Thankfully, the world is open for travel once again. Traveling can broaden our horizons and make space for people to become more open-minded. How can travel give us the opportunity for personal growth? What are some ways that travel can help us become better human beings? As a part of our series about “How Traveling Can Help Us Become Better Human Beings”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Garrie Boldsmith.
Iran, We Ran follows the lives of two Iranians who need to leave their native country urgently as a result of persecution and retribution, with serious doubts as to whether or not they will get passports and visas in time. His experiences, including extensive travel throughout the Middle East, including Iran, Syria and Lebanon, further deepened his understanding of the lives behind migration statistics and political debate enabling him to shape Iran, We Ran, with restraint, empathy and an acute awareness of what it means to leave everything behind.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up in Liverpool, England in the 1950s and, in the 60s, developed a huge interest in the world at large and the exploration of it, just as the Beatles were musically conquering the world. Their ascendancy and the proliferation of television stimulated my own desire to conquer the world but in a different way, I first went overseas when I was 15 and haven’t stopped since then, frequently travelling to out-of-the-way places. Following my migration to Australia, I was blessed, as part of my work as a lawyer, to have an array of clients of different nationalities with a variety of customs and backgrounds and speaking different languages. I was in my element. I always had a particular interest in the “story behind the story”.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
I have been inspired to write my book by most of the people I have met, on both a personal as well as professional level. I have long recognised that, especially in an immigrant country like Australia, everyone has a story to tell. There are two groups of people who have inspired me most. The first group are the descendants of people born in Russia and who fled often comfortable lives to escape the Revolution in 1917. They uprooted everything and fled to China where they prospered. They fled believing that they would never again be exposed to a people’s revolution. They then had to uproot again in 1949 at the time of the Chinese revolution and made their way to Australia. Survival is such a powerful motivation. The other group are the children of Vietnamese boat people. They risked everything, including robbery, rape and death on the perilous journeys they made in ramshackle wooden boats to avoid the Communist overthrow in 1975.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
My “spiritual guide” is an Australian I met travelling some 45 years ago. He is still travelling to this day, riding his motorbike somewhere or other. He and I are opposites in so many respects. I went to university, he finished education after high school; After finishing university, I took the traditional route and found a “9 to 5” job, he has only ever done casual work. I speak multiple languages (not fluently), he still only speaks English. He is the ultimate in “street smart”, I am more professional. We don’t see each other that regularly nowadays but when we do, we still click. Another important opposite we share is that he is a Manchester United fan, I am Liverpool red.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?
One memorable mistake I have made was in the course of my legal practice. I was asked by an intermediary to meet with a new Japanese client who spoke limited English. The new client wanted to go out for dinner, The 3 of us went to my favourite Japanese restaurant. When I met the new client, he was shabbily dressed. Ill-fitting and unironed suit, shirt with stains down it, collar that was frayed. His hair was disheveled and he was unshaven. I knew virtually nothing about the client but was not impressed by his appearance and, as I was in my favourite restaurant, I almost felt embarrassed being seen in his company. As the dinner — and drinks — wore on, the intermediary explained that the client had come to Sydney as part of the negotiations to sell his business for a couple of hundred million dollars. He had only arrived in Sydney two hours earlier and his suitcase had been lost. The only clothes he had were those he worn on the flight and some clothing, that he was now wearing, that had been left by a homeless man at the entrance to his house. I had fallen, despite my assurance I would never do this, into the awful trap of judging a book by its cover.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
Enjoy life to the maximum, because we never know how it will continue. or when it will end
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I am about half way through writing my next book. Also a work of fiction. It revolves around human trafficking. Like Iran, We Ran, it also is educational, which is one of my objectives in writing as I do.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview about travel and personal growth. Let’s dive deeper into these together. Based on your research or personal experience, why do you think travel can lead to personal growth? Can you share a story?
Travel is so important, It takes people out of their comfort zones, it exposes them to different cultures and traditions. The world would be a more harmonious place if different cultures recognised the virtue of others. Travel also enables us to gauge the propaganda we are fed, usually daily. The big dispute about propaganda is the extent to which we are fed it but there is no doubt we are fed some. Travel allows us to evaluate that.
A recent survey from Psychology Today showed that over 80% of participants found that travel helped them with problem-solving or decision-making. Why do you think this is true for so many people?
Travel frees the mind from day-to-day drudgery. It opens the eyes. It introduces a new and bright light on matters, even those that have been around, unresolved, for some time. Complicated matters can become simple, facilitating the making of decisions.
Do you think travel enhances our mindfulness, optimism, or sense of gratitude? How? Can you please explain with an example or story?
I believe travel does generate optimism. It takes people to new places and enables them to share new experiences. Newness with anything often generates optimism, a new beginning. Situations are new, they have not yet become stale, even burdensome. New clothes, a new car, anything new carries brightness and optimism within it.
Surely not everyone who travels automatically becomes an exemplar of human decency. What are a few reasons why some people completely miss out on the growth opportunities that travel can offer?
With travel opportunities now being available more than ever more, more flights, more accommodation, cheap /budget airlines,, there is little reason not to travel, not only internationally but also domestically. In my experience, most people who do not travel, despite being financially able to do so, is because of fear — fear often generated by inaccurate, sensational or disproportionate reporting. There are others who cannot travel for example for health reasons, which is perfectly understandable.
What are your “5 Habits You Should Develop In Order Make Travel Into An Opportunity For Personal Growth?”
1. Be organised. Being disorganised can create stress.
2. Remember to be respectful to those you come across. Patience and tolerance are commendable virtues.
3. Be willing to try new activities. I did my first zipline about 6 months ago.
4. Try new food and do not complain if it is different to what you normally have at home or different to what you expected.
5. When overseas, try speaking some of the native language. Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself. Most people will just appreciate the effort you have made.
From your experience, does travel have a negative impact on personal growth too? Is there a downside to travel?
Based on my experiences, travel does not have a negative impact on personal growth despite any negatives experienced as part of a trip. What is negative on one trip maybe a positive on a later one.,. As with life overall, things happen, some are good, others not so. Always focus on the positives.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
Donald J Trump, so I can remind him of the Declaration of Independence what states that all men are created equal and are endowed with unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Also, to remind him that all nationalities have good and bad, there cannot be one without the other, and that all people, regardless of where they come from and regardless of their financial or social positions, deserve respect.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
By awaiting a press release upon publication of my next book, forecast to be before the end of 2026. Iran, We Ran is currently available from Amazon and other online retailers and can be ordered direct from www.iranweran.com