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Join us as Leon Logothetis takes us on a Motorcycle Diaries adventure of his own, telling stories about his trip across the world on a vintage motorbike.
Leon made the trip a social experiment, counting on human kindness, literally the kindness of strangers, to get him through it. Along the way he also acted as a philanthropist, impacting the lives of many of those who helped him on his path. Let this episode inspire you to find your passion and follow your own heart on the journey that you choose.
AND – read below for a chance to win one of FIVE free copies of Leon’s book The Kindness Diaries.
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About Leon
Leon Logothetis is a global adventurer, motivational speaker & philanthropist. It wasn’t always that way. He used to be a broker in the city of London where he felt uninspired and chronically depressed.
He gave it all up for a life on the road. This radical life change was inspired by the inspirational movie The Motorcycle Diaries. The days of living and working behind his ‘slab of wood’ (or desk to the layman) are well and truly over.
His new passion: Finding ways for your inner rebel (the voice that tells you that you are worth so much more than you think) to come out and play. The inner rebel tells you that your life is yours. And anything you dream of is possible. Anything. And that the fuel for all this delicious potential is simple: Kindness and harnessing the power of human connection.
Leon has visited more than 90 countries and traveled to every continent. Leon has documented his travels for numerous media outlets including Good Morning America, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Outside, Good.
Episode 43 Show Notes
Links and resources mentioned in this episode:
- Visit Leon’s website here
- The Motorcycle Diaries – the movie that acted as part of Leon’s inspiration
- Long Way Round and Long Way Down – if Leon’s story interests you, these will, too!
“Sometimes we need someone else just to give us a gentle nudge because without that gentle nudge we stay in our comfort zones and we don’t fully live.” -Leon
Leon’s favorite quotes by Winston Churchill:
- “Never, never, never give up.“
- “If you find yourself walking through hell, keep walking.“
Book Giveaway!
What is the kindest thing that anyone has ever done for you?
Answer in the comments for your chance to WIN a copy of Leon’s book The Kindness Diaries. You have until end of day April 8th, the FIVE winners will be announced right here and on The Budget-Minded Traveler Facebook page on April 9th.
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11 replies on “BMT 043: Exploring Human Kindness Through Travel with Leon Logothetis”
Book giveaway time! Thanks to all who shared a kindness story, they are all amazing! The winners have been chosen. Please email your shipping information to Leon at lml@principalmedia.com if your name is:
Amy Lindsey
Kremena
Edric Legget
Salomi Aladia
Maggie Hurst
Enjoy your new copy of The Kindness Diaries!
Thank you, Jackie!
I am an Indian student studying in the US, this is my first visit here and within two weeks of arriving, I was travelling to New York over labor day weekend in Aug 2014. Being new to America, I was quick to get lost in the streets and avenues with my luggage soon after I landed and was asking for help and directions to reach Roosevelt Island. During this time, a stranger not only stopped by and gave me directions but accompanied me till my destination just to make sure I don’t get lost again. I had heard all sorts of things about New Yorkers being too busy to help but all of them were proven wrong by this stranger. I was touched by his kindness and appreciated that he went out of his way to help me.
What a beautiful question. It is hard to determine the kindest gesture. I feel I have been blessed with many kind people on my life’s journey. I think one that had the largest impact on my life was about a year ago. I was in a dark place. I was feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. There was an opportunity for me to attend a women’s retreat weekend of healing. But I didn’t think I could swing the money for both gas and to attend. A lovely soul donated a very generous amount so that I (and other women who flew across the country) could have this beautiful opportunity. It changed my life. I am grateful for this kind and loving gesture from a perfect stranger and look forward to passing on the kindness in whatever ways I can.
My husband and I, at 22 and we are now 60, were traveling
for 3 months in Europe and happened to be at some kind of street festival in
Lucerne, Switzerland. We were leaving
the country the next day and wanted to use up our change because we couldn’t
reconvert coins. We counted out enough change
to buy 1 bratwurst and 1 beer, and then sat down at one of the picnic tables to
share our food and drink. Shortly
thereafter, an older gentleman handed over to us another bratwurst and beer. He didn’t speak English so we couldn’t
actually converse with him, but we figured out that he thought we didn’t have
enough money to buy more than 1 serving and he didn’t want us to go
hungry. It became one of the fondest
memories of our trip and we will always hold the Swiss people in the highest
regard.
I loved this episode, it was so interesting and full of stories! I was thinking about your question and the first thing in my mind was Daniel – my husband! He is the kindest person that I know, always helpful and compassionate, the person that believes in me, likes me as I am and is always my back! Always! I had a heavy post partum depression after giving birth to our first child and the kindest thing that my husband did was to be there for me and just to cuddle me! His hugs were the kindest and warmest and I will never forget those moments!
This is so sweet 🙂
I travel alone most often and it sometimes gets lonely. While I don’t have any large examples of kindness, I often have friends that let me stay with them. Sometimes, if I’m eating alone after a long day, a kind waitress will take pity on me and spend extra time talking to me. I always leave huge tips for them! I find most people are kind and want to help. When I’m at home with friends, I like to invite solo diners to join us or pull lonely-looking people into a group so they can socialize for a while.
While I am blessed to have many kind people in my life, I must say that one stand out moment of kindness for me happened earlier this year in Europe. A long-time buddy and I had a week vacation and decided to go to Paris! However, my French is terrible and his is non-existent. Nevertheless, we were determined to make it an adventure.
One day, we got a little turned around after trying to link up with one of his friends and failing. We were trying to get back to our hostel by Gare du Nord train station, but we were somewhere near the Seine. I pulled out a map of the Parisian districts, but alas we couldn’t even locate ourselves on the map, let alone the station.
At around this time, an older lady came up to us. She was barely over 5 feet tall, and she reached up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. She gestured as if she wanted to look at the map. I handed it to her, and we realized she wanted to help us find our way! In my terrible, terrible French, I asked something like “ou est gare du nord?”. She quickly found our position and then traced her finger across the page to our destination. After a moment, she looked up at me and smiled, and starting walking away.
We started following her, and I could not help but to feel so grateful for this random act of kindness. Long story cut shorter, she showed us a bit of Paris, took us to a metro, where we followed line 4 to our destination.
Although it was a small gesture, I was really glad to have experienced that. It is a memory that my friend and I still reflect on and smile about.
This is a hard one… I don’t know that I can remember one BIG thing, though my husband surprising me with a dog (I’d wanted one since I was a little girl and never had one) was probably the sweetest, most heart-felt gift.
This was such a fun interview to listen to. Leon, you might be interested to see and experience the work that Fr. Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries are doing in LA. It seems like your work and theirs would mesh well together. Best of luck!