Posts Tagged ‘inspirational’

I didn’t attend the World Domination Summit, but I should have.

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

I had heard about the World Domination Summit that Chris Guillebeau and Co. were putting on many months back, but sort of just dismissed it.

In case you happen to be unfamiliar with Chris or the WDS, let me explain before I continue. The tagline for event, which just happens to be the coolest and most thought provoking description for an event that I’ve ever heard, is this:

In the face of overwhelming pressure to conform, how do we live a remarkable life in a conventional world?

As if you need to know more after reading that, here’s more from the WDS site:

The World Domination Summit is no ordinary event. It’s not a retreat and it’s not a business mixer. And most of all, it’s definitely not a convention. It’s an unconvention. The summit takes place in an art museum, a park, an independent bookstore, and all over the unconventional city of […]

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Can I possibly create a business based on things I already know?

Friday, September 4th, 2009

I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about this topic lately, and about how ordinary people are learning to monetize their existing skills, and ultimately employ themselves. Is it really possible? And do I have any skill or knowledge that people would pay for?

Often I’ll find myself browsing random job postings or gigs on Craigslist for non-traditional types of employment, and I’ll look and think, wow, I wish I had the skills they are looking for, then I could hire myself out rather than work for someone. (By non-traditional I really mean any jobs that won’t require me to sit and get paid for my time rather than my work, like most jobs in my field do)

My goal has been always to be self employed, but my major stumbling block is that I don’t feel like I am an expert at any one thing or skilled enough to […]

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Thoughts on manifesting the things I want

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

I have been thinking a lot about my life lately. About things like abundance, positive thinking, manifesting desires, and living the life I want. I am by nature a person without a lot of certainty, I am always double thinking, over thinking, second guessing, and oddly I know a lot about what I don’t want but not a lot about what I do want.

Just recently I read this post by Steve Pavlina and it made me realize, even though I am great at dreaming and I want a lot out of life, I am not a great manifester. Which subsequently got me into an email conversation with a friend of mine who is currently in the process of manifesting the perfect life for herself.

It started with me writing an email, asking her if she thought I am inadvertantly manifesting scarcity in my life because of what I […]

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How to Climb Mt Whitney in One Day – eBook

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

How to Successfully Summit Mount Whitney in One Day – eBook

Interested in purchasing? Click here

The e-book describes in full detail how to successfully day hike Mt Whitney, the highest mountain in the continental United States. I have attempted the hike twice, and completed it once, so I know what makes the difference between a successful trip and an unsuccessful one. I also spent quite a bit of time researching for this trip, so I have wealth of knowledge to share.

Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney – The tallest mountain the the Lower 48 states, climbed in one day

For those of you who don’t know, I am just an average guy and I’m not an extreme athlete, but I learned from the first year’s mistakes and successfully trained to complete the hike the second time […]

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Ultra marathons and barefoot trail running

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek and Tarahumara runner
Photo credit: not sure, I think here

My new interest. Well, an interest maybe, but that’s about where it ends. I do run, but typically only 3 miles at a time. Hardly even a 5K, never mind an ultra marathon. Though I do love the idea of being able to run long distance, it is just so raw and primal and is truly the way we were meant to get around. But is it really possible for anyone to run 100 miles at a time?

I’ve been reading the book Born to Run and it’s just amazing. I’d heard of Dean Karnazes and ultra marathoning in the past, but sort of just figured he was some super human guy and there were only a few crazies out there who did this sort of running. But after flying through the first half of this book in just a few days, I’m wondering if it really is true that anyone is capable of running great distances. Not only does the book thus far tell the interesting story of the Tarahumara natives of Mexico who regularly run distances of 100+ miles, but there are a few profiles of other some interesting people who actually do this sort of running regularly too.

The most I’ve ever run at a time is when I did a half marathon three years ago, and that took 3 months of training to be able to complete. And for me that was tough, as I’ve never been a runner and never found running that enjoyable. But maybe there is something to it, a technique that most people just can’t figure out. I know that since I’ve started running semi regularly, I’ve been able to adjust my technique to a point where I can do it a bit easier, though conditioning is still my issue.

Maybe I’ll try it barefoot or with sandals like the Tarahumara. I’ll get on it right after my calf heals from when I pulled it running last week…

An inspirational quote for today – Scott Stoll

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Falling Uphillby Scott Stoll

For the last two months or so I have slowly been reading my way through Scott Stoll’s book, Falling Uphill. It is quite an enjoyable and inspirational book, and the fact that’s it’s been taking me so long to read it actually bodes well for the book, ironically enough. I find that if I am enjoying a book, I tend to take it slow because I am not ready to be done with it. The exception to this rule is for novels that end each chapter with a cliffhanger, in those cases I have been known to sit and read for hours.

In Scott’s book, there is plenty of substance, and quite a bit that gets you thinking about life. I particularly enjoyed the following quote of his, […]

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Long Walks and Inspiration

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

A few weeks ago I came across this video on YouTube, which I’ve posted below. It’s a video made by a guy named Christoph Rehage from Germany who had the goal to walk from Beijing to Germany. From the looks of his blog, The Longest Way, it looks like currently he is not walking, but is at university. Also, it doesn’t appear that he has completed the entire trip just yet, but walking over 4000KM is quite a feat none the less.

Here on Idealist Cafe I would like to start profiling inspirational blogs and websites, so if you have one or know of one, feel post in the comments or email me. I would love to hear about any journeys or adventures that are outside of the box and are inspirational. They don’t have to necessarily be about pushing physical limits, as I am also […]

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How to find the job you love

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Disclaimer: I should preface this article by saying that I do not currently have the job I love. This is really an article based on my thoughts, and one that can hopefully one day help me.

The situation

Perfect hit - bullseye

Perfect hit – Photo credit cloud_nine

The situation I seem to perpetually be in is one where my job is tolerable and pays decently with decent benefits, however I know that it is not the right place for me to be. In today’s economy, conventional wisdom seems to say you should stick with something that is decent, however I don’t necessarily agree with that. Sure, people are out of work and some would do anything for a job, but does that mean I have to tolerate something I don’t enjoy? I’m not talking about walking out on a job, I’m […]

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