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  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    1
    Day 57

    Week 9: North Carolina + Virginia

    June 6, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    The final week is here after cutting the trip short a few weeks!

    Can’t believe I made it. You know, when you put your mind to something, and dedicate yourself to that, you can accomplish some rather crazy things.

    Planning this trip, working with resellers, setting up meetings, driving across the country, doing presentations, staying in new hotels every night - I felt like it would wear me out, but I’ve gotten in a groove. Maybe it’s the excitement of seeing the country that has kept my vibe alive. Or maybe I’m
    built to be able to handle more.

    Most of my friends can’t believe the stats behind this trip…and that I’m doing it solo. To me, this doesn’t seem that crazy. I mean, I put that I’m going to go to space on my life goals list. I wrote it 3 times. And I’m going to get there so driving around the country seems minimal.

    Anywho, this week I’ll be making some long treks in my final 3 days. North Carolina to Virginia, back to NC, and then off to our headquarters in Atlanta. That trip to Atlanta is going to be such a phenomenal feeling because I’ll know that this trip was a success, both for business and awareness of our efforts on pushing the STEM solutions we have.

    I’m so glad I made an effort to convince Boxlight to allow this journey to happen. I just knew that post pandemic, getting face to face with customers, and a demoing the product in a unique way would be beneficial. And it has. The schools/districts we met with have loved it. And it’s memorable! Sometimes these schools take a year or so to buy, but when they come around to it, I know they’ll remember me driving up to their campus, pulling out the demo experience from the sprinter, and going through the solutions and letting them try them out.

    It’s bitter sweet returning home because I am happy to have some time to recharge, but I also have a busy month and I was expecting to go through to the end of June in my head. Either way, I’ll be happy to have a weekend with friends and family.

    I did a hike this weekend in Asheville NC to one of the most amazing waterfalls I’ve ever seen. It was about an hour drive into blue ridge mountains, and when I got there it was POURING rain. I could have just waited for it to stop, or drove back, but I just said yolo and departed in the rain. 3 miles in, I ran into this waterfall and was in awe. The best part about it, I think the rain amplified the intensity of this waterfall. It was a magic moment for sure and one that showed me that you have to persevere through difficult things to see incredible wins.

    I’ve had a lot of “me” time on this trip and was able to really get in tune with myself, my focuses in life, what’s truly important to me, building life goals/yearly goals, and being grateful for all the things I do have. That was an important side win I didn’t expect. Thank you Mission to Mars Van! Let’s crush this final week :)    Read more

  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    Day 50

    Week 8: Florida/Charleston = HomeStretch

    May 30, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

    The home stretch is upon me after cutting the trip two weeks short.

    Why did we cut the trip short? Nothing to do with the success of the trip and meetings. We just quickly realized that this time of the year is going to be extremely difficult to get meetings with the STEM Van. End of the year and first week of summer is a busy one for administration and teachers at schools so we opted to reschedule this portion of the trip.

    The bad news: I’m missing some opps in D.C., Maryland, NJ, and NY.

    The good news: I get to head home a bit early after logging over 10,000 miles, staying at 29 hotels, and having 38 meetings. It’s been a heck of a trip thus far.

    The recap of the last two weeks. I ended up all over Florida, from Orlando, to Boynton Beach, to Tampa, to Naples, to Sanford. Lots of phenomenal meetings and some great relaxation by the beach time. I probably spent over 2 hours just laying in the ocean during my time in florida. This part of the trip was the best I’ve felt.

    It was quickly followed by Memorial Day weekend in Charleston, one of the hardest weekends of the trip thus far. I woke up Friday Memorial Day weekend with a mission to make it back to San Diego for my buddies bday. I was still in Jacksonville Florida for a morning meeting but I figured out all the logistics to make it happen. It felt real. Then I hit two road bumps that had to do with my hotel not being refundable for any reason and the van not having the correct parking at Charleston international airport (it doesn’t fit into garages-too tall). Long story short, I stayed in Charleston. Albeit it being a fun weekend of exploration, great food, beaches, and meeting some new people, I was super bummed to see all my friends having a weekend “for the books.” I was home sick all weekend, but I reminded myself that I’m on this mission for a reason, to enjoy it and explore cause it’s only temporary.

    Back to Charleston. If you haven’t been, it’s a beautiful city. The food was phenomenal, some of the best I’ve had on the road. The houses were charming, the downtown scene was hoppin, and the historical landmarks were incredible. This city has a lot to offer and there are so many things to do. Someone connected me with a group of friends that live in Charleston so I was able to meet up with them, socialize, and hear about some of the local things to do which helped guide my experience there. All in all, I’ll be back.

    So as I’m hitting the home stretch of this trip, a lot of feelings are coming to the surface. On one side of the coin, I’m incredibly proud of how much I’ve accomplished in such a short time. This idea I had completely came to life. All it took was some
    manifestation, a vision, and some perseverance to bring it to the finish line. On the other hand, I feel a bit like it’s unfinished because Im not going to be completing the entirety of the trip. BUT, I learned a lot and I think the next versions of these trip will be much different.

    Peace out for now. Final recap post to come.    Read more

  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    Day 38

    Week 6: Florida Upon Me

    May 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Week 6

    I just got done with a weekend in Nashville. What an incredible city- rooftop bars, live music, rolling green hills, amazing people. The vibe was unmatched by any other city I’ve been to so far. And the countryside drive through Tennessee was sensational. It looked like Jurassic park.

    The early part of this week I wrapped up Georgia, and now just arrived in Florida. I ended up in Florida late last night, woke up to a couple of virtual meetings, two STEM Van meetings and then I decided…I needed to find a beach.

    I haven’t seen the ocean for a month and a half (some would say that’s not that long I know, but when you live by it, it’s different). I thought it would be easy to be honest, but damn I missed it. When you’re living in San Diego, sometimes you take it for granted. Boy, Just seeing it lit me up. Then, jumping in and relaxing in the water was just the mediation I needed to remind me that this journey, despite it being tough, tiring, and stressful at times, it’s been one I will NEVER forget. I’ve already traveled from CA to Florida, seen a lot of the countryside via my sprinter, visited 32 different school sites, and met new faces along the way. I’m proud already of how this has gone and I still have a few weeks to go.

    But right this second, this is my happy place. Sitting here, writing this, looking at the ocean, feeling blessed. Until the next thread.    Read more

  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    Day 30

    Week 5 Houson + Mississippi

    May 10, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Howdy,

    Currently in Houston and finally feeling like I’m fully in the swing of things. I am actually sleeping better and not anxious about the next day meetings and travels so that’s a huge plus.

    I have been actively running every day or other day as well as weight lifting so I’m feeling good!

    This week kicked off with my air conditioning dying in the sprinter van, but I was able to get it repaired and back on the road within 24 hours so that was a plus. Had a HUGE meeting yesterday with the 4th largest district in Texas. They loved our STEM stuff so I am looking forward to doing more business with them.

    Today is a full afternoon with Houston ISD. This should be eventful and fun. I will be there for a few hours while different groups and people come by to learn about our solutions. In those moments, I feel like I am most in my element. No matter how tired or worn out I am, I can always rise to the occasion and put on a good demo of the products. I don’t even consider myself a salesman, I just think I am passionate about the products so it helps to sell them. To be honest, I think the best salesman are passionate about what they do. It also makes it easy to sell a product when you truly know you have the best solution in the industry.

    Yesterday I had a little time towards the end of the day so I checked out a interactive art museum called Seismique. Pretty incredible vision that came to life for these artists. There was about 20 rooms all with interactive elements to it. Some provided inspo for the van, some were just fun to interact with, some blew my mind at the amount of time and effort it took to pull it off. You could tell everyone there was having a good time, taking videos, and enjoying the vision that these artists brought to life.

    Looking forward to seeing the beach as I head to Port Arthur Texas tomorrow! First time seeing an ocean since I left. I need it. Then off to Jackson MS Friday for meetings and then Nashville TN for the weekend!! Going to be a fun one! My buddy Jared is meeting me out there so we are going to have a little country filled weekend. Stoked to spend time with a SD friend while on the road!

    Until next time peeps.    Read more

  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    1
    11
    Day 26

    Week 4 Complete

    May 6, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Well, I’ve made it to Austin TX, yeeeeehawww.

    Week 4 is officially complete. What a hell of a ride it’s been so far. This week was the most challenging both mentally and physically. I hit a few frustration points through the driving, the 1 night hotel stays, and the weather. After a few convos with friends and fam, I was back.

    Couple of exciting things:

    1. We’ve already closed multiple deals while on the road making this trip worth it already.

    2. Great meetings ahead. Excited for some of them particularly.

    3. Hit 5,000 miles on the sprinter van since departure.

    4. Our 25th meeting was this week so that was a fun milestone.

    Being solo on the road definitely has not been easy- especially managing the bookings, arranging with our resellers, driving to the locations, and mustering up the energy to be lively while demoing the products. There were a few times I was drained, but pumped myself up on the way by shouting a couple of affirmations at myself. It worked haha.

    Also this week, after I did an extremely hard boot camp in Dallas (which I threw up in), I decided that I need to kick my cardio into gear while on the road. I ran over 9 miles this week and lifted weights 3 times amidst all this madness. Proud of myself for that.

    Today, Friday has just been a phenomenal day. So many great calls and updates from our partners.

    Glad to be able to relax and spend the weekend in Austin and catch up with some friends that live here.

    Peace and love.

    B    Read more

  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    Day 11

    Week 2: Vegas, New Mex, and Kansas

    April 21, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Whew!

    Week 2 has been crazy. Let’s put it this way…I didn’t quite plan this week very conveniently for me haha. But that’s what life is about and this is my first cross country road trip, so I was trying to pack in as much as I can.

    In actuality, I started this week on Sunday by deciding, spur of the moment, to go to Coachella music festival on the final day. It was only a 2 hour drive out of the way and I knew I could get a ticket for cheap so sometimes you have to say “yolo.” That’s part of what this trip is about. It was a phenomenal experience - I went solo, but Ofcourse ran into a ton of friends at the festival and had an absolutely epic time.

    On Monday morning I hit the road to Las Vegas NV for a series of meetings on Tuesday early morning. As soon as I finished those Tuesday meetings, I drove 10 hours to Las Cruces New Mexico. After a series of meetings in Las Cruces and El Paso (1 hour away), I began my longest road trip portion of 11.5 hours to Wichita Kansas. I got in at 3am last night and had to be at a meeting at 11am. Safe to say, I’m tired. But not too tired to do a little exploring. After all, one thing I’ve learned is that when you are traveling for work, you HAVE to save time to see the sights!

    What did I learn while on the road these two extremely long days:

    1. There isn’t much in between Nevada and Kansas to see. I couldn’t believe how much desolate land there was.

    2. The amount of small towns with populations less than 500 was shocking to see. After stopping for some gas, I took a second to soak in one of them. It truly made me realize that small town life can be incredibly peaceful. I felt like I could hear a pin drop in this town.

    3. The stars are unbelievable on these road trips. At one point, I pulled over, sat on top of my car, and just stared into space for a solid 15 mins. It was my favorite part of the trip so far. I’ve never felt so at peace in that moment.

    4. The greatest thing I purchased for the road was garbage bags for the car no joke. It’s amazing how much trash accumulates in your vehicle when you’re driving that long.

    5. Trash TV is the absolute best thing to keep you awake. I propped my phone up and put on some reality TV show on Netflix while I drove on these empty highways. It was just what was needed for those final couple hours into the night on these long drives.

    Anywho, I’ve had some incredible meetings along the way and am
    Super optimistic on the opportunities from the vehicle already. People are loving it! I look forward to a weekend in Omaha Nebraska and off to Texas next week! Stay tuned for the next one.    Read more

  • TravelerMISSION TO MARS STEM VAN
    Day 1

    Sacramento Day 1

    April 11, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Today was lift off! Pun intended.

    What a way to kick off the trip. My colleague Hannah (co-founder of the curriculum platform we acquired) came into town for the week to help with the “presentation” of the van and the full experience for teachers.

    Our first demo was in Elk Grove Unified, 5th largest district in California. After spending the morning prepping the van, fixing audio issues, getting last minute supplies…we hit the road for our first demo.

    What a thrill it was. After a couple of hiccups with set up, the wind, etc, we had a group of teachers rockin with the presentation - they were going through each mission (albeit a little hesitant to participate at first) and loving using the product.

    This made me feel so much better. It was the first time I had seen the experience in action with educators. We came up with a list of modifications to help things run smooth, but damn was that exhilarating. I have nothing but positive thoughts on how well this will get crafted in the long term.

    This district has already purchased some STEM products from us but is now interested in a bigger solution for their school. That was promising.

    My head is in the right place. I’m feeling so much more confident about the experience. I’m excited for the road trip and all the incredible people I plan to meet along the way. This is the beginning of a crazy journey. It’s going to be good for me both mentally and physically and allow me to spend time truly focused on my craft.

    If anything, this app will serve as a way for me to gather my thoughts and I’ll be able to look back on it and reflect on the trials and tribulations of this trip. In true Braydon fashion, I must say, “Let’s gettttt it.”    Read more

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