What Does Travel Mean to You?

Mike Schibel Aims to Bring the World to Pacific Palisades

By ELLA KRAYNAK | Intern

One born and raised Palisadian is paving the way for a different kind of travel—one designed to be more meaningful.

Mike Schibel, founder of Travel With Meaning, has developed a “travel storytelling community encouraging, inspiring and supporting travel,” according to its website. Travel With Meaning “shares unique experiences, hosts live events, curated goods [and] a Travel Game Show ‘Where is This?’” There is also a podcast in which Schibel interviews people from a diverse range of backgrounds to identify how travel has affected their lives.

Schibel created a curriculum through which individuals can learn from fellow travelers and strive to travel with more meaning themselves.

“We are a community of travelers who have been profoundly impacted by meaningful experiences sharing our unique stories because travel inspires something deep inside of us,” according to the Travel With Meaning website. “We are a way of life to explore, travel, learn, grow and to honor those who venture.”

Born and raised in Marquez Knolls, Schibel described his hometown to be “unlike anywhere else in the world.” He said his inspiration to travel stemmed from his childhood, and he credited his mother for instilling a curiosity to explore the world and all it has to offer.

“I was introduced to travel at an early age,” Schibel shared through the Travel With Meaning website. “One of my oldest memories is getting a postcard from my grandparents from Egypt. I must have been 5, but seeing the image of a camel in the desert with the pyramids with a note from my grandma stayed with me. When we visited them I would be mesmerized by all their travel pictures.”

Chasing the answer to the overarching question “what is travel?” has allowed Schibel to see new places and meet new people, leading him to a newfound appreciation for the Palisades.

“We live in a really unique bubble,” he said to the Palisadian-Post, “and you can’t appreciate that enough until you step outside of it.”

Despite having traveled to a plethora of locations around the globe, Schibel recounted some of his favorites: New Zealand—in great part because of the friendly people and environment—and Bali—due to the strong connection he created with the people and land.

Schibel said his idea of travel is not just about going long distances by plane, but by exploring new locations near and far.

“[Travel is] not about going far at all,” he said. “It’s about seeing things differently in your own backyard.”

Schibel’s remaining bucket list places to travel include Iceland, Greece, South Africa and Peru.

A stint in his career—coupled with a passion for travel—inspired him to launch Travel With Meaning in 2017. Schibel said he hopes to continue to allow people to connect through sharing these stories, as well as be inspired to go out and create their own.

Schibel attested to the idea that “we are all more alike than we are different,” hoping that people can learn from each other and use the Travel With Meaning principles as the “roadmap to have a fulfilling journey.”

He also invited Palisadians to tune into his Travel With Meaning podcast—which launched in 2019 and is streaming on all major platforms. In the podcast, he speaks with artists, entertainers, athletes and more, to hear their travel tales and how travel has impacted their lives and careers.

“If you’re a fan of travel, great stories and awesome people, I think you’ll like the podcast,” according to the website.

When asked what advice he would give readers who want to begin traveling, Schibel said: “Just go.” He said he believes that each person’s journey is unique to the individual and depends on what they are seeking.

However by finding similarities in the stories of many unique guests on his podcast, Schibel said he believes he has helped cultivate a supportive and explorative environment in which listeners and participants alike can get outside their comfort zones, meet new people, have different experiences and create a well-rounded opportunity for themselves, all of which, Schibel said, are the benefits to traveling.

For more information, visit travelwithmeaning.com.