Rick Steves has inspired me to travel and I did. so far I've been to 30 countries already ... and counting. Thank you Rick!

I have traveled to 40 countries in five of the seven continents in the world. Traveling the world is like reading a book. You don't know what the real story is until you travel to that place getting out of your comfort zone. I would love to meet Rick someday.

Fear is for those who don't get out much.

Many people brag about how many countries they've traveled to (including Tedxers) . Few of them actually learn these kinds of golden lessons.

When we were 30, my late wife and I quit our jobs and traveled all over the world, back packing. It helped us to continue to grow, just as we had grown as children. Over 40 years later, I continue to grow - today was another class in a foreign language.

This is the best talk on travel I have ever heard. Living and traveling around Europe for the last 2 years has changed my mind and views on SO many things. Every word in this speech was true. It's amazing what happens when one gets out of the USA and sees that they're not the top of the pyramid.

The only thing that is greater than reading is traveling and experiencing things yourself. Great Talk! :)

Definitely a great speech. It might be referred to as a speech on how to become open minded.

He inspires me to quit my career and start my own travel show to inspires other explores our magnificent planet!

About the Scandinavia example; I myself am from the Netherlands and we have the same practice here, my mother told me when I was 18: it's fine if you try weed but do it here at home in the garden instead of in some shop or alley (where you also might pick up wrong 'friends'). The reason behind that is that we as youth have the freedom to try out new things but in a safe environment. The same happened to me with alcohol when I turned 16 (former legal drinking age in The Netherlands, now 18). What if I did smoke weed in an alley with guys I barely know, or bought a bottle of alcohol and drank it outside somewhere away from home as a first time, I would've become so drunk I wouldn't be able to find my way home and who knows what would've happened in those situations. Now I'm 27 years old I've smoked weed about 5 times in my life and have alcoholic beverages about once every 3 months; sure I might be the odd one out, but I like to believe that it is because it was not seen as a 'naughty thing'. Just like basic psychology, keeping something away from someone, makes them want it more. This was my own little TEDx Talks, thank you for reading.

One of my favorite TED talks ever!

Rick Steves and Anthony Bourdain have taught me an incredible amount about the love of travel and to open myself up to meeting people from cultures different than mine. I've had some of the greatest, most eye opening experiences you could imagine because of what I learned from them and I'll always be grateful.

These are timeless lessons. Thanks Mr. Steves.

Because of Rick Steves and watching his show for years gave me the love of travel. Because of that, I moved to Europe, and even here, I travel between countries. I love it!!

I love you Rick Steves. Thank you for opening our minds and hearts to the world and nature. Heaven bless you.

WOW This is hands down one of the best talk I have ever heard!

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. Terry Pratchett

I spent my 38 year career as an International Flight Attendant. I was privileged to observe, discuss, understand and appreciate cultures in many, many different countries.I even had the opportunity to converse with passengers on those long flights where most were sleeping, crossing the Atlantic & and Pacific oceans. I am so grateful to be paid to do something most miss. Travel to other countries is one of the best things anyone can do. I wish more Americans could/would do global travel.

I am so grateful for Rick Steves. He brings us the wonderful gift of connection, enlightenment and togetherness.

Traveling is good for the soul. If this talk didn’t inspire you to travel soon or plan your travels, I don’t know what will.

So much wisdom in this 20 minute speech, I want more! Rick Steves is definitely one of the most underrated travel hosts on TV.

Thank you Rick for sharing your experiences from traveling. I am from Colombia, ( naturalized American citizen) living In usa for more than 30 years. I travel to Europe, Italy and Spain every year for the last nine years. Your words cannot be more true: One grows as a person while traveling, one becomes more open minded while and because of traveling. How much million and million of people here in USA would learn watching this video? A LOT. Great video .

I love traveling! I've been throughout most of Europe many times, Mexico, Honduras, Japan, Hong Kong, and will be visiting S. Korea this fall. Travel does wonders for the soul and I always learn so much from each place I visit. Get out there and travel - broaden your horizons!

Rick Steves for president

rick has been an idol for me since childhood. i think he’s revolutionized the tourism industry, opened travel to ordinary people, and provided his wisdom for over 20 years. his outlook is incredible; positive, welcoming, inclusive, descriptive, appreciative. i love his show and always will

A phenomenal Ted Talk from Rick Steves with his learnings about societies he has engaged with through his travels through the years... The wisdom shared by Rick gives us the opportunity to embrace other cultures, not condemn them or just tolerate them. I especially appreciated his comments on Iran & Turkey... We are fundamentally all the same all around the world and WE need to act as World Citizens... Not use citizens of our own nation...

Rick is a wonderful kind person and may God bless him for removing misunderstanding about people .

I almost watched every video of this man, amazing personality very modest. May be I love traveling but I wish if I were him. Stay Blessed Rick Steves !

if only all leaders of the World adopted your point of view, Rick ! Your LOVE for humanity is palpable and hopefully contagious. World needs your charisma and your loving Heart. I am lacking words of appreciation ,admiration and awe for your BEING in this troubled world. Do not leave us !!!

Wow. This message should be taught to all the citizens of the world. Truly uplifting and amazing

It's always nice to listen to a warm, caring, intelligent person who is able to listen and learn from other people and other cultures!

I love that painting in the background!!!

I've been a Steves follower since I took his design bag to Europe in 1969! If every American could go on a trip and meet locals of a different culture we could extinguish this ridiculous arrogance (read fear) of Nationalism instantly. Bring back the Peace Corps! So at least the next generations might understand our place in the world before we are extinguished by all the hate we have created.

Rick, you are an inspiration to so many. Loved these behind the scenes personal stories about your travels and your show. I will always be a loyal fan. Keep up the great work --- especially as the world becomes more complex in so many ways.

When TEDtalk at its best, I can only appreciate wonderful lessons like this.

Thank you for summing up our profession so well. Much appreciated your producer's and your contributions to our work. You guys are awesome.

"Travel trumps my ethnocentricity" my favorite quote, so far! Nature and culture are extremely interesting to me, as well. Kudos! I love this Talk. Sharing! Awe in travels. :-) Harmony, sparked by breaking away the misconceptions and misunderstandings! When Americans travel, we break the stereotypes, that many foreigners believe of us. We are not all lazy. We do have teeth, and crisp breads, as wwll as soft. Silly stereotypes are fading

There is so much to learn from this man. Great ted talk I have ever watched. Definitely inspired to travel and Open up my mind. Thank You Steve. You are blessed - Stay Blessed.

I've always wanted to travel to Europe. It would be so cool to travel with Rick to see what he does while he's taping his shows.

Wow... Legitimate goosebumps. What an eloquent and inspiring man - truly a life changing talk. I'm going to Europe and South America for the first time this year and I'm so excited. All my life I've been a voracious reader and traveling has always been my dream - Mr. Steves has really confirmed everything I've suspected to be true and opened my eyes. Awesome, brilliant talk!

I am fan of Rick Steeves. His travel experiences are educating and liberating!!

Great talk from Mr. Steves. It has been my experience that the more a person has traveled and experienced other cultures, the more he or she is self-aware and engaged as a global citizen.

This wonderful talk has crystallized for me why I travel, why I have permanently itch feet, why I want to travel till I drop, why my bucket list of places to visit never seems to grow shorter, why a visit to another town only a hundred miles away is exciting if I've never been there before. Every trip teaches us something new whether we want to learn or not.It's one of the greatest joys of life.

I love what he has to say.

It is great to see how someone has managed to make not only a living but a life out of enriching himself and the world. Way to go, Mr. Steves!

I love rick Steves. I love to travel and connect with people. Humans make the most amazing experiences in the world. I thought he was Canadian. He’s so nice! 😍

i love this guy. very inspiring.

Wow! !! I am so inspired by his talk. I read his travel column when I was I Dublin. I also follow him on Facebook. I didn't know that he is also an inspiring speaker.

It really inspired me to travel the world. As Rick Steve says in the video, you can learn so much from other people and countries and can continue to educate yourself. But I also think the saying "fear is for those who don't get much out of it" is very true. You should just dare to do new things and not always have prejudices.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rick in NYC this May 2018. He signed a copy of his Travel as a Political Act book for me. I thanked him for doing an episode in my native country of Romania. He truly has one of the best jobs. He continues to inspire people to travel.

Love his show. Dang...if I could have just 1/1000th of the experiences Rick has had over his life....man!

This video is such an incredible inspiration. I love traveling more than anything. We’ve started vlogging about it to share what we do wrong! Inspired 100% by people like Anthony Bourdain and Rick Steves.

Rick - You have been my inspiration for travel since my childhood. I am also in the quest to travel the world and make the most of life. To travel is to live!!

you are the best travel guide ever. And you are a great person.

Rick is a good travel role model for us all. Learn from others, be open to consider new ideas, travel often.

People and culture , two important components of travelling is so aptly spoken about here .

Thank you for spreading such a message! On my one longer travel I made exactly the same experiences and I truly hope that your talk will inspire more people to go on a bigger journey than 2 weeks at a hotel bar... perhaps america will even stop warmongering in a not too distant future.

Wow Rick!!! Super super super super super super awesome!!! Really super ultra hyper motivating and incredible!!!! Thanks thanks thanks!!! :)

This is one of the best Ted Talks I have ever heard!!!

Very very useful and thank Rick for mentioning about Sri Lanka, my beautiful country. I'm always inspired by your talks and motivated to be a long-term traveller all over the world by starting from Europe..

Fantastic video and message. Travelling is the antidote to ignorance. Great outlook!

Watching this in 2020, makes this even more inspiring.

This is awesome. So glad to hear somebody speak with such humanity.

Rick has excelled in this talk. Great talk. I appreciate it.

What do you value in travel?

Smart talk to tie societal issues with the management know-how of other parts of the world! Kudos!

Awesome, honest speech, open up the minds! Thanks, Rick!

Rick! I totally relate and understand what you are talking about! Growing up in Europe with my dad's job, I know full well.

Yay Rick Steves. Thank you. Used your guide in Italy and an audio recording on Ostea Antica, to great effect.

i've been everywhere and always meet the locals and go off the beaten track

I shared that quote from Mark Twain a week ago after 30 days in Europe. And I just watched this, funny. I love traveling and meeting the world.

Rick made me fall in love with Europe!

Thank you. Helped a lot for my essay and to discover a new passion and way of living life

Thank-you, Rick Steves!

This is the best video I've seen in a while, Rick Steves gets it.

Thank you for sharing these very human stories and lessons.

Great talk. One of the best I've heard so far.

Wow! Thank you, Steve!

Whoa! He just blew my mind!!! 💗

Amazing talk with eye-opening examples from around the world. Loved every minute of it!

this man 'understands things very well' ... he can set a great example for those who don't, especially in the USA ...

Brilliant. Traveling is indeed the ultimate inspiration!

Thank you for this talk! It’s really inspiring! I learned numerous things

He is great! What a great speech!

I say this as person who has a degree in anthropological research, speaks several languages and has traveled across fourteen countries, some of the most prejudiced people I’ve ever met are people “who love other cultures” and “travel to know the world”. They’re often much more concerned with finding reproductions of their own value than they are about learning. Which is why I know so many people who will wax poetic about the humble farmer that they met in their travels while they demean anyone in their own society that doesn’t meet their own culturally particular definition of success and class.

Most beautiful talk I've heard

your trips are awesome and I watch every one of them. I am a world traveller myself and take lots of photos.

..."It is good character to know people before you bomb them".... Damn! He's so right. We can't just go around the world killing people we don't know. The reasons he travels are the same reasons I love to travel. Go see the world!

compared to other talks and other travelling people, this was good. considered, that this talk will reach many people in the States inspiring them to travel and broaden their horizon, this talk was amazing!

One of the best ted talks ive seen lately!!!!

Now that's a marvelous experience in the beauty of travel ! Gonna try and do 30 countries next.

fantastic presentation. I have travelled quite a lot and I think it is the best thing you can do for yourself. it opens you up from your small world and u see and appreciate the beauty and diversity in the world

I’m a quiet traveler who makes friends but I leave my mark with my smile and warmth

Excellent speech on traveling. Motivating

One of the most beautiful talks💛

Rick Steves is the man!

We love you Rıck Steves.Greetıngs from Turkıye

This is so true. I worked on an Apache Reservation once during a campaign for an election of the next chief. I couldn't believe that this world existed in the USA and with all the civics classes I'd taken in high school, they never once mentioned that there was an entire sovereign nation right in the middle of us.

Travel 🧳 is invaluable!

I can't love this man enough 💕