Justin Wright

Mount Mitchell State Park

Justin Wright — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:03:10 PDT

At the top of Mount Mitchell

After spending 5 days and 4 nights hanging out in Mount Mitchell State Park in North Carolina, I can honestly say it’s one of my favorites places in the country (so far). The mountains are unlike any of the mountains I’ve seen out west and have a mystic feel to them, especially when the clouds surround them.

The hiking was incredible, especially when the trails were surrounded by moss covered trees and rocks. There were even a few waterfalls we came across that were much larger than I would have expected to see.

The only downside of our stay here was the fact that it rained every single day. Plus there was constant thunder in the distance which kept us from going on any really long hikes (it’s not fun hiking in lightning storms).

Photos

Here’s some of my favorite pictures from Mount Mitchell State Park:

Clouds over Mount Mitchell

One of the campsites we stayed at

Creek near Black Mountain Campground

Our dog leading the way to Roaring Fork Falls

Roaring Fork Falls

My favorite view of the mountains

Another view of the mountains

A Compass at the summit of Mount Mitchell

Man lying on the tomb of Dr. Mitchell

***
You can check out the rest of photos in the Mount Mitchell photo gallery.

Hiking The Appalachian Trail

Justin Wright — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:14:54 PDT

The Appalachian Trail

One of the things my girlfriend and I have wanted to do for a long time is take a hike along the Appalachian Trail. Luckily we were able to check it out on our recent trip up to North Carolina. The weather was a tad cloudy but it was still an awesome experience.

The section of the trail we hiked was right along the Tennessee and North Carolina border. The elevation was somewhere around 5,000 ft. so that explains all the clouds. The clouds actually made the hike more enjoyable because it felt like we were walking on an island in the sky. When they got really thick, we couldn’t see anything but the trail and it felt like nothing surrounded us.

After hiking this section of the trail, I now want to hike the entire 2,179 miles from Georgia to Maine. From what I hear it takes roughly 6 months to complete the thru-hike, which is a pretty long time to spend on the trail. However, I can’t imagine how good it feels when you reach the end.

Photos From the Hike

It was cloudy but I tried to take some pictures anyway. Here’s a few of the best ones:

Standing along the Appalachian Trail

Clouds everywhere

Another view of the clouds

Hiking through trees on the Appalachian Trail

Following the trail

View from the Appalachian Trail

Is that blue sky I see?

Heading back to the parking lot

I’m Off To Climb A Mountain

Justin Wright — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:22:11 PDT

Mount Mitchell Is The Tallest Mount in the Eastern United States

It’s true…Florida is completely flat. Matter of fact, it’s almost impossible to find a hill, let alone a mountain to climb. So that’s why my girlfriend and I are hitting the road and heading up to North Carolina in a few hours.

For the first time in awhile, I plan on spending 6 full days in the wilderness with no access to the internet or a computer. It’s going to be a challenge but I feel the need to take a break from anything technology related. The only thing I’m bringing with me is my Nikon so I can snap some awesome pictures.

We’re hoping to climb to the summit of Mount Mitchell, which happens to be the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. It’s been awhile since I climbed to the top of a mountain but I still remember my journey to the tallest peak in Arizona. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had to date.

I’ll be posting the photos I take as soon as I get back, so tune in next week.

Photo: twbuckner

The Story of Stuff

Justin Wright — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 05:25:36 PDT

Have you ever wondered where stuff comes from and where it all ends up? The video below takes a very interesting look at the story of stuff and why we need to change the way we think, shop, and consume.

Great Thinkers – Answering President Kennedy’s Challenge

Justin Wright — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:01:04 PDT

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states." - Carol Welch

John F. Kennedy once observed, “We are under-exercised as a nation. We look, instead of play. We ride, instead of walk. Our existence deprives us of the minimum of physical activity essential for healthy living.”

It has been almost 50 years since this statement was made, but unfortunately it still holds true. With the advent of video games, even when we are not “looking,” playing has become an inactive activity. And with almost every American home having at least one vehicle, walking is almost unheard of.

While it is true that the number of gym memberships may be at an all time high, it is equally as true that a majority of gym memberships go unused. Although most of us have good intentions, we tend to put off exercise until tomorrow.

President Kennedy recognized, “The Greeks understood that mind and body must develop in harmonious proportions to produce a creative intelligence. And so did the most brilliant intelligence of our earliest days – Thomas Jefferson – when he said, not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise. If the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, was Secretary of State, and twice President, could give it two hours, our children can give it ten or fifteen minutes.”

Thus, in an effort to motivate, inspire and challenge us to answer the plea of President Kennedy’s speech, I have compiled a list of quotes from great modern and historic thinkers:

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

Edward Smith-Stanley – English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

“The human body is made up of some four hundred muscles; evolved through centuries of physical activity. Unless these are used, they will deteriorate.”

Eugene Lyman Fisk – Author of books on healthy living

“And I believe that the best buy in public health today must be a combination of regular physical exercise and a healthy diet.”

Julie Bishop – Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.”

Plato – Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world

“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.”

Carol Welch – Founder of BioSomatics Education, an empowering method that supports the body’s capacity to be posturally functional by overcoming neuromuscular conditions.

“A man’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time – pills or stairs.”

Joan Welsh – Member of the Maine House of Representatives

“Exercise and temperance can preserve something of our early strength even in old age.”

Marcus Cicero – Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist

“What fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?”

Randy Glasbergen – American cartoonist and humorous illustrator

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”

A.A. Milne – English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh

“We do not stop exercising because we grow old – we grow old because we stop exercising.”

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, MD, MPH – Founder and Chairman of Cooper Aerobics Center

“Nothing lifts me out of a bad mood better than a hard workout on my treadmill. It never fails. To us, exercise is nothing short of a miracle.”

Cher – Award-winning American pop singer-songwriter, actress, director and record producer

“To feel ‘fit as a fiddle’, you must tone down your middle.”

Author Unknown

***
Author Bio: Cathryn Johnson is self proclaimed health-nut and a content writer for Online MBA Rankings who gives advice on the education, pursuing an online mba and living a healthy life. In her free time she enjoys travel, theater and having fun in the sun.

Photo: donjd2

Stop Making Excuses – Why There’s Never A “Right Time” To Get Started In Making Lifestyle Changes

Justin Wright — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:13:28 PDT

It's Time To Stop Making Excuses.

Why do so many people join the gym and go on a diet in January each year? Is it because they’ve all piled on plenty of weight over the Christmas period? To a degree the answer is yes. But of course this isn’t the whole story.

The people who go into a new fitness regime in the New Year are typically people who have been concerned about their figure for months. Maybe even years. But it’s the kick of making “New Years Resolutions” which provides the motivation to finally go out and do something about it.

Why didn’t they start getting in shape earlier in the year? Probably because they’re looking for the right time.

Attempting to achieve any major change in your life requires preparation and setting a time to really get started. Everyday life can be hectic and tiring and so we trundle along doing the same things week after week, month after month. Making a massive change to our everyday activities – even if it is going to significantly benefit us in the long run – requires considerable energy, time and focus.

Another example. I spent the last three years working in the Christmas gift industry. Whilst you always get a few very organized people who have finished buying their gifts by the beginning of November, most people are “too busy” to get started that early and instead have a mad week of panic-buying once December gets going. You’d be shocked how many people are still knocking on the door after we close on Christmas eve begging to be let in.

The fact is that all of us manage to “create” time to do our Christmas shopping, whether that is in October or a few days before Christmas. So if we can create that time when we really need to, why not create it earlier? People aren’t too busy, they just haven’t prioritized. They haven’t applied themselves. Christmas holidays appearing round the corner finally gives them the kick to find the time to do their shopping.

How many times do people tell you they want to give up smoking, they just need to “find the time”. I know someone who has been planning to give up smoking for the last two years but the time is “never right”.

The fact is that the time will never be right to start on a new journey and make changes to your life. All major journeys take time and effort. The key to making those changes is simply to set a date and to go for it.

If you’ve read The Four Hour Work Week and from there started to read a number of lifestyle design blogs and newsletters then this is really your wake up call. If you’re enjoying reading about the concepts, dreaming about what life *could* be like but you have yet to actually take your first practical step and start making changes to your lifestyle then *now* is the time.

There will never be a “perfect time”. Life will still get in the way. You’ll still get ill. Your computer will still break. You’ll get fed up with your job or fall out with your best friend. Life happens. But these challenges will crop up whether you start on your lifestyle design journey today or next year.

And frankly the sooner you get started, the sooner you will start to see results. The sooner you’ll start noticing the differences to your life and one day soon you’ll wake up and thank your lucky stars that you started when you did and have created a lifestyle full of freedom, passion, excitement and fulfillment.

If you’ve read this far then I want you to make yourself a promise. Make time this week to sit down and sketch out your ideal lifestyle. Make a formal plan of the changes you want to make. Use a pen and paper so your plans are written down. Then commit to getting started. There’s never an ideal time, so *make* this your ideal time.

***
This guest post was written by Richard Adams. Richard blogs about his own journey into lifestyle design over at Lifestyle Design Unleashed.

Photo: Danielle Scott

Hiking The Old Fort King Trail

Justin Wright — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:35:01 PDT

Entrance to the Old Fort King Trail

After driving by the entrance to the Old Fort King Trail on our way to the Hillsborough River State Park, my girlfriend and I decided to head back to check it out.

The Old Fort King Trail is approximately 6.7 miles long and runs just south of the Hillsborough River State Park. It also runs into the John B. Sargeant Sr. Park which is right along the 301. It’s great for hiking and also looks like it would be fun to ride a bike on.

Judging by the lack of people we saw, I would assume this is not that popular of a hike in the summer. I have a feeling it’s due to the large quantity of flying creatures including wasps, bees, mosquitos and who knows what else. And don’t forget the massive amount of spiders dangling from the trees.

We also learned from our experience that the trail can definitely be wet during the rainy season. We ended up turning around on the trail since we didn’t want to walk through all the water. Instead, we ended up following some roads and eventually found a different trail.

Here’s the path we ended up taking:

Our Makeshift Hike Path

It actually turned out to be an awesome hike. We walked along the Dead River Road for what seemed like forever and saw some of the largest wasps ever. We then ran into the Dead River Youth Camp and found a nice trail along the river. The total hike came in around 7 miles since we had to repeat our path back to the car.

Photos From the Hike

Below is a collection of the best pictures I took during the hike. Don’t forget to click on them to view the better quality version:

My Favorite Photo Of The Hike

Scary Looking Water

A Velvet Ant (Wasp)

An Old Tractor

Standing Under Some Spanish Moss

Following An Old Road

Our Dog Leading The Way

What Appears To Be An Alligator Track

Our Dog Had A Blast

A Huge Grasshopper

Great Shot Of The Sky

I must say, the Old Fort King Trail was a fun hike. I was disappointed at first because I thought we would be walking along the road the whole time but once we got further in it turned out to be really cool.

***
You can check out the rest of my pictures in the Old Fort King Trail photo gallery.

7 Ways to Implement GTD in Your Life

Justin Wright — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:45:48 PDT

Recording Tasks Externally Can Clear Your Mind And Boost Productivity

GTD (Getting Things Done) is a fantastic system designed by David Allen to help us organize ourselves and achieve a high level of productivity and success. There are now more than a hundred different applications and tools available, and a new one seems to pop up every other week.

So, where should you start if you’re looking for a solid way to implement GTD in your life?

Here’s a look at 7 different methods we seriously recommend you take a look at before making a decision:

1. Remember The Milk

An outstanding task list with unlimited contexts, projects, reminders, and calendar tasks. It syncs perfectly with Gmail, Google Calendar, Twitter, IM, and RSS. RTM is free, with a Pro account available for $25/year that features additional support and increased performance with the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile.

2. Get It Done App

Considered by Apple a new and noteworthy app, Get It Done is based on Allen’s book to a great extent. If you don’t have an iPhone or an iPod, you can still access Get It Done through your browser. They are currently offering a 15 day free trial, and $39/year beyond that.

3. Nozbe

Nozbe is one of the first web-based GTD services which promises to improve productivity, help you collaborate and work on the run. They also boast an exceptional app for the iPhone and iPad, as well as integration with Evernote, Twitter, Jott, Google Calendar, and more. Nozbe offers a variety of paid plans with a 60 day risk free money back guarantee.

4. Things

Things has attracted a lot of attention this past year with rave reviews as it has brought GTD to the Mac in a major way. It is very powerful and strongly rooted in the principles of GTD for those who are familiar with the system. Things costs $49.95, and there are also special versions for the iPhone/iPod Touch at $9.99 and the iPad at $19.99.

5. OmniFocus

Made by The Omni Group, OmniFocus has been made to easily capture your thoughts to let you store, organize, and turn them into actionable to-do items throughout your day. It has been designed with the GTD system in mind, but it is flexible enough to work with any productivity system. OmniFocus features a 14 day free trial, and afterwards costs $79.95.

6. Vitalist

Heavily based on GTD principles, Vitalist is very easy to understand and use especially for those who are experienced with the GTD system. They have developed a wonderful way to manage your actions, projects, and contexts, all from within one application. Vitalist is free, with paid accounts available at $5 and $10 monthly for additional features.

7. Doit.im

Dot.im is a high quality, free online time and task management system that can be used on your desktop, iPhone and Android. It features a great user interface, allowing you to easily add new tasks, review your inbox, organize your existing tasks, and sort based on groups. It also features various syncing capabilities to keep your information in order.

These are 7 of the most popular and latest approaches that have helped countless amounts of people implement GTD in their life. Give at least one of them a chance and hopefully you will find the same positive results.

***
When she’s not getting things done, Louise Baker writes about online schools for Zen College Life. Her most recent article ranks the best online colleges.

Photo: gideonstrauss

Hiking In Hillsborough River State Park

Justin Wright — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:50:51 PDT

Crossing A Suspension Bridge in Hillsborough River State Park

One of the best adventures I’ve had here in Florida happens to be hiking through the Hillsborough River State Park. The park is one of the oldest parks in the state of Florida and features hiking, canoeing, camping, and kayaking. Best of all, it’s located less than an hour outside of Tampa.

When it comes to hiking, the park has four different trails that you can choose from with a total of around 7 miles of trails. We opted to hike each of the trails and managed to complete the trip in around 3 hours. There are a few primitive camping spots which would make for a great backpacking trip. They also have a regular campground for those who can’t do without electricity.

When hiking through the park, many of the trails follow the the Hillsborough River which is an awesome thing to see. There are a few rapids in the river as well as a couple suspension bridges that pass over it. We saw a few alligator signs along the way but didn’t happen to bump into any of them.

Instead, one of the only things we saw on the hike was an abundance of these:

A Florida Garden Spider Up Close

These spiders were literally everywhere and we constantly had to stop and duck below the webs that were crossing the trail. Some of the spiders were gigantic! Unfortunately, we had no idea if they were venomous or not until after we got home so we approached them with caution. Once we got home, we were able to find out they are harmless.

If you’re terrified of spiders, you might want to hold off on this hike.

Pictures From the Hike

Here’s a few of my best shots from the hike through Hillsborough River State Park:

A Black and White Shot of a Florida Spider

A Few Rapids in the Hillsborough River

Standing Next to A Huge Tree Covered in Moss

Take Nothing But Pictures, Leave Nothing But Footprints

A Look Downstream

A Cool Florida Butterfly

Hiking Through Palm Trees

A Sun Beam Shining Through the Trees

I highly recommend checking out the Hillsborough River State Park, especially if you live near the Tampa area. It’s a great place to go on a weekday since we were one of the only groups of hikers out there. For more information on the hike, you can check out the official website.

***
See more photos in the Hillsborough River State Park photo gallery.

Should You Charge For Your Product?

Justin Wright — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:36:48 PDT

I received an interesting question the other day in regards to charging vs. giving away a product. Someone was struggling to decide if they wanted to give their product away or charge for it and was wondering if I could give them some advice.

I must say, it’s a difficult decision to make. I’ve had to make this decision a few times and I always struggle with the answer. Making money is always a huge step, but so is generating a buzz for free. For the most part, it really comes down to the product at hand and your business model.

Here’s a look at the two options and the advantages/disadvantages to each:

The Case for Charging

Obviously charging will be preferred for most items. It gives you the ability to earn income from your products (and services). Most importantly, it gives your customers (or readers) a way to pay you. This is an important step because without charging, you can’t run an effective business.

The important thing is to not feel guilty about charging for something, especially if it required you to do a lot of hard work. It’s true that some people might be unhappy with you charging, but the truth is the majority of people will appreciate your efforts and pay you accordingly. If it didn’t require a lot of work and you can’t fight the guilty feeling, perhaps the product should be given away free of of charge?

The real challenge is finding an effective pricing strategy that works for you. This usually requires a bit of trial and error to get right, but once you establish a good structure it becomes much easier. Don’t be afraid to test different rates and prices, especially if you are just launching a new product or service.

The Case for Giving It Away

Giving things away for free is a great way to build your credibility. It’s also a great way to get your name out there and attract business. To this day, one of the best methods I have used to attract new clients is through free video tutorials. At least once a week I receive a new lead from someone who saw a tutorial I created and would like further help on something more specific.

Another great example is Change Your Life, a free ebook I created awhile back about how I made a plan to quit my job. It’s short, but to the point and I’ve received a lot of great feedback on it. When I created that book, I had no intentions of making any money off of it.

Giving away free items is very effective at building your readership and client base. It’s also a great way to get noticed, especially if you’re amongst a large crowd or busy field. This is especially true in the digital age where there is so much free information available.

The Perfect Combination

Keep in mind, that at some point you do need to charge for a product/service in order to expand your business. This is where the combination product can be very valuable. In other words, you can combine both a free product and a paid product into a similar product/service.

One example would be offering a free version of something with an option to upgrade to a paid premium service. This not only offers the freebie users something, but it also lets the people that want to pay you do just that.

Another example is creating a free product designed to not only benefit the customer, but also to convince them to upgrade to a larger service or product. Yes, this can sometimes be considered sleazy but it is an effective marketing strategy.

Last but not least, you can also find ways of monetizing a product without passing the cost on to your customers. A great example would be launching a highly successful ebook. Instead of charging for it, you could instead contact a few potential advertisers and offer them an ad spot somewhere in the book.

You could then use your stats to your advantage and sell them an advertisement based on the amount of people that download and read your book. This would earn you some money, while still keeping the book free to your customers (though you would have to test this out to see if it’s actually effective).

The Winner Is Both

As you can see, both options have their advantages and disadvantages. I personally think that offering both free and paid products/services is the best business model. Combining the two is a great way to build an effective business because the free items bring in customers and then you can monetize your business with the paid products/services.

What’s your take?

Photo: Kalandrakas