Zero To Travel Podcast

What would it look like to build a life that reflects exactly who you are and where you want to go? 

Heath Armstrong is an entrepreneur, author, and co-founder of Rage Create, a company known for its unconventional affirmation and oracle card decks that have raised over $200,000 through crowdfunding. He spent years living and working nomadically, including a period traveling full-time in a self-built van across the United States. He now runs Deck Creators, a community for people who want to create and launch their own card decks, from his farmhouse in the mountains of North Carolina. 

In this episode, Heath and I catch up on his journey from the early days of location independence to the businesses he's building now. We get into his approach to freedom lifestyle design, what it actually means to take inspired versus forced action, and the daily practices he's used to move from vision to reality. 

This is one of those conversations that works on multiple levels. On the surface, it's about entrepreneurship and building a life around your values. But underneath that is something more personal: how to recognize when you're operating from fear versus genuine alignment, and what it takes to keep moving in the right direction even when things get hard.  

Heath's been through real darkness, real financial uncertainty, and real pivots, and he's thought deeply about all of it. Whether you're designing a lifestyle business, mapping out your next travel chapter, or just trying to figure out what you actually want, there's something in here for you. 

What's one thing you could do this week to move closer to the version of your life you actually want to be living? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. 

Tune In To Learn: 


Why Heath draws a sharp line between inspired action and forced action, and why that distinction changed everything for him 


How the note card practice he started years ago still shapes his daily routine today 


Why visualizing your goals in the present tense only works if you actually believe them, and what to do if you don't 


How to tell the difference between resistance and intuition when they can feel nearly identical 


What Heath's "totem pole" framework looks like in practice, and why it brings long-term vision and daily action into alignment 


Why your environment and the people around you matter more than most productivity advice will tell you 


Lessons from van life that Heath still carries with him, including why nature and isolation sharpened his business instincts 


What Heath did when a tariff crisis threatened to sink a shipment, and why he frames problems like video game bosses 


Why Heath thinks moving toward the life you want and being happy in the present moment are actually the same thing 


Hidden gem destinations that left a real mark on Heath, including a spot in Oregon most people have never heard of 


And so much more 

Resources: 


Sign up for our FREE newsletter 


Interested in the Being Box? Email Jason 


Heath's website 


Rage Create 


Deck Creators Community 


Heath on Instagram 


The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn 


The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale 


Love Money, Money Loves You by Sarah McCrum  

Want More? 


Digital Detox: Downsizing Your Digital Life to Create Freedom + Reboot Your Lifestyle Business with Corbett Barr 


Building, Growing, and Enjoying a Successful 7-Figure Lifestyle Business with Dan Andrews from Tropical MBA 


How to Pivot to a Life With More Freedom (And Travel), Get More Free Time, and Unlock Your Intuition With Jenny Blake 

Thanks To Our Sponsors 


Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel 


Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app 


Earn points on rent and mortgage payments. Apply at joinbilt.com/zerototravel 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want to hear a podcast about one my favorite parts of the US? The Via Podcast by AAA paints a picture of the Western United States. If you love American history, road trips, wildlife, and Western folklore you’ve got to check out the Via Podcast. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

What if one of Africa's most diverse and rewarding destinations has been hiding in plain sight — and most travelers only ever see a fraction of what it has to offer? 

Lynett Nakamanya is a tourism professional and Kampala native who has worked across the East African travel industry for over a decade. She holds a master's degree in management science with a focus on project monitoring and evaluation in tourism, and is affiliated with the Uganda Tourism Board. She also runs her own trip-planning platform focused on sustainable and meaningful experiences across the region. 

In this episode, Lynett shares her list of Uganda hidden gems and travel recommendations, the state of tourism in Uganda today, and the real impact that responsible travel can have on local communities. 

Lynett brings a perspective that's hard to find — someone who grew up in Uganda, has spent her career inside the tourism industry there, and thinks seriously about what travel can and should do for local communities. She makes a compelling case for doing a little research before you arrive, because the gap between a standard itinerary and a genuinely memorable one often comes down to simply knowing what to ask for. She also shares a Ugandan saying about travel at the end of this one that's worth sticking around for. 

What experience from this episode most surprised you, and has it changed how you think about where you want to go next? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. 

Tune In To Learn: 


Why a beautiful crater lake just 20 minutes from Uganda's most famous attraction is almost never visited — and why it's worth the detour 


How one of East Africa's most rewarding mountaineering experiences sits in Uganda, largely off the radar of international visitors 


Why Uganda's 56 tribes make cultural immersion more rewarding when you focus on just one or two 


What one of Uganda's most historically significant religious sites reveals about the country's layered cultural past 


How a massive collection of islands right next to the airport offers everything from white sand beaches to wildlife encounters that most visitors drive straight past 


Why one eastern Uganda destination pairs three waterfalls with some of the world's highest-graded Arabica coffee 


Why doing your own research before a trip is the single best way to unlock experiences that never make the standard itinerary 


How responsible travel creates a ripple effect through local families and communities that most visitors never see 


What cultural mistake tourists commonly make in Uganda that creates more harm than help 


And so much more 

Resources: 


Sign up for our FREE newsletter 


Uganda Tourism Board 


Uganda Wildlife Authority 


Explore Uganda 

Want More? 


Top 10 Hidden Gems: East Africa (Beyond the Safari) and Transitioning to Travel With Sasha and Megnote Lezhnev 


5 Surprising Experiences in Africa, How to Transition to a New Career After Travel, and Exploring the African Diaspora With Jay Cameron 


Safari 101: How To Plan A World-Class African Safari (Without Going Broke) 

Thanks To Our Sponsors 


Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel 


Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app 


Earn points on rent and mortgage payments. Apply at joinbilt.com/zerototravel 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want to hear a podcast about one my favorite parts of the US? The Via Podcast by AAA paints a picture of the Western United States. If you love American history, road trips, wildlife, and Western folklore you’ve got to check out the Via Podcast. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

What if the travel mindset you bring to far-off places is exactly what's needed right where you live? 

Alastair Humphreys is a British adventurer, bestselling author, and speaker named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. He spent four years cycling 46,000 miles around the world and has since canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River, rowed across the Atlantic, walked the length of India's Kaveri River, and crossed Iceland on foot and pack raft. In recent years he has become one of the most well-known advocates for microadventures and local exploration, and his newest book is Unwilded: Finding Our Way Back to Nature. 

Alastair joins me to unpack the ideas in his book, including why our growing disconnection from nature matters personally and planetarily, and how a travel mindset and nature connection can be tools for changing both. 

Alastair has made this case before on the show, but Unwilded takes it somewhere new. This isn't just a conversation about microadventures or getting outside more. It's about a specific kind of blindness that builds slowly across generations, and what it costs us without anyone quite noticing. Alastair brings the same practical, adventure-first framing he always does, but this time it's in service of something bigger: a way to take the traveler's curiosity you feel on the road and put it to work where you actually live. The episode ends with a surprisingly simple exercise that can help you turn the world's overwhelming problems into something personal, actionable, and genuinely fun to pursue. 

What's one small thing in your immediate environment that you've stopped really noticing? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. 

Tune In To Learn: 


Why the traveler's curious, enthusiastic mindset is exactly what's needed at home, and why most of us leave it at the border 


What "shifting baseline syndrome" is and why understanding it changes the way you see the world around you 


How two apps transformed Alastair's relationship with his daily run, and how to try the same thing 


Why spending 15 minutes in nature daily is harder than it sounds, and why that's actually the problem 


How connecting with even a tiny patch of local nature can deliver the same buzz as a far-off adventure 


What the Overton window has to do with how we approach climate change, travel, and everyday behavior 


Why Alastair stopped flying and moved to a vegan diet, and the surprisingly positive effect it had on his life 


What the 5-25 exercise is, and how it can help you identify the issues closest to your heart and take action without burning out 


How the Netherlands transformed its streets in a generation, and what that says about what's actually possible 


The vision Alastair wrote for the world 25 years from now, and why it's closer to reality than it might seem 


And so much more 

Resources: 


Sign up for our FREE newsletter 


Alastair Humphreys' website 


Unwilded: Finding Our Way Back to Nature 


Adventure + Purpose newsletter by Alastair Humphreys 


Follow Alastair on Instagram 


Merlin Bird ID app 


Seek app by iNaturalist 


4,000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman 

Want More? 


How To Have An Adventure On Any Budget With Alastair Humphreys 


Exploring A Single Map: A Travel Adventure For Everyone With Alastair Humphreys 


Is Your Summer Vacation Destroying The Planet? w/ Seth Kugel 

Thanks To Our Sponsors 


Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel 


Experience intelligent trip planning for calmer travel with the TripWaffle app 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices