"You should be a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant, a consultant... blah, blah, blah."
Everywhere you turn people try to tell you who to be and what to do with your life. We call that
The Noise. Block it. Shed it. Leave it for the conformists. As a generation, we need to get back
to focusing on individuality. Self-construction rather than mass production.
Define your own road in life instead of traveling down someone else's.
Listen to yourself. Your road is the Open Road. Find it.
Find the Open Road.
The Manifesto Explained
We wrote this Manifesto after we returned from our very first Roadtrip in 2001. After interviewing over 80 Leaders from all walks of life, the Manifesto became our reflection of how those people discovered their paths. We were feeling Noise and pressure around us to conform, and hearing their stories gave us the strength to forge paths of our own. Since that first Roadtrip, Roadtrip Nation has grown into a Movement; however, we've retained this Manifesto as a core piece of our efforts in order to ensure that we stay true to the original principles that started us on this journey. The Manifesto has since become a widely recognized brand for our various career exploration services and products, synonymous with our objective of helping others to discover, define and achieve their own roads in life. Over the years, the Manifesto has been misinterpreted from time to time, so it may be easiest to clarify what the Manifesto is NOT trying to say.
We're not telling people that it's bad to be a lawyer, doctor, accountant, or consultant. At the time we wrote this, it felt like those were the professions that most people tried to pressure us to join. If you're truly passionate about becoming a doctor, become a doctor - you can make an important contribution to the world. The same goes with accountants, lawyers, and consultants: The world needs people to fill all of these different roles, and if you're truly passionate about those paths, no Noise, including this Manifesto, should tell you differently.
It's up to you to define your own road in life based on what you're truly passionate about. By discovering that sincere path, you'll end up contributing to the world in your own distinct way. Imagine the collective impact of an entire generation discovering their own roads and using their lives to build more efficient vehicles, cure cancer, or teach elementary school kids how to learn in a fresh, new way. When we discover our own paths, we're not the only beneficiaries; the world is waiting for us to manifest ourselves and needs us to rise up to that challenge.
Everyone should have their own Manifesto that reflects their own ideals and where they want to go with their lives. We hope that ours provides some inspiration for your own journey and encourages you to set out on your road.
