THE HAPPINESS OF PURSUIT

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail way from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain

Welcome to my Life Quest List or better known: bucket list. As you read further you’ll realize it’s quite one dimensional in nature and mainly revolves around international adventure travel. The fact of the matter is, the people who inspire me most are modern day adventurers and explorers. I’m referring to visionaries who have a burning desire to pursue and accomplish something enormous despite the potential challenges or uncertainties in front of them. I am talking about those who recognize something is perceived impossible and understand that it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought in order to achieve it. “Impossible? Really? Lets get started!” Examples of those who have accomplished amazing things who inspire and motivate me are: 

1.) Scott Stoll: Adventure cyclist, author, artist and visionary who cycled around the world traversing 6 continents, 31,495 miles and 59 countries. The mission took 4 years to complete and turned into an incredible book, Falling Uphill.

2.) Chris Guillebeau: Entrepreneur and world explorer who traveled to every country in the world before the age of 35. He is also the author of 5 books about entrepreneurism and living an unconventional life. One of  his books, The Happiness of Pursuit, was the inspiration for the title of this blog post.

3.) Benny Lewis: Polygot, language hacker, author and full time globe trotter who became fluent in 7 languages including Spanish, Italian, French, German, English, Portuguese and Esperanto. He can reportedly have confident conversations in other languages and is always studying new ones.

4.) Jason Lewis: explorer and sustainability campaigner, who circumnavigated the earth using man power. This adventure included a pedal-powered boat across the Atlantic ocean, rollerblading across the United States, kayaking across the Pacific ocean, and mountain biking across Australia. A 46,505 mile journey that took him 11 years.

(Stay tuned for future posts about my top 10 favorite modern day adventurers)

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with their song still in them”.-Henry David Thoreau

My desire to conquer my life quest list came to me while enduring a frigid North American winter in Milwaukee, WI. It suddenly struck me that I wasn’t living life to the fullest and operating as the best version of myself. I decided that day that I wanted to live passionately and deliberately.  I was reminded of the aforementioned quote by Thoreau which made me immediately pull over my car. I went to the nearest coffee shop, panic-stricken and purposeful, I began writing down all the things that I would regret not doing if I had gotten in a car accident and died that day. 

That bucket list is what follows. At the time of writing this I have accomplished a few monumental items off of my list. I’ve ran a marathon, become fluent in Spanish where as my native language is English, studied Kung Fu in China, trained Muay Thai kickboxing in Thailand, studied Yoga in India, hiked the tallest peak in Central America, attended the Burning Man Festival 11 times, visited 5 of the 7 wonders of the world and traveled to 28 countries. What I’ve discovered thus far into my quest is that I am very passionate about seeing people pursue and actualize their life ambitions. As I check items off my list I want to help others pursue their dreams and goals as well. It is our birthright to discover what lights us up from the inside and fearlessly go after it! It saddens me to know that there are thousands of people out there, perhaps millions, who are leading lives of quiet desperation. Countless human beings working long hard hours at jobs they hate, to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t actually like. I apologize if this all sounds like one big versification of Nigel Marsh, Chuck Palahniuk and Henry David Thoreau.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?” -Mary Oliver

Still on my list of yet-to-be completed items:

1. Travel to every country in the world

2. Free Dive with Whale Sharks

3. Ride a camel

4. Become fluent in 10 languages

5. Read a book a week for the rest of my life.

6. Deep Water Free Solo Rock Climb

7. Hike the pacific crest trail

8. Hike the Appalachian trail

9. Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

10. Climb Mt. Everest, Nepal

11. Climb Mt. Khuiten, Mongolia

12. Climb The Matterhorn, Switzerland

13. Climb Mt. Elbrus, Russia

14. Climb Mt. Cilaltépetl, Mexico

15. Climb Denali, Alaska

16. Climb Mt. Logan, Canada

17. Get my dive-masters certification

18. Sky Dive

19. Live on a houseboat

20. Cycle across the United States

21. Complete an Ironman Triathlon

22. Learn to ride a motorcycle

23. Ride a motorcycle across China.

24. Ride a motorcycle across Russia.

25. Mountain Bike a stretch of the Ho Chi Min Trail.

26. Train Muay Thai Kickboxing in Thailand

27. Compete in a Kickboxing Tournament in Thailand

28. Dive with Sharks

29. Learn to do a 360 on a snowboard

30. Learn to do a backflip on a snowboard

31. Learn to sail

32. Complete an open water sailing voyage of 2 weeks or longer

33. Ride a bicycle across Africa( or at least across a few of the most navigable countries)

34. Study Flamenco Guitar in Spain

35. Become fluent in Portuguese in Portugal

36. Become fluent in Italian in Italy

37. Become fluent in French in France

38. Take a guitar building course in Malaysia or India and, you guessed it, build my own guitar.

39. Become fluent in German in Germany

40. Study Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple in Hennan, China.

41. Study King Fu at the Fawang Temple in Hennan, China.

42. Hike the Jordan Trail

43. Rock climb in the Wadi Rum area of the country of Jordan

44. Rock climb the Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

45. Rock climb Acadia National Park, California.

46. Rock climb Todra Gorge, Morrocco

47. Rock climb Kalymnos, Greece

48. Rock climb Joshua Tree National Park, California.

49. Rock climb Railay Beach, Thailand.

50. Rock climb Yosemite National Park, California

51. Take a cooking class in every country in the world.

52. Take a language course in every country in the world.

53. Write and publish at least one book a year for the rest of my life.

54. Create a scholarship foundation for would-be vagabonds and adventure enthusiasts to help them pursue their travel dreams.

55. Surf Dungeons wave off the South African Coast near Hour Bay, Cape Town.

56. Surf Shipstern Bluff off the coast of Tasmania.

57. Surf the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.

58. Surf Salsa Brava wave off the coast of Punta Mona, Costa Rica.

59. Surf Mavericks wave off the coast of Half Moon Bay, Norther California.

60. Snowboard at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

61. Snowboard at Nevado de Chilan, La Parva, Portillo.

62. Snowboard Serre Chevaliar, France.

63. Snowboard Whistler/Blackcomb, Canada.

64. Snowboard St. Anton, Austria

65. Snowboard Davos, Switzerland

66. Snowboard Mammoth Mountain, California.

67. Live with Mongolian Nomads in Mongolia

68. Study Ashtanga Yoga at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India.

69. Attend Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, China

70. Attend the International Sand Sculpture Festival, Portugal

71. Attend the legendary Lantern Festival, Taiwan

72. Attend the Carnival of Venice Festival, Italy

73. Attend the Rio Carnival, Ri de Janeiro, Brazil

74. Attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, New Mexico

75. Attend Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany

76. Attend La Tomatina Festival, Bunol, Spain

77. Participate in Holi, The Festival of Colors, India

78. Go to Mardi Gras, New Orleans

79. Explore the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves of New Zealand

80. Stand up paddle board down the Amazon River(may not the whole thing, but a portion of it).

81. Visit the 7 Ancient Wonders of the world

82. Visit the 7 Modern Wonders of the world

83. Visit the 7 Natural Wonders of the world

84. Hold a Guinness World record in something….Maybe the most pull-ups in 24 hours. I don’t know yet.

85. Cliff jump at Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

86. Have my own show on the TRAVEL CHANNEL.

87. Create more unrealistic goals that I won’t be able to achieve until I grow into the person who can.

“To achieve the impossible, it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.”― Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

SHARING MY JOURNEY:

This blog is to track my path and progress as I work my way around the world completing goals on my Life Quest List. My ultimate goal is to become a location independent author and full time explorer. On this platform I will share my efforts and progress. I will share books, blogs, webinars, online trainings, mentors and conventional and unconventional wisdom that I come across along the way. I will share what worked for me and what hasn’t. Through my pursuits of entrepreneurism, personal freedom and adventure travel I hope for this website – this living breathing organism of personal narration – to be a resource and inspiration to others.  Elements of my own DNA as a vagabond and writer will be intertwined into this blog: international travel and adventure sports, skateboarding, music, yoga and raw vegan fitness. It is designed to be a resource and inspiration for others to “not go to the grave with their music still in them”. Cheers to your own personal revolution!

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose”. -Bill Gates