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Annual Life Review and 2015 Plans

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Annual reviews are not normal for me. Unlike those who methodically go over each year of their life and meticulously plan for the future, I like to kind of go with the flow and say yes a lot. For some this can be disastrous but for me, I enjoy it. For the most part, my energy and enthusiasm for life and travel and creating things keeps me growing. At the same time, I can see how going over the past year can be a grounding experience and one that can either make you grateful for everything you did or give you a kick in the ass to really change things for the year ahead. As far as planning, I can also see the benefits of at-least creating a rough roadmap for the following year as a way of guiding your thoughts and activity and gaining some focus.

For me, my passion is actually what gets in the way of business. If it wasn’t for traveling 6-8 months each year, I would probably be raking in the money. I’d have much more time to focus on more income streams and much more time to focus on marketing. But hey, we only live once and I know that atleast the way I travel (off the beaton path, months at a time, etc) will slow down once I have a family.

Anyways, as I sit here in Mexico City with just over a week left before flying to Costa Rica, I think it’s a good time to reflect on the past 12 months and make a rough plan for 2015. By writing this publicly, I hope to hold myself much more accountable and I also hope to inspire those who read it to possibly do their own plan, change things up or rejoice in how amazing your life really is.

Let’s begin. [Read more…] about Annual Life Review and 2015 Plans

My Annual Review and Vision for 2014

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I am writing this post on the last day of 2013. Wow. It’s truly hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of 2014. In some countries, it’s already 2014. When you read this, it will be 2014.

I started writing this post in my journal, which has been with me through 13 countries. My journal has been to more countries than most people. As cool as that sounds though, it’s not the number of countries that’s important. What’s important is experiencing a country and a culture that is completely different from your own. Someone who leaves Canada to live in Indonesia or China or Nicaragua for 1 year will be transformed on a deeper level than someone who visits a new country every two weeks.

Okay, back to the post. The annual review. This is the first true annual review I’ve ever done. I’ve written versions of them before but it wasn’t what a true annual review should be. Personally, an annual review should be a deep and honest look at the last year. A compilation of what went wrong and what went right. A deep reflection into why things went right and why they went wrong. Something that allows you to learn from the mistakes made and then banish them into history. Finally, it should look ahead into the future, not necessarily with goals but with an overall vision of what you would like to see in yourself over the year ahead. It could be a vision of what you hope to achieve in business or more importantly, what you wish to see in yourself. It should be taken very seriously and not just a “dream” that gets tossed in the garbage a week later. Every day is a miracle after all. [Read more…] about My Annual Review and Vision for 2014

Who Said You Couldn’t Become a Married Digital Nomad with a Baby | An Interview with Brad Hussey

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I met Brad for a coffee after exchanging emails a few times. He was living just two hours south of myself and had been reading this blog when it was called A World of Inspiration. Brad is a web designer who became a minimalist and now travels all over the place with his laptop, his wife and his newborn baby.

There are a lot of people who think a baby (and marriage for that matter) are a hindrance to the nomadic lifestyle but Brad is proving them wrong. While the challenges are certainly greater, Brad is a great example of what’s possible when you make your dreams a priority. In this case, Brad and his wife want to see the world and not be chained down to one location. They became minimalists and got rid of most of their stuff, took their jobs on the road and are now living in Newfoundland for the next year.

Meet Brad.

Brad, you recently had a baby girl. How’s the adventure going?

It’s been a totally transforming experience. I never knew, nor expected, what it would be like to have a child. In my experience so far, I’ve realized how much having a child puts your entire existence on this earth into perspective. You have less time to worry about stupid things, because there is somebody, here and now, who needs your immediate attention. I like saying that having a child makes every day an unpredictable adventure — and there’s something exciting about that to me.

[Read more…] about Who Said You Couldn’t Become a Married Digital Nomad with a Baby | An Interview with Brad Hussey

Jumping Out of a Plane Without a Parachute

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Made you look.

What did you think you were going to read? A new form of skydiving? suicide?

You know what I actually think made you click on this post?

Crazy ass risk. A leap. A bold thing to do with ones life.

Let’s face it. Most of us don’t take enough risks. We play it safe. We conform.

Why?

Now, of course, jumping out of a plane without a parachute is stupid. It’s not really a risk in my eyes – it’s just plain suicide and makes no sense at all.

But why don’t we take more liveable risks? Risks that make us live limitless.

Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

Jon Krakauer from Into the Wild.

We only have one life. We don’t get stronger as we age. We’re strong now.

In today’s world with endless opportunities and connections to the entire world, why conform and sit steady as we watch others live remarkable lives… [Read more…] about Jumping Out of a Plane Without a Parachute

LL 012: A Live Limitless Interview with the Empire Flippers

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In the twelfth episode of the Live Limitless podcast I chat with Joe Magnotti & Justin Cooke from EmpireFlippers.com.

Justin and Joe are two guys from the U.S. who decided they wanted to start their own business and move to a developing country. They both craved the sense of adventure that only travel can provide but had to figure out a way to make it happen. After leaving their management positions in America, they rented a house in the Philippines and started building what is now called Empire Flippers; a company that allows them to build targeted niche sites and sell them to investors. Not only did they take their new business from $30 per month to $200,000 during the year of 2012 but they also give away all their tips and “secrets” for free at their site.

In this episode, we talk about:
  • Empire Flippers and what it’s all about
  • What made them want to leave the U.S. and move to the Philippines
  • Whether they had any doubts
  • Whether they think niche sites are a good way for people to get started in online business
  • Whether their mindset has changed since moving to a developing country
  • What led them to choosing “niche sites” as part of their business model
  • The “dare” that ended up turning into a sold-out boxing arena with Joe in the ring
  • And MUCH more…

Listen below or download from iTunes by clicking here. (Please note: If you’re reading this from email, you may need to visit the site to listen)

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If you’re running short on time;

(1:45): Joe and Justin explain what Empire Flippers is all about 

(3:17): What made them want to leave the U.S.A and start a life in the Philippines 

(4:39): We talk about whether they had any doubts about the big move and the business

(6:10): What led them to “niche sites” as their income source

(12:12): We talk about the potential headache of managing thousands of sites and how they deal with it

(12:50): How they determine how much to sell a site for

(17:10): We talk about link-building

(19:40): Are niche sites a great way for people who are just getting started

(23:38): Is there really enough keywords to go around

(25:35): We talk a little bit about the process of choosing a keyword

(28:56): We talk about whether their mindsets have changed since moving to a developing country

(33:33): The boxing match with Joe Magnotti

(36:23): Advice for listeners wanting to do something different with their lives but feel held back or scared

 

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Hope you enjoyed this interview with Joe Magnotti and Justin Cooke of Empire Flippers.

Please leave a review at iTunes and/or share with your friends.

Want more inspiration to live limitless? Check out this interview with Wandering Earl

Can Minimalism Save the World?

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Minimalism has been around forever.

One of the purest forms of minimalism can be found by looking at the ancient methods of North American First Nations. They would set up their tents, create a temporary “town”, hunt for food and then move on to a different location while barely leaving a trace. When they would kill a large animal such as a Buffalo, they would use everything. Nothing went to waste. The skin was used for shelter, bones carved into weapons, fat became grease and all the meat was consumed.

It was minimalism at its finest.

Then things changed. In came industrialization and World War. Machines were developed to make weapons, which then evolved to produce various products. A lot of these products made life easier. Things got cheaper. Fast forward many years later while including greed and engineered marketing and advertising and we’ll, we’ve created a big problem. Now we have mass consumption. Absolutely insane quantities of stuff. Absolutely insane amounts of waste. Absolutely insane amounts of pollution.

We’ve certainly left a trace.

Go take a look at a land fill. Now multiply that by millions. Think of just one city like New York, which  sends 14,000 tonnes of waste to the land fill every day. Yup, every day. Just one city.

Can minimalism save the world?

Take a trip to Wal-Mart. Look at all the useless crap. Stuff nobody ever needs. Stuff that people buy, use once and toss in the garbage, where it will never decompose. If it does decompose, it’s toxic. How much stuff does everyone own that never gets used. Not only did it cost hard-earned money but it also takes up unnecessary space, which costs more money.

Our biological tendencies crave more and were encouraged to do so. Support the economy, right? This is a joke. A bad joke. It’s unsustainable in the first place.  It’s a roadmap for growth, growth, growth and crash. The way we measure growth simply doesn’t work. It’s a relatively new way of looking at things and it’s already outdated. GDP should really stand for garbage, destruction and pollution. That’s really how growth is measured to determine a country’s wealth. How much garbage do we have? How many things can we destroy? How much pollution can we create? The more the better. That is growth. That is money.

Really? Is this progress? Shouldn’t we be measured by our sustainability, happiness, connection, purpose, intelligence, health…..

So where does minimalism come in you ask?

Thankfully, minimalism is growing. It’s still very small compared to the opposite but at least it’s growing. Minimalism is the art of getting rid of things that don’t provide us value so that we can focus more on the things that do. It’s questioning our purchases. It’s thinking about what we really need to be happy and content.

Minimalism has many positives.

  • It will save you money since you won’t be buying useless items any more.
  • It will save you space, which will ultimately save you a lot of money since you won’t need as big of a house to hold all your stuff.
  • It will save you your sanity since you won’t have to deal with so much stuff. Imagine a giant weight being lifted off of your shoulders.
  • It will improve your health as you won’t be eating unnecessary food and you’ll likely be exercising more as you won’t have worthless items grabbing at your attention span throughout the day.
  • It will improve your relationships as you’ll suddenly find more time to spend on the people who really matter.
  • Hell, you might not have to work as much either since you won’t be needing as much money because you won’t need to buy so much stuff.

Maybe this is the most important part – you’ll have more time. Time is life. Suddenly, you can use your extra time to focus on hobbies that add life to your years. Maybe you can focus on a side-business or a different job or more recreational pursuits. Maybe you can use it to spend more time with your kids, your wife or your pets.

With time, the possibilities are endless.

Sure there might be less consumption. Maybe this means a little less money, which doesn’t matter because we don’t need as much stuff. Rather than more money for more stuff, we can have more attention to spend on solving important world issues.

Less consumption will mean less garbage, less pollution and less destruction, which will create healthier cities and healthier countries.

Do we really need another cartoon-inspired USB stick?

No – what we need is more attention to focus on the stuff that really matters.

So maybe, just maybe, minimalism can help save the world.

What do you think?

Seriously – What do you think?