say it aint singapore

The Problem with GoPros and Two Vacation Videos

I take a vacation every two weeks.  The problem with having a vacation every two weeks is documenting and sharing the travel experience with people.

I bought a GoPro 2 about 6 months back when a coworker showed me this one day deal on them.  Impulse buy.  (A few weeks later the 3 came out.  Doh.)  The problem with GoPro's is that they are so good, so easy to use, and so compact that I end up taking too much video that will just sit on my hard-drive collecting cyber dust.

Combine owning a GoPro and numerous opportunities to take once in a lifetime video, and I have the problem of far too many pictures and video simply collecting cyber dust.  I decided last weekend I would set the timer for 3 hours and knock out that Trail Running Tasmania Video I have been wanting to put together for the last 6 weeks.  I was happy with the result so I set the timer again.  This time I finally knocked out the Turtles, Mountains, and Models video from Northern Queensland I have been waiting to make since the start of December.

So here they are:

February 2013

Welp, another month in 2013 long gone. February was a somewhat dull month for me except for my trip to Tasmania at the start of the month. I meant to write a long, drawn out trip report about the mysterious place, its people, and my experience getting two flat tires at the same time on a desolate dirt road. But I am such a procrastinator and I am lazy and I am so far behind on sharing my adventures and there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that you want and so on. One day I will make time to put together my Cairns video, Tasmania Trip report, and Tasmania Trail running video. For now, I have nothing but a few pictures to share.

Tasmania. The thing about Tasmania is that no really knows anything about it. Australians do. To them it is their country's red headed step child or the American equivalent stereotype of West Virginia.  The average Australian has never been to Tassie and has no plans to.  Why not go to somewhere more exotic like New Zealand or Japan.  Most Americans have no idea where Tasmania is. I didn't either until I moved to Australia. Some seem to think it is not a real place, that it is an imaginary place where the Tasmania devil comes from.  I suppose that is the appeal of it to me- that no one knows anything about it.  And the fact that 1/3 of the island is protected as national park and world heritage area. 

PRP.  Platelet Rich Plasma.  My running nightmare continues. I got an injection of this stuff in my back and hip to treat that symptom I am having.  Insurance covers it here in Australia so I figured it was worth a shot.  The doctor doing it for me said “I wasn’t special.” Meaning that a lot of people have similar type of degenerative damage in the lower back.  After my third visit, he changed tune after reviewing the other issues I have been having in the shin, mid femur, and even my ‘loose’ right shoulder.  It is not a simple fix.  I still don’t know what specifically the culprit to my running problems is after 2.5 years of doctor visits and scans and needles in the back.  So the nightmare continues…

Picture a Day.  I have still been keeping it up.  Most of the time I forget to take a picture and just take a quick snap shot of something I am walking by as I head off to dinner.  It is really starting to get hard to take interesting photos at work because it is all the same routine- the same trail to run or bike on, the same walk to dinner, the same bedroom, office, gym.  This little project will definitely test my creativity and force me to open my eyes a bit in pick out something new in areas where I have walked past countless times.

Keep on Keeping on.  The first quarter is winding down now.  More and more people keep telling me how fast this year is going by.  I agree.  Time seems to be flying by for everyone but it feels like it goes twice as fast with the roster I work.  I basically get one weekend every two weeks which I have adapted to but still have trouble communicating it to people.  I prefer the six day weekends but sometimes I feel like I could jam more into two 2-day weekends.  It forced me to be more intense and planned out with my time off.  With six days off, I tend to do no planning until the first day off.  I should have them better planned to maximize my time off.  Most of my co-workers use weekends to take it really easy and recover from the long work week.  I tend to use work as the recovery period but I am finding it more and more difficult to recover from the long 8 day workweek especially as I gain more responsibility (stress) and work longer hours.  So I almost need that day or two during my break to “recover” from the work week.  I am not even running at a high volume either.  I have done a handful 100 mile/50 hour workweeks before when I was fit and working a Monday thru Friday roster.  I think it would be nearly impossible to string together 100 mile week during my 8 day on cycle of work.  However, I think I could train the house down during the 6 days off running twice a day, every day and hit a 100 relatively easy.  The bottom line is I think it is harder to train consistently and intensely working 8-6 verses a 5-2.  But I can’t even think about that yet.  I just need to find my running rhythm again before I start into that. 

March.  March is should be another mellow month.  I am doing one more PRP treatment so I will just be relaxing and hope to have time to catch up on the blog and some videos.  Mom and Sister are coming late in the month so I am throwing together some plans for that.  So far, it is looking like it will be difficult to find places to stay during the Easter weekend.  We might have to stay in the Car.  Haha.        

Coal Mines world heritage area.  This is where the bad convicts went.  

I am not a marine biologist but is this a whale vertebrae?

Camping out on someone's property.  I paid him 5 bucks.

View during Trail Run.

Well deserved Muesli after a trail run along the Southern Coast of Tasmania

Heading to Maria Island.  About 15km off the east coast of Tasmania.

Maria Island Coastline

Hobart, Tasmania.  Capital of Tasmania.

 

Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I am a Piano Player in a Whorehouse Book Review and Why it Relates to Me

“The characters you meet in the oil field are unbelievable- from full-on rocket scientists with multiple ivy league degrees and a keen interest in painting miniature 16^th century military figurines on the their bunks, to billy-bob the brain dead ex-con whose misspelled jailhouse tatts, fart jokes and new truck back home are all he can talk about.  Put a combination of twenty guys like that in a random backwater bar in some god forsaken corner of the world miles from anywhere remotely civilized, throw in a civil war, a donkey, some festering prostitutes and anything could happen.  And I think that’s why it’s so addictive- not the drilling, not the job, definitely not the food, but the people and the situations you meet them in…”

-Paul Carter, after taking a break from the rigs to spend 3 months working in the bustling city of Sydney for an advertising firm.  

If I were to write a book about my work-life balance, it would very much resemble Paul Carter's Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I am a Piano Player in a Whorehouse.  Much similar to my own experiences working in mines across the world, Carter's travel and work memoir depicts the bizarre life of an expatriate oil driller.  From shootouts in Nigeria to emergency evacuations from Borneo, Carter’s stories summon the wild and adventurous but he concedes that what make the experiences worthwhile are the characters he shares them with.  Whether it be mining or oil and gas, the people required to make a functioning operation often mix like salad in a shoe store.  And I must agree that it makes going to work in the morning worth it.  I get to hear stories every day from wild pig hunters, motocross rally racers, 24 hour mountain bike racers, good ole fashioned pub goers, spear fisherman, former NASA project managers, sailors, hippies who handle explosives and go to burning man festivals, national recognized pistol shooting experts, Bali birthday partiers, and guys who fly to Thailand on break to be with their wives.  And ultra marathon running homeless dudes who live in the back of Hyundai’s.  Yes, you get it all here.  The book is worth a quick read just for the stories and sense of adventure these reckless oil drillers live for.  

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Speaking of crazy miners.  15 miners were fired for performing this version of the Harlem Shake at an underground gold mine in Western Australia.  

January Update

I had a pretty solid first month of 2013.  You can’t win them all though.  I read Justin’s post about his rough 1^st month and how it made me remember how the first 12-18 months here were pretty rough with regards to health and running (I even wrote a post called the “worst year of my life” that I never did publish).  I am still struggling to find my stride still but nonetheless I am feeling better about my situation and the adventures I have had and continue to have.  Tough times only last if you let them. 

New Years.  I kicked in the new year with some travelers I met in Fremantle.  They invited me to a “Bush” Party to ring in the New Year.  It happened to be about a thirty minute drive from work so it was hard to pass up.  I finished my swing New Years eve at approximately 4 in the afternoon, went for a run, then drove the 30 minutes to the secret location of the bush party.  It was basically a rave with loud music blaring all night and into the morning.  The music was still going when I left the party at 10 in the morning.  I stayed up nearly all night somehow without any ill effects.  A 3 hour nap sorted me out then I was onto to the next adventure down south.

Balingup.  I heard from a hiker that the section of Bibblumun track north of Balingup provided stunning views.  So I checked it out with a simple trail run to the Blackwood shelter.  The Bibblumun really reminds me of the Appalachian trail with is rolling hills and country towns.  Awesome track but if I were do a thru hike I probably would do something a little more varied and challenging like the PCT or CDT.  At this point the rugged and remote CDT is on the top of my list for thru hikes. 

Southbound.  While down South I joined some coworkers at the two day camping and music festival called Southbound.  I didn’t really know any of the bands except Coolio.  Yep.  Gansters’ Paradise.  He was fat and out of shape.  He attempted to rip of his shirt but couldn’t.  The crowd was pumped up like crazy.  I was pumped up.  I do feel a little bit too old for these festivals though especially since the drinking age is 18 is Australia.  Overall, a fun time and learned some new bands I liked.

Scuba Fail.  Part of my goals for the year were to try new things.  Scuba diving has never really appealed to me but I walked past a sign advertising a scuba special so I signed up.  It was a 4 day course to get passed out.  I failed.  I could not equalize my ears and couldn't get deeper than 7 meters.  So I have to go back and try again.  Good news is I didn't get sea sick while out on the boat.  Anyone who knows me knows I am not the most comfortable in the water or the best swimmer so this was certainly out of my comfort zone.  Despite being able to run up 4000m peaks in Malaysia, I consumed more air than anyone in the course.  I was uncomfortable.  However,  I quickly got the hang of it and learned to relax under the water.  It feels wrong to be underwater completely under control and relaxed.  It defies what humans are designed to do.  The one dive I did off the shore near Freo was amazing.  Huge jellyfish were everywhere and jumping off the 3 meter dock fully suited up with gear made me feel like a navy seal. 

Tassie.  My final week in January had me on a plane to Tasmania.  Since most of the trip was in February, I will leave a full report for next month.  But WOW.  Awesome trails.  Nice People.  Rugged Coastlines.  Living the dirtbag lifestyle.  Two Flat tires on my rental car at the same time on a dirt road 30km from the nearest town.  What a fun adventure for 6 days. Look on a map of southwest Tasmania.  It is just empty and roadless.  I am already planning another trip to tackle that world heritage wilderness.

Goal Update.  Glad I stepped out and tried scuba.  Picture a day project is still going strong.  I am happy to share it now that I have made it a month.  Drawing a day has turned into a sort of pictorial journal.  I am about a 50% success rate with the drawing a day and the drawings really suck.  Need to spend more than 10 minutes per day on it and also should start some youtube drawing tutorials or something.  I read 3 books in January.  Don’t Tell Mum I work on the Rigs, Compassionate Samurai, and Eat and Run by Ultramarathon legend Scott Jurek (audio version).  A good number for the month.  1 per week is what I am shooting for.  Knowledge. 

Upcoming in Feb.  Tassie was awesome but no other major trips planned.  Hope to catch up on the blogging and video I took in Cairns, Tassie, and Southbound.  Also, hope to read a 4 books but already behind.  It is much easier to knock a book or two off during airplane travel days.  No major trips planned.  Hope to download load a few movies and watch them: Unbreakable about Western States 100, A Fine Line about Kilian Jornet, and The Hunter with William Defoe about a fictitious hunt for the last Tasmanian Tiger.  I am going to set a budget as well.  Maybe follow the Compassionate Samurai model to start with: 10% tithe, 10% personal investment (courses, learning…etc), and work out a formula for the rest...

2012 humblebraggery travel year in review

I’d really like this blog to be about running but my running has just been pretty miserable over the last 2.5 years.  Despite the ongoing frustration with regards to running health, I am thankful for the past year which was rich with travel experiences.  2012 has been my biggest year as far as pushing the travel envelope goes.  I took enough redeye flights to last a lifetime all over the world from Pittsburgh to Kota Kinabalu and countless other road trips all around the western side of the Australian continent.  I recon I knocked off 3 trips that most people would call life-list or bucket list trips.  Bucket list to me means a trip people would spend their entire life planning for or any trip with a World Heritage Site.  Those three trips were Sydney, Borneo, and tropical northern Queensland all of which contain World Heritage listed sites.  In my experience, world heritage sites are always amazing.  I must add a 4^th that may not have taken place at a world recognized site but holds personal value: a road trip around Australia’s southwest with my little sister.  We just nailed it with regards to weather, sunsets and good fun.  I wish I would have written more and told better stories on this blog but priorities were elsewhere.  Another thing I didn't do in 2012 was shave.  So here is the list in chronological order of notable trips I have taken in 2012:  

Southbound.  I started off the year with a bang in Busselton (2.5 hours south of Perth) at the two day “Camping, Music, and Arts Festival” aptly named Southbound (which I just went to again last weekend).  I had very loose plans going into it.  I knew a few co-workers going but I ended up running in to Anna outside the Busso Visitor’s Center the night before the festival started.  She was doing her laundry in an Eskie (cooler) in the bathroom.  The 20 year old from Canada had been travelling Australia alone in a 500 dollar dilapidated Mazda sedan.  A few thousand miles up the east coast to Cairns and back to Sydney, then across the Nullabor to Western Australia without having the car blow up.  She is an absolute legend who could talk to anyone and attracted a crowd which is why it was fun to hang out with her for the weekend.   

Margaret River.  In Feb I traveled down to Margaret River for a little bit of camping with some co-workers.  The Margaret River Region is a world class wine growing area consisting of 100 plus wineries.  It is also home to some of the best surf in WA.  I did my first Australian type water sport in stand up paddle boarding (SUP). I am very bad at it apparently- the instructor said I was too tall so at a disadvantage.  Yep.  Too tall.    

Esperance.  The southern coast of Western Australia is a staple in my travel diet.  When I am a bit unsure on where to go on my next six days off, I go south.  The southern coast starts with Margaret River in the west, the Karri Forests around Pemberton in the middle, and wind farms hugging coastal cliffs near “Amazing” Albany to the east.  Further east is Esperance and the beautiful coastal national parks:  Cape Le Grand and Cape Arid.  I still recon the beaches within Cape Le Grand National Park such as Lucky Bay or Hellfire Bay, are the best I have ever seen.

Sydney.  Surprisingly, this would be my first plane trip since landed in Australia some 8 months prior.  I took the opportunity to visit a friend from high school who was living in Sydney.  Tommy D helped me pack the most out of the city I could in six days.  I would call Sydney the most picturesque city I have seen with the all too famous views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.  The city feels more American than Australia.  Better yet, it feels like an American city but a lot cleaner and occupied by mostly Asian people.  Baxter hotel was my favourite experience during the week.  Well, the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains aren’t too bad either…

Darwin.  Aka the Top End or the Territory.  I was told that people drink more alcohol per capita than anywhere in the world in The Northern Territory.  That knowledge and the fact that Darwin is in a Territory not a state made me ready for a wild experience.  It was.  The Territory has everything you would expect to see in Australia: Crocs, snakes, cyclones, jellyfish, the bush, and World Heritage Aboriginal sites.  Beaches were pretty but you can’t swim in them during any month with an “r” in it.  Actually, that’s wrong.  I went in May and still was told not to swim because a jellyfish might zap me or a croc could be lurking close by.  The ethnic makeup of the city was a blend of Aussie, Asian due to close proximity, Aboriginal, and throngs of European backpackers walking between the numerous hostels and bars on Mitchell street.  Memorable moments for me include swimming under waterfalls at Litchfield National Park (croc free), hanging out with backpackers outside during a night concert and the Mindl Beach Markets at sunset.  I regret not doing the three day trip to Kakadu but there is always 2013.       

Kalbarri.  For surfers, its home the best left hander in Australia.  For me, it was a surfers Sedona.  The coastal cliffs and inland red gorges had me comparing it the red rocks of Sedona and its granola lifestyle.  The 9km hike around Natures Window may be one of the best hikes in Western Australia.  It got me thinking of hiking in the Grand Canyon and possibly stringing together the 80km hike/packraft trip from Z-Bend to the Indian Ocean along the Murchison River.  I ended up staying two nights at this ranch for 10 dollars a night.  I forget the name but I will always remember the Cowgirl in her thick country Westralian Saying “Hey Mate, How ya Going?”  And the mix of white and aboriginal children running alongside horses playing tag.  I just felt like I stumbled upon the right place to stay there in outback Australia.  I also got pulled over for a “random” drug and alcohol test.  The ACLU would have been all over that.  Kalbarri is a good 6-7 hour drive from north of Perth but I hope to go at least once in 2013.  I somehow lost my pictures from this trip which is annoying but  

Melbourne.  “The coffee is so much better in Melbourne…and the restaurants, nightlife, music, art, people…EVERYTHING”  I hear this kind of talk all the time.  One guy I met on the road called it the “Best City in the World” despite never going to other notable cities such as San Fran, Paris, Rio, New York, Hong Kong, or come to think of it any city in America or Europe…  Yes, it is a cool city.  The best?  Impossible to say.  My favourite aspects of the city are the alley ways and cool street art.  Tiny nooks of bars, restaurants, and coffee stands are hidden away down multiple little alleys.  I stayed at the Nunnery backpackers which is an old Nun house converted to a hostel.  I just remember getting dropped off from the airport, going for a run, and getting back to the Nunnery starving with a family style dinner of hearty vegetable stew and freshly baked bread all free.  I highly recommend staying there if you go to Melbourne.  Of course, I did a few runs around the famed Tan Track with everyone else in Melbourne.  And most importantly, I met up with my sister.  I hadn’t seen her in year and when I did finally see her, she was wearing a blue wig and part of a huge street performance.  I spent about 5 minutes walking around the crowd looking for her until I looked at the performers and saw her ACTUALLY IN THE SHOW.  Absolute classic. 

Leah Visit and Southwest.  The week after seeing her in Melbourne, she came out to my neck of the woods to get a grand tour.  I was flipping back and forth trying to decide between going up North to Kalbarri or down South.  The thing is everyone in Australia abides by this policy to go North in Winter and South in Summer.  The weather is terrible otherwise so they say.  I had this in my head then remembered that this is Australia and people complain about everything and the weather is never really that bad.  So we went South in August…  Admittedly, we got lucky with the weather.  Uncharacteristically bright, warm, sunny days followed by cool yet comfortable nights for sleeping.  We started out with a day trip to a popular destination from Perth called Rottnest Island.  There are no cars on the island so you can rent bikes and do the 26km loop stopping at various pristine beach coves for a swim or view.  You can even pet these weird rodent things that infest the island called Quokkas.  I she could have got back on the plane after the Rottnest visit having been perfectly satisfied with the views and sights we saw there.  But then we packed a 4 day road trip of the southwest with stops at Busselton, Margaret River, Wilyabrup Cliffs, Pemberton, Walpole, Fernhook falls, Treetop walk, Greens Pool, Elephant Rocks, Albany, and a tour one of the largest producing gold mines in Australia.  We got back from that epic road trip and still had time to check out iconic Fremantle.  Hosts Cody and Janna happened to live near another Perth icon: Kings Park.  Thanks Guys.    

Home.  After a year of not seeing any family besides my sister one week prior, I used my only vacation days in 2013 (hard to believe I did everything else on this list without taking vacation days) to visit America.  My dad didn’t know I was coming.  I was to surprise him at his 60^th surprise birthday party.  I was on American soil with my Brother in LA and sisters on the east coast for over a week without him knowing.  It was awesome to be back home for a bit.  Hard to leave but knew it came with the territory of making a difficult choice to move overseas.  I did feel a little like a lot of friends and family had been standing still while I had been experiencing new things and growing.  A few random thoughts about America:  People are really friendly and easier to talk to- or maybe that was just Venice Beach in LA haha.  Airports are ridiculously uptight in USA.  TSA puts on a great show.  The US economy and job situation is pretty bad.  Australian’s have it a lot better, especially Western Australia.  The great thing about leaving your home country is that you see it through a different lens when you go back.    Hope to make it back in 2013 and be filled with more insights. 

Malaysia.  I love KK.  I regret not buying one of those shirts.  I fell in love with the people, sights, and smells of Kota Kinabalu and Borneo.  After two days in the city, I ventured inland to World Heritage listed Mount Kinabalu.  I met locals who drove me around (Muyok and Louis), drank their homemade rice wine, stayed in 6 dollar hostels all while taking part in some life list adventures.  I day hiked to the summit and ran into Kilian Jornet, world class mountain runner.  I wasn’t going to run the Mount Kinabalu Climbathon but after seeing Kilian I was excited to take part despite not really training for it.  I definitely want to give it another crack with some decent training.  There is so much I didn’t do in Borneo (scuba, orang-utans, mini elephants, island hopping, rafting), I will have to take a 2-3 weeks off and do it again next year.  I had a hard time believing everyone who keeps telling me, but Southeast Asia is truly an awesome place to travel. 

Cairns.  I got the rare opportunity to see some family in Australia and I had a few days to myself north of Cairns around Cape Tribulation.  I did a boat day trip to World Heritage Listed Great Barrier reef complete with swimsuit models.  Then, followed that up with numerous runs and adventures into the other World Heritage Listed Area in the region, the Wet Tropics of Northern Queensland including a run up the Highest Natural Pyramid in the World: Walsh’s Pyramid.  I tackled Walsh’s immediately after arriving at Cairns Airport at 4am having not slept.  It was basically a death march to the top but the sunrise was amazing.  They do a race there to the top every year which I have on my list for 2013.  Cairns town is like a bigger Darwin.  You can’t swim in the water and there are plenty of backpackers, hippies, Asians, Aboriginal…wait that is all of Australia outside New South Wales and Victoria.  I really liked Northern Queensland and hope to go back in 2013.  And yes, I went in December and survived the “intolerable” weather.

2013.  I don’t know what to expect this year.  I have very vague travel plans.  Tasmania in February in locked in, definitely at least trip to Indonesia- Bali or that world heritage temple in Java, Southeast Asia at some point, Maybe Papua New Guinea at the end of the year, Maybe home for Christmas, Maybe hit the Pilbara and Kimberly up North during the winter months (June-August).   I would have loved to get my running back track and travel to some races over here but it doesn't look like it is going to happen.  Every run hurts.  I don’t know what is wrong exactly.  If I did, I would have corrected it by now.  As far as other aspects of life go, I will continue to work in Australia, I will continue to travel and see as much as I can over here, and I am going to try to learn some new things non-running related so I can have a different hobby in my old age.  I have started a photo a day project- if I keep it up it will be a good accomplishment.  I have started a drawing a day project that I don’t have the guts to publicly share- If I actually see this one through to the end I will be astonished and might actually be able to draw.  I also wanted to read 1 book per week or 50 books for the year 2013.  That one is already behind and not looking like I will get a win.  I have a lot of good ideas on what I should do to improve my life, but I suppose I should just get back to doing things I like doing rather than feel obligated to do all these things that other people might think are cool.  

The Revolving Door.  It seems like there is a revolving door where people come in and out of my life quite frequently.  It is probably one of two things: The mining industry or the travel lifestyle I lead.  Living out of a car on days off probably doesn’t help much.  I am essentially a nomad constantly on the move meeting people for short periods of time, sometimes exchanging numbers or email or facebook or twitter but never following up, and  then moving on to the next thing with little to no time invested in the relationship.  In some ways it is good because it allows you to be honest sooner because time is limited.  But not healthy long term.  The mining industry has a high rate of turnover.  I feel like we lost at least half the people I started with in engineering.  Interesting social dynamics in the mining and nomadic/living out of car life.    

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Good bands from Southbound WA 2013: 

Django Django 

First Aid Kit

Quitter Book Notes

“I hated doing something I loved outside of work, feeling alive and engaged, only to have it all disappear the moment I walked through the door of my day job…I just hated that the 40 hours of my week didn’t feel anything like the few hours of my weekend when life made sense.”

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job by Jon Acuff

My brother gave me this book last year for Christmas.  It turned out to be the second best book I read in 2012.  (Mere Christianity by CS Lewis took #1).  I tend to be unsure about my job and my career path.  I believe most people in their 20s or 30s have the same problem.  This book is about looking at your day job through a different lens and learning to “Use your day job to build your dream job”.  Your day job may not be so bad after all.  Here are my notes from the book:

·         I hated doing something I loved outside of work, feeling alive and engaged, only to have it all disappear the moment I walked through the door of my day job…I just hated that the 40 hours of my week didn’t feel anything like the few hours of my weekend when life made sense (p2).

·         For the 25-34 year old, the average tenure is 3.1 years (p4).  (That was me exactly haha)

·         While you can is a weird phrase.  If you weren’t married, no one would tell you sleep with a bunch of women while you can.

·         We buy into the lie that work is usually miserable.  We buy into the lie that it’s possible to separate who we are at work from who we are outside of work. 

·         The Donnies (analogy for bad bosses) of life- bills: electric, car, Trader Joes, Chase Mortgage, Verizon, Comcast…

·         Keep your no’s open.  It’s ok to say no when you have other options or incomes.  You lose that ability to say no when you have no other options.

·         Dreams tend to challenge the status quo (p18).  At the heart of a dream is change.  Few people like this.  People get comfortable and often see dreamers as threats. 

·         Jon was able to write for CNN- a non-Christian company- because he had a day job.  If things didn’t work out he could always go back to it. 

·         I know it sounds crazy, but people with day jobs tend to have more creative freedom than people without.  (P21).  Don’t quit your day job. 

·         We often demonize our day jobs when we dream.  We make them enemies of what we really want to do.  But if you dream the right way and learn how to quit the right way, your day job can actually be your dream job’s greatest ally. 

·         Whenever you start trying to actively figure out what is it you want to do, whenever you start to search for the thing that makes you come alive, something weird happens.  You imagine you are going to discover it.  (P32-33)

·         Start With Why by Simon Sinek.  He calls our dreams, our calling, our WHY.  More often than not, finding out what you love doing most is about recovering an old love or an inescapable truth that has been silenced for years, even decades.  It is a process of recovery (P33).

·         When life gets full, it’s a shame that your dream is one of the first things to get lost in the fray (P36).

·         How many artists are in the room?  All kindergarteners say yes.   1/3 of third graders, 1/10 12^th graders, 1/100 adults…

·         Trying to discover you’re something and trying to recover something is a world of difference.  There are a million different things you can do with your life.  Instead, ask yourself what have I done in the past that I love doing?  Instead, you are left with a manageable amount of things (P40).

·         To find you hinge moment, ask

o   What do I love to do for free?

o   What do I do that causes time to feel different-times when you look at the clock and realize you haven’t ate dinner?

o   What do I enjoy doing regardless of the opinions of other people?

o   If only your life changed, would that be enough?

o   Are there any patterns in the things you like doing?

·         Every dream has risk associated with it (as does love).  If it doesn’t, then it’s not really a dream. 

·         CREATIVITY IS A WILD MIND WITH A DISCIPLINED EYE

o   The creative person has the ability to feed his mind all these different topics and ideas,  then see a connection between previously unconnected things in a way no one has ever seen before

·         There are different ways of looking at risk:

o   The Magnifying glass- Blowing up every possible consequence and avoid looking at the potential grand reward

o   The Kaleidoscope- Seeing all the potential problems and then intertwining them into other areas in your life in a ridiculous sort of way

o   The Telescope-you acknowledge that the risk is there but there is such a great distance between you and the risk that you can overcome it and plan for it

·         We have to murder perfectionism- better 90% right and shared then 100 perfect and stuck on your hard drive.

·         Get comfortable with A minus work.  A lot of people don’t see the countless hours you put in to make something perfect.

·         I want you to be excellent at passion, not just passionate.

·         It’s such a toxic phrase- If I really wanted to.  It’s a get out of jail free card.  It’s not my lack of ability that is holding me back- it’s my lack of desire.  We shift the blame for our dream not coming true.  We maintain the appearance of having the skill to make the dream come true, just not the will.  AKA apathy.  Apathy is a good friend when opportunity stares you in the face and you’re afraid to actually find out what would really happen if you tried to follow through with a dream or job or a desire. 

·         Average America spends and additional 163 hours per year on the job.  See the “The Overworked American” book.

·         We always say it would be easier if I didn’t have a full time job but your job gives you the creative freedom to risk and do things you normally wouldn’t be able to.  Same with debt- Debt constrains your ability to be creative.  It is a Donnie. 

·         It would be easier if I wasn’t married: often times the partner support is paramount is succeeding in something. 

·         What does your dream have to do with your job?  Remember why you work

·         Your job is a blessing (98)

o   I can eat because I went to work

o   I can sleep under a roof because of work

o   I’ll wear shoes today because of the job

o   If I break my pelvis, I will have the insurance to pay for it

o   I can support a non-profit because I work

·         Your job can give you lessons for you dream job (100)

o   Starbucks is going to teach you about money

o   Starbucks is going to teach you about people

o   Starbucks is going to teach you about marketing

·         Ways to ruin you day job and dream job at the same time (108)

o   Steal from work

o   Think of your job as your adversary, not you advocate

o   Demand that your job meet the needs of your dream

·         The plan myth- if we just needed a plan, Malcolm Gladwell wouldn’t have had to wait until his 40s to publish these huge best sellers (119)

o   He had a passion

o   Then He practiced it

o   Then he planned it

·         Focus on your passion first.  You passion will always fuel your plan.  Rarely will a plan fuel a passion (125)

·         I like that because so often developing our dream job is less about grand balls at grand castles and more about bringing lunch.  It’s the process of doing small necessary things, over and over again, and letting the momentum build instead of getting decked out by a fairy godmother and being escorted to prominence  (130)

o   I want to have two people show up to one of my events and deal with awkwardness of that before I try to lasso the moon- show up to speak at the big Catalyst Event (130)

·         “We knew that google was going to get better every single day as we worked on it, and we knew that sooner or later, everyone was going to try it.  So our feeling was that the later you tried it, the better it was for us because we would make a better impression with better technology.  So we were never in a big hurry to get you to use it today.  Tomorrow would be better (131).

·         The safest man in the world is the man who has everything to lose.  One of the costs of notoriety is safety.  Anonymity allows you to make big, gross mistakes without everyone watching (131).

·         Anonymity is the best creative label because you’ve got nothing to lose.  Anything is possible.  (133)

o   The gift of invisibility

o   Stay dangerous.  Stay bold.  And for longer than you probably want to, stay invisible (134).

o   When you first start out, expect Nebraska years (small crowds).  Every dream goes through Nebraska (137).

·         There will be hustle (Ch. 6)

o   Push harder, dream further, work longer, faster…HUSTLE (140)

·         Do I want ____________?  Then I have to ____________.

·         Dreams start in the morning.  I have less excuse in the morning (146).

·         Like verses love list.  I like watching the real world, sports…etc., but I love _______.  Hustle to keep love a bigger part of your day than your like (150).

·         He was originally going to call the book Hustle.

·         To get a 50000 page book, he had to write 10 times that much or 500000 words (152)

·         Things I learned about giving stuff away for free

o   People won’t pay for what they can get for free

o   You have to weigh the long-term benefits of doing something for free

o   Free pays dividends towards expertise

§  Practice, exposure, audience, and eventually expertise

·         Competition is a great motivator but a horrible measurement (162).

·         If your dream is to open a restaurant, become a missionary, go back to school, or anything else, what should you measure first?  HUSTLE (168)

o   Did I speak as often as I should have?

o   Did I write the best book I could?

o   Did I market to the right crowd? 

o   Always look at how much you hustled.  Look in the mirror.

·         The reason success is so dangerous is that we get arrogant.  No one gets cocky when they fail (174).

o   “Incompetence irritates me, but overconfidence scares me.  Incompetent people rarely have opportunities to make mistakes that greatly affect things.  But overconfident leaders and experts have the dangerous ability to create disaster.”  Malcolm Gladwell

·         Define your Enough

o   Write and email to yourself for the future- 1 year ahead

§  I was working on a project with big money and opportunity and it was killing me.  I was ill, stressed out, unhappy.  I had the clarity to send myself a message in the future that basically said don’t do this to yourself again.  (176)

·         Pat riley called it the disease of more.  Success is often the first step towards disaster (179).

·         Use futureme.org to write your email and define what you enough will look like (180).

·         Don’t burn out.  Don’t burn the candle at both ends.  We often see exhaustion as a badge of honor, a mark of excellence (181)

o   I burn my candle at both ends, it will not last the night.  But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light by Edna St. Vincent Millay

·         Burn your dream bright.  Pursue it with the best of who you are.  But don’t confuse hustle with burnout.  Hustle fills you up.  Burnout empties you.  Hustle renews your energy.  Burnout drains it.  Hustle impacts every other aspect of your life in a positive way.  Burnout impacts every aspect of your life in a negative way (183).  this reminds me of ravi zacharias quote about if it replenishes you then it is okay and that if it doesn’t distract or take away from you faith, then it is good for you.

·         Don’t fall into the land of later myth.

·         I have never heard a 13 year old say” my dad really wasn’t around the first 10 years of my life, but I have a really nice bike now so it evens out” (184).

·         Don’t turn your platform into your prison. 

·         To have a legacy that is bigger than our individual lives and actions.  To have multigenerational dreams (192).

·         The percentage of dream time is a good measurement to begin with when it comes to determining somewhere stable to land. 

·         3 reasons why youll igone everything you just read in this book

o   You’ll think life exists outside your walls- work is what I do, not who I am…

·         If you quit your job without understanding why you’re quitting, you’ll just jump from job to job without understanding why you’re quitting

·         The common denominator with every job you quit is you

·         When you get tired of you job 2 things could happen

o   Admit to all your co-workers your job doesn’t matter

o   Become a jerk

·         You’ll think your job funds the other parts of your life

·         You’ll think work is never meant to be fulfilling

·         “The least of things  with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without” Carl Jung