Emily Paulsen is one of those rare humans who makes you think differently about life choices - not in a preachy way, but in a "wait, I never thought about it like that" kind of way.

She's the host of Curious Life of a Childfree Woman, a podcast she started because she was tired of feeling invisible. Whether she was tuning into shows about marketing, fitness, or travel, parenthood somehow wove its way into every conversation. So she built the space she wanted to see - content where that just wasn't part of the equation.

This conversation hit me at a particularly interesting time. My life is shifting in ways I never expected, and I'm learning firsthand how quickly circumstances can change and how uncomfortable it feels when you don't fit neatly into any of the boxes you thought defined you. Emily fully understands this complexity - she talks about building intentional lives, filling our time with what actually matters, and giving ourselves permission to evolve without apologizing for it.

We're diving into why waiting for the perfect moment is a trap, how travel fits into designing the life you want, why representation matters (especially when you're coloring outside the lines), and what happens when life refuses to stay in its lane.

Links & Resources (Emily):

1. Podcast: Curious Life of a Child-Free Woman
2. Substack: Emily Paulsen

Links & Resources (Laura):

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group: @lolalovestravel

Thanks for being here! As always, rate, review, share with a friend, and tag us if you’re listening.

I've been hinting at big life changes for months across episodes, emails, and social media, and I kept telling myself I'd explain it all eventually, but time never slows down for me.

Well, eventually is now. This is my first solo episode — and probably my last for a while — but it felt like the only way to finally put it all in one place. I'm sharing what's been happening behind the scenes over the past year—and why things need to change.

After five years of running a travel business, I've hit a crossroads. The business I built to give me freedom and flexibility has become something that's depleting me instead of filling me up. And ironically, just as I finally found the relationship I'd been searching for, I have no time to actually live my life.

This episode is about the reality of solo entrepreneurship that no one talks about—the burnout, the guilt, the realization that success doesn't look the way you thought it would, and the courage it takes to admit that something needs to change.

If you're in your own version of "under construction" right now, I see you.

This episode is for you if:

1. You're an entrepreneur questioning whether your business is serving you anymore
2. You've been told to "hustle harder" but you're already exhausted
3. You've built something successful but don't feel successful
4. You're wondering if it's okay to change your mind about what you want

If you've made it this far in reading these show notes, thank you. And if you listen to the full episode, thank you even more. This was uncomfortable to record, but I hope it resonates with someone who needs to hear it.

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. India
2. Kenya
3. Morocco

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com
5. Check out our podcast page: lauraericson.com/podcast
6. Join my Facebook group:

Andrés Asevis is someone I genuinely cannot stop rooting for — and if you've ever traveled to Cuba with me, you already know exactly why.

If you haven't listened to our first episode together, listen here—I can't recommend it enough. It remains one of our most listened-to episodes on this podcast, and it's the kind of conversation that stays with you.

Andrés spent his entire life in Cuba — all 38 years of it — and in that first episode, he gave us one of the most honest, raw portraits of what daily life on the island actually looks like. The blackouts, the internet restrictions, the economy, the feeling of living behind a window: able to see the outside world, but never quite able to reach it.

Since I was in Cuba this past January, things on the island have only gotten worse — a humanitarian crisis triggered by the Venezuela conflict, streets gone quiet from fuel shortages, flights canceled due to oil scarcity. I'll be honest: I genuinely worried he might get stuck before he ever got his chance to leave.

But he made it. Andrés is in Spain. And he's here to tell us all about it.

This episode is the raw, one-week-in version of what life looks like on the other side of that window. We talk about the state of Cuba as he left, catching what may have been one of the last regular international flights out, and then his first week in Madrid — the food, the technology, the culture shock, the smells, the joy, and the profound experience of walking into a store and simply having options.

You can support Andrés and his husband Yunior as they start their new life in Spain here: http://spot.fund/ANewLifeInSpainForAndres

Upcoming Trips Mentioned:

1. Cuba (TBD for future group trip when possible)
2. Spain: 2027

Links & Resources (Andrés)

1. @andresasevis (Instagram)
2. Purchase your copy of Andrés' book, Cosa Negra
3. Episode 13: From Havana to Spain: A Cuban Guide's Journey to Freedom w/ Andrés Asevis

Links & Resources (Laura)

1. Follow my personal IG: @lolawhiskey
2. Follow my business IG: @lauraericsongrouptrips
3. Follow our podcast: @type2travelpodcast
4. Learn more about upcoming trips: lauraericson.com