Not long ago – in a land quite close by (my apartment) – I came upon Abigail King’s fabulous blog, Inside the Travel Lab. It was an unexpected meeting; we connected on Twitter based on our mutual love and study of travel. I became a fast follower.

Described as one of the web’s best travel blogs, Inside the Travel Lab is a global travel blog on the art and science of unusual journeys.  Unusual – and fascinating – in that Abigail has a background in neuroscience and emergency medicine *and* is a freelance travel writer. She combines her expertise and love of both into rich, eclectic and fascinating snapshots of insightful stories about the people, places and things that she’s discovered and that have shaped her.

I asked Abigail if I could explore a bit behind the connections and passions that drive her writing and she graciously accepted.

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Laura: You started your career in medicine and now have an extremely successful site documenting your travel experiences. Was it difficult to marry those two passions / areas of expertise or did you find it a natural fit?

Abigail: Well, finding the time for both was the biggest challenge and in the end it was a combination that proved impossible. However, I think that both travel and medicine involve exploration by finding out about people and trying to understand how our world works. There’s an art and a science to both, plus they both need a cast-iron approach to assessing risk!

Wielding a scalpel for the first time, climbing an ice wall and arriving alone in a strange city where everyone stares at you – they’re all new, frightening and exhilarating experiences.

You need a certain amount of preparation in each case but for both independent travel and medicine, you need to throw yourself into the real world and challenge yourself.

Laura: When you review various places, you always take a very personal and “real” angle, not just a report from a location. What are some of your inspirations for your writings?

Abigail: I think I’m inspired by great stories and many of my trips have sprung from books I’ve read, ranging from Wild Swans and A Long Walk to Freedom to my childhood memories of the Adventures of Tintin! If there’s a tradition or a belief or a strong link to history in a place, then I’m hooked.

Today, it’s easy to find travel information by typing a few words into google, so if anything, I wanted to enjoy myself and hopefully to transport people to another place and show them something interesting.

Laura:  What is your advice to bloggers, especially ones that want to blog about travel? How can they get started and what should they be mindful of?

Abigail: Choose a topic that you really love and then play around on wordpress.com for free (with privacy settings on) until you get the hang of the technology. Join Twitter and TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) and be courteous and considerate to people. There’s a really helpful community of travel bloggers out there but, just like in the real world, you need to treat people well.

Laura: And, most important, where’s your next trip?

Abigail: Aha! I’m just confirming dates this week, but I’ll either be hiking along via ferratas in the Dolomites or heading further afield to Sri Lanka (Icelandic volcanoes permitting!)

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Check out more from Abigail on Inside the Travel Lab and on Twitter. (P.S. I just booked an adventure trip to Ecuador so I know Abi’s expert advice, tips and tricks will help as I plan for my next travel piece!)

Readers: Where do you hope to travel to next?

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Blissful. Prompted. Loved. Challenged. Eager.

Five of the many words that describe my feelings when I found Danielle LaPorte and her amazing creation WhiteHotTruth.com just months ago.

Upon discovery, I have since printed out many of her posts – some of them on my office wall, refrigerator door, and bedside table. I’ve forwarded them on to my mom, my sister, my friends, my co-workers. I’ve read them out loud to myself. She writes and speaks timeless inspiration I re-visit and re-absorb on a regular basis.

Her ripple effect doesn’t stop there. I’ve had entrepreneurial friends rave about Danielle’s Fire Starter Sessions. On May 12^th (yes, a few days from now), Danielle’s new digital book, THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS will be released worldwide. Designed to help entrepreneurs rock their career with integrity, audacity and their truest strengths, it’s also created to give back, with portions of every purchase going to The Acumen Fund or WomenforWomen.

I remember emailing with Danielle a few months ago prior to a speaking engagement here in NYC where I moderated a panel on blogging. She wrote three words to me that I will forever remember. “You will shine.” (P.S. I did).

We recently caught up for a short Q&A. I intentionally asked some basic questions – and of course, Danielle gave  colorful answers. I’m excited to share it with you on the eve of the release of THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS.

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Laura: You are inspiring so many of us with your brilliant words, your meaningful actions, your contagious spirit. What are some of your own sources of inspiration?

Danielle: Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit really fueled my fire to just make stuff and keep experimenting and pushing my own boundaries. Leonard Cohen makes me want to sell everything, move to Greece and get to the heart of my matters. The mind of Zen master Alan Watts is like, one of my favourite places to get lost. Singer/song writer Antony of “Antony & The Johnsons” breaks my hear as does Rumi. My six year old boy draws the best post modern kind of art. Oprah. Bono. Eve Ensler deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

Laura: What’s been the most rewarding part of your work to date? The most challenging?

Danielle: Rewarding: hearing someone’s dreams and ambitions is sacred stuff. My 1-on-1 work with my Fire Starter clients feels like a privilege, really.

Challenging: I really feel like my biggest challenges are behind me in some ways. I’ve burned a lot of vocational karma in the last few years and I’m really rocking my freedom. I’m looking forward to going deep, deep, deeper.

Laura: Finally – and it’s a very basic question – but who would you say is the person that has influenced you the most, if you look at your ongoing work that you share so magically with others?

Danielle: I worked for The Body Shop in my twenties and its founder, Anita Roddick left a very deep impression on me. She was fire itself. She used her commercial clout to make political change, she told evil corporations to go piss off, she campaigned for all sorts of justices, she reached out to orphanages in Romania. She was undaunted and outspoken and loving. And humble. I hope to be as indomitable and effective.

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You can find Danielle on Twitter @daniellelaporte – but make your way over to WhiteHotTruth.com and soak in the goodness. And don’t forget to grab your copy of THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS. You’ll get a sneak peek chapter that, on its own, sparked a blast of new ideas for my own plans.

P.S. I only recommend what’s rocked my world. Danielle, I can’t thank you enough.

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Many of us have heard of the organizations that are working tirelessly to make change happen. The ones that often make the headlines are global nonprofit organizations that are breaking down barriers across cultures to promote social justice and human rights.

But we often forget that right next door – in our neighborhoods – is where change can happen and is happening right this minute. Through a close friend,  I recently had the wonderful opportunity to connect to Colin Smith, CEO of NYC-based nonprofit Change for Kids.

Change for Kids partners with New York City public schools to empower underprivileged children by providing them with a broad range of innovative literacy, arts, and music programs. I was eager to find out from Colin’s perspective about his perspectives the most invigorating parts of running – and seeing results – from making cultural change happen.

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Laura: Amazing work that you’re doing at Change for Kids. What’s the most exciting part of it for you?

Colin: The kids are obviously amazing – it never gets old seeing a child who otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity for music education stand up in front of their school and their parents, play fantastically well, and walk from the stage beaming.

Really, though, the entire experience of helping to build a growing organization has been rewarding. Our current leadership team began working together in the fall of 2008. We had thousands of children depending on us for many of their educational opportunities, and we had to ensure funding in some of the most difficult macroeconomic circumstances in recent history.

However, over the past year our team has been able to launch a flourishing volunteer program, quadruple the programming we provide, build a broad community of supporters, upgrade our website and refine our evaluation techniques. It’s been tremendously exciting, and I can’t thank our Board and community enough.

Laura: You’ve created so many fabulous and unique programs – which one is your favorite and why?

Colin: Ha, I don’t think I can answer that question. You’ll have a long conversation on your hands if you get our partner principals started on the music programs. Mr. Majid and Ms. Ai, our violin and piano instructors, truly change their students’ lives.

The Story Pirates are some of the best guys you’ll ever work with, and it’s exciting to see how rapidly the program is growing – they’re in over 70 schools now and are expanding to Los Angeles. The artwork coming out of our Bronx Museum collaboration is incredible. I saw a replica sculpture of Yankee Stadium from a 9-year-old that would have put anything I’ve ever produced to shame.

But the program that’s growing most quickly and that I think best connects our community members is the literacy tutoring. We started the mentor program a year ago by partnering with Fordham and Baruch Universities, enabling 10-20 of their students to provide individual mentoring to elementary school students at our partner schools. It’s inspiring to see the difference the mentors are already making in engaging their mentees and acting as role models.

The other day our Program Director, Mike Quinzio, was in one of our classes when a student raised his hand, asked a question, and wrote notes on the teacher’s answer. The teacher stopped Mike after the class with tremendous excitement to say: “that was so amazing: he’s never asked a question and I’ve never seen him as engaged as he is now.”

Over the next year, we should be working with nearly all of the major universities in New York and targeting high school and corporate partnerships, as well. The response has been overwhelming.

Laura: What’s some of the feedback you’ve received from parents and the community about the impact of the program?

Colin: We recently sat down with our partner principal at P.S. 73 in the Bronx, and one thing he said really struck me: “I hear all the time from happy parents, ‘only in a private school do you get these kinds of services.’” Despite the great efforts being made, there is a real gap in the opportunities available at different schools in our city. To the extent CFK can change that for one school, then four schools, then more, equal opportunity goes from being a goal to a tangible change.

Laura: What’s next for Change for Kids?

Colin: For over a decade, we’ve provided art, music and literacy enrichment so that our students receive the same opportunities as those in more affluent neighborhoods. In fall 2010, fund raising willing, we’re planning to add a fitness and nutrition component to our programming. We’ve seen that at our partner schools, students can go an entire semester without receiving any fitness education.

In some cases, budget gaps and overcrowding are even leading to fitness facilities instead being used for storage. Given the health and wellness problems facing our broader community, that’s just not something we should accept.

We’re holding an event specifically supporting health and fitness programs for our schools: Run for Kids on the evening of May 6^th, a 5k in Riverside Park. Runners who are interested in participating can register or get more information on our website: www.changeforkids.org or follow us on Twitter.

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