Archive for the 'Life' Category

My Great Experiment

My Great Experiment What if, regardless of circumstances, you could quit your job and retire within 5 years?  What if you could only work 4-8 hours a week and make in a week what  you used to make in a year, and do it from anywhere?  What if you could leave and take a month to explore something you’ve always wanted to (travel, learn a sport, etc.) and come back with more money then you left?

Imagine spending your time doing all the things “you always wanted to do” but didn’t have the time, money, or energy to do?  What if the belief that a job is the safe way and retirement at 65+ is the only way… is actually a lie?

In 2003 I started asking myself these questions, and have found the answers.

I’ve learned in the last 5 years that this is indeed possible and first has to start with  believing it can happen.  I mostly did this with books, some classes, and support from my Wife.  Without any skills in either real estate or the stock market we are quickly coming to a turning point in our mindset and abilities that will allow us to do just that.  I imagine this blog will change along with me, since I am quitting my job and phasing out my technology career.  I’ve had people tell me this can’t be done, at the same time I’m doing it.  I’ve had many moments I thought it was moving too slow and would never happen, or that I didn’t have the magic skills to make it work.  But for the moments that it seems to take forever, I’ve had moments (like now) that a huge leap forward has taken place and now realize within a year we’ll both be living the way we started to dream 6 years ago with one simple book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad.  It may not be the perfect book, but it lit a spark of hope, and after reading that book we had only one rule we weren’t willing to break:  once we started to act on these dreams, we would never give up… never.

Great Weekend in Missouri with Shaman’s Harvest

Shaman's Harvest Blue Note Shine Release 2009-05-01 104 What a awesome show!  To see your brother on stage rockin’ to hundreds of people is a rare thing.  Watched my brothers band Shaman’s Harvest release their 4th CD Shine at the Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri.  Listen to a few tracks, see my photos of the event, and support indie bands by buying the album (once it comes out online).

Mastery, it’s vital to understand

Maybe you just get it… but I didn’t.  Maybe I just forgot along the way.  Before you read any other self-help book, read all 176 short pages of Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard, and then read it again.  I find myself going back to my notes again and again to remind myself of what it is to be on the road of mastery in anything I want to do.  It always helps when I think of straying off my plan to get better at something.  Buy Mastery on Amazon.

Books you need to read

Get audible.com, buy the ones below that are on there, and listen. Otherwise read for 15 minutes in morning (when mind is fresh and not drifting off to sleep), or after a Caffeine Nap. If they change you the way they’ve changed me, you’ll be glad you took the time. If you’re in doubt, Google terms like ‘wealthy people read books’, etc.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Don’t get hung up on the real estate concept, but focus on the mindset. This is the book that was recommended to me by a friend 4+ years ago and got me started. When I read it I spent most of my spare time working my job and watching TV, etc.. 4 years later I spend most of my free time planning and working toward leaving the job for good.

Mastery. Once you understand the path to it (I had to read it twice), you tend to be calmer and content with the plateau of ‘work’ in getting good at something. Plus, it allows you to draw similarities between your path to mastery of Google hacking and the path of a Ninja, and that’s always fun.

The Secret. I have the DVD and audio, and have listen/watched them a total of 12+ times, and is still on my iPod. I have many big and exact examples of how the law of attraction has worked for me and mine.

Success is not an Accident. Still implementing this one, but is hard core work if you take it seriously. I expect it to give me laser focus on my life goals and projects by the time I’m through it.

Getting Things Done. Don’t just read this. Take a year to implement it. Trust me. Companies may start to prefer it, CNN boasts about it, and heck even Leo Laporte recommends it. After several methods including paper/Moleskine, Outlook, and Remember The Milk, I have stuck with My Life Organized because it’s digital, runs anywhere and keeps in sync, and I can take it with me on my Windows Mobile phone.

CrossFit: Kick in the pants

Right now, while your already spending your time on the “Internets”, click over to CrossFit and read just a few pages (1,2,3) about this amazing fitness program that I think *anyone* can do, reguardless of current fitness level, physical limits, or financial situation. If you’re currently not satisified with ANY part of your exercise program, and are willing to put in more effort and less time, I ask you to consider this simple yet unusual program (compared to the “big box fitness marketing”).

I’ve been a Zone diet fan for almost a decade, but always fell in and out of the discipline of controlling my hormones via controlling my macronutrient levels of food intake.  Recently, I started to consume all sorts of information about CrossFit methodoligy and techniques, which has also lead me back to the Zone, which, like you would expect, leads you back to CrossFit.

Loved the punishing workout I  received by Thomi and Pat of CrossFit Virginia Beach so much we’re already signed up for more instruction/pain in what I’m sure will be a life changing fitness program for us.