It’s February, March and early April 2011. I have decided to base my Inspirational Vehicle in southern California, specifically Los Angeles for approximately 10 weeks. The Inspirational Vehicle is my motor home, in which I do some of the inspirational things I love most – read, write, think, memorize inspirational literature, photography and simply enjoy and experience the wonders of America the Beautiful. As I have done all across America, I will fly back and forth from Dallas when business or presentation engagements call me home or elsewhere.
In general, southern California is perceived as positive, beautiful, peaceful, warm, with great beaches and lots of fun, relaxing things to do. However, my experience is that if you tell people you are going to the Los Angeles area for 8 to 10 weeks, the perceptions and responses are much different. Like, “why in the world would you do that?”
Right or wrong, many people perceive LA as polluted, dirty, dangerous, and crowded with almost unbearable traffic. “Why would you want to base your Inspirational Vehicle there for 10 weeks?”
The truth is… it depends on what you are looking for! It depends on your expectations and on that which you focus!
As I travel America the Beautiful, I try to always look for and focus on what is unique, what is different, what is good, what is positive, what makes this or that place special. What can I learn from where I am right now? How does this place fit into America the Beautiful and the American experience?
Because I approach each place I visit with these kinds of questions and positive expectations, I now have over 160,000 wonderful pictures that I have personally taken all across America the Beautiful. And, I have every one of them saved to three different external drives for safekeeping.
Because of what I was looking for, I found Los Angeles to be absolutely fascinating, educational and inspirational. Just a few of the unique and wonderful experiences include:
- The Getty – world-renowned art, architecture, spectacular gardens and views of the city
- The Getty Villa – Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. Roman-inspired architecture and gardens.
- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library – American history comes alive
- The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace – American history comes alive
- Union Station, LA Public Library and many other interesting downtown points of interest
- Superb shopping all over the greater LA area as well as up and down the coast
- Dozens of unique, very interesting beach communities such as Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara just to name a few
- Dozens of other unique and interesting communities throughout the LA area
- Beautiful beaches including Laguna, Newport, Huntington, Venice, Santa Monica, Malibu and a hundred others
- The traffic issue was significantly reduced by using public transportation. I had a number of very positive and interesting encounters (some resulting in great pictures) that would have never happened had I not used public transportation. Zipping around the greater LA area via rail and bus (compared to driving) can be fun, interesting, time-saving and economical.
Throughout my stay in LA, I met scores of wonderful people. Rich, poor, educated, not so educated, working, retired… people from all walks of life from all over the world, diverse in every way imaginable. Wonderful, inspirational people… some of whom have agreed to be interviewed for future articles!
What are you looking for? What are you focusing on? What are your expectations? At work, in your career, at home, in your community, and among the people you know and work with… what are you looking for?
Be assured… you are very likely to find exactly what you are looking for!
