From the category archives:

Philosophy

An Extraordinary Life: Hobo Nora Chucks "Normal Life" For The Adventure Of Full-Time Travel

by Alan Rider

Since deciding to chuck all the trappings of a so-called “normal” life back in 2006, Nora Dunn has been traveling the world and chronicling her experiences on her blog The Professional Hobo.  Seeing as how this is an extraordinary experience an awful lot of people aspire to, I thought it’d be interesting to look at the full-time vagabond life Nora’s created for herself to see what we can all learn about living out our dreams:

What prompted you to do this? Does this lifestyle choice reflect a deeper philosophical outlook?
I was on the brink of my 30th birthday, running a successful financial planning practice in Toronto when a [...]

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Bungee Jumping Bonus: What One Young Woman’s Leap Of Faith Can Teach Us About Living Life To The Fullest

by Alan Rider

While this website is filled to overflowing with stories of  way-cool once-in-a-lifetime adventures, read between the lines and you’ll discover everything here is really intended to promote the larger idea that life was meant to be lived to the fullest.  Which is why I wanted to introduce you to Mary Thompson and let her tell you the tale of her first bungee jump.
In many ways her experience might not seem that unusual.  But what really impressed me is the way this plucky young woman didn’t let her fears stand in the way of having an extraordinary experience she’d always dreamed of.  Let me know in the Comments section below if [...]

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6 Simple Solutions To The Boring Vacation

by Alan Rider

Let’s face it: Vacation days are precious commodities.  So why would you want to squander them on the same old ho-hum travel destinations and activities, especially when you can have a downright mind-blowing experience you’ll be telling stories about for months to come?

Fortunately, all it takes to transform your next getaway from boring to boffo is to make a few minor changes to the way you approach the planning process.  With that in mind, here are six suggestions you can use to help make your next vacation downright unforgettable:
Ditch The Destination Mindset
Instead of focusing on where to go, spend some time thinking about some of those things you’ve always wanted [...]

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Finances, Fitness, And Fear: Overcoming Obstacles Between You & Your Next Big Adventure

by Alan Rider

If you’ve been putting off your next big adventure because of the steep price tag, you might want to take a minute to check out this great post on National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel blog.
The reason I bring this up is because “I can’t afford it” is one of the most common objections I hear when I ask people what’s keeping them from making their dream trip a reality.  But personal experience has taught me that this issue of finances—along with two other frequently-cited deal-breakers I call fitness and fear—are a lot easier to overcome than most of us might believe.
To illustrate my point, I thought I’d take a minute to [...]

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All I Want For Christmas

by Alan Rider

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a hard person to buy gifts for (I can just see my wife rolling her eyes when she reads this).  You see, I’ve come to a point in my life where I don’t really want or need that much stuff.
Over the last decade or so I’ve come to understand what Henry David Thoreau meant when he said:
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.”
Oh sure, I get caught up in lusting for “the next big thing” same as everybody.  But when that happens, I try to step back and take a hard [...]

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Black Friday Blues

by Alan Rider

Just heard an interview with a women who arrived at a southern California mall at 4:30 this morning because she thought joining the crowds lined up for the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving deals would be an interesting “experience.” I’m sure she’s right on some level, though honestly battling the Black Friday throngs for questionable deals on things I have no real use for is one adventure I have absolutely no interest in.
As a matter of fact, I’ve long been a proponent of the philosophy that we’re all burdened by way too much “stuff.”  All of which will wear out, go out of style, or just plain get ignored at the back [...]

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Give Me Reality Any Day

by Alan Rider

One of our XTRORD.com guiding principles is that “reality kicks virtual reality’s butt every time.”  Which is why I found this new TV commercial promoting travel to the Florida Keys and Key West to be a lot more profound than anybody at the ad agency or tourism bureau probably expected.
You see, as much as I like the Keys—and I like them a lot—what struck me as so right-on about this 30-second spot that spoofs the whole “There’s an app for that” iPhone ad campaign is the idea that all the cutting-edge technology in the world can’t beat getting out there and having a good old-fashioned extraordinary experience.  I mean, really, [...]

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