Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

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

Post by Ego »

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing ~ Helen Keller

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ERE can help to buy freedom and may provide tools for dealing with outright exposure, but freedom and tools get rusty without use. Here is a thread dedicated to those who are using them to the fullest.

If you believe it to be an adventure then post it. There is no right answer. The adventure can be in your head or on a spaceship to mars.

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

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jennypenny
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Post by jennypenny »

I like this site... http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/adventures/

I also like his concept of microadventures as a way to try something adventurous on a smaller scale or keep yourself in practice for bigger adventures.
http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/microadventures-3/

There are some people on the forum with really inspiring websites too :)

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by EMJ »

Living Wild
We aim to "live" in the wilderness, rather than "survive" it to get back to civilization.
http://www.lynxvilden.com/

I could never live the way she does, but still she is an inspiration for many reasons.

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

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

Post by jacob »

I do see life as an adventure but more in the "unusual and exciting" sense than in the "daring and risky" sense. I don't like risk for its own sake but on the other hand I loathe the modern fascination with "safety" because I think it's too constrictive on living. I'd rather be ashes than dust. Of course, daring and risky is in the eye of the beholder. I'm willing to do dangerous things but not to engage in stupidity in the name of yolo.

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

Post by Ego »

In the grand scheme of things, the risks we experience on a daily basis are not risks at all when compared to those our ancestors faced. Today the greatest risks for a North American/European/Australian is the direct consequence of a life devoid of risk. Torpidity.

The ability to cope with chaos, chance, and an unfortunate turn of events is often highly dependent on whether we had to cope with something similar before. Should I purposely introduce risk into my life (risk for risk's sake) so that I do not lose the ability to cope with it, just like I introduce exercise into my life because I am sheltered from the natural exercise that humans experienced throughout our development? Would practice make me perfect? Probably not. Might it make me better? Definitely.

As human beings become smarter we get better at predicting what could potentially go wrong. We've got a built in bias against risk and a built in bias against loss. These biases cause us to err on the side of safety, where safety is a constantly decreasing tolerance of risk. Since we are rarely forced to do anything dangerous, only dummies do things that are statistically viewed as dangerous. Trouble is, as perceived danger expands we are constantly becoming torpider and torpider*.

Stupidity in the name of YOLO might be the smartest thing we can do. Use it or lose it.

*I refuse to be constrained by the rules of the English language.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Chad »

Ego wrote: Since we are rarely forced to do anything dangerous, only dummies do things that are statistically viewed as dangerous.
Really agree with everything you said Ego, including the abuse of the English language, except for the above. It seems like the risk takers are on the ends of the bell curve. On one side you have the dummies who take stupid risks (smoking, no seat belt, unprotected sex, etc.) and on the other you have extremely high functioning people taking enormous physical (mountain/free climbing, back country skiing, MMA fights (this has both ends of the spectrum), 100 mile Death Valley run, etc.) and/or financial risks (start-ups).

Here are two of my favorite quotes on risk/fear from one of my favorite people (Hunter S. Thompson). I'm sure I have used them on here before:

“We are turning into a nation of whimpering slaves to Fear—fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the plunging economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts or suddenly getting locked up in a military detention camp on vague charges of being a Terrorist sympathizer.”

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

Hah! Wow! What a Ride!

That's true. I guess what I meant by, "only dummies do things that are statistically viewed as dangerous," is that when I do one of those things (Death Valley run, MMA, free climbing...) people assume I must be a dummy. Heck, when people look at the broad brushstrokes of my somewhat ERE lifestyle they often assume that my wife and I are dummies who made really bad choices to get to where we are. In the minds of many, ERE is the financial equivalent of free-climbing.

I saw this in the Telegraph the other day: Young Men Less Adventurous Than Their Fathers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/scie ... thers.html
Men questioned in the 1970s showed a much greater desire than women to pursue adventurous and adrenaline-fuelled activities, such as trying extreme sports or travelling to remote places.

But in recent decades men's' levels of thrill seeking have shifted closer to those of women, researchers reported.

Men were 48 per cent more likely than women to show an interest in "thrill and adventure seeking" activities in 1978, but only 28 per cent more likely to do so in 2013.

The change was due to a decline in men's appetite for physical challenges over the past 35 years rather than an increase in risk-taking among women, results showed.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Chad »

Ego wrote: I guess what I meant by, "only dummies do things that are statistically viewed as dangerous," is that when I do one of those things (Death Valley run, MMA, free climbing...) people assume I must be a dummy. Heck, when people look at the broad brushstrokes of my somewhat ERE lifestyle they often assume that my wife and I are dummies who made really bad choices to get to where we are. In the minds of many, ERE is the financial equivalent of free-climbing.
Yeah, that makes more sense. Doing anything outside the norm is risk taking now. 9/11 and the Great Recession really made people bunker down with every part of their lives and just live in a daily grind.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Seneca »

That old unattributed quote I love so much-

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'WOW . . . What a ride!"
Ego wrote:
I saw this in the Telegraph the other day: Young Men Less Adventurous Than Their Fathers
Wow, that makes me sad, and worried.

This guy does some amazing motorcycle adventures on motorcycles he builds for each ride. He posts them as forum topics on the site below-

http://www.motosapiens.org/forum/

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

What a great site. His latest trip is using a bike and sidecar. That's something I've always wanted to do.

When it was for sale I remember staring at this one for hours dreaming of the places it could go....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/t ... ar-Rig-EML

Image

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by jacob »

Damn! That bike makes me reconsider getting a motorcycle license (for the third time).

Also see
http://www.ural.com/
http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Chad »

That's almost Mad Maxian.

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

Post by Seneca »

The BMW is cool, liked the pics of the new owner with his dog in the sidecar. :)

If you guys like the BMW, make sure you check out Doug's "DirtBag" Harley. <Inspired by jokes like, "What's the difference between a Harley and a Hoover? The placement of the dirtbag.">

Between work and my wife/family obligations, I have found it increasingly necessary to choose between adventures and them.

This is one of the key things that keeps me motivated for the FI portion of ERE, I've never suffered from the ills of, I hate the man, the system, the job etc etc. I want the wife and kids, home and hearth (and workshop!), and the adventures.

Much of the rest of the ERE ideal is a necessary part of adventuring.
Last edited by Seneca on Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Seneca »

One more motorcycle adventurer who has an interesting story for adventurous econ nerds.

Emilio Scotto is an Argentinian who financed a Honda Goldwing which at the time was an absurd part of his salary/net worth. Hyperinflation basically wiped out the debt, and off he went.

http://www.emilioscotto.com/adventure.html

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

Post by Ego »

Seneca wrote: Between work and my wife/family obligations, I have found it increasingly necessary to choose between adventures and them.

This is one of the key things that keeps me motivated for the FI portion of ERE, I've never suffered from the ills of, I hate the man, the system, the job etc etc. I want the wife and kids, home and hearth (and workshop!), and the adventures.

Much of the rest of the ERE ideal is a necessary part of adventuring.
In many ways I think what you are experiencing right now is the ultimate adventure.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

Tonight at 7:00PM Eastern on Ustream

http://www.ustream.tv/speakerserieslive

EVEREST : Lessons from the Summit:Conrad Anker, Simone Moro and Kit DesLauriers are modern-day explorers whose names are synonymous with Mount Everest. Their experiences on the mountain range from Anker’s discovery of the body of legendary George Mallory, to the DesLauriers’ first ski descent from the summit, to Moro’s Himalayan helicopter rescues. Join three Everest legends, under one roof for the first time to discuss Everest’s untold history, some of the mountain’s current challenges, and what the future holds for the top of the world.

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Ego »

I've never ridden a fatbike. Some day I'd like to do a snow tour on one.

http://vimeo.com/37744449


Fatbike with snowshoe racks
Image

In tough conditions where riding isn't possible it converts to a sled...

Image

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Re: Life is a Daring Adventure | The Inspiration Thread

Post by Seneca »

Ego wrote:I've never ridden a fatbike. Some day I'd like to do a snow tour on one.
Our move to Idaho was the first time I've ever lived where it snows/sticks regularly. I saw these in the bike shops here last year and thought it looked like it would be a fun diversion, but after a winter I learned it really doesn't snow enough here to justify buying one just to ride around.

Touring on one in winter though, that's a pretty serious adventure. Do it!

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