About Me | Matthew G. Bailey
Hi, I’m Matt, a small-town Canadian boy who decided to explore life’s possibilities and to live limitless.
It all started with an urge to explore. Not just the world but life’s possibilities. The town I grew up wasn’t exactly full of dreamers. It was very isolated. Sure, I had the Northern Lights above me and a lot of wilderness to bask in, but something inside me just wasn’t satisfied. I had this urge to explore the world. I had this urge to really dream big. I started imagining myself as an old man reminiscing over his life and I wanted it to be exciting. I wanted to really live.
Over the last decade, I’ve re-invented myself into an adventurous life-long learner and explorer, unphased by fears and propelled by excitement. A guy who thinks almost nothing is impossible and is ready to face fears, crush limits, and make dreams come true. I’ve become an international man of curiosity.
During these past 10 years, I’ve accomplished 100 personal goals such as speaking in front of 400 people, bungy-jumping off a bridge, sky-diving from 15,000 feet, scuba diving with sharks and visiting 38 countries and over 250 cities spanning 6 continents. I’ve acted in movies, eaten fried tarantulas and tasted the worlds most expensive coffee. I’ve also become a writer, a photographer, and have taught hundreds of people how to become travel hackers and make their dream trips a reality.
But it wasn’t always this way. As I mentioned above, I grew up in a small town. I didn’t even leave Canada for the first time until I was 21. I was somewhat shy and had a stutter, though I did my best to hide it. Once in high school, my passion became partying. My weekends were always spent drinking and having a good time and aside from playing hockey and working out, this was my primary activity. I didn’t really have any firm dreams. I was just having fun.
But there was something there. I had always had this urge to explore and to be creative. I never really felt that I fit in where I was. I had always had an imagination. I was just being lazy. I remember looking at National Geographic magazines and eyeing photos of scuba divers exploring caves and of people roaming the busy streets of India. It didn’t even feel like the same world to me. I was intrigued but I didn’t really imagine myself doing it. I guess I wasn’t thinking big enough. I felt trapped in the stigma I had created for myself.
But then one day, I left. After a painful relationship and the realization that If I start working a 6-figure mining job that I would likely never leave and never “know” what could have been, I decide to go. It was the only thing I could think of doing. I moved to a much bigger city 730-km south. A city where I knew no one. I also applied for business school and was accepted, which gave me an excuse for moving even though I shouldn’t have needed one. It did however give me a foundation for meeting new people and for learning something new.
The move worked. I became a new person. I was on my own for the first time. One of the first stories of my journey was walking up and down the streets nearby the college looking for an apartment to rent. As I was walking away from a house, a car pulled up with a couple of guys in it. They asked me what I was doing and if I was interested in finding a place together. At the time I wasn’t because I thought I had a friend moving down with me so I said no but I grabbed their phone numbers anyway. After finding a place, I called them up and went out for a beer. One of those guys is still a good friend to this day. I don’t think the “old me” would have done this.
My attitude became “why not?”.
I made friends with anyone and everyone who I thought was a good person. When something piqued my interest, I signed up for it. This included finding an agent and becoming a background actor for a full month in a Hollywood movie. It also included applying for and receiving a scholarship to study marketing for two-weeks in Denmark (my first time leaving Canada). Another day, I was walking down the hall and saw a sign advertising salsa dance lessons and again I thought “Why not?”. So I signed up and learned how to dance. Then I tried out for the olympic speed skating team when they hosted “auditions” at my school. I didn’t make the cut but I felt limitless. Life was one giant opportunity. At parties, friends were always stoked to hear my stories because I was the only one doing so many interesting and unique things.
I was becoming a new person. I was re-inventing myself.
Long story short, I started really believing that I could make my dreams come true. So one by one, I made them happen. Instead of just talking about something (we’re all guilty of this, no?), I actually did it. It’s incredible how much confidence comes from actually doing something. It becomes a snowball effect. What starts as a little ball of confidence amounts to something huge and unstoppable. After all, most of our limits come from our own set of beliefs. We are often our biggest critic.
And this is why I started Live Limitless.
So many people hold back on their dreams due to self-imposed limits. Think about it. What “dream” are you holding back on and why?
Through writing, photography, and courses, I’m here to inspire you (and to keep inspiring myself) to truly explore life’s possibilities. To truly live YOUR adventure. To crush your limits and make your dreams come true. I also focus quite heavily on travel. For me, travel has been a HUGE part of my re-invention and I truly believe that some form of travel will change your life. There’s something about being introduced to a new culture or to new food or to new adventures that add fuel to the inner spark. There’s something about learning that propels us forward. Travel opens our minds and expands our view of the world and of ourselves.
So whether you’re goal is to travel somewhere new or to challenge yourself with exciting new adventures or to face your fears with a new thrill, I’m here to help make that happen.
And whether you dream of writing a book, starting a business, learning a new hobby, or making one of your many dreams come true, I’m here to help make that happen as well.
Thanks for taking the time to read this short bio on myself and on the blog. I look forward to inspiring you to live limitless.
If you’d like to learn more about the website, click here.
If you’d like to read about traveling the world, click here.
If you’d like to check out the Live Limitless podcast, where I interview incredible people doing incredible things, click here.
You can also follow me on Instagram @MatthewGBailey or Twitter @MatthewGBailey or stop by the Live Limitless Facebook page by clicking here.
Now you’re probably interested in reading some articles, so let’s start with this:
I began my life of adventure by trying new things close to home. As much as I encourage travel, I’m also a big proponent of living adventurous at home. You don’t have to leave your home city to try new things and make yourself uncomfortable.
I did things like:
- Landing a lead role in an independent comedy movie
- Losing 23 pounds of fat, gaining 7 pounds of muscle, and dropping my body fat from 22% to 10% in 12 weeks
- Buying $780,000 worth of real estate before my 23rd birthday (this ended up being a terrible move, which I’ll explain later)
- Trying out for the Canadian olympic speed skating team with no speed skating experience
- Saving someones life while whitewater rafting in the Rocky Mountains
- Enrolling in the Dale Carnegie public speaking class and then becoming a coach for others
- Buying 100 copies of the 4-Hour Work Week to party with Tim Ferriss on a warship in San Francisco
- Began a 2-year long distance relationship with Karla (now my wife)
Then I started really travelling. I started with two weeks in Denmark via a marketing scholarship, which was my first time leaving Canada. Then I spent one week in Mexico, resort style, which I’ve learned is not “real travel”. Then I spent one week solo in Boston. The week in Boston was the first time I had travelled alone and it was amazing. I became so confident in myself and suddenly felt the freedom that solo travel brings. I then went to Mexico City to visit Karla (spectacular experience) before embarking on my first long-term solo trip to New Zealand and Australia for six months and ended up pushing my limits and challenging my fears in ways I never imagined. Things like:
- Sky-diving from 15,000 feet in Queenstown, New Zealand
- Bungy jumping off a bridge in Auckland, New Zealand
- Blindly booking a flight to Indonesia where I also rode a motorcycle for my first time
- Getting my open-water scuba diving certificate and diving with sharks, turtles and parrot fish
- Abseiling 100-metres down into glow-worm caves while visiting Waitomo, New Zealand
- Learning how to surf
- Jumped in a car with strangers and travelled the east coast of Australia for three weeks camping on the side of roads
- Hang-gliding over Byron Bay, Australia
- Kayaking the seas of New Zealand
- and becoming a certified scuba diver and diving with sharks at night
Now there really was no turning back. I was hooked.
Since then, I’ve continued travelling the world but with my wife. We started off our journey by completing my university degree in Malaysia and then travelling around all of Southeast Asia for a year. While New Zealand and Australia certainly opened my eyes to travel and adventure, nothing comes close to the experiences I’ve had with my wife. Together, we’ve explored Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, China, Japan, South Korea, Palau, parts of Europe, Turkey, Nepal, India, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, as well as large parts of Canada and the USA.
Some of my favourite experiences have been;
- Travelling alone to various cities and staying with strangers via couchsurfing,
- Scuba diving all over the world with thresher sharks, giant manta rays, hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and schools of barracuda,
- Surfing in Bali, Costa Rica, and the west coast of Canada
- Climbing many of Indonesia’s active volcanos and watching the blue flames of sulphur light up the night,
- Riding scooters all over Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Laos,
- Getting up close and personal with wild pigmy elephants in Borneo,
- Climbing ancient pyramids in Mexico,
- Eating fried tarantulas, ant eggs and many other bugs,
- Standing next to mountain gorillas and Chimpanzees in Uganda,
- Watching the migrating wildebeest roam the plains of Tanzania,
- Standing next to erupting lava in Ethiopia,
- Class-5 white water rafting in Uganda,
- Hiking to the Lost City of Colombia,
- Diving with marine Iguanas in the Galapagos,
- Volunteering at La Senda Verde animal refuge,
- and so so so so so much more…..
But aside from travel, I’m always trying to push myself personally and professionally. Some achievements have been;
- Speaking in front of 400 people in Calgary, Alberta,
- Having a 6-page feature spread in Our Canada magazine including my writing and photography,
- Getting a highly paid photography gig with Travel Alberta,
- Being featured in dozens of national media for Canadian travel hacking,
- and much much more.
As you can see, I have a passion for traveling the world and experiencing new things. I’m also passionate about personal development, creativity, entrepreneurship, adventure, comedy, nature and the environment, wildlife, brilliant ideas, and life in general.
Although I was always known for being a shy guy, afraid of pushing limits and living an adventurous life, I decided to make a change and began randomly exploring my interests, challenging fears, and pushing my limits. I enrolled in public speaking classes to make myself uncomfortable and adopted a mindset that before I die, I want to experience as much as I can. I want to live my life as if someone was writing a book about it.
Every single adventure I have ever had is a once-in-a-lifetime memory. I cherish everything. I learned more about myself from facings fears, crushing limits, and travelling then I ever had before. No one, including myself, ever thought I would be someone who would jump out of planes and leap off of bridges.
Life is too short and far too remarkable to shy away from our dreams. At any moment, my (and your) life could be over and it’d be a shame to let it go to waste. We all have different dreams, passions, and interests, and as long as they don’t hurt anyone or anything, they should be persued. For me, I want to see all the great landscapes of the world and then I want to sit in a space shuttle and see earth from outer space. I want to build connections with remarkable people and help change the world for the better. I want to develop my talents and release them to the world. I want to inspire people to push their limits and live the life they dream of.
In other words, I want to live limitless.
And I want you to as well.
You don’t have to follow the path that others follow. You can indeed create your own. You truly can design your own world.