Best Job on the Planet: What Happened?

I know a LOT of you saw my posts and pleas for votes a few weeks back for the “Best Job on the Planet” contest. Naturally, every one has been asking “Did you win?!”

In summary: No. I did not win but there’s more to it than that. First of all, I’ve been working on this job since March, and as an optimistic person, I definitely tried to stay positive, despite the odds. Every time I thought about it, I got a little flutter of excitement in my stomach. Yes, there would be a small chance I actually won,  but I had to try, right? I’ve done a lot of things in life that many would say are impossible–hey, even making a career out of travel journalism was not something that many family or friends really thought I could do. But I did. And I’ll keep on doing. My motto has always been to try.

To me failing is far less scary than the idea of not even trying.

Though it was disappointing not to win, the biggest disappointment was when I found out it was a voting contest.  That had never been mentioned as I passed through each round and I was surprised to learn after all this, the final winner would be determined by a vote.  I understand why ThirdHOME wanted to have a voting contest –we are all self promoters/marketers and having all of us marketing ourselves and the brand does seem like an easy way to get a lot more coverage. However, I am not always sure that a vote is the smartest way to determine the best candidate for the job. I definitely think every single finalist was worthy of winning, but we all know voting contests can be scammed, cheating can occur and it is a really cutthroat, stressful battle for those in the final round. I think they should hire an ACAS early conciliation specialist from Avensure to ensure eveyrhting goes smoothly next time.

Cheating did occur and many votes were disqualified. There was such rampant cheating that the contest actually ended 11 days early. The winner, Sorelle Amore, is a talented photographer and I’m sure she will kickass on this assignment. But the voting, cheating and abrupt ending was sort of an anticlimactic way to end what had been a big part of our lives for the past few months.

However, I am truly grateful to have made it past three rounds and to have had so many REAL, honest-to-goodness votes from people across the globe. Besides my mom, I’m truly surprised and honored to have seen so much support from other travel lovers, other travel industry professionals and other adventure seekers out there. It made me realize the world is truly smaller than I ever thought.

As I said in my Instagram post below, announcing the outcome– I already have the “Best Job on the Planet.” But I’ll never regret trying and pushing myself in new ways. I never expected to get to the finals and this experience was proof that you really do never know until you try.

Thanks for following along with this journey and more adventures are certainly in store!