I totally agree about travel pushing you out of your comfort zone. It's funny, I though that traveling with children would be less of a thrill because everything has to be more planned but it's still a buzz.
Public speaking..... that might be a bridge too far lol. The last time I did that was at uni.

one of my friends got run over by people doing circle work at a B&S - he lay down in the grass for a breather (no idea why) and someone drove their ute over him. Luckily he only got a fright so it was funny not tragic.