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Todd Sotkiewicz
Todd Sotkiewicz
01:04

Todd Sotkiewicz

Lonely Planet Americas

San Francisco, CA USA

"Traveling like that gave me the opportunity to see what was in my heart, and so I started pursuing it all differently at that point."

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Todd's work combines: Business, Travel, and Accomplishing Goals

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Day In The Life

President

I traveled the world and then became president of Lonely Planet, making travel guides to help people see the world.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Accounting

    Indiana University-Bloomington

  • Graduate Degree

    Journalism

    Northwestern University

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    He originally worked in accounting because he "grew up in the Midwest, where it was the right thing to do."

  • 2.

    Explains his feelings at that time with a quote by Marshall Glickman: "I had the heart of a wanderer but the head of an accountant."

  • 3.

    He took a leave of absence to travel; his employer, accounting firm Arthur Andersen, told him he was making a huge mistake.

  • 4.

    Ignoring that advice, he took off and explored Southeast Asia and Japan.

  • 5.

    Says traveling gave him the opportunity he'd needed to see what was truly in his heart.

  • 6.

    While in Thailand, a friend suggested that they get beers at a place he'd found in a Lonely Planet guidebook.

  • 7.

    That was his first introduction to the travel company; says while he's been an employee for four years, he's been a devotee for 20 years.

  • 8.

    Says that looking back, before he took his leave of absence, he was living his parents' dream; now he's living his own dream.