Andy Stoll has lived in a Buddhist Temple, worked at a dress factory in Bangkok, learned about ranching in a remote town of Austrailia and was a farmer in Zambia. He’s only 26.

“I graduated college bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to change the world,” said Stoll. “I realized I had one big shortcoming, that I had no idea how the world worked.” Stoll set a goal to work for three years and no matter what happened at the end of those three years he would sell everything and travel the world.

In August 2006 Stoll left with only a backpack and a one-way ticket to China. “I wanted to see how other people lived in the world, and I did anything I could to experience it.” The one-year trip turned into four, and he has plenty of stories to tell because of it. “There are odd things and different experiences you would never expect,” said Stoll.

The four-year trip was informative and gave Stoll a better sense of how the world worked allowing him to understand the challenges and opportunities it takes to make a difference with his current work. Stoll, who is passionate about social entrepreneurship and media producing, centers his projects on those two ideas.

Stoll brings his traveling experience to the SXSW core conversation How and Why I Travel Around the World, opening up the discussion on the role of travel and sharing his experience on how and why people should travel now instead of waiting. “As kids we are taught to pursue our dreams, except if that dream is to travel. People put that off till they have money or retire,” explained Stoll. “If I can do it, anyone can.” His experience proves it’s entirely possible.

“We are all at SXSW to build things, live out our dreams and create products or services that have a meaningful impact on the world,” said Stoll. “I hope this conversation has a diverse crowd, one that has people who have broken the mold and traveled and can bring experience to the conversation, but also those who haven’t traveled yet.”

For more about Andy and his four years of traveling, check out his travelogue No Boundaries.