EDMONDS, Wash. — Travel expert Rick Steves recently announced he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but says his prognosis is very good. That's great news for the rest of us, who look forward to Steves sharing his wisdom for a long, long time to come. Here are some excerpts from our recent conversation, during which he explained why he never wants to stop traveling.
"When you have thousands of people reading a guidebook with your name on the cover, it's a heavy responsibility."
"I'm no kid anymore. I'm 69 years old. I've been working really hard. I don't need to work right now. But I'm working harder than ever. I just get energy from this. I've spent, already, two months in Europe this year, alone, researching every day with local guides, updating my guidebooks."
"I wouldn't be able to do any of my guidebooks or any of my tours, or any of my TV shows without great European guides, without a mission-driven staff."
"So, this is what I do. I've got 100 workmates here in Edmonds, and I'm just really thankful I found my niche. It's the same thing I was doing when I was a college kid at UW. And now I've got technology beyond my wildest dreams to help me amplify my teaching. It sure is nice to be mission-driven, to believe in what you're doing."
"Our mission is to inspire Americans to venture beyond Orlando. Try Portugal. It's not gonna bite you."
"You listen to the political discourse and there's a lot of misunderstanding and fear mongering and, frankly, hatred. And I think the most frightened people are the people who have not traveled. If you had to travel before you could vote, we'd have a different political landscape. I learn more about this beautiful country of ours by leaving it and looking at it from a distance."
"My favorite souvenir is to come home with that broader perspective. And an understanding that the world is filled with joy. It's filled with beautiful people. It's filled with love."
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