I am full of anticipation of the exciting adventure I am about to embark upon. Yet in some ways my adventure has already begun.

In the last five weeks I've closed my business, given up my apartment, sold my cars and nearly all of my possessions. I am far from my home, my family and my friends in Ohio. I am in a city that is strange to me, using maps and asking strangers for directions. I have many anxieties about the loose ends still to be tied up in my personal life and even in the plans for the World Trek. This is a good introduction to the World Trek for me because it is amidst such anxieties and challenges, only on a larger scale, that I will be living my life every day during the next twenty-two months.

My fears—feeling isolated and lonely, being away from the job and possessions which have given me much of my identity, going to places that will be much less comfortable and much more difficult for me on a day to day basis, and being less sure of my safety and security than I would be in a familiar environment—are great. But my hopes for the Odyssey are greater! I am looking forward to enlarging my worldview, gaining a deeper appreciation for other cultures, meeting inspiring people and seeing amazing things. I am hoping that this trip around the world will help increase my knowledge and understanding, build my character, and give me some insights into myself and others. I hope, also, that I will gain some insights into how I might better use my energy and talents to make the world a better place.

I am awed and humbled by the prospect that so many people— perhaps millions--will be traveling around the world with me via the Internet. They will share in seeing many of the things I will see and in getting to know many of the interesting people I will be lucky enough to meet. And I expect that they will undergo some of the same life-changing experiences I expect to undergo as they follow along on line.

One of my friends called me up before I left Ohio to warn me that he had a premonition that I will die on the trek. Another did a Tarot card reading and predicted that it will be a very positive, though busy, life-changing experience which will leave me focused and ready to dedicate my life to some purpose. No one can predict the future. Be it good or bad or in between, it is unlikely to be boring or like anything else I have experienced before—and I am more than ready to begin.