Live Limitless

Adventure, Business, Travel

Matt

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

How to Create Your Own Burning Man Experience Without Going to Burning Man

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Wow. What can I say.

Burning Man was fantastic. A journey more than an event. Truly a “life” experience.

68,000 people camping in the middle of an inhospitable desert.

Dirty. Excited. Open.

Dressed in costumes, people parade around proudly gifting things to one another and appreciating the generosity of others.

Massive art projects give an impressive life to the playa, mesmerizing people by day and dazzling them with neon lights at night.

Seminars and workshops around everything you can imagine go from dawn til dusk. Sex, spirituality, flexibility, change, dance…you name it.

But not everyone wants to make the journey to Black Rock City. Not everyone wants to live on a desert for a week. Not everyone wants to go without a shower for 7 days or wait in a 12-hour lineup to get in.

If you can’t make it out to one, you could always create your own at home. You’d simply have to…

  • Organize space for a large gathering of open-minded people from all walks of life.
  • Arrange for massive, expensive and extremely detailed art projects to be lined up all over the community. I’m talking about large climbable 30-foot iron statues of wolves, 20-foot tall human hands that can cup you like a baby and big tents with the most insane psychedelic paintings known to man-kind. This is just a start.
  • Find extremely generous people who are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of effort to transform their vehicles into giant mutant flaming octopuses, disco-dance floors and double-decker armadillos.
  • Encourage generosity amongst all participates where people gift everything from hugs, kisses, food, alcohol, and even free plane rides.
  • Organize hundreds of “seminars”, “meet ups” and “talks” around subjects of all kinds. Things like samba dancing, female masturbation classes, yoga, unconditional love, TEDx talks, erotic massage, improv, Michael Jackson Thriller dance sessions and so forth. Yup, anything goes.
  • Set up massive parties all over the place every single night that don’t stop until the sun comes up. Bring in DJ’s from all over the world willing to perform for free.
  • Make a human carcass wash come to life with hundreds of naked people cleaning each other just like a car wash. Pre-soak, soap, rinse and squeegee.
  • Create a safe environment where people can try new things, challenge their boundaries or simply be themselves. This includes walking around completely naked, dressing in ridiculous costumes or anything else that participants feel they need to do.
  • Create a large, impressive structure to go with the events theme. Maybe a UFO that people can walk in and play around with. Build a giant “man” on the top of it. Make it beautiful. Then burn it down. Actually, make it explode after launching an insane amount of fireworks into the sky.
  • Build an absolutely stunning temple for people to visit and feel. Here, people can leave prayers for loved ones who have passed away, write down things they wish to change about themselves, share their love for the event, or anything else they feel compelled to do. They can just sit and think about life or make plans for the future. Anything they want to say, think or pray about. The temple is a peaceful place for all. At the end of the event, burn it down.

I could go on. This is just a start.

Then again, you could just make a trip to Burning Man.

Welcome to the playa.

Have you been? Do you want to go? 

 

 

“The Human, Earth Project” and a Quest to Rescue a Kidnapped Girl | An Interview with Ben Randall

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When I first heard of “The Human, Earth Project”, I was hooked. Such an amazing story and a great adventure to provide people with a good look into the lives of people all across SE Asia. More importantly, it will shed a light on something that shakes me to the bone; Human trafficking. It’s such a massive worldwide problem that most people don’t even know about. Imagine having your son or daughter kidnapped and sold to someone overseas…very sad.

Ben is on a mission to find a young girl he met in Vietnam who was later sold into China. He hopes to bring her back to her family. On top of this, he will try to find 100 of the same people he took photos of five years ago and tell their story to the world.

I asked Ben a few question regarding this project, which he answered below. I hope you enjoy.

Welcome Ben.

What inspired your first trip to Asia five years ago?

When I was 22, I went to Europe for six months, and stayed for almost three years. By the time I finally got back to Australia, I knew that home would never again be big enough for my curiosity.  Asia was so close, but it was worlds away in terms of history, culture and landscapes.

Was this project already planned as of then or did you come up with it after your first trip?

From my first months in Asia, I focused on taking portraits of local people, with the intention of eventually putting together an exhibition. After my first two years of living and travelling in Asia, however, I made the decision to give up photography altogether, as a way of living the moment more fully rather than simply trying to capture it.

I also had the sense that by capturing the physical appearance of these people, I was capturing something very superficial, and was focusing on the differences between us, rather than the things that unite us all as humans: our thoughts and feelings, hopes and fears. So I kept the photos to myself, until I heard of M’s kidnapping, and realized there was a way to use them to help people. That’s when ‘the Human, Earth Project’ was born.

What inspired you to start this project?

In 2010, I spent three months living in the mountains in the far north of Vietnam, and that’s where I met M. I first went to Asia for the culture and landscapes, but it was the people I met there that made it truly memorable, and M was one of those people.

The year after I left Vietnam, M was kidnapped, and is believed to have been sold as a wife or prostitute in China. When I heard about her disappearance, through mutual friends, my first reaction was a sense of shock and helplessness. I didn’t see that there was anything I could do.

That lasted about a year, and might have lasted a lot longer, if not for a series of meetings and experiences that got me thinking in a more practical frame of mind. Rather than seeing M’s disappearance as the end of a tragedy, I began to see it as the beginning of something bigger. It would have been easy to do nothing, but it wouldn’t have been easy to live with myself.

human earth project

How did you find two other people to work with and how are you working together to bring this project to life?

My background is in documentary film-making, and from the very beginning of the project I’d been hoping to find a cameraman to follow me for the six months of my journey, to film it as  a documentary.

I spoke to two travel photographers I knew – I’d shared a house with Patrice in southern Thailand, and met Moreno while travelling in northern India – and they were so enthusiastic about the project that they both decided to join me, which was wonderful.

Unfortunately, Patrice will no longer be able to join us as his father has recently suffered a stroke. Moreno and I will still be producing the documentary, so we can share the sights and sounds of our journey with you all!

Please tell us about M…

Ethnically, M belongs to the Hmong minority. The Hmong tend to live poor and difficult lives in rural villages, and there were many Hmong communities in the mountains around the town where I was living in northern Vietnam.

Many Hmong families would send their daughters into town to sell handicrafts and guided treks to tourists. Sometimes these girls were as young as nine years old; M was fifteen when I met her. The girls learn English from the tourists they speak to.

Of all the Hmong girls I met in Vietnam, M was the most memorable. She has a loud mouth, a quick smile and a sharp sense of humour. It would be incredible if we could bring her home to her family.

How did you find about M? Do you know how widespread human trafficking is in Asia?

I learnt of M’s abduction through mutual friends in Vietnam. Her story, sadly, is only one of many. While I was living in Vietnam, I was oblivious of the traffic in Hmong girls, but I’ve since realized what an enormous issue it is, with girls disappearing frequently.

Because of the Chinese one-child policy and the cultural preference for male children, there aren’t enough women in China, and girls are imported by all means possible. The Hmong, already regarded as second-class citizens in Vietnam, are easy prey for traffickers.

As many as 27 million people are estimated to be victims of human trafficking around the world, a mind-boggling number – more than the entire population of Australia. A very large proportion of those people are in Asia.

Are there many organizations trying to help?

I’ve been in touch with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation which is doing some amazing work in Vietnam and, amongst other things, has rescued 297 trafficked children. If we can find M, they can almost certainly help bring her home.

How do you plan on making people aware of human trafficking?

The focus of ‘the Human, Earth Project’ is a six-month, 20,000-kilometre journey from Indonesia to Nepal, to find one hundred of the people I photographed during my first journey through Asia. As we find these people, we’ll be sharing their stories, to see them as human beings, not merely faces or numbers.

The entire journey will be shared online via stories, photos and videos, and after the journey finishes we’ll be releasing the documentary and a book of photographs. It’s our role to make these things as fascinating as possible, to get as much attention as we can for the cause, and to make as many people as possible aware of the human trafficking situation.

How do you plan on finding M?

Finding M will be the most difficult part of the journey and, in truth, we may never find her. If we can help raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking, however, we may be able to stop the same thing happening to other girls like her.

the human earth project

How are you funding your trip?

In March, when ‘the Human, Earth Project’ was first announced, I launched a crowdfunding campaign which raised $3,035. To this I’ll be adding over $15,000 of my own money, which I’ve managed to save over the twelve months.

I’m also selling prints of my portraits through the website, at www.humanearth.net. They’ve been very popular – I’ve had sixty-six of them printed and posted around the world in the past two months!

How can we help?

It’s been amazing to see the way that this project has brought together people around the world; it’s been an incredible journey already. Many people have been contributing their own time and money because they want to see the project succeed. The person who’s helped me the most has been my brother Nick from pinionsystems.com, who has spent many long nights getting ‘the Human, Earth Project’ website up and running.

Friends and strangers around the world have been helping me to translate the website into their own languages; we currently have seventeen translations available, including languages from some of the countries we’ll be passing through, so people there can see what we’re doing. There’s also a worldwide musical collaboration currently contributing music for the documentary.

If you do want to help the project, there are two things you can do. Firstly, you can share it around with your friends and family. The more people see what we’re doing, the more likely we are to make a difference. Secondly, you can buy a portrait print through our website at www.humanearth.net – it’s a great way to help the project, and to have something beautiful to show for it!

***

Hope you liked this interview. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments and I’ll have him reply 🙂

 

Adding Life to Your Years

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Far too many people these days are concerned with adding years to their life when it would be far more productive to add life to their years instead.

The world is obsessed with extending life. Pills, gizmos, apps, dieting fads – you name it. Everyone seems to crave a longer life. The ironic part is that most of these people don’t even enjoy the life they have.

Why extend it?

Why would you want to continue living longer and longer if you’re not even making use of the years you already have.

This is what we should be obsessed with – Adding LIFE to our YEARS. Forget living a couple of years longer. Let’s actually LIVE in the first place, which will likely lead to a longer life anyways.

I know so many people who agonize over what they should be doing to live a little bit longer. They take all sorts of health and vitamin pills without taking the time to just eat better food. They stay out of the sun in hopes of not getting cancer. They say this and that will avoid getting this or that ailment. They don’t step out of comfort zones for fear of danger. They start diet fad after diet fad only to fall right back into bad habits immediately when it’s over. They buy funny bracelets that gives you ‘energy”.

The list goes on.

I have a lot of older people in my family. Many have lived to be 80, 90, and even 100. Trust me, by the time you hit 80, there is a very high chance you won’t be doing any of the things you’ve always dreamed of doing. It’s just the way it is. Living a little longer won’t help that.

Start adding years to your life now.

Why do you want to extend life?

What is it that you want to do?

What would you hate to NOT attempt before it’s too late to do so?

Who do you want to say I Love You too?

Where do you want to go?

What do you want to accomplish?

What activity have you always wanted to try?

What job have you always wanted to experience?

These are just a few of the questions we should be asking ourselves. Don’t put things off any longer. You’re alive. You’re healthy. Your mind is working. You’re smart.

Start spending 30 minutes everyday on something you’ve always want to do. If it’s starting a little business, spend 30 minutes every day towards it and it will be we’ll on it’s way in a year. If it’s a marathon, get up every morning and jog for 30 minutes. If it’s connecting more with your wife or husband, spend 30 minutes each day on an activity you both enjoy.

Whatever you do, don’t let the life you already have fade away in hopes of a distant future when everything falls into place.

It won’t.

Now is always the best time. Now is the only time.

 

My 29th Birthday, Free Coaching and Discounted Travel Hacking

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live limitless birthday

Wow. Just one year away from hitting the big 30.

Time really feels like its flying right now.Last year, my 28th birthday was spent in Mandalay, Myanmar. Myanmar (or Burma as it should be called) was a very special place for me so being able to spend my birthday there was amazing. Just me and Karla.

This year I’m spending my 29th birthday in a couple of places. I’ll wake up in Quebec City and then I’ll be driving north along the St.Lawrence River to search for whales. Report coming soon. Very cool.

But in all honesty, I’m actually heading out of the hotel right now to walk around the old walled fortress of Quebec and I wanted to offer some discounts and services in leu of my birthday.

Let’s start with Canadian Free Flyers.

Canadian Free Flyers is a membership site I set up to teach Canadians all about travel hacking and to send them all the deals available for earning points as soon as they come up. If you’re Canadian and looking to travel more while spending less, today is the day to sign up for Canadian Free Flyers. I’m offering it for $29 off. That means it’s just $68 for a year rather than $97.

I’m also opening up 3 spots for a months worth of limitless coaching, free of charge. If you’re looking to have someone in your corner, encouraging and advising you in creating your ideal lifestyle, starting a small online business, writing a blog, or traveling the world, I’m your man. It will be 4-weeks of coaching with 1 hour calls each week and follow-up. ($400 value)

What better way of celebrating a birthday than by helping others create an awesome life.

If you’re interested in the coaching, send me an email and let me know why you want it and what your hoping to achieve in the coming year. I’ll ask some questions to see if its the right fit. Feel free to send this to friends as well.

Can’t wait to hear from everyone. Looking forward to showing you pictures of whales shortly!

Au Revoir!

 

 

 

Driving Across Canada with Mom and Dad (or Seizing Opportunities)

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It’s now been eleven days since we left Okotoks, Alberta on route for Newfoundland. We will drive more than 7000 KM to get there, including stops in places like Moose Jaw, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Charlottetown, and Halifax. It’s a crazy five-week trip that will bring us to almost every province in the country. It’s also a great chance to see family that I don’t get to see that often.

But I wasn’t that excited at first.

As someone who loves travel, Canada just doesn’t excite me on the same level as places like SE Asia, Africa or South America do. It’s not because it isn’t beautiful. It is very beautiful. It’s not because it’s extremely expensive, which it is. I guess it’s just because it’s not the kind of different I look for when I travel. The East coast is extremely different from the West coast but it’s still Canada and it still feels like home for me. It’s just not as different and culturally ground-breaking as going to Eastern Europe would.

Niagara Falls Ontario

At the same time, the scenery in Canada is stunning. The food is great. There is a lot of nature. Maybe more nature and natural beauty than anywhere else on the planet. There is more coastline than any other country on earth.

But there was something else that made me really want to go.

My parents.

They were the ones who had planned on driving across the country to visit my dad’s side of the family in Newfoundland. They were planning on doing the gruelling drive so that they could stop in Northern Ontario to visit my moms friends and spend some time with them cruising around on a lake nearby. They usually do the drive in as little as ten days, barely visiting places along the way. It’s a verrrrrrry long drive.

I started thinking…will I ever get a chance to do a road trip with my parents again? A five-week road trip with my mom, dad and fiancé?

Probably not.

I’ve been thinking a lot about opportunities like this. Opportunities that don’t come around too often. Opportunities to spend time with people who are really important to me.

My parents and I are very close. Like best friends. Karla, my fiancé, is also best friends with them. I have family all over Canada and especially in Newfoundland. I don’t see them often. Many have died already. It really makes one realize how fast time goes and how precious that time really it is.

This seemed like a precious and priceless opportunity.

So I turned their one-week trip into a three-week drive and we jumped in and headed east. As of now, we’ve gone through the tunnels of Moose Jaw, met one of Karla’s childhood friends in Winnipeg, Spent some time in a lakeside house in Northern Ontario, jumped on extreme roller-coasters in Canada’s Wonderland, Peered out over Toronto from the top of the CN Tower, watched an amazing light show at Parliament in Ottawa after enjoying the Byward market, watched the fury of Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist and walked around Old Montreal eating smoked meat sandwiches and poutine. Tasty.

tall guard changing of the guards parliament hill ottawa
Little taller than me…

Over the next week, we will be strolling through the beautiful city of Quebec, watching the highest tides in the world in New Brunswick, spending a day in Montreal, driving across Prince Edward Island, eating fish n’ chips in Halifax, visiting the UNESCO World Heritage town of Lunenburg and then taking the ferry across to Newfoundland for another two-weeks of amazing scenery, whale-watching, icebergs, family visits, fishing and hiking through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gros Morne National Park. I’m also hoping we get to visit Fogo Island and hoping we get to do a road trip to the Gaspe Peninsula, but we’ll see…

It’s gonna be fun but most importantly, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience it with my future wife, mother, and father.

With our wedding just around the corner and a couple of years of travel coming up, my practical self wanted to stay and work. I wanted to spend more time online, building up Canadian Free Flyers and other projects. Getting prepared for the wedding, not to mention Burning Man on August 26th.

But I looked at this trip as a priceless opportunity. I’m not sure how much longer I have with my parents. I hope many years to come. But at the same time, a road trip across Canada is even rarer. It’s long and tiring, which is hard as you get older. My parents are in their sixties. It can also be hard to find a five to six-week span where everyone can take off without worry.

This was that chance and I jumped on it.

I’m so happy I did.

Do you have any big opportunities coming up? Are you going to jump on them?

Want more Canada road trip advice? Check out these articles below: