Woman Becomes First Traveller To Visit Every Country

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A woman has become the fastest documented person to visit every country in the world – and she did it in record speed.

Cassie De Pecol set off on her journey in July 2015. Eighteen months and 26 days later, she’s travelled all 196 sovereign nations.

Not only is the 27-year-old the fastest person to do so, she’s also the first.

Sup? Hanging in the back of a tuk tuk asking myself, "how did I get here?" ?. Perhaps it's because I carved my own path and own who I am? My values are strong and I will never lose sight of where I want to be and who I represent. Hold true to your values. You are the dictator of your own life and you choose your own projections. Live in solidarity or take an immense risk and break free. But whatever you do, never stop learning, never stop educating yourself and beyond anything else, never stop challenging yourself for the better, do not be afraid of change. We can all become better versions of ourselves; kinder, more compassionate, more alive, more inquisitive. Be THE BEST of who you are. Each day, I wake up and look in the mirror… I immediately note my flaws, a daily reminder of the rawness and reality of it all… but when I look in the mirror I tell myself this, "I know who I am, my values are strong and I own my life. No one can dictate my future or my life. I'm here for a reason. Find that reason and flourish. Forget haters and naysayers…at the end of the day, I'm alive for an unknown period of time, and I own this being. No one can surpass who I am and who I've worked so hard to become. Why? Because I believe in my individuality and uniqueness. No one has ever known and will ever know the very intricacies of my life, but myself. Stay strong. Hold out. Just.Do.It.". Sound a bit egocentric? Perhaps. But we've all worked so hard to become the individuals we are today and it's crucial to hold true to our values and who we are. Be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi), be the POWER you wish to see in the world. Be COMPASSIONATE, strong and level-headed. Be yourself and be confident. Go out there and live the adventure. ? • • • #expedition196 #expedition196entrepreneur @expedition196entrepreneur (Online Seminar Starting February 3rd)

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Cassie, who quit her corporate job in 2012, funded her expedition through a mixture of ‘planning, saving money, obtaining sponsors and endorsements’.

And as of February 2017, she’s broken a Guinness World Record with her project Expedition 196 – charting the entire journey on social media.

Explaining her thirst for travel, she told the Daily Mail:

Since school, I’ve had this desire to visit every country in the world, intrigued to learn more about every culture, natural habitat, and religion.

In America we are lucky to have such a vast melting pot of cultures and people from all over the world who make the country what it is today.

I wanted to learn about where these people came from, more specifically, where I came from, with my ancestors originating from Europe.

Going to every country was for me a personal quest to learn as much as I could about our world, stepping outside my comfort zone and becoming comfortable in the unknown, while also aiming to leave a legacy behind.

In addition to her personal thirst for adventure, Cassie’s mission behind her travels was designed to promote peace through sustainable tourism.

According to Lonely Planet, the 27-year-old promoted sustainable and regenerative tourism by speaking to university students. She also collected samples from waterways around the world to send them to a lab for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, who test them for the presence of micro plastics.

Hello to everyone and all of you who are new to my page! ??? This whole weekend I've been reading all of your comments and messages and am overwhelmed with the amount of support and respect ?. Contrary to what some might think, I'm actually a huge introvert and like to keep to myself. However, with that said, I love being able to share with you the authenticity of the environments, cultures and people I discover around the world throughout my travels. The adventure of Expedition 196 has reached the "ultimate boon", but the mission and quest has only just begun, and man, do I have my work cut out for me!??‍♀️ • • • "Sometimes the 'hero' must escape with the boon. This can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it." – Joseph Campbell • • • Through my life's purpose, I'm committed towards continuing this global mission of promoting peace through sustainable tourism, now more than ever. To provide guidance to all of you, in order to help you achieve your travel dreams as much as I possibly can, is also a main priority. In June, I'm launching a course that will teach you how to find the funding to take off and pursue your own travel adventure, while helping to shape the world for the better. Head to the @expedition196entrepreneur Instagram page and click the link in bio to learn more ???! On another note, I'm so excited to head to Antarctica in a week with @quarkexpeditions! I'll admit, I am a wuss when it comes to flying and turbulence or traveling by vessel in high seas. These fears are just two I've had to face head on throughout this Expedition, and I feel that my biggest personal challenge is yet to come. For four days, I'll be traveling across the Drake Passage to Antarctica, and while that voyage scares me, it's what gives me purpose and also makes me feel alive, just as Expedition 196 did. We all have fears, and many of us let fear get in the way of pursuing a dream. If there's one thing I've learned over the course of this Expedition it's that; we're never going to make it out of life alive, so may as well push the boundaries and make our dreams come alive. ??? PC: @quarkexpeditions

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But that wasn’t enough for Cassie.

Not content just with breaking the record she now says she plans to travel to Antarctica.