Now that I’m back online from my 2-week macro break, I wanted to check into it for myself.

Turns out, it’s not as simple as I thought (of course)!

So what’s the latest info?

According to a new study (that’s the simple version) published in November 2014 by Dr. Kenneth K. Hansraj, the Chief of Spine Surgery at the New York Spine Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, in the most extreme cases, you could be putting the equivalent of 60 lbs on your neck!

I probably most resemble the middle figure at 30 degrees, which is still 40 lbs of stress according to the study. Over the holidays, based on the chat with my brother, I started holding my phone out in front of my face, with my arms up, more like this guy on the right…

Sure, I looked really different, but I do believe good posture is important.

But does this really matter?

NOW, in the past, I would have just read this article, adjusted my behavior, and moved on. After realizing how much I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid when it comes to certain nutritional ideas out there, I’d like to be a bit more impartial and thorough before making any conclusions, as there is so much info throwing people into hysteria and reactive states, and I’d like to not be part of that (in terms of spreading info or my own behavior).

I did a bit of research and found this article in The Atlantic that speaks with Dr. Ian Dorward, a neurosurgeon at Washington University in St Louis, who argues that only when EXTERNAL weight is applied to our heads AND we are looking at a downward angle for a SUSTAINED amount of time might there be musculoskeletal issues.
For someone like Dr. Dorward, who is hunched over for surgery all day and is wearing apparatus on his head to assist his work, he says it is HIGHLY more likely he will have skeletal issues than the average texter.

@washingtonpost Just to clarify: the study highlighted herein provides NO EVIDENCE of an epidemic or of the wreckage of any spines.

— Ian Dorward (@IanDorwardMD) November 22, 2014

Bottom line:

According to Dr. Hansraj and his study:

Hold your phone out in front of you and keep your spine aligned.

According to The Atlantic article:

“For most people, the point remains that good posture is generally good when possible, but texting is not an imminent threat to spinal health.”

According to me:

I think consistency is the real issue. If you’re hunched over for hours every day (whether that’s looking at your phone or reading a book), you’ll probably feel the consequences over time. If you’re occasionally looking down at your phone, it doesn’t appear to be a big deal.

Check in and see how your posture is throughout the day. Even when you’re walking or driving, is your neck pitched forward a little (like me), or is everything relatively aligned in a straight line from your feet to the crown of your head?

I hope this gives you a more complete picture of the issue and allows you to make your OWN decision.

Would love to hear any other thoughts or comments you have on the topic below!

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Count with me: “one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve!”

I’m quite intrigued by how the whole “interstitial” part plays into this, but alas, science is not my strong suit, so I’ll just go with “well, my hands are really dry” and move on…

What do you think about this approach? Will you take the one towel challenge?

Let us know below.

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Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

It has always been a region of the world that slightly made me nervous: completely different languages, customs, food, currency—and what the heck would happen if I ran out of money, being so far from the US?

Now I can easily say that I’m excited to get back there. If you’ve ever been on the fence about seeing this part of the world, please go. I really don’t think you’ll regret it.

One of the best parts of the trip was all the different spots I stayed and all the people I connected with; it was relatively simple to find beautiful and affordable rentals wherever we went.

How simple?

Check this out…

As I mention in the video, if you sign up here (for free) and book your first rental, you’ll save $40!

If you do sign up through the link, I’ll also receive a small credit; I’ve made lots of reservations and left lots of reviews, so yes, I use the site extensively and love it.

Let me know below—have you had any experiences with this service?

from Chicago,

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Authors Warren and Betsy Talbot have been pressure-testing their relationship in the public eye since 2008, when they first created a website to document the decision to quit their regular jobs, sell everything they owned, and travel the world full time.

They are the authors of 3 books and a popular weekly podcast on living a life together with more freedom and joy. Their latest book, Married with Luggage: What We Learned About Love by Traveling the World, is an adventurous and revealing story of one couple working to make love work.

An inside look at a relationship in a state of constant discovery and challenge in some of the most exotic places in the world. What happens when you have no one to depend on but each other?

Find out how Warren and Betsy Talbot took their 40th birthdays by storm and created a whole new lifestyle and relationship with each other. What they learned about love and partnership in dangerous, hilarious, and exotic situations around the globe will make you look at your own relationship in a totally new light.

Audio Conversation with the Authors

In our short (20 min) conversation, hear their answers to:

• What can travel do for any relationship?
• Why is fighting necessary ?
• What are some of the biggest keys you’ve learned about making a relationship work?
• How did a storm on the coast of Turkey during their journey change their perspective of each other?
• How do they make their business relationship work as well?

(if you can’t see the play button, it’s at the very left of the bar, next to “00:00”)

Win a copy of their book…

Warren and Betsy have graciously offered two copies (multiple formats available)!

Leave a comment below (or click to tweet @nathanagin @warrentalbot) by Tuesday, May 20th sharing either:

• How a trip you took with your partner improved the relationship, OR
• One of YOUR greatest pieces of relationship advice

Want to spend 2 romantic months traveling by train through Europe?

This is your chance to win your very own international love affair. To help us celebrate the launch of our new book, Married with Luggage: What We Learned About Love by Traveling the World, we want to give 1 lucky winner two (2)Eurail Global Passes, good for 15 days of unlimited travel over 2 months courtesy of our friends at Eurail.com.

Take off for a romantic week in Paris, a few days strolling the canals of Venice, head north to indulge in the music and history or Vienna, and then head west to hike in the forests of Bavaria. You make the plan.

How to enter:

1. Purchase 1 (or more) copies of Married with Luggage by May 14th from Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, or Kobo. Each purchase provides you with 1 entry in the contest per book, not per receipt (so you could order 6 for you and your friends and get entered 6 times!)
2. Submit a copy of your receipt via email to contest@marriedwithluggage.com
The contest ends and a winner will be chosen on Thursday, May 15th.

And again—I’m giving away 2 copies of the book HERE! Leave a comment below with your answers to the questions at the end of the audio interview…

Looking forward to reading your thoughts, insights, and ideas!

From Kauai,

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Always innovating, Google recently came out with a new AutoBackup feature through Picasa, in that it will save EVERY photo you have in the program for free (at a great yet reduced size), or you can pay to store everything at original size.

I opted for the former and one thing I didn’t expect was Google’s AutoAwesome feature, which magically scans your photos and enhances them: might be with snowflakes or sparkles (if it detects snow or say, a Christmas tree), as well as creating the best shot from a series (is everyone smiling?), and much more—including GIFs!

Yes, Google automatically combines a number of similar shots into a short animated movie. Some are pretty hilarious.

It’s kinda crazy (and maybe a bit scary) how quickly and accurately this is done. But I digress… here are my favorite GIFs from Google’s AutoAwesome…

November 2009: Los Angeles, CA. OK, not from my nomadic days, but still a favorite. From my first stand-up show in LA.

December 2010: Honolulu, HI. I stumbled by the filming of an episode of Hawaii 5-0 (by the silver car on left is Scott Caan in the blue shirt and Daniel Dae Kim in the gray shirt). Realizing that I could keep exploring the island while everyone else had to stay there made me realize that I wasn’t “missing” acting.

April 2011: Chicago, IL at the Nature Museum, where I first learned Tai Chi (still practicing some of the same moves)—free classes still offered for museum members

June 2011: Portland, OR. A group of 40 of us in town for the inaugural World Domination Summit went 2 hours south on the first day of the conference and jumped out of planes.

August 2011: Mystic Falls, Yellowstone National Park, WY. During my 2-week solo road trip around the PacNW (part 1, part 2), I did lots of hiking and taking of selfies. Here’s one of ’em. :)

August 2011: Tamanawas Falls, Mt Hood National Forest, OR. More hiking/selfies from the road trip.

May 2012: New Orleans, LA. Enjoying some live music (what else?) on the steps of the Art Museum on a Friday afternoon in City Park.

May 2012: Somewhere in Texas. Enjoying my first class compartment on Amtrak in full caveman/work mode!

July 2012: Crater Lake, OR. Capturing my fellow WDS’er (year 2) Cody making the plunge into the frigid and beautiful water below

August 2012: Los Angeles, CA. While housesitting, I decide to take full advantage of the ginormous kitchen! Some of these shots would later come in handy when I wrote my cookbook.

December 2012: Maui, HI. While on the road to Hana, my family and I stopped for a quick swim. Because of the completeness of the scene, I really like this pic.

February 2013: San Diego, CA. Yes, I’m here! I tried a number of shots to get this right, and I started laughing when I saw that Google had combined them all. :)

March 2013: Sayulita, Mexico. My friend Caleb displaying his skills at the beach.

June 2013: Vallejo, CA. The hilarious rolling cat and the very tired dog. Another favorite from a housesitting gig. I miss these two.

August 2013: Envigado, Colombia. Danny distracting Laura during her yoga headstand.

March 2014: New York, NY. After meeting up with my friend Eric and his wife Aubrey, they asked if I could help out with a short video. Glad I did. :)

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Have any favorite GIFs from your own life? Share ’em in the comments below!

From the road,

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Am I the only one TIRED of all the hyperbole and hype online, particularly around business/success, and especially on Facebook?

This guy is CRUSHING it.

They are KILLING it right now.

This is THE Biggest…

You Won’t Believe What Happened NEXT…

I know, it’s all in an attempt to get us to click through (and it works), but why is there so much?

There also seems to be more words popping up like:

• LEVERAGE—leverage your time, your skills
• SCALE—gotta scale it up, make it bigger
• MASSIVE—have a massive impact, affect millions of people
• and of course, EPIC—dude, that was so epic

I know I’m triggered by this stuff.

These words, inherently, have no meaning.

You’re not bad for using them.

I just think they’re being over-used and are actually causing damage (more on that later).

In fact, let me get a little Louis CK for a second…

Do you know what “epic” means?

It’s a long poem, typically derived from ancient oral traditions.

So there.

Wait—oh, that’s definition #1.

#2 says: heroic or grand in scale or character

Now, it’s quite possible that some people are doing things HEROIC or GRAND, but is everyone?

Am I just connected to a disproportionate number of these people online?

I have a feeling that even Gary V isn’t all about “crushing it” anymore. There are other things in life that are important, too. 

Doing something EPIC is intimidating, if that’s what you set out for. Maybe you just need to go do your thing and leave the labels up to others.

What ever happened to doing your work well, and not being concerned with the results?

Even when I was acting, I remember I *hated* working with teachers who were “results-oriented”—who knew what the scene should look like or the emotions needed, but had no way of helping the actors “get there.”

Pretty pictures, but nothing real inside.

Here’s my other issue with all this language (and how it affects me):

It can make you think that what you’re doing is not enough or that you are “less than” someone or something else.

Look at what he/she/they are doing… [be it in travel, business, life, etc.]

How am I handling this now?

I’ve taken to avoiding or hiding certain people online, as their content triggers me most. Again, they aren’t bad people—it’s just the place I’m in right now and I don’t enjoy how they are sharing.

Perhaps some day, I’ll be able to read all this stuff with different eyes and a fresh perspective. Until then: gone!

I just don’t think it’s healthy to fill my mind with all those negative thoughts. It’s taken conversations with others to see that for whatever reason, I just need to not take that stuff in, instead of continuing to read it, hoping it will inspire me, rather than deflate me.

I came across a quote recently during a housesitting gig that has stuck with me:

If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

So, it sounds like success has nothing to do with leverage, scale, massive, epic, crushing, killing, or destroying.

It’s just loving what you are doing—maybe *that* is the point of it all. Really, wholeheartedly, passionately loving it, and knowing that success will follow, on whatever level it is supposed to.

Want to dream big? Great! Then, get back to the step-by-step progress and see what happens.

(Believe me, I’m still working on letting go of the results and just loving the process—I’m sure I’m not the only one whose mind races years into the future about what could be, whether it’s a project or a relationship.)

Here’s what I’ve been doing more of recently: playing cards. Specifically, cribbage. With like, actual cards!

Do you know what the ROI is on playing a card game invented in the 17th century by an Englishman named John Suckling?!

Me neither. Don’t care, either. It’s a fun game, and I enjoy it.

Does it scale? Nope.

[Well, technically it *could* scale if you played with teams, but at a certain point, I feel like it’d be diminishing returns. Anyway, I digress…]

I actually spent much of the time around New Year’s playing cribbage and other board games, and being generally disconnected. It was wonderful, and reminded me that there is SO MUCH out there that has nothing to do with the online world.

I want to reconnect to these thoughts and things more often.

OH—and all this comes after the best financial quarter I’ve had since I left my office job in 2010.

So yes, I’m doing well *by my own standards*—but am I killing it?

Who cares?

Am I impacting millions of people in a small way, or just a few in a profound way? Is one better than the other? Do I even need to think about this?

Is this entire rant just a way to validate/justify my own behaviors and views? Sure. Aren’t most?

from Portland, OR…

PS: I really hope the name John Suckling is your “learn a new thing” for today. Talk about someone who probably had to overcome negative thoughts! :)

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The post I’m Not Going to be Crushing, Killing, or Destroying this Epic Year appeared first on Nonstop Awesomeness.

There are a few different services I’ve used recently in my travels that have been really fantastic and have got me thinking…

If only I had a house or apartment and a car, I’d get in on this and make some money!!

Plus, I think I’d really enjoy it!

I’m talking about renting our your space and working as a rideshare driver.

Got a guest room or second house? Maybe you’re willing to vacate your whole place for renters (and go travel yourself or just crash with friends)? Get your listing up and welcome in guests!

Perhaps you like working a flexible schedule and already enjoy driving—perfect! Drive when you want and however much you want!

Have your place and your car pay for themselves!

How and Where?

Glad you asked.

Renting

While I’m a huge fan and user of the free Couchsurfing network, sometimes couches aren’t available or for other reasons, I just want to rent a place. This is definitely one of my favorite ways of finding inexpensive accommodations, especially in big cities!

• AirBnB—all over the world, with profiles, guest reviews, and ratings. One of the best.
  • Sign up and get $25 travel credit toward *your* first reservation of $75 or more.
• VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)—yearly subscription, has been around many years; my guess is it serves a slightly older crowd than AirBnB.
• Wimdu—a relatively new company, adding new places all the time

Driving

These aren’t in every city yet, but both companies are working on that. In my opinion, these services are SO much more reliable, comfortable, and pleasant than a taxi—and they cost less!

• Uber—drivers request, you show up, and all payment is handled through the app (price is automatically set)
  • Sign up and get $20 off *your* first Uber ride.
• Lyft—similar to Uber, though this offers riders a chance to pay more or less based on a recommended amount
  • Sign up and we *both* get a free ride. :)
• Relay Rides—don’t want to drive? No problem. Rent your car (you’re just like the companies at the airport now!)—all drivers are covered with insurance through the site.

Hope these serve you well. Again, I love these services as a traveler and if I ever do get a place or car again, I’ll definitely be doing this.

Have a great rest of your week!

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Up next in my teaching series with the en*theos Academy for Optimal Living:

How to Be a Healthy, Positive, and Mindful Traveler

WHEN: Tuesday, March 18th @ 2 pm PST

WHERE: Online. The class will be FREE during the livestream of the class. Just visit the link below and the video will magically appear at class time.

Class Details Here!

The Academy format is that *all* classes are online. Get a new 60-minute Livestream class on how to optimize your life Every. Single. Day.

If you can’t make this class live, or would like access to this class and all the others (over 100 and counting) in the en*theos Library, you can sign up—it’s a bit like Netflix for Optimal Living. :)

Curious what I’ll be talking about? Here’s a sample of the Top 10 Big Ideas I’ll be covering…

1 | It’s Not F*** My Life— it’s FMP!

When you hit the road (or frankly, just leave your house) you have no control over SO many things: the weather, delays, traffic, technology—so work on letting it go. Instead of the very common FML (Fuck My Life), which I think is taking a victim-perspective, I encourage you to choose FMP: Fuck My Plans (which feels pretty empowering to me)!

Things not going how you planned? F ‘em!

Raining outside, flight cancelled, museum closed—FMP! FMP! FMP!

Just do something else! :)

2 | Don’t Forget to Pack Commitment and Flexibility

If you want to stay healthy when you travel, think about it this way: you have a commitment (what you choose to do to be healthy) and then you have to be flexible with how you are able to practice that commitment.

So, let’s say one of your commitments is exercise. Perhaps instead of the 90-minute yoga class you normally do, you are only able to practice for 20 minutes in your room. Excellent!

Work on honoring your commitments however you can. Even 50% is better than nothing at all—plus it keeps you from kicking yourself for “falling off the wagon.”

3 | The Four Keys to Being Healthy

Here are four things I try to incorporate into as many days as possible:

• Focus
• Movement
• Nutrition
• Gratitude

Notice I don’t tell you exactly HOW to do any of these things—that’s up to you.

There are lots of ways to take time for yourself and clear your mind: could be a walk or gardening or tai chi—anything that helps you relax and calm yourself. Next, maybe you hate yoga, but love running. Great—just move your body! For food, create guidelines around what you eat and don’t—whatever works for you. And finally: gratitude. Even if you take just a few minutes and think about 10 things you’re grateful for, you’ll feel better.

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Want more??

Check out the full blog post for the class!

Hope to see you there! :)

From sunny Portland (is that Spring?!),

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OH GOD—GERMS!!!

Ok, ok calm down…

I’m not looking to turn you into Monk when it comes to being germ-free. A certain level of exposure is healthy, right?

We could probably *all* (including me!) use a few pointers out there.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a bit cavalier when it comes to this stuff…

“Oh c’mon—my hands are clean ENOUGH.”

“I’m supposed to give my body something to do—that’s why I have an IMMUNE SYSTEM!”

Granted, I’m not basing any of this in fact, just hunches—a point my very-scientific, med-school-bound girlfriend likes to challenge me on from time to time. It’s what keeps the relationship interesting, ya know?

Since we’ve been together, I’ve definitely learned (and un-learned) a few things. With her help, we came up with a list of the more obvious things you’ll want to keep in mind.

Here are 5 Sure-Fire Ways to Minimize Your Exposure to Unnecessary Germs On the Road:

1. Be conscious of your hands: be aware of what you’re touching and of then putting your hands near your mouth and eyes.

There are things out there that thousands of people use each day: doorknobs, railings, buses, trains. If you carry a water bottle, don’t touch the part that you drink from if your hands aren’t clean.

2. Wash your phone: this is one of the dirties things you have and how often do you clean it? Exactly.

How dirty *is* your phone? I’ve seen sites say that it’s anywhere from 10-18x dirtier than a public  toilet seat (because that gets sanitized every now and then). Yowsa.

Here’s a great infographic with more on the germ-osphere in your pocket. While that company offers some UV and other products to clean your phone, you can also just grab alcohol wipes (here’s what I use), and give your phone a scrub every day or so. And don’t forget about your computer/iPod/tablet, etc while you’re at it—another big offender!

3. Clean hands with food: wash your hands before you touch any food that you’re going to eat.

Wait until the last moment (when your food is served), then go to the sink/restroom—and use a paper towel to open the door on your way out!

Once you wash your hands, don’t touch your phone or money. Or if you have to, stop using that hand to eat. If you can’t wash your hands, then don’t touch your food!

4. Eat those leftovers: once cooked, food can only be left outside of refrigeration for 3 hours MAX.

Whether you bought food to-go or packed it with you, eat it before the 3-hour mar, or throw it away, as it becomes a breeding ground for lots of bacteria.

Of course if you eat something at 3:01, you won’t die (I still break this), but the risks include food poisoning and feeling horrible. So.. your call. :)

5. Bring your own pen: whenever you need to sign-in, sign your name, or  fill out a form, use a pen you trust!

Whether you’re at a restaurant, bank, or doctor’s office (where people are very likely sick!), you never know what germs that collection of pens and pencils on the counter has contracted. Best to avoid it altogether.

If you forget, no problem: reach for your travel-size bottle of hand sanitizer!

By the way, I am *not* perfect with these. I’m still very much working on #1—old habits die hard. It’s not that I *want* to put germs into my mouth or eyes; I just don’t think about it probably as much as I could. I unconsciously rest my hands on my face when I’m thinking or working—just a habit. Well—NO MORE!

Riiiight, more like: I’ll stop doing this as much as I can remember, especially when my girlfriend is in the room, or when I’m writing an article about germs and I casually put my hand on my mouth—stop, Nathan, STOP!

Here are a few other quick ideas:

• Wash all fruits and vegetables (yes, even organic)—including anything you’ll just cut into, as anything from the outside will be brought to the inside by the knife
• Use your hand sanitizer (you bought some, right?) for when a sink isn’t available
• Washing your hands or cleaning with “just water” does nothing—still hard for me to believe this one! :(
• At restaurants, order lemons on the side for your water and squeeze them into your drink, instead of dropping them in

There, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?

How do you deal with these germ situations? Any other tips?

From rainy Everett, WA…

ps: little insider fact—I believe the papaya in that photo up top (from Hawaii) gave me food poisoning, because I didn’t wash it first! See what’ll happen… :)

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Called How to Travel, Eat, and Thrive, I spent 60 minutes talking about 10 Big Ideas when it comes to eating and being healthy when you leave your home. (‘Cuz really, that’s when traveling starts!)

I was definitely a bit nervous as I had never really “taught” this info before. Sure I’ve had plenty of conversations about it and have thought about it—and it’s still quite different from talking nonstop (!) for about 50 minutes, then Q&A.

Through all the nerves, I’m so grateful for their awesome TA Matt (you’ll hear him on the class), and that I am so enthusiastic about the material. Had they asked me to teach a class on car mechanics, *I* might have fallen asleep…

So, without further ado, my next class is:

How to be a Healthy, Positive, and Mindful Traveler

How can you stay healthy when you’re on the road? How can you travel in a more mindful and positive way? How can you truly enjoy yourself? From 3+ years of living as a nomad, here are my discoveries.

When: Tuesday, March 18th @ 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET

Cost: Free

Where: The en*theos Academy for Optimal Living (bookmark this page for class time)

This class is based off my blog-post-turned-book of the same name, which you can read on the free Snippet App.

You can find all of the courses I have taught and will teach (even more coming!) right here on my professor page.

Once the LIVE class is over, each class goes into the en*theos library, and for one monthly membership (like Netflix), you get access to *all* the courses they have (over 100 and rapidly growing)! Their other professors include:

• Alan Cohen (growth & spirituality)
• Sara Gottfried, MD (health & wellness)
• Jeff Klein (conscious business)
• Dr. Eric Maisel (creativity coach)
• Jacob Sokol (life coach)

You can check out more about the Academy here.

Have a great rest of your day!

From sunny-at-the-moment Seattle,

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