Hi, I’m Steve
Born in Northern Virginia and growing up in New York State, I lived the first 22 years of my life in the northeast. I got a job right out of college, and set my sights on one overall goal. “Don’t be complacent and don’t follow the crowd.” If I had to sum up my philosophy on life in just one sentiment, it would be this: “Live smart and challenge yourself.”
Too many people today are simply going through the motions of their daily lives Just SURVIVING their lives and not really living them. Life is way too short to not be enjoyed for everything it has to offer and for every talent you have to offer it right back.
Don’t Fall into the Trap
So often we’re told to “Work, work, work. Get through school, go to college, get married, work, work, work, buy physical things that will surely make you happy, take the weekend off to decompress, work, work, work, get a mortgage, have kids, work, work, work, take a week off a year and maybe go on vacation to a beach or theme park, work, work, work, retire at 65 or 70 and THEN relax, travel and enjoy yourself.”
Let me break some bad news to you. You have no idea what the future holds. You might not be living at 65 or 70. Your spouse may not be living at 65 or 70. You could be too old or sick or feeble to physically walk up the steps to the airplane to take you to Europe, much less walk across Europe.
My advice? If you want to go to Europe, go to Europe now. If you want to see the world, take on a new job or experience a new adventure, do it NOW. Yes there is a balance between saving for the future and spending every penny you have at 20 or 30. But let me tell you, when you start eliminating some of the waste and unnecessary spending from your life, you’re really going to be amazed at how much you don’t need.
Stand Out from the Crowd
If you’re sick of this lifestyle, or if you’re looking 30-40 years into the future and are terrified of living this way, then you’ve come to the right place.
You’re not going to all of a sudden wake up and have all your problems disappear. You need to take the steps to change them. You CAN change your life and you CAN have the freedom you want five, 10 and 20 years from now. But it’s a heck of a lot easier to have that freedom if you act now than if you wait years or decades longer to make a plan.
My Story
I’ve always been one who doesn’t exactly like conforming. That’s an understatement, who am I kidding. I don’t like to confirm. And I don’t like doing things “just because,” especially when I see so many people going through the motions of their life or job “just because” our culture tells them to. “What do you mean I CAN’T do this? Hmmm, no, I think I’m just going to do it.”
I’ve had a number of very profound experiences that have completely changed my outlook on life. The most eternal, so to speak, was when I became a Christian at 19. The one most connected to my ideas on travel and opportunity is when I watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen from a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean ocean. “I can do anything I want with my entire life,” I thought to myself. “What would I spend a single second doing something I hate?”
I’v become a published author, a certified pilot, a high-dollar fundraiser and a multiple home owner, just because I wanted a new challenge. I’ve invested in real estate, given over 100 media interviews, become 100% debt free, and spent a full year traveling the world on the budget of a fast food worker’s salary.
At the age of 30 I decided I knew what I didn’t want to do with my life. I spent about 10 years in work related to politics and the political field and saw the the type of people who’d spent their lives in politics. When my job ended I decided I was done. I sold a lot of what I had, grabbed a backpack and traveled the world for one year.
Nearly three years later, I’m still going strong.
That’s not to say I’ve been traveling non-stop for three years. Instead of I’ve focused a tremendous amount of effort on getting the systems in place so that I won’t be tied to a desk, forced to live in one specific place, and worried about making ends meet doing a job I hate.
My Goal
My goal in for this website is partially for me and partially for you. For myself, I want to collect my thoughts and keep challenging and encouraging myself to keep pushing forward to greater and grander adventures. For you, I want to relay that you can do things differently than everyone is telling you, “You Must.” Rather you CAN save money, you CAN cut costs, you CAN travel and you DON’T have to work a job you hate in order to get the weekend and a week’s vacation every year, simply because, “That’s what everyone else does.”
Here I’ll relay thoughts, advice and tips on traveling, time management and general “life hacks” to make yourself happier and give yourself more time to do the things you want. Above all, Challenge Yourself now and worry about “conforming,” later.
Before you look around the rest of the blog, take a second to enter your email address in the box to the right to receive my free blog updates. It’s an every once in a while email with content from this blog, extra posts, and some occasional surprises. I know I know, “Not another email list!”
But this is good stuff I promise, and it’s only once in a while and I won’t spam you or sell you anything. It’s the best way to get the full benefit from this blog and maximize your ability to save time, save money, travel more, worry less, and challenge yourself to your next adventure.
What is My Website All About?
- “I wish I could travel… but it’s just too expensive.”
- “I’d can’t stand my job… but I don’t see any way out.”
- “I know I need to get in better shape… but where do I start?”
- Investing and stocks and bonds are like Greek to me… I’m worried about saving money.”
Travel doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. Your job shouldn’t make you wake up every morning cursing the alarm clock. A fitness routine doesn’t need to be an Olympic event. And saving money for the future isn’t rocket science.
I encourage you to take charge of your life, set your sights on your goals, and achieve your dreams NOW. Here at my website, I cover ways to travel for cheap, make more money, cut your expenses and give yourself more time freedom
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Some of My Background & Expertise
