About the experience 

About the Experience

It was a bright sunny morning (albeit chilly) on the first Thursday in October, when I arrived at the airport for a scheduled trip. I was flying out on a 7:30 a.m. flight and I would be returning at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night. This was to be a fairly short and simple trip … except for one thing.

I was carrying two bags – my laptop bag and a single carry-on bag. Pretty easy packing since it was only a short trip … except for one thing.

This was a pleasure trip (no business this time), so I had two and a half days to enjoy myself, see some sights and experience the destination. I’m not much of a planner, but for such a short trip I certainly would have done some research about places to go, things to do and “can’t miss” experiences. Except for one thing … I didn’t know where I was going.

Yes, you read that correctly. When the seven of us arrived at the airport that morning, we did not know where we were going to land later that morning.

Thus began the inaugural Magical Mystery MasterMind Tour to Nashville, an adventure that proved enlightening, engaging and what I have determined is a must do for all – in fact, I cannot wait to go on my next one.

That was October 2013 and since that time I’ve taken several mystery trips with my MasterMind group, including trips to Boston and most recently, New Orleans.

The idea was simple, but based upon sharing this idea with many people before, during and after the trip, apparently fairly unique. We would take a trip together to a random location without any plans, schedules, itineraries, accommodations, or transportation. We would show up at the airport with an envelope containing our airline tickets, and then explore the mystery location for several days together with the intention of having new experiences and seeing things through a different lens.

Here’s what I’ve learned from our mystery trip experiences:

1. There’s something truly magical and exciting about standing at the airport, not knowing
where you’re headed and literally opening an envelope to find out our destination;
2. When you don’t make plans ahead of time your trip is all about the experience and in the moment;
3. We experienced people, places and things that we never would have experienced on a traditional and planned trip;
4. We learned a lot about each other and deepened our relationships;
5. We met amazing people on every trip;
6. We asked lots of questions on these trips of the people we meet and thereby discovered the treasures of a place (not just the tourist destinations); and

Life is indeed meant to be an adventure. 

The initial mystery trip was about creating a different experience and perspective, and it achieved its goal. During the entire time away I “saw” and experienced things differently than if the trip had been planned. The adventurous mindset was prevalent in everything I did. It was freeing, enlightening and opened my imagination. It also showed me new ways to push beyond my own comfort zone.

The trips are also a great reminder of how narrow our views can be, how scheduled and predictable our lives can be and how important it is to throw out the box, break some rules, and get some stuff done (in many ways).

I also discovered that people are craving these types of adventures in their lives, but often don’t know how or are unwilling to take the time to put them together. That’s why I’ve now created Mystery Experience Trips so that I can share the mystery, the adventure and the experience with all of you.

Jeff Nischwitz