Jake Heilbrunn: Off The Beaten Trail

What this episode covers

Have you struggled with making your dreams a reality? Do you feel stressed out trying to find a compromise? When Jake Heilbrunn realized his passions and his life were not aligned, he left for Central America to help find fulfillment and discover his purpose. What he found was an incredible community of people, a beautiful expansive world, and the determination to bring his visions to life. Today we’ll be talking about traveling in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, writing his book Off The Beaten Trail, holistic healing, and the many amazing people he encountered on his journey. “I was living a disconnect. What I really wanted to be doing, traveling and experiencing other ways of life and volunteering, was not what I was doing.” – Jake Heilbrunn Travel Topics: * How Jake went to Guatemala to teach English and soccer [4:30] * Need to make friends and don’t know the local language? Carry a soccer ball [6:38] * When he was attacked by ‘dinosaurs in Jurassic Park’ [12:19] * How a child left for dead became an incredible local saint [15:23] * Why ditching your travel plan can have amazing results [19:50] * How Jake’s vision of writing his book happened with a shaman [21:43] * Does Baskin-Robbins get their flavors from cacao plants? [24:52] * You tend to meet and attract certain people when you travel alone [29:08] * What a spiritual community did for Jake’s mind and body [33:25] * How one town’s diet of fruit and vegetables helped Jake’s skin problems [37:36] * What Jake loved most about the places he stayed and people he met [40:16] * How writing a book is “like starting a business” [41:53] * Jake’s daily writing routine, and how he made his book stand out [43:03] * Writing a book? Allow yourself twice to three times as much time to do it [45:53] Jake Heilbrunn Talking Points: * Buy Jake’s book Off The Beaten Trail * Jake’s successful Kickstarter * Read the article featuring Jake in Psychology Today * Find out more about Work Away, the site that really helped Jake find places to go and things to do * Learn more about the farm Jake stayed at on OmeTepe * Learn more about Zopilote where I stayed on OmeTepe Island * The Highest Bungee Jump in Central America Read the book The Light of the Soul by Arnulfo G. Oxlaj Learn more about the places Jake visited: * San Andrés Sajcabajá * El Mirador * TikalPark * <a href="https://en.wikipedia.