7 Ways to Get Anything Anywhere
[Photo: Bunch of stuff I just received on a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean]
When living anywhere is no longer an obstacle to getting exactly what you need…
Live outside of the US long enough and you’ll find something you can’t live without, something unavailable in local stores.
Occasionally (though not at the moment) I really miss home. This often comes in waves, or at certain times of year (most common in the fall). I often find I’m not missing a particular person or place, but something more mundane.
What I’m really trying to admit is that I miss Amazon Prime and Peanut Butter.
Or more generally, the US does a great job of getting you what you (think) you want when you want it.Continue reading >>
The Diet that Doubled my Testosterone in 2015
Note: This post is by popular request. I’ve received more messages requesting details on my dietary experiments than almost anything else I’ve written. For those who know the backstory you can skip to the breakdown. Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, and this is not medical advice. Consider this functional entertainment. Also keep in mind everyone is different, and this is an n=1 experiment. With that said…
September 2015 – Throwing weights around in Budapest
“OH, WHAT’S UP NOW MOTHER——!”
The words were out before the weight hit the ground. Thankfully there were only a few observers in the gym that day, but it seemed like a reasonable response to my 4th or 5th personal best (PR) that week.
This time in the snatch, which at 67.5kg (89% bodyweight) was not going to make anyone with weightlifting experience bat an eyelash, but it was the trajectory that impressed me. My PR had increased 2.5 kg per week–for the last 5 weeks–with no end in sight.Continue reading >>
7 Key Lessons From Business Building in 2015
Or, what happened to SpartanTraveler last year.
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to all those who encouraged me to get back to writing. 2015 was a bit of a grind, but the good news is I’ve got plenty to share from the experience.
Fear not, trusty readers, SpartanTraveler is alive and well.
But getting somewhere in life is about making hard choices, and the reality in 2015 was simple: focus or die.
Because when you do everything you do nothing.
‘Like the sculptor, who does not add clay, but strips away the inessentials until the truth is revealed.’
– Bruce Lee character from Dragon
I’ve always thrived at the breaking point of manageable activity. That place where positive stress forces focus and serious action. Where the goals and the necessity for completing them are immediately clear.
As a result, I always assumed as life went I’d continue to be doing more. More traveling, more and different types of adventures, and more varieties of work. Continue reading >>
5 Reasons You Should Quit Your Job to Travel Now
There are a million great reasons to quit your job to travel the world, but here are five things that matter right now. There’s never been a better time to get out and experience the world.
#1 The US Dollar-Euro Exchange Rate is at a 10-year best.
Source: Xe.com
While traveling in Europe is the quintessential trip–and much cheaper than most Americans tend to think–the catch has always been the 25-30% ‘tax’ on travelers coming from the US in the form of the Euro-Dollar exchange rate.
But things have changed in the last 6 months, and dollar is now as close to the Euro as I’ve ever seen it. As I write this a dollar is worth about 0.94 Euro.
That means your USD are going a lot further, not just in Europe but everywhere.Continue reading >>
The Myth of the 4-Hour Workweek
This year I re-read the The 4-Hour Workweek. For the 8th time.
“Freedom is like a new sport.”
-Tim Ferris in the 4-hour Workweek
Back in mid-2007 a co-worker told me to read Tim Ferriss‘ book.
“You will love it” she said.
A week later I requested all remaining vacation hours and took a 3-week surf trip to Costa Rica.
I returned home sunburnt and happy, and the next day I promptly quit my job, started work as a professional blogger, and left on an indefinite sojourn to S. America that started with an expedition over the Chilean Andes.
Such is the power of the book to inspire action.
Over 7 years later I find myself waking up in Budapest, Hungary, pursuing wilder goals than I could have imagined at the time.
If you’ve read the 4-hour Workweek (4HWW) you might expect me to say all this was easy–all I had to do was start a website, hire a virtual assistant, and get on a plane to Europe–where I would occasionally check to make sure money kept flowing into my bank account.
For those of you who haven’t read Tim’s palm-tree studded Bible of lifestyle-design, or for those who didn’t really get it, here’s the punchline: it’s not really about working 4 hours a week.Continue reading >>
How to Wear the Same Clothes for a Year
[Photo: Most of the kit in Da Lat, Vietnam]
Since I began traveling full-time in mid-2011 I’ve had a simple goal: find the simplest, most functional, and lightest travel gear possible.
I figured after 2 years I had the technology part wired (more on that below), but my biggest question for this trip was clothing. Would it be possible, I wondered, to wear the same clothes for a year?
After more than 12 months outside the USA I have some answers: my wardrobe looks nearly identical to when I left. The surprising thing is how little I had to supplement the original travel kit I left with on September 7, 2013.
The 6 Phases of Lifestyle Design
You quit your job. You buy a plane ticket. You leave to travel around the world. Then you figure out a way to make some money.
Most people go through a predictable series of steps on the road to a location-independent lifestyle. While the six phases listed here aren’t definitive or exactly linear, they sum up the lifestyle progression I’ve seen from dozens of travelers and veteran laptop nomads.Continue reading >>
How to Find Cheap Accommodation Almost Anywhere
This month I had to find a reasonably-priced place to stay in one of the most expensive cities on earth.
The average price of rent here in San Francisco is $1200+ per month for a shared apartment, but I found a place to stay indefinitely, last minute, for $25 a night ($750 a month).
This basic process can be used to find a place to crash just about anywhere, but in general this much effort is only required in big cities. Outside the city I’ve never failed to find something by asking people on the street.Continue reading >>
The Top 10 Spartan Travel Adventures of 2012
It’s amazing what’s possible when you free up your time and the need to be in a single location.
My wildest dreams couldn’t have predicted the outcome of 2012. The original plan (launched in August 2011) was 15-18 months of travel, circling the globe while mixing in a bunch of adventure sports.
What actually happened was a frantic potpourri of world travel, randomly divergent adventures, and moderately successful online business shenanigans.
The adventure starts when everything goes wrong. -Yvon Chouinard
While the plan itself was fluid, the framework certainly wasn’t: back in 2011 I deliberately opened up my time (and bank account) to make these adventures possible. It turned out that everything was easier and less expensive than I thought it would be, and I’ve repeatedly tried to convince my friends that they too–if they choose–can do something like this.
Hacking the Schengan Visa : What I learned in Hungary
Jason Bourne, anyone?
Disclaimer: This post is not about me. I present it here solely for informational purposes, but the details shouldn’t be taken seriously. Narrative provided by my friend, who we’ll just call ‘Jason’.
Ahhhh Europe. Yes, the quintessential summer trip. Ever since high-school I’d wanted to do a 4-6 month dirt-bag trip through the continent. Unfortunately, it turns out that in most of Europe you’re now restricted to 3 month stints. Yep, good luck covering Europe in 3 months.
The Schengan visa-free zone, while probably great for the economic unity of the European Union, is not ideal for long-term backpackers. It certainly makes border-crossings easier, but you can throw a few of those old 6-month backpack-around-Europe itineraries right out the window (you also won’t get any cool stamps in your passport).Continue reading >>