The most notable explorers really had a combination of extreme confidence, desire to know what's up ahead, and hopes of claiming new land. They also, no doubt, had moments of doubt or being overwhelmed, wanting to turn back. Let's look at some famous explorers.

Marco Polo (1254-1324)
n the 1200s this merchant, writer, and explorer traveled the silk road. The first to show Europeans the Eastern Cultures of places like Mongolia, China, Japan, India, and Persia.

Juan Ponce de Leon (1474-1521)
This Spanish explorer and conquistador had expeditions to Cuba and Florida in the early 1500s. Perhaps best known for wanting to find the fountain of youth. He charted and named Florida. 

Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
This Portuguese explorer led a Spanish East Indies and was the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean, as well as being the first to make contact with the Phillipines. 

James Cook (1728-1779)
A British officer, explorer, and cartographer (map designer). He led voyages in the Pacific. Also the first contact with New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii.

Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957)
An American naval officer and aviator who explored the North and South Poles by plane. 

Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)
An American astronaut and aeronautical engineer. The first person to walk on the moon. 

Imagine trying to navigate rough oceans, not knowing if land is ahead, without maps, sometimes with cloud-covered skies where stars can't help guide the way. Imagine a boat of nervous men, hardships, needing water, needing food, not sure what they would meet on new shores. 

There is still so much of the world to explore, cryptids to find, oceans to comb, stars to chart. There are explorers in the fields of science and medicine. 

You don't have to risk your life to take on the grit that forms explorers. 

What about learning a new language? 

How about zoom photographing botanicals? 

Scanning the skies with nightvision binoculars in search of UAPs? 

Participating in urban exploration of abandoned and safe sites? 

Take a ghost tour in your city.

How about riding around in your car in an unknown area without using your map app on your phone?

Exploring Earth for oddities on Google Earth? 

Going treasure hunting or gold prospecting?

Did you know Find-A-Grave site could use volunteers at hidden or lesser known cemeteries to photograph and document the graves for families searching for loved ones?

Nature lover? Set up feeders and trail cams and document wildlife.

If you want to watch modern-day explorers, follow Josh Gates on Expedition Unknown. How about a fantastic nature photojournalist like Devon Massyn on YouTube. You may have seen his work on nature shows and Shark Week. 

Exploring isn't just about going out and finding new things. Sometimes, it is an inner world search - manifesting, meditation, spirituality, UFOs, hollow earth, ghosts, Bigfoot, and more. Remember, at one point, the concept of mountain gorillas was proposterous, even though locals spoke of them for decades. Then, in the 1950s - poof! They were found by scientists and documented.