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The Next Chapter

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guanajuato

When one chapter ends and another hopefully begins.

I wrote about this on the bus heading home from a 2-week job on a military base in Wainwright, Alberta. It was a totally unique experience. I had received an offer to act as a villager in a military role play exercise. This meant I got to pretend to be a spanish villager while watching ground troops and tanks cover the area and humungous helicopters hover overhead. I met over 100 amazing people from all walks of life. Some were musicians, some were actors, and some were just trying something new. Some were Canadian, some were Mexican, and some were Columbian. We became family for 15 days, living in dorm-room type conditions, working together, eating together, and partying together. Some of us became good friends that will continue well into the future.

And yet, despite how cool of an experience this was, the 2 weeks ended quickly, and I found myself on a bus headed back home. Everyone was still sitting around me on their way back home but I knew that for most of us, we would never see each other again. We had just woke up from an amazing farewell party complete with a talent show and a spectacular performance of the Northern Lights (otherwise known as Aurora Borealis).

It was a mixture of sadness and happiness. It was sad to close a chapter on such a wonderful experience, yet exciting to imagine what the next chapter was going to hold.

I’ve felt this so many times as I’m sure you have as well. High school, college, university, trips around the world, hobbies, sports, and new found friends. Each chapter must end at some point.

But the best way to fight the chapter blues is to begin a new one. One filled with new adventures, new experiences, and a new story.

I’m now in Mexico City, a new chapter to finish off the 2011 year. I know next year, I will turn the page to another chapter featuring Malaysia and the rest of SE Asia. I know the location but I don’t know the story.

So although it saddens me a little to finish one chapter, it’s exciting to begin the next.

As long as you keep your curiosity alive and the adventures rolling, you won’t get stuck in one chapter and life will keep churning out amazing stories of unique experiences and new friendships.

Have you started a new chapter lately?

Travel Hacking with Mom & Dad

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taxco, mexico
Looking down on Taxco, Mexico with Mom, Dad, and Karla

It’s been a dream of mine for sometime to be able to pay for a trip for my mom and dad. I always thought it would be a really cool gift to send them somewhere unique and different from anywhere else they have been. Unfortunately, as a student/shoe-string online entrepreneur, buying plane tickets for other people is a difficult task.

Thankfully, I began to get really involved in the ancient art of travel hacking last year. I had always been the kind of guy to look for special deals on travel, but had always looked the other way with airline reward programs. Luckily, that all changed when I began to take it more seriously.

The world of reward mileage is not the same everyone. The U.S. has the best programs of all and is insanely easy to get enough points to never pay for a flight again. In Canada, it’s a little harder but I quickly found out that it’s still possible to get 100,000 points or so each year. Of course, this number can even be higher with the amount of time you put in.

For me, my deepest interest was credit card deals since they seem to offer the best bang for the buck. I did some research and ended up finding 3 cards in particular that allowed me to earn thousands of points quickly, with almost no fees what so ever. 2 of the cards allowed me to earn a total of 45,000 Aeroplan points with no added fees. That’s already enough for a round-trip to Mexico. Another card allowed me to earn 25,000 points for just $75. Not bad for a round-trip anywhere in the U.S.

After earning all these points plus dabbling in other deals, I began to realize how awesome it really was. Before I knew it, I had gathered more than 80,000 points in about 6 months. I now had enough points to bring my girlfriend and I to Mexico.

But I still wanted to get my parents to Mexico as well and show them such a unique and different place than what they were used to.

So I began to tell them about all the deals they could participate in to earn the points I had earned. At first, they scoffed at the idea and told me it must be some sort of scam. I kept on telling them it wasn’t a scam. Sure, it seemed to good to be true, but in this case, it was real.

Finally, I managed to talk them into one credit card. Once they reached their bonus points, I talked them into another, and then another. Before they knew it, they also had over 80,000 points each.

Voila, we were all going to Mexico. I offered to pick up the taxes, and just like that, I had achieved a dream of bring my parents on a trip for nothing. All of us were booked and heading to Mexico City to visit my girlfriend’s family and to see the amazing history that the city and surrounding area offers.

They were pretty amazed that these trips were paid for in points that took almost no effort to earn. The only thing we needed to pay was taxes of about $125 per person. I took care of that for them and also coached them into a free stopover in Vegas on their way home to see a beautiful cirque du soleil show.

After booking the flights, other friends and family began asking me about the deals I had found and how to go about earning points more actively. So, I thought I should create an EBook for Canadians. Chris already has one for Americans (affiliate link) but I wanted to create one specifically for Canadians since our deals here are so different. It’s still in production mode, but if your interested in buying a copy, sign up here and I’ll notify you upon it’s release. If your signed up and choose to buy, you’ll also get $5 knocked off and some other goodies.

If you’d rather get started now or simply do it on your own, here are some great travel hacking sites to check out:

That’s a good start. These sites are great and are packed with lot’s of information. A lot of it is geared towards Americans but it can definitely still help you out.

Happy travels,

 

 

Finding Your Unique Genius | An Interview with Aaron Ross

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Aaron Ross of Unique Genius and PebblestormMeet Aaron Ross, the founder of PebbleStorm, which is helping 100 million people “make money through enjoyment” by combining happiness and money. Aaron’s Unique Genius work shows people how to discover their purpose & passions and turn them into a successful business.

Aaron is also the author of “CEOFlow: Turn Your Employees Into Mini-CEOs“, and “Predictable Revenue” which is coming soon.

I’m excited to interview Aaron and surprised I haven’t done this yet. I took the Unique Genius course last September when it first opened. I was just starting A World of Inspiration and his free videos resonated with me so much that I had to give it a try. It was great. It helped me learn some interesting things about myself, introduced me to a community of awesome people that were really helpful (I actually had lunch with two of them while visiting Japan), and made me throw my first rock of creating an ebook. Aaron’s been super supportive along the way with everything I’ve done and I’m honored to introduce him to you.

Welcome Aaron.

What is the Unique Genius Superhero Program?

It’s a group mentoring and educational program, in which people learn how to start a fulfilling business that is based on values such as integrity, purpose, authenticity and making money in ways that are fun and feel good. I want people to be able to make money through enjoyment, meeting other like-minded people and making lots of money  at work they love!

What brought you down the path to creating Unique Genius?

I’d been successful in Silicon Valley: I’d been an Internet CEO, built a sales team at Salesforce.com that helped them add $100 million in revenue, and had a job at a venture capital firm where I was getting paid to figure out what company I wanted to start.  It was at that point I realized that I felt unfulfilled, that my work didn’t really matter.

Who needs another sales or marketing process app?  Was some internet or software app really going to change the world or lives?  I knew I was meant for more and that I wanted to make a big difference…and that I didn’t feel like I was going to do it in that world.

This led me to my purpose – to help 100 million people “make money through enjoyment,” combining the best of capitalism (money) and buddhism (happiness). Unique Genius are the methods and principles I discovered to help people do this, do what I did.

What did it feel like when you found your Unique Genius and what happened after?

It felt INSPIRING at first, and then SCARY second – it brought up all kinds of hidden fears and questions like, “Can I do this?  Who am I to do this?  Will people reject it?” and others.  (I’ve since seen this same thing happen with every single student).

Also, I think there’s some misconception that people find their life purpose, or Unique Genius, in some single big flash of light.  Really, it comes from a series of breakthroughs and realizations, all of which build on each other, step by step.  Also, finding your purpose is one thing…learning how to live it every day, to express yourself fully, is a whole ‘nother ballgame!   The Unique Genius work helps with both steps.

In the program, you talk a lot about taking baby steps and throwing rocks. What do you mean and how important are these things?

First of all, baby steps are just so amazingly powerful.  I’ll bet you come up with big ideas all the time that you don’t do anything with…they can feel so overwhelming.  How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  How do you discover what you are meant to do, your unique talents, and turn them into a fulfilling business that can’t fail?  One baby step at a time.

Where does all this impatience in our lives come from?  Everyone wants INSTANT results, whether it’s with weight, money or love.  It’s insane.  Impatience to me is a form of unhappiness, as in “what I have isn’t good enough right in the moment, I need something different NOW.”

Look, you can make money very quickly: get a for-profit job.  You can find fulfilling work very quickly: get a not-for-profit job.  But combining the two in spending the time to discover your passions and purpose, then turn them into a fulfilling business that makes you plenty of money, takes time.

There are probably online courses that promise you a college degree in 30 days.  Good luck with that!  After founding half a dozen companies and mentoring hundreds of people, I’m here to say there are no shortcuts…so you might as well start now, and you might as well have fun and enjoy the process!

unique genius, aaron ross, pebblestorm, make money with your passion

Have your past students had success/breakthroughs with Unique Genius?

Some examples:

1) Jessica Ross, who, as a single mom with no time or money, founded Bond Girl Bootcamp, where she takes women out to be badasses for a day in shooting guns, jumping out of airplanes and learning self-defense.

2) Rich Walker, CEO of a software company, published an amazing book and has started a second fulfilling business as a coach (video of Rich).

3) My mom took the course last year and, at age 67, has started Wheels Up Adventures with a friend of hers.

Marylou Tyler was a client who was so gung-ho and fun to work with that we ended up partnering and created a new business together that she is CEO of.  She and I founded Predictable Revenue, Inc., a company that helps businesses multiply sales.

How does it feel to help people find their unique strengths and superpowers?

Incredibly fulfilling.  Even better is when clients find them, and then come up with ways to partner with me and stay in the community, like Marylou.  And many alumni of the program come back as mentors to new students, which is fun, fulfilling and a great way to build their own skills and businesses.

I think a lot of people think that they don’t have any special skills or strengths and therefore feel they have nothing special/unique enough to form a business with. What would you say to those people?

None of those things are true, and they should watch the videos on www.UniqueGenius.com.  EVERYONE is unique, and has a special gift to share with the world.  Few take the baby steps and have the commitment to find it and express it in a way that they live every day (and can make money from).

Thanks Aaron for doing the interview. Anything else you would like to add?

Yes – that there are many lies people believe about what it takes to start a business.  For example: you might believe that you need money, time, a brand, a great idea, a college degree, to raise money…etc etc.  None of that is true.  I’ve started and gotten all my current businesses to profitability with less than $100 each.  All you need is commitment and a decision, baby steps and patience…and the rest can follow.  Unique Genius video #2 is titled “Start A Business That Can’t Fail,” which I highly recommend watching if anyone feels this way.

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Registration for this year’s Unique Genius course is July 30th. Note: I am a past student of the Unique Genius program and I am affiliated with it. If you decide to buy the course through one of my links, I will also include 4 hours Unique Genius coaching with myself. As a past student, I will be able to help you through some of the modules and explain anything you don’t understand. We can also talk about cheesecake.

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What do you think? Have you found your Unique Genius?

Fate and a One of a Kind Hollywood Experience

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Ryan Reynolds, green lantern
Even Ryan Reynolds was surprised that we scored tickets to the Green Lantern screening in Hollywood.

Okay, I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a big believer in fate or anything like that. I don’t really think we have a set-purpose in life or a time which we are scheduled to die. I am, however, constantly impressed by the timing of various events that just seem so perfect.

There are so many events that happen when the timing is absolutely perfect. I could talk about the random decision to go to another city for just 1 semester of university which led to meeting my girlfriend of 3 years. I could talk about the group I emailed to help sell some extra books I have which turned into a membership and a free trip to Japan. But since the World Domination Road Trip just ended, it seems only fitting to talk about one of the very cool “fate” type moments that happened While I was in Hollywood.

It was a a very hot wednesday afternoon and we were just finishing up a taping of the Jay Leno show where we had been in the audience. It was around 5pm and since we were already in Burbank, I decided to swing over to Hollywood to show Karla the sights. Considering it was rush hour, we parked in the first location we could find which happened to be a mall right on Hollywood boulevard. We were starving and decided to look for a restaurant immediately. We were eyeing up a pizza restaurant but not wanting to spend to much time eating (and ordering and waiting and so forth), we decided on a little crepe place that looked like it would be quick. After the meal (which was pretty damn bland), we walked out to Hollywood boulevard and noticed the street was closed off and that massive crowds were lining up for something. As we walked closer, I noticed Blake Lively (actress in the Green Lantern) who we had just watched Jay Leno interview earlier that day.

We then realized it must be a screening of the Green Lantern at Grauman’s Chinese theatre. We began to look for more actors and then noticed Ryan Renolds a few feet away from us talking to reporters. Karla was excited to see all this action and of course, to see Ryan Reynolds. I was more excited to see Jason Bateman who was also there for some reason. But seriously, what a cool Hollywood experience for Karla on her first trip to the U.S.A (and for me as well). After some quick pictures, I grabbed her hand so we could move towards the theatre which I really wanted her to see before we left. We began to walk in and around the crowd when someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I wanted 2 tickets. I had no idea what he meant so I just asked “how much?” and he said they were free. “You can have them as long as your gonna use them right now” he told us.

Are you gonna come?

Suddenly I looked down and realized it was 2 tickets to the screening! “Hell yeah!” I replied.

Next thing you know, were following them alongside the red carpet towards Grauman’s Chinese Theatre to watch the Hollywood screening of the Green Lantern. I was amazed. I gave him a sincere thanks, grabbed some free popcorn, and headed into the beautiful Hollywood theatre. A red curtain kept the screen covered while security sat Ryan Renolds and the rest of the cast about 20 seats behind us. Once the cast was seated, the curtains unveiled the screen and the show began.

Such a spontaneous and unique event. An absolutely amazing experience for Karla and myself in Hollywood. Had we chose to eat at the pizza restaurant (which we almost did), we would have missed the opportunity by a few minutes. Had we decided to find parking elsewhere, we would have missed it. Had we not walked past the couple with the tickets at that precise moment, someone else likely would have grabbed them.

The timing was perfect. The moment was perfect. The movie was okay (haha). The stars had lined up and the cosmos were aligned perfectly with our souls. 100% fate.

Nah, it was just a lucky coincidence. But none the less, it was awesome.

Home Sweet Home

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2004 Ford Mustang GT in Californian redwoods
The beautiful car that transported us to our many adventures

Home sweet home.

Familiarity, family, friends, and my own bed. Yet home is suddenly new. It becomes part of the trip. A distant land. It’s funny how that works. It’s only been about 40 days since I left for the World Domination Road Trip but pulling into the driveway felt almost the same as pulling into a new city or a new adventure.

Let’s get back to the trip.

When describing the journey, epic would be an understatement. In those 40 days and 40 nights, we squished in so many places, new people, and adventures that we barely had any time to actually chill out and relax. Sleep had no priority.

We drove over 9000 miles, escaped the grasp of the famous Seattle troll, met countless inspiring people at WDS, jumped out of a plane in Oregon, jumped off a bridge in Washington, snuck into a castle in Napa Valley, rode the cable cars through San Francisco, got soaked under the world’s fifth largest waterfall in Yosemite National Park, met the famous Mickey Mouse in Disneyland, Sat 20 rows from Ryan Renolds during the Hollywood screening of the Green Lantern, had lunch in Tijuana, watched the amazing show called “O” by Cirque Du Soleil, Drove route 66 through the desert at night, watched the sun set and rise in Grand Canyon National Park, hiked 4 miles through a river in Zion National Park, watched the planet saturn, galaxies, star clusters, and the International Space Station through telescopes in Bryce Canyon National Park, almost got swept away in a windstorm while watching a rainbow form over the world famous delicate arch in Arches National Park, checked out the 4th of July fireworks in Salt Lake City, and watched Old Faithful blow before sleeping in the car in Yellowstone National Park. Of course, this doesn’t include couchsurfing with new friends the entire time.

It was truly a jam-packed adventure that I’ll never forget. That we’ll never forget. My girlfriend Karla experienced so many things for the first time like visiting the United States, jumping out of a plane, and leaping 200 feet off a bridge.

But now we are back home which, as always, brings mixed feelings. Happiness to see family, friends, and to have some rest. Sadness that the amazing road trip is over.

I learned a lot of things on the road trip including how I should have unlocked my phone (more on this later), and how difficult it is to maintain a blog while on a non-stop adventure road trip. It was pretty much impossible to take days off to write and find WiFi. This unfortunately kept me from writing on the blog for the whole trip. For those that follow, I’m sorry I couldn’t update as the trip went along. However, the good news is that I have plenty to write about now and look forward to writing about the many adventures over the next few months.

And although coming home is usually more sad because the adventure stops, I have arranged for that not to happen. Since it’s Karla’s first time in Alberta during the summer, were gonna keep the adventure going. I have booked us some white water rafting, a helicopter tour over the mountains, a day at the Calgary Stampede and evening show, and camping at my favorite spot near a beautiful emerald lake in the middle of the Canadian Rockies.

That’s another thing I’ve learned from travel. Adventure can be found close to home. You don’t need to travel to far distant lands to find excitement. You just might find it around the corner.

Have you found any adventures near home? If so, what?

Taking a long term sabbatical overseas with a family | An Interview with Matt Koenig

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Matt Koenig of 1 Year SabbaticalThis is an interview with an awesome guy named Matt. No, it’s not me but thanks anyways :). It’s with Matt Koenig of 1 Year Sabbatical. Matt was actually one of the first people I connected with online and I recently met him in person at the World Domination Summit. Matt’s an incredible guy and is taking his family to Indonesia for 1 year starting this August. Below are some deep answers to what inspired Matt to do this and many other things that go along with moving overseas with your family.

Welcome Matt Koenig.

What inspired you to take a 1 year sabbatical?

The primary inspiration was just realizing that I was stuck in a rut and wasn’t happy. It wasn’t that I necessarily disliked my job but I disliked the routine. Something needed to change. As cliché as this sounds these days, a friend recommended I read Tim Ferris’s book “The 4-hour Work Week” and after reading that I realized there were options out there I hadn’t considered or even imagined. But what really got me going was Chris Guillebeau’s manifesto “A Brief Guide to World Domination”. I realized that I didn’t have to live my life the way others said I had to. Since my wife is Indonesian and we have a strong connection to that Country we came up with the idea to take a career break, a 1 year sabbatical, and live abroad for a year with the family. It just seemed too perfect. I’ve always been of the belief that if things are not how you want them to be then then you should do whatever it takes to make changes.

What excites you about moving to such a different place?

I’ve been to Indonesia before and just love the people and culture. It’s just an incredible place that really makes me feel at home. I’m excited about being able to learn more about the culture and become an advanced tourist. Before this the longest time we’ve spent in Indonesia was 2 months and it just wasn’t enough time to really start to feel anything beyond a vacation. We were just starting to feel like we were settling in when we had to leave and fly back. I’m excited about being able to afford all that wonderful and healthy tropical produce (have you seen how much a single mango cost in the US?). I’m excited about being able to spend more time with my family and for my kids to learn more about the other half of their cultural heritage. And I’m excited about being afforded the time to develop various business ventures I’ve wanted to pursue. I love photography and I’m excited to be able to have more time to put into it.

What have been some of the challenges so far with this decision?

I think the biggest challenge by far has been actually believing that we can do this. If you give yourself time to step back and really think about it all it really sounds crazy. Give up a good job in this economy to go live abroad? When people hear what we are planning to do they look at us like we’ve gone off the deep end. It’s been challenging financially to put away the money that will be required to make it a year in Indonesia. We’ve had some debts that we needed to pay off first as we realized this venture would never be possible unless we were totally debt free. And I’m happy to say that we have made great progress on that at the expense of saving money. It’s been difficult to stick to the sacrifices we told ourselves we would make but I think in the end we will meet our savings goal. Of course I would feel much more comfortable if we would exceed it. It’s challenging when you have kids because they don’t always understand the concept of sacrifice.

 What does your family think about the idea?

Well my wife is all for it obviously. This is all kind of a home coming for her. My two sons are excited but I’m not sure they really comprehend what this all means for them. In terms of other family members they have generally been receptive to the idea and have encouraged us in our planning. I’m not sure they really believe that we are going to follow through with everything though. My parents have the obvious concerns of my career and employability, health insurance and other insurance issues, retirement savings and of course the fact that we will be on the other side of the world from them. My in-laws in Indonesia are very excited as it’s been since 2005 that we were last there and they have yet to see in person their youngest grandson. None of my co-workers beyond my boss know about our plans. Thankfully my boss is really cool and is onboard with the whole idea.

Some people would probably say you are crazy for giving up such a good job but what do you think?

Well it’s been a concern for sure. Part of my mind is screaming at me telling me not to be a fool, not to give up the golden handcuffs, to maintain the security. And it’s easy to come to that conclusion in light of all the economic indicators telling us to bunker down, don’t take risks, to maintain the slow and steady but safe course. But when you really think about it nothing is really safe. My job could disappear tomorrow if that is what the company deemed in their best interest financially. This is what it really comes down to for me. Do I want to sit around in my basement cubicle dreaming about the adventures that others are having right this very moment? Or do I want to take a chance, open up a can of risk and create some amazing adventures of my own? I’d much rather create and experience my own adventures than live vicariously through someone else. It’s like getting served a piece of cake without any frosting. We all know the frosting is the best part. I want more frosting. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m not some irresponsible jerk that is advocating everyone quit their jobs and life a carefree life with no concern for the future. I’m just the opposite. I’ve gone into this 1 year sabbatical with a clear head and plenty of research. I know that my saving for the future is important and I have a plan to make sure that I don’t get behind in my retirement savings. But I also don’t want to wait until retirement in order to enjoy retirement. I don’t buy into the whole deferred life plan. I think if you have the opportunity to live the life you desire then why out it off until some golden age that you have no guarantee of ever reaching? Life is short. Do it now while you can. And that is what we intend to do.

You’ve started a great blog to chronicle the journey leading up to the big moment. What has that been like and what message do you want to send to your readers?

Starting the blog was one of the best things I’ve done. Through the blog I’ve met lots of great people such as you and have received so much encouragement. Through the blog I’ve also encountered more traveling families than I ever imagined. Seriously, there are lots of families out there doing exactly what we are planning to do. So if there is one message I would like to send to me readers it would be don’t let having kids hold you back from traveling. While it may offer up a different set of challenges it’s not impossible. Just ask people like Christine Gilbert of Almost Fearless, or Colin and Tracy Burns of Our Travel Lifestyle or The Vogel family of Family on Bikes.

What are you hoping is born from this fantastic journey?

If I’m to be completely honest it would be a new lifestyle. It’s not that I dislike my current job but I see so many unique and interesting opportunities out there that I would love to try out. I was talking with a friend the other day about careers and how I have had several including a chef in a restaurant, wildlife biologist, data processor and network analyst. All have been things that I have been interested in and pursued. But none of them have lasted the duration of a typical career because I’ve always desired to move onto the next thing once the “career” began to feel stagnant. So in that respect I’m hoping (or rather planning) on a new lifestyle and new career being born. I have a few ideas that I want to pursue and develop so we’ll see where they lead to.

Any advice for other people considering taking a sabbatical with or without family?

I guess my advice would be to plan out what your goals for your sabbatical are and have a purpose and a plan for how you will spend the time. A sabbatical isn’t just an extra-long vacation. It’s a career break to allow yourself to pursue some specific goals and ambitions that you’ve always wanted to pursue. So make sure you know why you want to take a sabbatical first, then plan out the details. Also, don’t let finances hold you back. Sure, a year in Europe can be expensive but there are lots of places around the world where money goes pretty far so don’t let the issue of money hold you back. Do the research and you will quickly see that a sabbatical is obtainable on almost any budget. We are doing it on a shoestring budget so you can check us out and see how we do it. We definitely plan on putting up specific budget information during our year in Indonesia. Finally don’t let fear hold you back. Our minds set up roadblocks that can be difficult to overcome. Fear is a natural emotion but when it interferes with and dictates how we live our lives it becomes a serious burden. Work through it and don’t let it hold you back. Life is too short to feel trapped in your own state of fear.

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You can follow Matt Koenig and his adventure by visiting his site 1 Year Sabbatical.