find a local gym and so they would join a gym.

So Hudson, who was 16 at the time, joined this, I got a week passed to a local gym. Met a guy from Malaysia that was in town for a bodybuilding contest or something. I don’t remember exactly. So we’re in Indonesia. Hudson makes a new friend. Fast forward several weeks, maybe a month and a half, and we were in Malaysia.

Hudson let his friend know, Hey, my family’s in Malaysia, and his friend happened to be from the town we were in and wanted to invite us out to dinner. So we go out to dinner in Qualm, Laur, Malaysia with this man, his wife, his three kids. And I was sitting there thinking, I’m in Malaysia with a family because my son met this man in Indonesia and made a connection, and things like that happened over and over.

The boys packed a basketball for a trip. Keep in mind, they only had one small backpack and Everett. My 14– 

George Wright III:Yeah. Where’d he put that? Yeah. 

Ashley Campbell: He decided, he, you know, took [00:19:00] the air out. He packed a basketball and a pump. And I tell everyone that that was the MVP of our trip because we would show up in a new community, they would air up the basketball, go find a court, and, and countless communities, you know, these three American teenagers are on a basketball court. They make friends, they learn perspectives about the community that you can only get from another teenager. And then those experiences usually led to, Hey, your family should come to our house for dinner and meet my family. And so we had just countless opportunities around the world that we got to eat in homes because we were traveling with teenagers who were confident, and not necessarily, they’re not all extroverts, but they were confident and comfortable at new places, and because of that, they were able to make connections that led to eating in homes and getting just this really cool perspective of the different places we were at.

Immersive Travel Lessons: Curiosity, Hosts & Learning from Every Person

George Wright III: Yeah, it sounds like a lot of their perspective came from, you know, getting themselves in uncomfortable situations or new environments and you know, things like [00:20:00] that. And that really does, you know, shape your perspective, right?

Ashley Campbell: Absolutely. Um, yeah, and we see that play out now at home. Um, one of my sons, the one that met the man in Malaysia, just joined a local soccer team where everything’s in Spanish. Everyone on the team, everyone on the sidelines, it’s only Spanish speaking, and he’s wanting to prove his Spanish, so he jumped in on this team. And is working on a Spanish, and it’s cool to see. 

George Wright III: Yeah, it’s definitely, as we talked, um, you know, it’s part of, you know, as you go through this journey of life and you, you experience certain things and it shapes your perspective. It, it, it shapes it moving forward as well. And, you know, it’s interesting to me because you, you talked about traveling in an immersive way, you know, and, and basically meaning you immersed yourself in the local culture. Could you kind of tell us about that? Because I think that there’s a real lesson in that. I think that a lot of times people are trying to change their environment to coexist with them, [00:21:00] uh, rather than learning to make the most of, or become immersed in their surroundings with the people that they’re with in order to create a great life, right? Talk to me a little bit about what you did or even things specifically to experience and immerse in each of those areas.

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, so one of my favorite things, um, when we go to a new place, well, I’ll start with when you book places to stay. If you’re at a hotel, you know, you might meet the manager or something. But with Airbnbs and hostels, typically with an Airbnb, if you go on the reviews, you can find information about the host.

And so I would intentionally look in the reviews for places that said, our host was engaging, our host showed us around the community, our host, our host, and from that. We would book those places where we could really sit with hosts and learn. Um, same with hostels. Hostels are full of travelers. They get a reputation, I think some people [00:22:00] view hostels as this, like places for 20 year olds that wanna party. And while there for sure are hostiles like that there. They’re so different around the world than they are just in the United States. Um, we stayed in hostels in most countries. As a family of seven we could book a bunk room, so we would have a private bunk room, seven beds. Um, but those were the places that we would meet other travelers and have conversations, you know, like, Hey, have you been here? You know, you really should go check out that this place. And if you go, there’s a bakery, and the owner has this story. And so we would follow those leads and search out the bakery and meet the owner and learn from the owner.

And then just be curious. We, we did immersive traveling because I, I believe I can learn something from everyone. 

George Wright III: Yeah. 

Ashley Campbell: I think my kids can learn something from everything. And part of the trip, as much as we wanted to see beautiful places, beautiful mountains and beaches, we saw all of that. But [00:23:00] we really, Chris and I really wanted our kids to see the beauty and goodness in people and in the diversity, and not just diversity of culture, but like way of thought, worldview, how you define a successful life. To be able to ask questions from people that are very different and then learn from that.

Coming Home & Writing “I’ve Never Been Here Before”: The Power of Journaling

George Wright III: Yeah, I’d be curious. I mean, uh, uh, clearly that’s something that you’ve instilled in your kids as well, and you know, and I want to talk a little bit about what hap– has happened since then.

But let’s, let’s actually get into the book for a second because I think people think, oh, here’s this, you know, photographer, blogger, I, and there are people that travel for that reason, but I don’t believe your intention was ever to write a book and you didn’t do this so that you could write a book. So how did that come about? Because now you’ve released this book and you know, some exciting things are happening. Talk to us about coming back and what led you to the book?

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, so we got back from our trip and it was maybe night two of being home, and my kids were everywhere. I had two outta state that were [00:24:00] surprising friends.

Chris was back in his job and, and I, my daughter and I, one of my daughters, we were both like in tears ’cause we just had this incredible experience and all of a sudden it was over. And all of our people that we had been with for a year just dispersed. And I just realized in that moment, like, I really need a healthy way to process what we’ve been through, but also I knew my kids would remember a lot, but it was really important to me that my grandkids, I don’t have grandkids right now, but my future grandkids would be able to see the world as we saw it, that they could experience the world and its people and have stories about their aunts and uncles and parents.

And so I decided on my own, I was going to give myself six months to write about our trip. Um. Obviously to do that I had to set some very specific goals. I gave myself weekly deadlines, um, monthly goals, and on December 31st, right before we [00:25:00] had a big Christmas or New Year’s Eve party, I finished my manuscript.

I mean, it was just a personal project for me, and I posted a picture of it on Instagram. And received a message a couple days later from a publisher that had actually reached out to me a few years before about writing a book, but at the time I just, I didn’t feel like I had enough to say for a book. And so she sent me a message and said, Hey, I saw you wrote this. I’m sure you have a literary agent or you have a book deal, but just in case I wanted to reach out. And I was like, Nope, I don’t have either of those. And so she and I began the process of exploring what it would look like to turn this personal manuscript into something more for a broader audience. And it led to a publishing deal and the book that came out. 

George Wright III: Wow. Yeah. It’s, it’s, uh, there’s so much to unpack there. I want to kind of highlight a couple things. One is, um, you, you are very intentional and I think people that, um, really live their [00:26:00] best life have intention. And so you didn’t just set out to write the book when you made that decision.

Number one, you, you set goals and timelines and deadlines and because I think that’s, uh, a very healthy thing for people to have when they want to do something, even though that wasn’t your original goal. And, uh, and the other thing is that I think we talk a lot on this podcast about the power of journaling and capturing memories or writing.

And, and I think that, uh, especially with Franklin Planner, it’s one of the centerpieces of why people use the planner is in order to really capture their thoughts, their intention, and things on paper so that they can live their life. And so how did that really help you by that process? Right. Not just because you had a goal. I wanna, you know. I wanna write this book. How do you feel like that did help you process, and what were some of the, the things that you kind of noticed from that? 

Ashley Campbell: It definitely helped me process in a healthy way. Uh, when we got back, prior, prior to coming back, I had [00:27:00] heard, I don’t even, I I don’t remember if it was in a book or a podcast, somebody had made a comment about how when you go on trips and you come back, people usually want, there’s three answers to be prepared for, um, a three second answer, a three minute answer, and a three cups of coffee answer, and that most people just want the three second. How was your trip? Good. And for me, um, that was very true. It was very true for my kids too. And so not having people that really, it’s not that people didn’t wanna ask us about it, but I don’t think people knew how to ask. And how do you ask about a trip around the world for a year, that’s a hard thing to break down. And so having those weekly goals, I’m a paper planner girl. Um, so I, you know, having tangible goals. And I should say, while we traveled, I actually took my planner with me and some, and Chris had his computer and so did, um, my son Corbett and I wrote a lot as we traveled for just my personal journaling.

George Wright III: Love [00:28:00] it. 

Ashley Campbell: And so a lot of the book, you know, if you read the book and you’re like, how does she remember that detail? Well, I wrote that detail down. 

George Wright III: Yeah. ’cause you wouldn’t remember that if you didn’t, right? 

Ashley Campbell: No, I kept a, I kept a lot of notes as we traveled. Not for a book, but just. I’m a writer. I process through writing and photography.

George Wright III: Yeah. We also have talked a lot about how just that writing embeds so much more, you know, that neuro connection of the experience and the memory as well. It’s one thing, type it in your phone or something like this, but when you write things down, there’s just a huge, there’s scientific and, you know, emotional, uh, you know, reasons for that. So yeah, keep going.

Ashley Campbell: Um, yeah, so the writing process, writing the book, but also writing during the trip, it, it allowed me to put, make sense of things that I was experiencing, if that makes sense.

George Wright III: Yeah, yeah. 

Ashley Campbell: And. 

George Wright III: Yeah, it’s, it was your way of when you got home doing that. So now, 

Ashley Campbell:mm-hmm. 

Life-Changing Impact: Post-Trip Family Goals, Community & Learning Spanish

George Wright III:Now you’re back home. You’ve got this book that’s come together. But more than that, [00:29:00] ’cause I noticed when we talked, it wasn’t just about the book, it was really about like your life and what’s happened. So how did the trip impact you and your family now moving forward? What are some of the things that you see that have carried it forward now that the trip’s over, uh, that you see have come and stemmed from that trip?

Ashley Campbell: Well, for me personally, the trip meant a, like a hard stop on my life. I had, um, different areas that I volunteered or groups that I led, things like that, that some of them I had been doing for a decade and the trip allowed everything in my life to just stop. And so I was able, and everything carried on just fine without me. And so that was a beautiful, but also sobering, like, wow, I am not as important as maybe I thought I was in that role. So when I got back, I was able just to look at every area of my life and say, is this something? Am I doing it out of a sense of obligation? Is it something I really wanna be doing? Is it just gotta reevaluate?

In [00:30:00] a wonderful way, and I stepped away from some things and stepped into others. I watched my kids. They’re all, um, like graduating high school. Three have graduated high school. I have two left in high school. And as they’re making decisions about what the future looks like and where they wanna plug in, they all experience the world, but have come back with just this passion for their local community. Um, two of my kids joined our city, the youth city council, and they’re showing up at bond meetings and city board meetings and being engaged and using their voice on a local level. Um, several of them are volunteering with different nonprofits in our community. They just have this perspective of community, which is interesting that they, they travel the world, and they got this really broad, incredible picture of the world and it made them come back and just have a sense of focus with the local [00:31:00] community. We’re also all really working hard on learning Spanish. We are– 

George Wright III: Yeah, you’re learning languages. You’re moving into that now, right?

Ashley Campbell: Yep. I, uh, enrolled in our local community college and am tackling Spanish. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, um, learning a new language. It just, it requires so much work and bravery when you are in a new place and you try to, like, when I try to speak Spanish, I, I know I’m, it’s, I’m getting it wrong and it’s just humbling and stretching for me.

Um, but with learning Spanish, we’ve really, um, engaged in the local bilingual community here in Tulsa, and that’s opened up beautiful opportunities. My daughter, for her 16th birthday asked a friend to come over and teach her how to make street tacos and salsa, and that’s how we celebrated. Um, two of our dear friends from Mexico came over and taught us great recipes, and those relationships weren’t in our life prior to the trip. And it’s brought just an extra [00:32:00] fun, extra fun for life. 

George Wright III: Well, it’s just like anything else, right? You know, if you wanna live your best life, you’ve gotta constantly get it in outside your comfort zone. 

Ashley Campbell: Mm-hmm. 

Biggest Takeaways & Advice for Big Dreams: Consistency and “What If” Questions

George Wright III: And expand your knowledge and your philosophy. I’m curious, looking back, you know, what, what advice would you give someone who feels–because I think there’s a lot of people that have big dreams and things that they wanna accomplish in life and you know, they maybe feel a little overwhelmed sometimes. The big dreams are ones you, it’s hard to take those simple little actions to move forward. Um, but what advice would you get, you kind of looking back, um, if someone is a little overwhelmed, but has a big dream, you know, as far as how to set some goals and just, you know, start moving down the path because that day to day you did it at an extreme level for 17 years, but, um, is there any advice you would give someone that’s out there trying to kind of move towards their goals?

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, I think you gotta evaluate, is it really important to you? 

George Wright III: Mm-hmm.

Ashley Campbell: Is it worth fighting for and making sacrifices for, and if it is, then staying consistent [00:33:00] and not looking for somebody else to hold you accountable. But having, and I don’t know, maybe you’re a personality that needs that and you could find a friend or somebody that would help you.

Um, for me, the dream of the trip was just one of being consistent. Chris and I were in it together, and so it was something he and I were doing together and you know, I didn’t actually believe the trip was going to happen until I was on the plane and it took off from Morocco. That was the first moment that I was like, wow, oh, we’re actually doing this, like it’s actually happening. On the other hand– 

George Wright III: It’s interesting you say that because most people that, you know, they can’t grasp or put their head around the idea that, you know, you don’t absolutely know something happens so you don’t take action on it. And by you, not even you, you know, you have a, a hope and a desire, but you didn’t know, and you weren’t con, you didn’t totally believe it was gonna happen, but you still pushed yourself forward to take action every day and every week towards it.

Ashley Campbell: Yeah, it was, I [00:34:00] was hoping it would be worth it. It was one of those I mentioned before, the, a lot of times we ask the, the bad what if questions? Like, what if. And we really like to ask the good what if questions. And so in that dreaming phase, when I was discouraged or wanting to give up, you know, I would ask my question, but what if it’s better than I can even imagine? Do I wanna keep pushing towards this? Because what if it’s even better? Yeah. And it was, it was better than we imagined it could be. And– 

George Wright III: Yeah, it’s, it’s really interesting that perspective, because I think some people, they might hear it as positivity, but, um, you know, I think you said a couple really important things. One was, um, you know, is it really important to you, and I think most of the listeners of our show know that this, this idea of what matters most needs to be center and it needs to be your North star, you know, your compass in your life. And so if it really matters most, what are you doing intentionally every day for it?

Having a perspective of what I like to call, focusing on solutions rather [00:35:00] than the problem. Um, most people are so busy trying to solve, even though they’re trying to solve a problem, they’re still focused on the problem instead of the, the possibility, the solution. 

Ashley Campbell: Mm-hmm. 

George Wright III: The ideas, the hope, right? And I think you guys did a good job of that.

What do you think is one of your biggest takeaways from this, this whole trip? Like we, I had, I had kind of asked you that before and, um, and I’m curious what this trip really in a, in a real highway. What was one of your biggest takeaways of the trip? 

Ashley Campbell: I would say for my whole family, the biggest takeaway was to be consistently and constantly mindful of how we define a successful life. It’s very easy to get caught up in what the people around you are chasing or what they define as success, and I don’t want somebody else’s list of what defines a successful life to be mine. And I would say my kids are the same. They, they’re paying attention to what their peers are chasing. They’re on the cusp of, you [00:36:00] know, young adulthood. And I think for all of us, we are very mindful of, okay, how, how am I defining a successful life? I know my days are numbered. All of our days are numbered. So when I get to the end of my life. You know, what will I look back on? What will I hope that I spent time chasing and pursuing? And that looks a little bit different for each of us, but that would be the biggest takeaway I think, for each of us.

Final Challenge: What Matters Most? Connect With Ashley Campbell

George Wright III: I love it. I think that’s a great message. It’s a great message. And, um, I, I wanna also kind of make a note for those that want to kind of check out your book. I can put some links in the show notes as well, but I think it would be great. ’cause what I loved about your book is it is so full of pictures and, you know, this trip of Morocco, Italy, Egypt, Japan, Ecuador, like all these, you know, 21 different countries.

Um, where’s the best way if people wanted to connect with you or you know, whether it’s get your book or just connect with you, what’s the best place for them to do that on? 

Ashley Campbell: Connecting with me would be Instagram. I’m @underthesycamore on Instagram. I have a [00:37:00] blog. I don’t, um, update it very regularly. So definitely Instagram.

Great. As far as the book, all major bookstores, um, you can request it, independent bookstores, request it at your library. Those places I would say about the book, uh, one hurdle I think I have with the book is a lot of people think it’s a, like a travel guide or a coffee table book because it’s about a trip and while it is based on a trip, it’s more about what we gained from that travel.

George Wright III: Yeah. I think there’s a lot of lessons to be learned in that, but what, you do it in a great way because you also have all these engaging, uh, you know, beautiful pictures and stories. And things like that, so. Great. Well, I really appreciate you being here and, and you know, we, we always like to leave a challenge with our, our listeners and, and we’re gonna make it real simple this time because I think it’s common with the theme. We’re gonna, we’re just gonna ask anybody that’s listening to kind of step back, step back for a minute, step back from your life and just ask yourself what matters most? What [00:38:00] is the most important thing for you? Because when you live a life with intention, you, you base your life around that and constantly reflecting on that, journaling, on that, planning around that. And I think, uh, you know, Ashley, you did a, a great job of that. So thank you so much for joining us, uh, today. I, I’m, I’m glad, and I think your message is inspiring and motivating for a lot of people as well. Is there anything else you’d like to, to leave our listeners with before we take off? 

Ashley Campbell: Be curious. Be curious about people and their stories, and you never know what fun it will lead to. Be curious. 

George Wright III: That’s a great way to live life. Yeah, you’re welcome. It was great to have you. Well, listen, if you’re listening to this show, do us a favor, share this episode. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that would love to also be inspired, um, by Ashley’s message and go check out her book.

I’ll put some, um, links in the show notes, but as always, um, you know, lead your life. We’re here to help to be there for you. So we want to hear from you. Hit us up on, uh, on the Franklin Planner Podcast or our social media channels, and, uh, [00:39:00] we’ll look forward to talking with you again next week. Have a great week.

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About Ashley Campbell

Ashley Campbell is a photographer, writer, and lifelong adventure seeker. She is the author of the book I’ve Never Been Here Before, a book about her family’s year-long world travels. She is also the founder of SnapShop Online, a photography school that has taught the basics of photography to thousands of children and adults. She has explored 31 countries, most with her favorite travel partners: her husband, Chris, and their five kids. Ashley actively chases opportunities to explore the unknown and learn from the world’s diversity, encouraging others to see beauty in the seemingly mundane. She resides with her family in Oklahoma, three miles from her childhood home.

Resources

Website: https://www.ashleyannphotography.com/blog/my-book/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underthesycamore/