Luke Russert is an Emmy-award winning journalist who left his career covering American politics on NBC Nightly News, TODAY, and MSNBC to travel the world. After the death of his father, the legendary journalist Tim Russert, Luke set out on a three month trip that turned into three years as he traveled to six continents covering 67 countries. He journaled every step of the way, and it was only upon returning — in his grandmother’s kitchen in San Francisco — that he realized his journey was much greater than his trip. He turned his journal entries into a NY Times Bestseller, Look for Me There, which details how travel helped him process his grief and ultimately led to self-discovery.

Through beautiful storytelling, Luke shares the greatest lessons he learned on his adventure around the world. From profound moments of awe in New Zealand to his travels in the birthplace of wine in Tbilisi, Georgia to the best meal he (and Melissa) have ever eaten in Uruguay; Luke shares a deeply personal, internal journey and reminds us of the power in travel.

For highlights of Luke’s travel advice and more information on where to find his book, Look for Me There, see below:

Luke’s Travel Takeaways

• Don’t wait to travel because you may be able to participate in certain activities now that could become more challenging later in life due to health and physical limitations.
• Be curious and think critically about how new environments differ from your own.
• The more you travel and push yourself outside your comfort zone, the more comfortable you will become in uncertainty. This gives you the ability to explore any uneasy thoughts with more clarity.
• Build moments around the day to give yourself downtime, whether it’s unwinding in your hotel room or enjoying leisure time in a cafe.
• Ensure that everyone is on board with the daily activities planned. Be mindful that what you desire may not be what your travel companion desires.
• Embrace spontaneity while traveling as schedules can change while on the road. Having the ability to adapt to the changes will make your trip more enjoyable.
• Ultize travel as a way to decompress from the constant hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute-mindset. This time will allow you to process deeper emotions.

To read more about Luke’s road to self-discovery, check out his NY Times Bestseller book, Look for Me There available on Bookshop, HarperCollins, and Amazon.

To follow along Luke’s journey, check out his Instagram @lukerussert.