“This is the first day of the rest of your life.”- unknown

I’m about to embark on a journey to travel to (and live in) 10 different countries and 4 continents over the next 12 months.  I’ll be learning new languages and cultures, and getting to know myself again outside of a routine job, a cubicle, and endless $15-20 cocktails.  I’ve started this website to share my adventures.

bonanza: noun | bo·nan·za | \bə-ˈnan-zə\
: something that produces very good results for someone or something
: a large amount of something valuable

Why Bonanza Road?  Bonanza is the remote road I grew up on in Southern Colorado, which leads to (and is a boarder for) our cattle ranch.  It’s the name of the ghost town at the end of our road which had been a dream for over 40,000 gold miners in the early 1880’s.  Now, scattered with abandoned mines, Bonanza is home to a population of 8.  Turning up Bonanza Road from Highway 285 always meant a strong smell of sage brush, crisp mountain air (at an altitude of over 8,000 ft), and a mouthful of dust as you hit the first cattle guard doing 40.  This isn’t just rural Colorado, it’s the western frontier.

Bonanza may be the name of a road in my past, but it’s also symbolic for what I’m hoping to find in experiences (not possessions) ahead.

15 years ago, I boarded a one-way flight from Denver to New York City and have been living the ‘work hard, play hard’, ‘go big or go home’, ‘pedal to the metal’ lifestyle.  (In sales, those overused cliches were the proud mottos we stood by.)  After losing some steam a couple years ago, I finally slowed down enough to come to the conclusion that it’s time to move on from high intensity city life and spend some time reevaluating success.

I’ve been accepted to Remote Year, a program I’ll be traveling around the world with for 12 months.  Along with 75 fellow (working) nomads, we’ll be spending each month in a different international city.  It’s about the journey, not the destination… and I’m looking forward to traveling down this new road over the next 12 months with 75 strangers (soon to be best friends and 2nd family).

In preparation for my journey (which begins Aug 1), I’m selling my apartment in Manhattan and quitting my 13 year career in technology sales.  I’m also heading back to Bonanza Road to regroup… home is the first step of every journey.

Buckle up.

-Lee (May, 2016)