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Free Inspiration

Matthew — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:05:19 +0000

My friend Tom, from The Practical Nerd, recently created an amazing resource. He emailed a number of extraordinary achievers and asked them what some of their ordinary achievements are. This insightful question allows us to see behind-the-scenes into their lives to teach us how much like us they are.

Not only does Tom provide a great list of inspiring individuals whose accomplishments and goals include visiting every country in the world, pursuing 10,000 Random Acts of Greatness, and letting readers choose where they live for the next 4 months. He also helps us get a glimpse of just how ordinary these individuals are; some of their goals include graduating high school, eat breakfast on a daily basis, and the author who writes every day.

This is the kind of post that you should bookmark and return to frequently. Look at the accomplishments by those mentioned for inspiration. See how they are ordinary people and know that you can do the same. Use it as a “to contact” list and meet new people. Check out the resources provided by those mentioned.

Thanks, Tom!
Go, check out Average goals from extraordinary achievers.

http://www.thepracticalnerd.com/2011/03/02/20-average-goals-from-extraordinary-achievers/

Make Some Money

Matthew — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:09:24 +0000

I’ve been reading Christian Personal Finance for some time now. They have lots of great information on a variety of personal finance topics.

Want to make more money? Sure, we all do. They have some wonderful advice:

I’m sure that you can find a suggestion in these links that will help you. While you’re there, be sure to look around and see what all they have to offer!

Vagabonding – Book Review

Matthew — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:05:39 +0000

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
~ St Augustine

The first book I read in 2010 was Vagabonding by Rolf Potts. Not only did I find it to be a delightful read, but also to be full of useful information. No matter if you want to travel or simply find more adventure in your daily life, Vagabonding has advice for you.

Here are some snippets for you:

The hardest thing about travel is deciding to go. Once you’ve made that commitment, the rest is easy.
Live richly instead of getting rich from life. Live well instead of “do well”.
Money is needed to survive, of course, but time is what you need to live. So use money to meet basic survival requirements but spend time lavishly to create the life values that make the fire worth the candle.
Monasticism on the move – on the road we often live more simply, with no more possessions than we can carry, and surrendering ourselves to chance.
One the road, you should never forget that you are uniquely in control of your own agenda.
If you view the world as a predominately hostile place, it will be. ~Ed Buryn (Likewise, a positive worldview can lead to inspiring, human-centric road experiences.)

Every chapter is full of useful information. Vagabonding is not so much a checklist of actions to take as it is a guidebook for how to look at the world. Who knows what you might learn!

Don’t ever live vicariously. This is your life. Live.

Get your copy and see how much better your life could be.

Sometimes Simple is Better

Matthew — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:05:07 +0000

My wife and I currently live in a 2-bedroom apartment. That second bedroom? Designated as an office/art studio.

The office part is true. It houses our school books, a massive desk that is used on a daily basis, and other sundry items.

It also works wonderfully as an art-supply storage room. Most of my materials are carefully tucked away in corners and the closet. Unfortunately, storage was not at all the goal; action was.

The Problem

I came to realize that even though I never worked on any of my projects, I had a lot of great ideas. I even had the energy and a few minutes to spare to work on them. Unfortunately, the prospect of having to clear a workspace, drag everything out of storage, and then set it all up. After working, it’d be time to clean back up again.

Out of those twenty minutes I had to work on a project, about 5 of them would be spent painting. The rest would be set up and clean up.

And so, my projects never moved past the idea stage.

The Solution

As with so many problems, the answer to mine was quite simple. I needed to greatly reduce or completely remove the amount of prep and clean-up time required for each session.

I needed a dedicated art-space. Fortunately for artist me, painting and drawing don’t require a lot of horizontal space. Vertical is the way to go. This means that I didn’t need another desk, but a place to put my canvas or paper. An easel!

Egads! Easels are expensive. They range from $40 for a weak, wobbly thing to tens of thousands for easels that move on their own. I didn’t want anything fancy. Functional, sturdy, and easy on the wallet. While I’m at it, I also want it to be small and light-weight as well.

Fortunately, such a contraption is surprisingly easy to make. An easel is nothing more than a capital “A” that is leaned up against a surface. Two pieces of $1.45 lumber, one piece of scrap wood, 6 screws, a 3 cuts… and I’m done. Total cost was about $3, and it took less than an hour. If I had power tools, it could be done again in about 10 minutes.

Einstein said it best:

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

My easel is a simple affair, but it fulfills my requirements, and means that I’m ready to pick up work on my current project with only a minute or two of preparation.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to go get some painting done! (You should check out some of my portraiture over at www.French-HoltCreations.com.)

How to Get 4 Free Plane Tickets Every Year

Matthew — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:05:05 +0000

Want to travel more? Don’t want to pay high prices to do so? Fortunately for all of us who do, Chris Guillebeau just launched the Travel Hacking Cartel.

What is it?

The goal of the Travel Hacking Cartel is to democratize free travel. Chris and his team plan to demystify the process of travel hacking. Our members can “go anywhere, anytime.”

What you get

Regular “Deal Alerts” sent via email and SMS/text message (when a big opportunity comes up, our members will be the first to know)
Tutorials and an extensive Knowledge Base to get people started (our research showed that most people have no idea what to do with miles and points… we’ll tell them)
The Refer-a-Hacker Program that pays members 500 Frequent Flyer Miles for each referral (we’ve tried to make this process extremely easy – everyone has their own referral link directly in their account settings)
The “World’s Greatest Guarantee” – if members follow our directions and spend at least 30 minutes a month travel hacking, they’ll earn enough miles for at least 1 plane ticket every quarter, or 4 plane tickets a year (we also provide info on how to redeem miles for great awards)

Maybe Monday’s post about Becoming a Frequent Flier Master piqued your interest. Here’s the chance to get more serious about it, to really earn those points and actually use them to go places!

Let’s Travel!

I don’t know about you, but I love the idea of getting to travel for free. My wife and I have a lot of places that we want to visit, and being able to get 4 free tickets a year, guaranteed! is definitely something we’ll be doing.

I’m already a member of the Travel Hacking Cartel. Won’t you join me? Let’s go traveling!

How to Travel More

Matthew — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:50:24 +0000

Do you wish that you traveled more often? Wish it didn’t cost so much? I’m right there with you. My to-visit list can be summed up into “everywhere”. However, I can’t afford to buy a plane ticket across the country, much less across the ocean.

Fortunately for both of us, Chris over at the Art of NonConformity has written a fabulous guide to help us out. Chris knows a few things about traveling, and making it affordable, since he’s given himself 5 years to visit every country in the world (and has visited more than 125 of them thus far). In this guide he has condensed the knowledge he has gained during more than 8 years of travels.

Frequent Flier Master

Become a Frequent Flier Master
No, you don’t have to actually frequently fly to make use of this guide, but it will help you be able to fly more often. There are numerous ways to earn frequent flier miles (almost half of which don’t involve having a credit card), and this guide comes with a fabulous “earn enough miles for a free ticket or your money back” guarantee.

What more could you ask for? A risk-free chance to earn enough frequent flier miles to fly for free. I’m going to be putting the information in that guide to use, because I want to start actually visiting those places on my list. Dreaming about them just isn’t enough.

What about you? Go check out the guide.

No Soap or Poo Update

Matthew — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:05:59 +0000

Even though I haven’t mentioned it for a few months, I’m still not using soap or shampoo in my daily shower. I haven’t received any complaints about smell, or made any about feeling dirty. However, I have received some feedback because of my earlier post about the no soap or poo experiment and wanted to share.

(Note: Names have been omitted for privacy reasons.)

Gave it a try

One of my loyal readers decided to try a no ‘poo experiment for herself. After about a week, though, she decided to return to her beloved shampoo. There seem to have been two reasons for this return:

She didn’t try long enough to get past the normalization period. The more chemicals you use in your hair, the longer it will take for it to return to feeling normal without them.
She likes how the shampoo smells and wanted that back. I can certainly appreciate this, and see no other way to achieve the same results.

Hair stylist gives compliments

Another friend decided to test the no ‘poo experiment as well. After about a month, she thought that her hair still hadn’t normalized but was willing to continue on. A month later, she was still going. When she went to her stylist for a trim she received compliments on her hair. After explaining the experiment, the stylist remarked that the reader had exactly the results that so many people pay a lot of money to achieve.

Loves the results!

After reading about my experiment, a friend of mine decided to give it a try. I didn’t hear about it until after a few weeks of no soap. Like me, he hadn’t received any complaints and decided that he liked it just as well, if not better, than having to use soap. Since no soap seemed to be working for him, he decided to try no ‘poo as well.

He waited until after he got his hair trimmed (which is still about twice as long as mine) and gave it a go. A week later he told me that he loved the results! He didn’t need to use any gel in his hair any longer, which he had been doing for years.

Deodorant makes you stink?

A couple of friends read about the experiment and both decided to test it out. He had never given such an experiment any consideration and was quite pleased with the results. She has always had sensitive skin and struggled to find soap and shampoo that wouldn’t irritate her. No soap has proven to work out wonderfully for her! She isn’t quite comfortable testing out no ‘poo, though, and was still looking for a shampoo that works for her the last I heard.

The most interesting thing that I learned from their experiences came from testing out no deodorant as well. He hasn’t ever been a huge user and skipping that daily step didn’t bother him in the least. She was a heavy user, however, and was amazed to find that she smelled better when she quit using it. Needless to say, she was quite annoyed to find out that Dove had been making her stink!

What about you?

Have you tested out either no soap or no ‘poo? I’d love to hear how it went, either in the comments or via email.

Minimalist Transportation

Matthew — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:05:00 +0000

Even though it might seem that way, I don’t ride a motorcycle purely because of how much I enjoy it, or because it helps me to focus. I also enjoy the minimalist experience that a motorcycle provides.

Note: Not all motorcycles are like mine. Some come with all kinds of accessories, such as automatic transmissions, radios, GPS, heaters, and even sheepskin seats!

My motorcycle is pretty simple. It has everything it needs to get me from point A to point B, and little more.

Ms. Peep’s accessories:

windshield – It came with the bike.
saddle bags – These aren’t actually installed yet, but when they are they’ll contain such frivolous things as rain gear and a water bottle. Plus, shopping runs will be so much easier!

Things Ms. Peeps doesn’t have:

I think this is a much more interesting list.

automatic transmission – Just like a manual car, I have to shift up and down through the gears
reverse – Speaking of gears, if I can’t coast or push myself backwards, then I don’t go that way. And small though Ms. Peeps may be, she’s still kinda hefty.
automatic blinkers – That’s right. After I make a turn, I have to remember to turn off my blinker.
complicated systems – I can easily figure out how Ms. Peeps works. One can trace from the control to the brake, from the shift pedal to the transmission, or any of the switches to the lights they operate. Have you tried to do that in a car?
a lot of information on the dash board – I have 6 indicators in front of me: speedometer, odometer, neutral indicator light, high beam indicator, blinker indicator, and engine problem indicator. And, really, I don’t need all of these.
a cup holder – Though it would come in handy sometimes, I haven’t figured out how to drink something while my helmet’s on anyway.
cruise control – I do have a throttle lock, but it’s entirely not the same thing. Now you know part of why I dislike interstates so much (you know, besides the fact that they’re boring.)
radio – At least I don’t miss it. Of course, I could borrow my wife’s mp3 player if I was dying for some tunes on the road.
heat/air conditioning – Air temperature is my temperature. That’s why I practice winterization.
clock – If I forget my watch, I’m time-less on the road. This helps me to relax and enjoy the ride, while also helping me be better about leaving a time cushion for any commuting I need to do.
storage space – If it doesn’t fit in my backpack, or in the to-be-installed saddle bags, it doesn’t go with me. Though this can be a challenge, I love that I don’t have to worry about cluttering up my vehicle.

There are plenty of other things that Ms. Peeps doesn’t have (like a roof, doors, or windows). All of these are things that people think they need in order to commute. By giving up on these things, I’m able to enjoy my trip more, while also using less resources. Fewer materials were required to build Ms. Peeps, less fuel is needed for my travels, and she even takes up less parking space.

I know it’s not for everyone, but my minimalist transportation is certainly a highlight in my life!

Winterizing Ms Peeps

Matthew — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:05:41 +0000

I am not a fair weather rider. Apparently that makes me weird. Ms. Peeps and I ride no matter what. In fact, it doesn’t even occur to me that my wife’s car might be available for me to use.

This can be a challenge

Yesterday morning, in fact, turned out to be quite humorous. I got bundled up, headed down to the parking lot, and found out that I couldn’t even get the key into the ignition. It was frozen! (It had rained the day before, and everything got soaked. Then it hit about 28 over night.)

I bent the key trying to get it to go in. After straightening it out, I headed back up to the apartment to warm it up under hot water. That didn’t really help any.

I headed back up and, flustered, hit up google for some advice. Heat the key with a lighter! -smacks forehead- I dig out the zippo from its drawer only to realize it’s out of fluid. Out to the storage space I go. Refilled, I realize that this is the lighter that needs a new wick. Fortunately I have more than one zippo, so I got another and proceeded to fill it as well.

Standing in the parking lot, looking like you’re trying to light a key, kind of makes one feel a bit foolish. However, it did the trick and after a few more minutes of fiddling Ms. Peeps was up and running. Though she might have been reluctant to start this cold morning, the roads were just fine and I had a pleasant ride in this morning, if a bit delayed from normal.

Through all this, I stayed warm, dry, and comfortable. Lots of layers makes a huge difference!

What is winterization?

Apparently, there are people who don’t ride year-round. Who knew? These people put their bike into storage for the cold months and pull it back out again once it warms up. They do things like putting fuel stabilizer in the gas tank, hooking their battery to a battery tender, and making sure that the bike is up on blocks.

My winterization routine

Put. On. More. Clothes.

Layers are the secret to staying warm (and dry). The lower the thermometer drops, the more layers I’m wearing. So far I’ve stayed toasty warm, and it’s been about 28° F. It doesn’t take that much, either (at least for short trips, less than 10 miles). Thermal underwear or fleece pajama pants under my jeans; tshirt, sweater or sweatshirt and leather jacket; doo rag under the helmet; scarf carefully tucked into jacket; polypro gloves.

The only issue I have is with the gloves, because they got soaked in the rain a few days ago and haven’t dried out completely yet. Until they do, my fingertips start to get pretty tingly by the time I get to my destination.

Still cold?
If there’s a threat of rain or it’s even colder, I’ll add another layer. Though I got the rain suit for free (it was left in a traded-in vehicle when I worked at a car dealership), the same one can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot for a fairly low price. Once you block the wind, the temperature soars upward.

Why would I do this?

Because I love it! Watching the snow swirl around you as you move down the road is amazing. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
And if that wasn’t enough, then every trip I take is a good excuse for a steaming mug of hot chocolate when I get home.

I’m loving life on two wheels!

Do You Want to Try the 100 Thing Challenge?

Matthew — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:05:32 +0000

I recently completed a personal 100 Thing Challenge. I know that some of you wish that your life had less clutter in it. Maybe I can help.

Having completed the “Sticky-Note Love” ebook, I would love to work on a 100 Thing Challenge Guide. I can take my experience, interview others who have gone through similar processes, and create a comprehensive guide about how to undertake your own challenge.

Not only would it include a step-by-step process, but I would also include worksheets to help you figure out what you need and videos filled with useful tips.

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