Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Favorite quotations, etc.
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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

How we quit our jobs to travel: The married couple.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140 ... ied-couple

Their blog is getting hammered right now and seems to be down.

theanimal
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by theanimal »

Sven Yrvind is a small boat sailor. He is 75 years old and will be circumnavigating the world south of the Capes (basically around Antarctica). To top it off, he will be totally unsupported for the 600-800 planned days of the journey. Wow!

http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/sven-yrvind/
http://www.yrvind.com/

akratic
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by akratic »

My friend is walking around the world. He's only 24 years old and on day ~750 or so. Previous trips of his include canoeing the Mississippi river and biking from Minnesota to the southern tip of Argentina and back. He's not loaded, just extraordinarily self sufficient. Someone nicknamed him the "ERE Yoda" in my journal before he'd even started this adventure.

He's pretty creative to keep things inexpensive. He crewed a sailboat to cross the Atlantic, played violin on the street to afford food, etc. $5/day budget! (He would need just $60k for a 3% SWR...)

Here's an article with an audio interview: http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/08/15 ... drew-siess

Here's another article: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_ ... ound-world

Here's a transcription I just did of my favorite part of the audio interview:

"How are you paying to get through this trip?"

"Busking, and I've been helped out by a lot of strangers on the street, um, who pass by me on the highway or the road or whatever. A lot of people have given me food. I mean that's the only thing -- my only cost is food. I never sleep in hotels, except I stayed in a hostel, uh, once, in Kosovo [...] my total accommodation cost is like under $100 for two years plus. I don't pay for gas, I don't pay for transportation either. So if you just have $5/day budget... I don't eat at restaurants. I just go to the grocery store and buy sandwiches and cookies. You can go a long way with very, very, very little if you want to. It's just a question of how comfortable you want to be. You're never going to do this on my budget if you want to be comfortable."

"Then why do it?"

"Because I don't do it to be comfortable. I do it to see the world, and I like pushing the limits, kind of, and I like to feel cold, and feel really hot, and feel hungry and thirsty and tired, sometimes, not all the time. But I, I enjoy it. I think. [laughs]"

fips
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by fips »

akratic, impressive story. He lives on a tight budget indeed.

I also like how he uses his violin to connect to people. From the second link you posted:
You can speak music to everyone in the world, really. I was able to connect with a lot of people that I wouldn't have otherwise.
And it's good to hear, that he has found many helping hands all around the world. It's reassuring to see how many people still care and are open-minded, opposite from all the rage and war presented in the mass media. Faith in humanity restored ... for today ;-)


Here's a fairly different kind of ERE inspiration:

Mark Zuckerberg on why he wears the same T-Shirt every day.

It's nothing like the truly inspirational stories of Renaissance men and women, but I thought it's a "fun fact" how "even" Mark Zuckerberg declutters his life to focus on his vision. Nevermind that he reiterates his goal to connect the world again and again in just under two minutes. I just thought it's interesting to see that he takes this extra step to revoke public appearance (which most people deem to be very important) and focus what's important to him instead.

RealPerson
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by RealPerson »

Here's a man who was groomed to become a Wall Street banker. He chose this instead, much to the chagrin of his family. http://andrewskurka.com/

National Geographic named him Outdoorsman of the Year. He is an awesome person and lives life to the fullest I would say. Minimalism on the move, off trail.

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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

This family is in the campground in Hluhluwe with us today:

http://www.dacaluf.com

Proof that those with kids can do it too. They worked for several years in IT to save. Last night we talked about the general philosophy of living to work and their philosophy of working to live.

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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »


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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »


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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

Big Crazy Family Adventure

Last year I traveled halfway around the world with my wife and our two young sons to live in a cliff-side Buddhist monastery in the lost Himalayan Kingdom of Zanskar. Our adventure took us 13,000 miles from home, without ever leaving the Earth’s surface.

https://maptia.com/brucekirkby/stories/ ... -adventure

henrik
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by henrik »

Thanks for sharing that, Ego.
I always seem to have trouble explaining to people that travelling with kids is actually way easier than staying home with kids, even day to day, not to mention the benefit of having the memories.

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jennypenny
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by jennypenny »

henrik wrote:I always seem to have trouble explaining to people that travelling with kids is actually way easier than staying home with kids, even day to day, not to mention the benefit of having the memories.
+111111111111111111111111111

I'd rather travel with kids than adults.

cmonkey
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by cmonkey »


The video in this reminded me of this youtube channel. Don't ask me how I found this. Amazing that they have so many subscribers. Folks that are just bored to tears and really needing something to bring back the awe.

I also completely agree with the ending of that article....I am constantly finding awe just outside in our gardens. Its one of the reason I spend so much time out there. Every day I see something I have never seen before.

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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

Burma by bike. Free ebook from the incredible Amaya & Eric...

http://www.worldbiking.info/wordpress/2 ... a-by-bike/

Here is their route so far (last updated in 2014)

Image

Edit to add that I was poking around their site and found her Speaking page very interesting...

http://www.worldbiking.info/wordpress/speaking/

Facing Challenges

Change is the only constant as she pedals around the planet. Perfecting the art of calculated risk-taking is essential to survival. Thriving on the road means adapting instantly to changed circumstances, seeing difficulties as temporary and finding creative solutions.

Lessons from the Road

Life on the road has taught her to approach life with a curious and open mind, allowing instinct to be her guide. This round the world expedition is a case study in success being determined by the spirit of perseverance rather than pure talent.

Why this Matters

This talk will inject you with a dose of enthusiasm, and appeal to anyone with a love of adventure and desire for challenge. The message is clear: dare to fail; you won’t achieve anything without taking the first step.

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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

Peaking at Ninety

Photos
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/bigpic ... story.html

and the article
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/0 ... story.html

MOUNT WASHINGTON — Dick Dreselly got out of his car at the trailhead, looked up at the cloud-covered summit, and then called his wife, Marge, in Topsham, Maine, to assure her that everything would be all right because he had brought a reporter and photographer “to carry the body down.”

He changed into an old pair of shorts, tightened the Velcro on the sneakers he’d bought for $5 at Goodwill, strapped on his trusty red pack, and set out on a three-day journey up the Crawford Path to the top of Mount Washington, an 8.5-mile slog over boulders and more boulders. It’s 4,750 feet of vertical gain, much of it above tree line, exposed to the legendary horrific winds that have led many to call it the most dangerous small mountain in the world.

It is a journey he has made many times before, including just last year with his grandson, but this one was special because in January, Dreselly celebrated a big milestone: He turned 90.

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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

We saw the new Everest movie. It reminded me of an old quote by Jon Krakauer that I had read years ago. Back then I remember thinking that maybe he was talking about something more than mountain climbing. Nineteen years later, reading it with slightly more wisdom, I think I'm starting to get it.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/ ... nt-everest

Journalist Jon Krakauer, who was part of the New Zealand team and the second to summit that day, filed a raw, emotional account of the tragedy on Outside magazine’s Internet publication. Krakauer, author of the best-selling Into the Wild, has no doubt that Scott Fischer died because he was exhausted from guiding amateur climbers. Rob Hall clearly died in the act of rescuing his amateur client. But Pittman maintains that there were no heroes that night, that the guides were just doing their jobs, what they were paid to do.

According to Krakauer, the debate “raises the question ‘What are you doing on this mountain if you can’t get yourself down?’ There’s only so much you can ask of a guide or a sherpa.” In his view, guided climbers may have a lot of experience, but that does not necessarily translate into great ability or judgment. He emphasizes that these climbers are never without guides—“high-altitude baby-sitters”—which is very different from doing it on your own. “You don’t have the mind-set to take care of yourself. You learn to operate within a client framework, which is that other people are going to haul your loads, other people are going to look after you.”

As the controversy grew heated, veteran climbers tried to make the point that the essence of mountaineering has always been self-reliance, consideration for others, character, and integrity.


------------------

Operate in a client framework. Hum

Chad
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Chad »

I really agree with Krakauer. I also tend to think that people who do the "completely taken care of guided tour" up Everest or some other similar extremely hard and dangerous physical activity aren't really doing that activity.

Let's take something I'm very familiar with...football. If a group of people could pay a group of professional football players to play with them to get the experience of playing professional football, it wouldn't actually be the experience of playing professional football. Let's say there were 6 non-professionals and they were broken up so 3 were on defense and 3 on offense. The pro players would basically cancel each other out, so you would really just be playing against the other noobs out there. This is not professional football.

Now, if the pro players were on an opposing team and you had 11 noobs on the other side you could maybe say you experienced professional football. Of course, you would probably be in the hospital.

In the case of climbing Everest, you basically have the same situation. It's the pros vs pros (Everest vs. guides) and then the joes vs a steep cardio exercise at altitude. I'm not suggesting it isn't a hard exercise, but it's not really mountain climbing.

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Ego
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

Chad wrote: In the case of climbing Everest, you basically have the same situation. It's the pros vs pros (Everest vs. guides) and then the joes vs a steep cardio exercise at altitude. I'm not suggesting it isn't a hard exercise, but it's not really mountain climbing.
I thought the movie did a good job of showing the often hidden perils of hiring specialists (specialization) to solve hard problems. There are times when buying a solutions can make sense. But it seems that some of the clients on Everest were professional solution-buyers who didn't realize the downside.

Chad
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Chad »

I haven't seen the movie, but I may see it if it comes to Prime at some point.

I have heard the documentary Meru about climbing the Shark's Fin is really good.

http://www.merufilm.com/
Ego wrote:But it seems that some of the clients on Everest were professional solution-buyers who didn't realize the downside.
Forgetting the real situation is easy to do as a "solution buyer." Managers do it all the time in business. Most Fortune 500 CEO's are very guilty of having these blinders on.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by jacob »

Chad wrote: In the case of climbing Everest, you basically have the same situation. It's the pros vs pros (Everest vs. guides) and then the joes vs a steep cardio exercise at altitude. I'm not suggesting it isn't a hard exercise, but it's not really mountain climbing.
This is why I don't relate to tourism. Seeing (remotely supported) does not equal living (locally self-supported).

On a similar note, during the era of the Meiji restoration when the old samurai were banned and swordsmanship was replaced by kendo, the question of who was the best swordsman, usually settled by a duel, became hard to define and settle. When challenged some of the old school samurai refused to fight with anything but steel (which makes the fight very different). Of course the moderns declined.

Also see spectatorship, critics, ...

vroom
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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by vroom »

Chad wrote:I haven't seen the movie, but I may see it if it comes to Prime at some point.

I have heard the documentary Meru about climbing the Shark's Fin is really good.

http://www.merufilm.com/
Great film. Warning: it'll make you feel like a complete underachiever.

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