Discovering Your Truth

#TravelTuesday: Pura Vida Costa Rica #tripofalifetime!

2014-08-23T04:16:00.000-07:00

Pura Vida - Pure Life, it's what the Costa Ricans live by. Last month I was in Costa Rica leading a #tripofalifetime for a bunch of grad students from Canada in a place just outside the city of Liberia for the company S-Trip! It may sound tedious having to watch out for a bunch of drunk 17/18 year olds who just graduated but I have to say I actually really enjoyed myself despite the lack of sleep. The students ended up being some of the coolest people and for the most part they were pretty well behaved. Of course there was all the things you expect like sneaking out after hours, changing rooms, super drunk ramblings, cuts, scrapes and even some bee stings (myself included on that one) but overall it was a solid group of around 150.

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#TravelTuesday: Top 5 Places I've Visited

2014-06-17T09:23:00.001-07:00

Last week I brought you my Top 5 Places I Want To Visit so I only thought it was fitting to now tell you my top 5 places I've already visited and why I love them! If after this list you aren't satisfied and want to take a look at ALL the places I've visited you can check out my Travel Bragging page. I usually keep this page up to date as to where I am, where I've been, where I'm going next.

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#TravelTuesday: The Top 5 Places I Want To Visit

2014-06-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Painting by Michael Tompsett

I'm now counting the days until I move to Dubai on July 24th and I thought it would be fun to fantasize about all the places I'm going to be flying to and what my top 5 desired destinations are! To be clear this is a list of places I haven't yet been to. I've been very blessed to have traveled quite a bit in my life and if you want to see the full list of where I've been you can do so HERE.

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The Life of a Nomad - Big Announcements, Growing Older and Moving

2014-04-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it has certainly been a while since I last did a post. I apologize. Sometimes I get caught up in life and forget how much I love writing. Let's do some catch up, shall we? There is a LOT to cover.

Last time I left you I was living in the Big Apple, the city where dreams are made of, New York! I had an absolutely amazing time. I never thought I would live in New York, it didn't strike me as my kind of place but I'm glad I had the experience. I made some amazing friends and look forward to visiting again but as far as living, I'm much happier not being there. I now live back in my home country of Canada in Toronto and love it, despite the horrid weather. The big plan was always to move here after Jessica and I finished our volunteering trip across the USA and I'm glad I've finally made it. I've only been here a short while but the moment I got into town I already felt more at home than I ever did in New York. There is something about being back in Canada that just lets me breathe again, like I'm not all strung out. Toronto is a beautiful city. It's large enough to keep me happy but also still has a small town feel to a lot of it because of all the funky artistic spaces.

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My Interview With Financial Author Kate Northrup

2013-12-16T07:22:00.001-08:00

Last week I achieved what seemed to be a great feat in my life, I interviewed the author of "Money: A Love Story," Kate Northrup for my radio show Discovering Your Truth on YTP Radio. Since the show is still very much in its infancy stages with this only being its tenth show I was flabbergasted when Kate agreed to the interview. Doesn't it feel amazing when we breaking through those barriers we set up for ourselves in life and do something we never thought possible?

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My 30 Day Yoga and Play Challenge

2013-12-02T12:56:00.002-08:00

Stress. We all have it in some way, shape or form and we all have our ways of dealing with it, some healthier than others. I recently found myself in a bit of a rut and couldn't seem to find my way out of it until the amazing Sandy Dow, Stress to Success Coach, came along and kicked me around a bit. Thank goodness she did because I needed it! Working with Sandy helped open up some things that I needed to face and get sorted out.

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How To Overcome The Holiday "I'm Single" Blues

2013-11-20T15:55:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be honest here and let you all know that this video was really difficult for me to make. The reason behind that is people don't like appearing to be vulnerable or imperfect. A lot of the time we like to wear these suits of "I'm totally cool, everything is fine in my life." We all know it's total utter crap but knowing that for ourselves and putting it out there for the world to see are two very different things. In this video I allowed myself to just put it all out there and share with you what helps me move through the process of being single during the holidays.

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Try Something New Today - Cold Showers

2013-11-08T05:36:00.003-08:00

I recently watched a video by Jordan Bach that suggested I try a cold shower. Always being one who is up for a new adventure I thought I would give it a shot. Cold showers have been linked to improved blood circulation, speeding up your metabolism and are even good for our hair and skin! Watch the video below to see my reaction to this new adventure, it's quite funny!

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Follow Your Dreams - #ICDINY13

2013-10-29T11:26:00.001-07:00

It's another episode of Discovering Your Truth Talks! It's been a long while since I did one of these videos but I've decided it's time to get back on the horse. I know that part of my purpose is to help people and these videos are a way that I can do that on a larger scale.

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Shine Your Way: 5 Steps to Happiness

2013-10-25T09:15:00.001-07:00

Do you ever experience those moments when you think to yourself "why am I doing this?" The specific moment I'm talking about usually follows those moments that you're not enjoying in life. This is either because someone else wanted you to do it or you thought you wanted to do it but turns out it wasn't what you wanted. Also sometimes referred to as the "what the fuck am I DOING!?" moment. Well these moments are usually brought to you because you're doing something that is taking you further away from happiness and you've finally hit the wall of "fuck this shit."

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Interview with @FionaForbes on @TheRushTV

2013-10-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom! I'm on TV! Jessica and I were ecstatic to be interviewed by the lovely Fiona Forbes on The Rush TV. I had emailed them months before during the summer in preparation for our #GetRAOKT trip hoping that they might want to have us on. Well I don't know what magic was worked but I heard back from one of the shows producers saying that they were interested in having us on! There was a slight problem though, they were on summer break and by the time they got back we would be on the road. A plan to skype in was made and a date was picked, October 3rd.

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Gingers Do It Best: I Cut All My Hair Off

2013-10-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

FINALLY! I have chopped off ALL my hair! Well, not all of my hair, but enough to bring sexy back! You know when you get a new haircut and you get that feeling like you can conquer the world? I have that racing through my body right now, and my goodness it feels SO good!

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#TravelTuesday: The Big Move To Dubai

2013-09-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

View From My Front Door

September 24th marked my 2 month anniversary of moving to Dubai and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to accept a flight attendant job in Dubai and move to the other side of the world but I'm glad I took a leap of faith and went for it. The last two months have been a complete rollercoaster of emotions for me, but lets start from the beginning.

On July 24th 2014 I landed in the sweltering heat of Dubai with 50kg of my belongings, exhaustion from my 20+ hours of travel time with no sleep, and a dream. That dream was to travel the world...and get paid for it! As you all know I love to travel (that's what my blog is all about afteral!) but I'm sure you also all know how hard it is to work a "job" and save for one lousy 2 week holiday, maybe, if you can manage to afford it after all your bills. Now I can say that dream is a reality living here in Dubai as a flight attendant for the worlds most international flight company.

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#CTC13: Capture the Colour with @travelsupermkt

2013-09-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Rainbows Are My Favourite

I love this whole idea! I'm fairly new to the whole travel blogging world but in the short time I've been around I've managed to make some amazing friends. Mostly because I kicked it all off with a trip to TBEX in Toronto this past June so I actually had the chance to meet everyone in person.

My lovely friend Lauren over at LolasTravels.com tagged me in this years #CTC13: Capture the Color with Travel Supermarket. I hope she enjoys all the photos I've chosen. I don't classify myself as a photographer in any way. I actually just use my phones camera for all of my photos because it makes me life easy. I appreciate amazingly HD photos and maybe one day I'll invest in a nice camera, but for right now I'm more about just being in the moment and enjoying the experience I'm currently having.

Being part of this competition has given me the chance to go back and look at a ton of photos I haven't seen in ages. Once upon a time I lived in Europe, so some of my photos are from when I was there. It was nice to revisit the old stomping grounds of a lifetime lived well.

For the competition you have to publish a blog post with 5 of your favourite photos showcasing these colours - Blue, Green, Yellow, Red and White - in order to win some nifty prizes including a £3,000 travel fund. These are the photos I've chosen for my entry:

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Seattle: I Can See Why People Like You

2013-09-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

Seattle, I think I have a new love affair with you. I've been a few times before and enjoyed myself but this time was different. This time I really got the chance to explore you and get a feel for the type of city you are.

This was just suppose to be a pitstop on our way to Oklahoma City but ended up being a pleasant surprise. Originally Seattle was suppose to be at the end of the tour but it was great to break up the would be 4 day trip from Calgary to Oklahoma city.

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What to do When you get Left at the Border?

2013-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

You're Welcome North America

So as Jessica and I left for the US on our #GetRAOKT adventure the craziest thing happened. The bus driver LEFT US AT THE BORDER! WHAAAAAAT!? Did that REALLY just happen!? As backpackers we were getting a little bit more of the 3rd degree than any of the other passengers, which I can understand. They want to make sure we're not trying to move to the US illegally and such. And just to be clear Jessica and I are VERY happy being Canadian. I enjoy my legal right to marry the man of my dreams across the country due to being a big GIANT gay. But as we are having our bags looked through the driver asked if anyone was left. Jessica and I notified him that we were and even the border crossing agents heard us. He decided to leave anyway!

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We Can Be Heros: 5 Facts You Should Already Know About Yourself but Probably Don't

2013-08-15T13:10:00.002-07:00

I love movie magic. I love when a script, cast, director and a multitude of other factors can come together and bring a person to that perfect moment right at the very end of the movie where you get those tingles all over and marvel at what you just witnessed.

I just finished watching "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," and it was absolutely perfect. The acting was phenomenal, the script was fantastic and the video was stunning. It had everything I love to see in a movie and those moments that make you well up inside because you're so happy you get to experience this moment with the people on screen. My favorite part is always at the end when you've gone through the whole journey, the ups and the downs, the music is starting the swell, the lead actor or actress is in their last monologue and you don't know what it is but you just feel like you've lived the most amazing experience and that you're unstoppable. Well I want to let you in on a little secret, you ARE unstoppable.

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Kelly Clarkson supports GLBT LOVE in "Tie It Up" Music Video

2013-08-14T14:19:00.001-07:00

My homegirl Kelly Clarkson wins on the newest music video for "Tie It Up." I have to admit that even though I'm a HUGE Kelly fan I wasn't loving this song...until now. In the music video Kelly plays wedding single to a handful of weddings, including a gay wedding! That's right, Miss Clarkson had to make sure she was representing love in all it's forms while filming the new music video.

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It's official, I'm a Writer

2013-07-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

The most amazing things happen when you're not looking. I guess it was a few months back now that I submitted an article to GT Magazine (Gay Times Magazine). It was a piece about living life as a gay man in Canada. After a few emails back and forth with some lovely people at GT I was told that when my article got published I would be notified. I'm proud to say that I am now a published writer as my article appears in this months edition of GT (August 2013, issue 422) featuring Louis Smith on the front cover!

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Time for an Inspiration Point

2013-06-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

In a world that idolizes celebrity, being skinny and the next big fad I want to stand up and be different. I want to reconnect our broken world and remind people why we are really here, to experience as much joy and happiness as we can in the short time we get. There have been many cases of people succeeding great heights in their lives only to be left still feeling empty inside and it's because of a skewed version of what life is "suppose to be." If you ask anyone walking down the street what they want most in life 9 times out of 10 they will respond with "I want to be happy." Yet most of these people don't have a clue of what would genuinely make them happy. Most have adopted the idea that lots of money and "things" will make you happy, and they might for a short time, but then it fades.

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Toronto Take 2

2013-06-27T12:33:00.001-07:00

The CN Tower

As many of you know I was recently in Toronto for the TBEX event that went on there. I had an absolute blast and made so many new friends, it was exactly my kind of event. While I was there I took a bunch of videos and photos which I've now put together for you. These are the 2nd half of my highlights from the trip. Enjoy!

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Life: Are You Living It?

2013-06-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever experienced a moment that captivates you and holds you in such deep thought that you become paralyzed with fear? I've been doing a lot of deep thinking as of late about life and what it means to me. There's so many people living life so drastically differently than yourself in this world you can't help but wonder if you're doing it right. I use to think that having "stuff" and "things" meant that I was living life but I've come to realize that those things have very little to do with anything. The things that bring me the most joy and memories are experiences with other people. I use to want a big house, to be a millionaire and be hugely famous but things have changed, perspectives have shifted. We think we have so much time left, there's always tomorrow right? But what happens if tomorrow never comes? What happens if you turn a corner and all of a sudden, that's it? In this moment can you say that you genuinely lived your life? That you gave everything you had and tried your hardest at whatever it is that makes your heart sing. I thought I had things figured out, a direction in life, but every time I took a step the mirage would move further away. So I finally gave in, had one of those "screaming in the pouring rain for a sign" moments. Then it hit me, like a wave of relief, I needed to stop trying so hard.

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Toronto Take 1

2013-06-19T12:19:00.001-07:00

I had a phenomenal time in Toronto as you can probably tell. All the new friends that I made and people I met taught me so much about the travel blogger world and I'm excited about the adventure I have laid out in front of me. #GetRAOKT will be the adventure of a life time and I'm so excited for September to get here! Until then I have a few small trips planned and lots of videos to edit for you all! Here is the first video from my trip to Toronto which encompasses the first 2 days I was there. Enjoy!

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3 Money Saving Ideas While Travelling

2013-06-17T12:22:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows how hard it can be for a college student trying to balance work, academics and fun. Challenging curriculum and tight budgets can make it seemingly impossible for the average student to survive. The secret for this dilemma resides in creating free time to relax and unwind. For the students that make an effective savings plan, it can be relatively easy to travel and afford daily expenses while attending college. Many students are able to save hundreds of dollars by taking a more proactive approach towards managing their travel budget.

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Heights are Scary

2013-06-13T14:51:00.001-07:00

The other day I had one of my best friends stay over, Sarah. It had been over 8 months since we last saw each other because she's been busy working for Greenpeace down in New Zealand. Well when Sarah and I get together you can only assume that shenanigans is going to ensue. On my recent trip to TBEX in Toronto I took a trip up the CN Tower and almost lost my shiz. I'm not a fan of heights and it boggles my mind how people can just hang off the side of a building, like SERIOUSLY!? Sarah is also not a fan of heights. We decided it would be fun to watch some videos on heights and record our reaction. You may now commence laughing at us. Enjoy!

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