February means French
by projecthitchhiker on February 11, 2009
in Accountability Lists, Four Hour Workweek, Personal Development
February is my month of French in the Power of Less Challenge. I committed to studying French at least 30 mins per day for the month. This goal in particular, is really important to me, as I want to come away from this job with a working ability in French.
But first, a quick thought about the language learning tools I’ve chosen. I recently had a discussion with a friend about why I gave up using Rosetta Stone for learning languages. My reasons for stopping have to do with effeciency and adherance.
Screw New Years Resolutions: A BETTER way to make change in 2009
by projecthitchhiker on January 21, 2009
in Accountability Lists, Four Hour Workweek, Language Learning, Lifestyle Design, Personal Development
“I’m going to quit smoking, lose 20 pounds, give up drinking hard liquor and run at least an hour every day.” How many people out there have ever actually succeeded with New Years Resolutions? Why does it always fail? My theory is that it’s too much all at once. It becomes more painful to continue with the extreme lifestyle makeover than the short-term pleasure you would get reverting to your old habits.
2009 Is Gonna Rock (Plus: Christmas French Lessons)
by projecthitchhiker on January 3, 2009
in Accountability Lists, Awesome Stuff, Four Hour Workweek, Lifestyle Design, Personal Development, Travel
(photo: New Years 2007 in Nha Trang, Vietnam)
2009 is going to be fantastic. But first, a cliche look back at 2008:
Most important lesson learned in 2008
The number one rule: Do what you love. Don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks about you.
Top Non-Fiction reads of 2008
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts and The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. These two books are required reading for anyone who wants to travel or doesn’t like the idea of spending their life in an office cubicle.
Personal Power: Tools for Lifestyle Design
by projecthitchhiker on November 20, 2008
in Accountability Lists, Awesome Stuff, Lifestyle Design, Personal Development
Self-help, personal development, call it what you will – it has a bad rap. Cheesy guys running around on stage in 2-star hotel lounges with audiences of hundreds of guys who have lame lives. These are the pictures that come to mind when someone says “self-help”. That, or those Chicken Soup for the Soul books…
If people were to get around the stereotypes and open their minds, they would find that there are some fantastic, potentially life-changing products out there.
Life at the End of the Earth
by projecthitchhiker on October 3, 2008
in Accountability Lists, Lifestyle Design
Last month I moved into my house in this small Eastern Labrador town of about 500. It will be my home for the next 10 months. In a CBC newscast in 2007, the town was referred to as “the End of the Earth.” A slight exaggeration — it is, at the very least, the end of the road: the Trans-Labrador Highway (a sometimes-paved, mostly gravel windy road that starts at the Quebec-Labrador border) ends here. The other night, a colleague and I watched for an hour as the green and yellow northern lights danced across the sky for us. Aside from the cold (which for the record, I hate), I’m falling in love with the place.
Renewed Accountability: Buying My Freedom
by projecthitchhiker on September 2, 2008
in Accountability Lists, Lifestyle Design, Personal Development, Travel
(above photo from our motorbike trip in Newfoundland by Josh)
I’ve recently started a new job and have a new home for the next ten months. Seems to me a good time to reevaluate what’s important to me, set priorities and really focus on the next big goal: buying my freedom.
Bragging Rights: First Magazine Cover
by projecthitchhiker on June 2, 2008
in Accountability Lists, Awesome Stuff, Japan
An article I wrote about six months ago was published in the June issue of Japanzine (an in-print magazine for expats in Japan). And it’s the cover story, so that’s a first.