My Wife and I Met Our Travel Hero Rick Steves. In Our 5-Minute Chat, He Taught Me 3 Career Lessons.
When my wife Kaylyn and I took our first Europe trip in 2015, we picked up Rick Steves travel guidebooks for Italy and London.
The books proved to be so helpful that we’ve used his guides ever since. We now have a mini library of Rick Steves books, and we’ve joked for years that we’d run into our travel hero someday in a foreign land.
That day came last May. We had just finished dining at one of Rick’s recommended restaurants in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, and Kaylyn spotted Rick walking into a restaurant next door.
We waited like total creepers outside the restaurant he entered, hoping he’d re-emerge so we could say hello.
Sure enough, after ten minutes, he came out and we got to chat with him for a few minutes — bonding over our mutual love of travel and shared hometown of Seattle. (Rick lives outside Seattle in Edmonds, Washington.)
As we chatted, Rick asked us about our meal and whether the restaurant lived up to his recommendation. He made it clear that he’s always looking for reader feedback to ensure his guides are hitting the mark.
We took a picture together in the street (above), then said goodbye.
Then, the craziest thing happened…we bumped into him again the following day.
We were visiting Èze, a tiny town with a population of 2,200 about ten minutes from Villefranche-sur-Mer. Over lunch (at another Rick Steves recommendation called Le Cactus), Kaylyn and I reminisced about the coolest moment of our travel lives: meeting Rick Steves the day before.
I had just taken a bite from my Provencal burger with goat cheese when I saw Rick descending the stairs next to the restaurant.
“There he is again!” I told Kaylyn.
Both of our jaws dropped, then we childishly waved at Rick. He came over to our table and chatted with us again for a few minutes. This time, we got to ask him more about his note-taking process, what he looks for in a restaurant, and how he updates his travel guidebooks.
In total, our two conversations with Rick lasted no more than five minutes, but they taught me a few inspiring lessons about careers and leadership.
Here’s what I learned from Rick’s process:
1. Keep your enthusiasm alive
Rick has probably been to France a dozen times, but you’d never know it by the schoolboy grin on his face as he gushed about his love of travel.
He talked about how much he enjoys exploring cities and finding new things to recommend. “I just find it all fascinating,” he said.
He’s been able to leverage that enthusiasm into an impressive career. Spending time on the road seems to give him the energy to handle all of the administrative tasks of the job, like writing and editing his travel guides.
2. Do the grunt work
Kaylyn and I were both surprised (and impressed) that Rick still does his own legwork. We assumed that a multi-millionaire travel author would ask his cronies to take care of the groundwork, but nope! He does it himself.
Rick still spends about four months of each year traveling through Europe, taking notes to update his travel guidebooks. This helps him perform quality control while scratching his travel itch.
3. Set high standards
I asked Rick what types of things he writes down when he revisits a city. He showed us that he had ripped out a section of his most recent travel guidebook for that city (Èze, France) — just as he encourages readers to do.
Nestled alongside his guidebook, he showed us a single piece of white paper upon which he had been taking notes. He had folded the paper in half — hotdog-style — and the paper contained little scribbles in pencil.
He explained that when he revisits a city, he looks for how tourists can get the most out of a day visiting that area, where is the best place to park a car in the city, which new restaurants have opened up, etc. He jots down changes he should make to his next guidebook, such as which restaurants to add or remove from his recommendations, which dishes to order, and other new things he’s learned.
Implicit in what Rick shared was the idea that good advice can save precious minutes and energy for weary travelers, whereas bad advice can lead to frustration and travel anxiety. By setting a high standard, Rick can guarantee his readers have a more enjoyable vacation.
As I reflected on my conversations with Rick, I realized his career can serve as an inspiration for all of us:
- Do what drives you and find ways to keep that enthusiasm alive.
- Put in the hard work to become world-class in that area of expertise.
- Share what you’re learning with others. If you set high standards for your advice, you’ll create raving fans who will generate repeat business and referrals.
Want to become a stronger leader?
Sign up to get my exclusive
10-page guide for leaders and learners.
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
Rick Steves is a pompous Far-Left Clown.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I try to judge people based on how they treat me, and Rick was nothing but nice and helpful to my wife and me.
Great advice thanks. Rick Steves books and tv shows are great.
Yeah, he’s the best! We’ve gotten so much out of his tips. I also love how he has free audio guides for most large museums and guided audio walks for many cities. I’m glad you’ve benefited from his content just like we have!
I enjoy Rick Steves’ videos and books and have amassed quite a collection, and still watch or record his PBS segments. Travel is a gift and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to explore so much of the world. Isn’t it nice that when we cannot travel we can enjoy new and interesting places because of Rick Steves and other travel writers and explorers like him?
What a nice surprise for you to have met Rick and to gleen thought provoking tips from him. Thanks for passing along his wisdom!
Thanks Sandie! Yes, it was such a treat to meet him! 🙂
And I agree…it’s fun to benefit from travel writing and videos even from home. Speaking of, have you checked out the Netflix series “Somebody Feed Phil”? That’s another one of my favorites. It’s one of those shows that not only covers food and travel but also helps you appreciate different cultures and the way they do things. I’ve enjoyed that one a lot.
The bad side of R.S is not only his far left pompous self, but that he pushes these views and influences with his paid customers who buy his guided tours. He also sets a false example as the “American” with his encounters with Europeans. I have to much first hand experience with his tours and some with him in particular. His tour company overcharges based on a cult of personality ( R.S. ) they sell falsely pushing that the customer is getting something special not to be had elsewhere.
Dang, I’m bummed that’s been your experience. I’m not sure what you mean about him setting a false example as the “American.” I’ve never been on one of his group tours, but he was really kind in his interactions with us, and I’ve spoken to multiple restaurateurs and hotel managers who’ve raved about how nice he is.
Best place to purchase his latest update travel on Italy?
Hi Kathy! His guide books are sold at most retailers like Barnes & Noble and Amazon, but I usually prefer to go through smaller independent bookstore organizations. For example, here’s an affiliate link to his most recent Italy guidebook from Bookshop.org, one of my favorite sites. They work with small bookstores and give a portion of their sales to them.
Far-left, yes, pompous, probably, but I enjoy his show and it has helped with our travels. Would love to bump into him this April in France.
I hope you see him! 😉
I’ve watched Rick Steve’s’ travel show since I was a kid (I’m now 50) and finally took my dream trip to Europe and used his books for planning. I would love to meet him one day, as you did. My only complaint is his guides are so popular that it can be hard to book or reserve his recommendations! I hope he continues to find hidden gems off the beaten path.
Yes, great point. They’ve become so popular that they’re quite ubiquitous now. Multiple times, we’ve looked around a restaurant, cafe, or hotel lobby and seen several other people with their Rick Steves books. But I must say…his hit rate for good recommendations is ridiculously high (at least for us). We are rarely disappointed with anywhere we visit based on one of his recs.
Rick Steves cares deeply about people, and works hard — donating time and money — to make things better. Do you?
Hmmm, travel the world = grunt work. I’ll take that job. I agree with the sentiment though.
Haha, yeah fair point. 😉 It was just cool to see him out with his piece of paper making notes and doing things you know he could pay someone else to do.
While I agree about his political views, he’s a master in his class and I almost always buy his book for a new destination. I too chanced upon him in Europe. He approached at a dinner table in Rome and asked for our rating, then went inside to talk with the proprietor (and maybe a free meal?) Said yes, he has a sizable staff but he still does some of it himself. Because he loves it.
Yeah, I love to see people like him still getting out there and doing the work. He also asked us several questions about our meal. It’s clear he really wants to get his recommendations right, and it shows in the high hit rate we’ve had from his recs.
I find that Rick Steve’s shows us that where ever you travel being open and friendly to people will reward you in more ways than you can imagine. People everywhere will respond to friendship. From the lady on the beach who invited us to her house for tea and the villager who drove half an hour to guide us to a local attraction in Portugal. To the gentleman and his young daughter in Genoa who helped us to find a restaurant that has the best hand made pasta ever that also turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip.
Wow, what amazing experiences! That is awesome. And yes, I agree that he does a good job of encouraging people to rely on the kindness and generosity of others (which usually works well).
I first met Rick when taking his “U of W ” experimental college, ” Europe thru the Back Door.” I then used his 1st book to travel on my own in 1984. I have used all his books for many years of travel and he gave me the original impetus to travel over 53 countries without a single group tour! My grown child has been passed the same love of his books and travel, especially his 1st rate itineraries! I have also talked to him at his Edmond travel workshops. He is anything but pompous, and willing to give to much needed causes. Only wish I could have worked with his company as a travel expert.
Wow, 53 countries! You’ve definitely got me beat. I just got back from Belize, which was my 19th country. I’ll try to catch you eventually! 😉
Have used his guides in Munich, London, various cities in Italy, and Barcelona.
…..and he is typically spot on!
Agreed! I’ve always been impressed by his recommendations.
Thank you for gleaning the good stuff from your conversations with him. We all face those challenges (enthusiasm, high standards, grunt work) in any ongoing endeavor and I will post these ideas somewhere close so I can keep referring to them.
Love it! I’m so glad to hear this story was helpful. Thanks for letting me know!