George Jerjian’s 80-Day Trip Around the World (and the Retirement Mindset Shift It Sparked)
February 24, 2026
What happens when you stop treating retirement like an ending… and start treating it like an expedition?
On this episode of Stacking Adventures, Joe Saul-Sehy and Crystal Hammond connect with retirement mindset mentor George Jerjian (creator of the DARE Method) from London to unpack the 80-day, around-the-world journey that reshaped how he thinks about identity, courage, and life after 55.
George didn’t just plan a bucket-list sprint. He worked with a travel agent, chose mostly countries new to him, and intentionally left space for serendipity. Along the way, he learned to stop “ticking boxes,” listen to his body, skip prepaid tours when needed, and even find peace wedged into a middle airplane seat. Because sometimes the biggest shift isn’t geography—it’s mindset.
This isn’t just a travel story. It’s a retirement reset.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
🌍 Travel With Intention (Not Just an Itinerary)
- Why George chose unfamiliar destinations to stretch himself
- How leaving room for spontaneity created the most meaningful moments
- Why slowing down and listening to your body matters more than “getting your money’s worth”
🦁 South Africa: Awe, History, and Perspective
- Reflecting on Nelson Mandela’s legacy at Robben Island
- Five days on safari in Timbavati near Kruger—witnessing both the beauty and brutality of nature
- What wild places teach us about humility and resilience
🇦🇺 Australia & Identity
- The Great Barrier Reef near Hamilton Island (yes, wetsuits required—sharks and jellyfish are real)
- Melbourne’s Immigration Museum and Australia’s “populate or perish” story
- Driving the Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles
- Why exploring national identity helped George reflect on his own
🇳🇿 New Zealand: Nature as Teacher
- Digging hot-water pools on Coromandel beaches
- The train ride from Christchurch to Greymouth
- Milford Sound, the Southern Alps, and swimming with dolphins in Kaikōura
- A Māori dance lesson that challenged the need for approval (hint: wrist-shaking beats applause)
🇯🇵 Japan: Service and Resilience
- Learning from a samurai historian in Kanazawa about service in Japanese culture
- Visiting Hiroshima after reading John Hersey’s Hiroshima
- What rebuilding after devastation teaches about forgiveness and human strength
🇨🇦 Canada: Awe as the Final Lesson
- Vancouver’s rain-soaked greenery
- The sleeper train to Jasper
- Banff, Lake Louise, and the Icefields Parkway
- Quebec City’s French character and layered history
George closes with a simple but powerful idea: travel restores awe—and awe restores perspective.
The Retirement Mindset Shift
For listeners in that 55–75 sweet spot (and honestly, anyone thinking about what’s next), George shares how extended travel can:
- Help you shed old identities tied to work
- Build courage in small, repeatable ways
- Reframe uncertainty as adventure
- Replace “What am I without my job?” with “Who do I want to become?”
Retirement isn’t a withdrawal from life. It’s a redeployment.
Basement Fun Along the Way
- The ongoing “Where in the World Is Crystal?” listener game (she’s not in the continental U.S. or Aruba…)
- A nod to the show’s Gear of the Day archive at stackingadventures.com/gtd
- George’s memoir recommendation—his own book, Odyssey of an Elder: Around the World in 80 Days, written so you feel like you’re traveling beside him
Adventurer Question 🌎
If you had 80 days and the courage to go somewhere unfamiliar, where would you go—and what part of your identity might you leave behind?
Share your answer in the comments or in the Stacking Adventures community. Because sometimes the biggest journey isn’t around the world.
It’s into the next version of yourself.