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In October 2011 I quit my job to spend more time with my family and working on things I care about. It is the first major step in my quest to live different. Now I don’t mean to be different just to feel unique, but instead to live different in a way that makes my life better. Remember that these are the things I have chosen personally. You should create your own different life.

Be debt free.

Debt is crippling. It limits your options, forces you to keep working at a job you don’t like,  preventing travel, and adding considerable stress. It is also often a symptom of caring too much about possessions. Seriously, if you don’t have the money, don’t buy things.

Jobs are optional.

It’s time we started thinking about jobs and careers differently. At times they can be great: meet new people, work on great projects, and learn a lot. But if your job is holding you back from the life you want to live get rid of it. If your finances are in order and you have money in the bank quitting that job isn’t quite so scary. Especially if you can work on a side project that makes some recurring income on the side.

Chris Guillebeau, an author and blogger, started traveling and writing extensively a few years ago. Now he finishing up a quest to go to every country in the world (all 193). He travels almost continuously and does it on less than $60k per year. All of which he earns from writing for his blog and related guides.

If you really try you’ll find there are so many more ways to make money than going to an office every day.

Focus on family.

Over the years I always heard people say “kids grow up so fast”, but I never internalized it until recently. Watching Oliver grow and change in the last four months has shown me just how true this phrase is. No one wishes they spent less time with their kids.

Travel frequently to unique places.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
– Henry Miller

The most remote place I’ve ever been is the mountain village of Ketane in Lesotho (inside South Africa). Someday I’ll write more about the experience, but for now I’ll just say that travel can change your outlook on life.

Spend some time seeing things close to home as well. If you live in a city anywhere near as great as Boise there are many things you have yet to discover.

Learn continuously.

If I had to choose one thing to shape my outlook on life it would be a continual desire to learn both physical and mental skills. Even though I dropped out of college, I value learning very highly. Just choose the setting that is right for you. I hope to teach Oliver to share the same desire.

Create.

Take what you have learned and used it to create great things. Whether writing, woodworking, software design, knitting, or painting; start creating.

Value experiences over possessions.

On a trip to Hawaii with my some of my family a couple years ago we spent nearly $1,000 on a helicopter tour of the island. Since it was mostly my money I thought hard before spending the money. Ultimately reminding myself that a great experience is better than whatever objects I would purchase with that money. It was an unforgettable time and I will show photos from the flight for years to come.

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That’s all I have for now. Go write your own story.

The most important thing you gain from travel is perspective.

Perspective on other cultures, languages, and ways of living. Staying within your home country or culture you can only learn so much. Spend a few weeks (or longer) in a place like South Africa and you will marvel over how many people speak 4, 5 or 6 languages fluently. Visiting mountain villages in Lesotho will change your perspective on how many people can fit inside a mini-van for a 4 hour drive (24 in case you were wondering).

Time is the most valuable thing you have.

Spend your time with the same care you use when spending money. That doesn’t mean you should only spend time working or on practical things. Spend it on whatever you want, just spend purposefully.

Ideas aren’t worth as much as you think.

It is the execution of the idea that truly matters. Follow-through is everything.
Finish what you start.

Traveling will make you appreciate your home even more.

A friend who has always wanted to travel to Europe asked me an interesting question after my last trip to France: “If you enjoyed the trip so much wouldn’t you just want to stay?” She feared that she would love these places so much it would make her want to give up her obligations at home and live abroad. Which is the opposite of my experience. The more I travel, even to places I love, the more I value and appreciate my home town.

Exfoliate.

Women figured out to use a mesh sponge (or something similar) a long time ago. I’m not sure why men still don’t get it. Your skin just feels so much better.

When you get someone to help you with a problem, always get them to explain the solution.

I am learning to program and every time I have a question I try to fully understand the code required to create the solution. Otherwise you make progress on your project, but don’t really learn.

The same thing goes for kids (though you sometimes have to force it on them). Rather than fixing a problem for someone, you can guide them to solve it themselves. A book I read recently told a story of a child trying to get his bicycle out of the back of a truck. It was tangled with another bike and he couldn’t just pull it out. His mother had two options. Her natural instinct was to untangle the bike and lift it out of the truck. Or she could help her son to do it himself. She talked him through diagnosing the problem and got him to walk through the steps of untangling the bike on his own.

Teach a man to fish. Or teach a child to untangle a bike. Same concept.

Stop talking and start doing.

Don’t be known as the person who is all talk and lacks follow-through. If you talk about that exciting vacation for years, but never take the steps to do it you will start to lose credibility. Think about what you talk and dream about. It is time to finally start taking steps to meet those goals.

Becoming a parent changes everything.

Time slows down. Priorities change. Everything I thought was important can wait while I make silly noises and faces to entertain my son. I now am starting to see everything in the context of how I want to teach it to him.

Stop saying “honestly and “to tell the truth”.

It implies you are lying the rest of the time.

Never stop learning.

Adopting this attitude will change your life.

I’ll post more photos later of Nice and the rest of the trip.