I’m not going anywhere without my luggage. – Richard Pryor

No one is born an explorer, you become one through exploratory experiences.

  • Child through pre-teen, my mom would pack us up in her Chevy pickup and we’d roadtrip to Mexico taking a few days to get there. This is before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the further devaluation of the mighty dollar. We’d visit annually and it’s where I first learned Spanish. Growing up as a migrant farm worker kid this was always a treat.
  • At 10, a school field trip to Victoria, B.C. and where I first took a double-decker bus, enjoyed tea with croissants, and the most beautiful manicured gardens I’ve ever seen.
  • At 11, played a key role in, The Boy Who Fought the Dragon,at the Mount Vernon Lincoln Theater. Required lots of practice and facing fears in front of large audiences.
  • At 15, represented my high school at the Student Leadership Program at Central Washington University along with over a hundred migrant kids. It was the first time I set foot on a college campus and surprisingly got elected by my peers to represent them on the Superintendent of Public Instruction Migrant Student Advisory Council.
  • At 16, represented my high school at a leadership conference at Western Washington University.
  • At 16, represented my high school at the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) on Law & the Constitution in Washington, D.C., and experienced the Supreme Court, top Washington law firms, the National Mall, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam-War Memorial. I had to fundraise over $4,000 to attend.
  • At 16, represented Washington State migrant students at the national bilingual education conference in New Mexico. First time to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • At 16, represented my high school at the Washington State Hispanic Pre-Law Conference. Similar to NYLF participated in mock trials and debate.
  • At 17 - 20s, represented my high school, community college, and university at multiple leadership conferences throughout the United States with the last one on student government in Wisconsin (I served in student government at the time and even ran unsuccessfuly for student body president).
  • At 24, participated in an international internship in San Jose, Costa Rica, embedded on a journalist team taking time to travel throughout the countryside and it’s where my Spanish and writing improved.
  • At 24, interviewed people for Portland’s El Hispanic News y Mas. Back when it was a newspaper and getting access was as simple as flashing a badge and a Canon camera.
  • At 25, earned an officer commission in Infantry and attended the U.S. Army School of Infantry (Officers) at Fort Benning, Georgia. It’s where I first saw diversity and began my journey to give back to my country, a country that gave a migrant kid the opportunity to do more.
  • At 25, participated in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadet troop leader training at Fort Gordon, Georgia and assigned to a network communications military unit. I was fresh out of Infantry training and had lots of ideas.
  • At 28, mobilized to active-duty and sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Explored the entire eastern seaboard when able to. In this time, I drove cross country there and back.
  • At 30, helped recruit and take 13 Oregon students to the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), Annual National Conference in Chicago. First time to the windy city.
  • At 31, mobilized to active-duty and sent to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Explored the entire eastern seaboard again when able to, including Niagara Falls, MIT and Harvard campuses and Alexandria, Virginia. Second time driving cross country there and back. By this time, I had traveled cross country at least half a dozen times and taken several Space-A flights.
  • 30s and 40s, traveled extensively for various startups, including BilingualHire, Molinas Construction Company, Operation Code, and Fuerza. This is the age where you implement and accelerate what you learned throughout the years and become a master at what you are already superior at.

It’s in exploratory experiences where your mind expands and rarely can you put it back where it was. You’re never the same each time, and I highly recommend it for all ages. And, again it’s a waste of your precious time to compare yourself to anyone else but yourself to where you have been and how far you’ve come.

David Molina is an entrepreneur, strategist, and thinker–doer dedicated to exploring the full spectrum of human performance. Born to Mexican immigrant parents, he forged his path from farm fields to Captain in the U.S. Army, commissioner, and eventually to founding companies, nonprofits, and creative ventures. He shares more about health systems, business workflows, and intentional work on Instagram at @davidcmolina.