Updated 2026
Bob Pedersen's answer to why he travels is disarmingly honest: 'Too many evenings as a child with nothing but National Geographic for entertainment.'
He wasn't inspired by family trips or a particularly adventurous parent. He was shaped by curiosity sparked through media. The world came to him through television, and he spent decades wanting to experience it in person.
This reveals something important about where the desire to travel actually comes from.
It's rarely one dramatic moment. It's usually accumulated exposure to possibility. Kids who grow up hearing stories travel differently than kids who don't. Kids who watch travel documentaries dream differently. Kids who have conversations about the world develop different curiosities.
Bob's specific mention of National Geographic is telling. That show made the world seem accessible and fascinating. It created specific curiosities - not generic 'see the world,' but genuine interest in specific places, ecosystems, and cultures.
That specificity matters. Generic desire to travel is weak. Specific curiosity - 'I want to see the Blue Lagoon in Iceland' or 'I want to taste authentic Thai food in Bangkok' - is motivating. Bob spent decades thinking about specific places because documentaries gave him specific images and curiosities.
By the time he was ready to travel long-term, he wasn't traveling to 'find himself' or 'collect experiences.' He was traveling to answer specific questions that had been building for decades.
Where does the drive to travel come from, then?
It comes from exposure. Stories from people who've traveled. Books about places. Documentaries. Photos. Conversations about the world. These inputs create curiosity. Curiosity becomes desire. Desire becomes planning. Planning becomes action.
Some people grow up with high exposure (parents who travel, friends with international family). Others create their own exposure (reading, watching, researching). Both work. The key is that curiosity precedes action.
Bob's other detail is equally important: he actually completed an RTW trip 'without ever boarding an airplane.' This is obsessive specificity. He didn't just want to travel - he wanted to prove he could travel in a particular way. That level of specificity comes from decades of thinking about travel, not impulse.
The implication is that travel motivation isn't random. It's built.
If you don't feel particularly motivated to travel long-term, it's not because you lack adventure spirit. You might just lack specific curiosities pulling you forward. The solution isn't to force motivation. It's to cultivate curiosity.
Read about specific places. Watch documentaries about regions you're vaguely interested in. Follow photographers from countries you've never considered. Subscribe to travel blogs. Join travel communities online. These inputs might spark specific curiosities that transform vague 'I should travel' into concrete 'I want to experience X.'
Conversely, if you already feel pulled toward traveling, you can trace it back to influences. Stories you heard. Media you consumed. People who modeled travel for you. Recognizing those origins helps you understand what you're actually curious about.
Bob's decades-long desire turned into concrete action. The specificity mattered. The curiosity mattered. The planning mattered. But it started with exposure - a kid watching National Geographic, wondering about a world beyond his current reality.
Where your travel motivation comes from matters because it determines what kind of travel actually satisfies you. Understanding your origins reveals your true interests versus romantic ideas about travel.
Maybe National Geographic isn't your thing. But something sparked your interest. Lean into that. That's your actual motivation, not some generic social media version of adventure.