Revolutionary Alternatives

Can Money Buy Happiness?

2012-01-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

Getting money can't make your problems disappear, and I know I'm walking a delicate line here but...I just wanted to give 3 ways to spend money that can increase your happiness. Yes, Revolutionary alternatives are strange sometimes, but allow me to expand. Here's the first one to chew on:

1. Pay a person to do something you hate. My wife and I hate cleaning our house, and my wife is currently (very) pregnant, so we decided to post an ad on Kijiji for someone willing to help us out. I found a neat freak named Cathy who only worked part-time, wanted to make some extra money, and loved to clean. Cathy comes every week for 2 hours and whips our whole small house into shape, helping with dishes, tidying up scattered baby toys etc. vacuuming, washing windows, etc. - she's awesome. We trust her, so she comes when we're not even home and does her thing. It takes so much stress out of our lives that its well worth the small amount it costs (alot less than a maid company), and we love coming home to a magically clean home. This gives us more time to spend as a family, and the other things we value.

Number 2 and 3 to come soon...

Making Work-Life-Balance...Work

2011-10-10T14:13:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking about this recently. Making this change in my life a few year's ago changed everything for the better. This is an interesting speech given to some of the world's main workoholics at the TED Conference.

Sprint the Entire Marathon

2011-06-30T01:38:00.000-04:00

In my last post I ended with the line "Sprint the Entire Marathon." It lingered in my mind and I've been wanting to communicate what I mean by it somehow. I'm not saying to avoid planning, or pacing ourselves in life. What I am saying is that: doing incredible things will require incredible drive, heart, and perseverance.

In a movie called Gattaca, Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is conceived and born naturally, into a world where elite, genetically perfect test-tube babies rule the earth - his brother Anton being one of them. Vincent grew up to need glasses, and developed a serious heart condition. He and his "perfect" brother used to play this game...

"Our favorite game was chicken. When our parents weren't watching, we would swim out as far as we dared. It was about who would get scared and turn back first. We swam together, out into the open sea. Like always, knowing each stroke to the horizon was one we would have to make back to the shore."

In their teenage years Vincent, though the weaker swimmer, beat his brother at the game, and even saved his brother from drowning. The question always hung in the air...If Anton was genetically perfect, how was his brother Vincent so much stronger in the water that day?

This is what I meant by "Sprint the Entire Marathon" - here's the answer:

Top 5 Deathbed Regrets

2011-06-26T01:31:00.000-04:00

I turn 30 next week, and I'll be carrying on my tradition of visiting a cemetery on my birthday. This is always a somber reality check for me. A way of keeping myself accountable. One of my closest mentors died this year, as well as two other people close to my family. Life is so valuable, such a great opportunity, and needs to be treasured.

Henry David Thoreau echoed this feeling when he wrote: "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck the marrow of life, to put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die discover that I had not lived."

Beware, here is a list I found online of the Top 5 Deathbed Regrets:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
I wish I didn’t work so hard.
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Be bold.

Focus on what matters.

Wear your heart on your sleeve.

Sprint the entire marathon.

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JSJ

Awesome Memories from Elementary School

2011-06-10T17:04:00.001-04:00

We all remember winter mornings waiting for the bus while icicle snot froze to our face, but today I thought I'd jog your memory by listing three three awesome things I loved in my elementary days:

1. School snacks: Ahh, the impossible mess of a Passion Flaky, the esteemed box of Lunchables, the "sport" of dunking Dunkaroos, the squishy lumps we called Sunkist Fun-Fruits, and the little tiny bottles of Soda-Liscious.

2. School Events: From PA Days to Play Days, Track and Field Days to Hot-Dog Days, and the awkwardness of Pajama Day when you sleep naked.

3. School Games: The only thing better than a game of Red A$$ was the free-for-all when janitors would throw all the tennis balls off the roof. The childhood gambling of the POG world, feeding our Tamagotchis, and Throwing Little Things at the French Teacher's Back.

Those were the days.
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JSJ

Impossible: A Childhood Story

2011-06-07T16:23:00.001-04:00

An image came to mind today, from a story I heard when I was a child.

I remember hearing a man who was a missionary tell a story of an encounter he had with a young girl at an orphanage.

As the missionary man explored the orphanage, many of the children followed closely behind. The man arrived at a gate where the handle had seized due to rust. The missionary was a strong man and gave the handle all the strength he had, but he could not open the gate.

From among the group of children that followed, a small girl stepped forward with a grin on her face. She pressed the rusted handle and opened the gate easily, and gestured for the man to continue on. As he walked through the open gate, the missionary was amazed. He could not understand what he had just witnessed. Was the child gifted with superhuman strength? Was there a secret way to open the gate?

While he collected his thoughts and continued to explore the orphanage, he noticed some blood on the girls's hand. Her skin had torn but she didn't seem to mind. When he asked about it, she told him she had leprosy.

Leprosy effects the nervous system in such a way that it numbs a person's sense of feeling. For the leper, pain no longer acts as a danger warning.

Now I have thought about this story a number of times, but something new stood out to me today.

The image that came to me was the grin on the girl's face as she opened the gate.

Without the barrier of pain, she knew she had more strength than the man.

Somehow through free association, I saw a stretched metaphor here. I have been discovering that as I break down the barriers in my mind, the limits I have put on myself, I have more strength than I ever thought possible.

And as I attempt the impossible, I grin.

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-JSJ

"It always seems impossible, until it's done." - Nelson Mandela

Debt Free!

2011-06-02T00:16:00.003-04:00

I'm out of breath...financially. After running a marathon of debt reduction over the last three years, it is now over. From a running debt-load of over $30,000.00 to a big fat ZERO as of May 17, 2011!

A New Year

You may remember I spoke about the learning process over the first two years, and some of the strategies we used in an earlier post called The Money Game. Well after midnight on New Year's 2011 my wife and I told our friends that our #1 resolution for 2011 was to finally be debt free. Our long term goal finally came to its last year. At that time we had $11,500 left in debt and were planning to continue paying off the aggressive $1000/month we had been. We started down that path for the first few months, but getting anxious for the finish line, we decided to sell our loft and instead of buying another place, to rent for at least a year.

We cashed out! My wife and I grinned as we held our biggest cheque ever. In Vegas gambling terms, we "cashed out" of the home ownership/mortgage game. The first thing we did was pay off the remaining balance. We get some strange looks when people hear that in the last 6 years we went from owning a big house, to owning a small loft, to renting, but it makes total sense to us. Why?

1. Being debt free really was our biggest goal

2. We wanted a minimal lifestyle.

3. We wanted to live well below our means, with barely any bills.

4. We wanted options. If we so desired, once debt free it would be:

a) Possible to take a lower paying or part-time job if I desired.

b) Possible to travel more.

c) Possible to invest our capital and grow our financial situation.

d) Possible for my wife not to need to return to wage-work after parental leave.

Anyway, after climbing this financial mountain I am totally out of breath, so I just want to speak to you all from the summit and say...anything is possible, never lose hope. We're so thankful for the support of our friends and family, and the supernatural perseverance we felt the last three years.

Do you have an impossible goal? Say it out loud to yourself (a defined goal). Tell your friends you plan to accomplish it (accountability). Then go for it - full tilt.

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JSJ

Flow

2011-05-18T23:42:00.001-04:00

For some reason I get an intense feeling of enjoyment from painting a room. It makes me love painting once I start. I also used to feel this while playing basketball and hockey and other random activities. I recently found out why: flow.

Have you ever felt like you were in a good flow? I recently read about the theory of flow, a concept that came about in the 1960's and was rediscovered in the 1980's and 1990's through testing by behavioural psychologists. The definition...to become absorbed in an activity. To feel as though carried by a current of steady motivation.

Flow produces intense feelings of enjoyment. When I'm in flow, the activity is intrinsically rewarding. The task is not too difficult, but not too easy. It slightly stretches my ability. It keeps me engaged, but feels like effortless action. During flow time becomes distorted and can slow down or pass quickly. I'm at a high level of concentration, yet am not stressed out. I feel productive.

When I research and connect my ideas and findings on this blog I often experience flow. I suppose that's partly why I keep doing it. Ideas come easily to me, the same with quickly understanding foreign concepts, but it is quite a stretch to put those concepts into my own words and paragraphs that make some sense to an outside reader. Yes, that's you, hearing me rant about random things like flow. I'll end this with a cool chart I found online.

Do you know this feeling of flow? What activities put you into this state?

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JSJ

This post was inspired by a book I just finished called "Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us."

More info on Flow at [Wikipedia].

Start.

2011-05-04T12:30:00.001-04:00

That thing you love.
That thing you were meant to do.
That thing you keep putting off.
Start that.
Right here.
Right now.
Go.
What are you waiting for?
Start

[Blog Retweet @ Blog of Impossible Things - thanks to my buddy Joel Runyon]

[Photo by jakeandlindsay]

The Antidote to Apathy

2011-04-16T12:48:00.001-04:00

I know I keep posting videos from other people, but honestly - there are just so many amazing people with such great ideas out there that I keep coming across. I love to write, but I am finding collaboration is much more important to me than unilaterally spitting out my ideas. Can we step it up and have some great discussions in the comments section, or on facebook, or by email. Without collaboration ideas wither and die.

I was part of the Toronto Public Space Committee for a few years where this guy Dave was one of the leaders. This is an excellent talk about the systemic barriers that make us seem apathetic, when really we're not. Seven great points in only seven minutes!

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JSJ

Changing Education Paradigms

2011-04-08T01:27:00.000-04:00

Great speaker, great animation, controversial topic. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson

Cubicle Escape Artist: Tactic #2

2011-03-31T23:57:00.006-04:00

Cubicle Escape Artist features productivity tactics which I've personally tested and have: a) freed my time, and b) made my life easier.

Whether your goal is to cut 2 hours off each workday, or to simply make time to eat your lunch - Stop the headaches, create time out of thin air, and enjoy your work.

So here's tip #2: Check yourself into Email Rehab.

Remember when you started emailing? It was new, and fun, and when you had the chance to go on the Internet, you anticipated that collage of wacky kitten pictures your uncle would forward to you.

Scan forward 15 years and here you are at work. Crushed by stress, you stare blankly at your own personal mountain of inbox cyber-clutter. New messages about upcoming projects, meeting invites, new procedures from your manager, requests for documents you're still working on, and on and on.

I used to check my email like it was a crack addiction, and I didn't even have a Crackberry! Seriously, if you sent me an email, you'd get a response in under 5 minutes. If this sounds like you, if every time an email falls into your inbox you're there to catch it right away - you have a problem. You need to check yourself into Rehab!

Email Rehab helped me:

Reduce messages I receive from 60/day to about 25/day.
Reduce the messages I send from 50/day to 15/day.
Reduce time spent on email from 3-4 hours/day to under 90 minutes/day.
Develop clear, proactive emails that contain substance and respect the time of others.

There are only TWO Rules for Email Rehab:

1. Check email only 3 times per day. This is going to be difficult, breaking any addiction requires discipline. Tactic #1 was about not letting your workday start with email, so if you start at 9:00am, your first check is around 9:30am, the second can be around 11:30am, and the last time around 2:30pm. Each check should be as quick as possible, 10-20 minutes maximum.
WHY? Checking email should only include: A) quick responses, B) adding and prioritizing items on your to do list, and C) batching unurgent/unimportant emails in a folder for reading another time. A side benefit: you'll receive less email. If people know you won't respond right away, it screens out unimportant emails - they will either call you, or just find the answer to their question them themselves. Also you'll be focused on quality rather than quantity, which brings us to the other rule.

2. Make every email count. Only send an email when it is necessary. Try to avoid short emails that say, "thanks" / "OK" / "your welcome" or especially, "I'll get that to you shortly". Why send a reply now, and another once you have the answer? Postpone your response until you can send what was requested.
Craft the wording in your emails to be clear, and to avoid any back and forth Q&A. Replace the phrase: "What should we do about X?" with "I propose we do Y about X, if you have a problem with this let me know, otherwise there's no need to respond, I'll move forward and take care of it." This makes four emails back and forth become just one.

Again, here's your fortune cookie:

Check yourself into Email Rehab: Check email only 3 times per day, and make every email count.

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JSJ

The Story of Awesome

2011-03-27T00:53:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite places to find inspiration, get my mind blown, and watch some of the most influential people in the world speak is TED. It's a huge annual conference and smaller TEDx mini-conferences where some of the worlds most interesting people share their findings on various areas in Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED).

This video is by the author of The Book of Awesome, Neil Pasricha of Toronto who I had the chance to meet at a book signing this winter.

Neil, Ollie, James, and Mollie.

If his gratitude and positive focus don't impact you, he's really funny, so at least you'll have a good laugh and lighten your day.

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JSJ

Tasty photo by Mollie

Death of a Revolutionary

2011-03-18T00:55:00.006-04:00

"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Today I attended the funeral of Chris Matthews. He was my mentor. He was like a father, brother, best-friend, and spiritual sensai to me.

His lessons continue to grow in my life, as he planted so often:

- Be a man: love and live fully.
- Be a christian: love and enjoy God and the life He's given you.
- Be a husband: lay down your life for your wife.
- Be a father: nurture and inspire your children to be who they are.
- Be a teacher: mentor, inspire, and exhort with conviction and compassion.
- Be a leader: paint a vivid picture of your vision, and live it.
- Defend the weak, mend the broken, relieve the burdened, and rejoice with those who rejoice.

His life is my example, and his voice of wisdom will never fade...

Cubicle Escape Artist - Tactic #1

2011-03-01T16:09:00.002-05:00

As a former workaholic who has been converted to the way of productivity, I thought I would start Cubicle Escape Artist as a column that would feature productivity tactics I've personally tested and have either: a) freed my time, or b) made my life easier.

Whether your goal is to cut 2 hours off each workday, or to simply make time to eat your lunch - Cubicle Escape Artist is for you. Stop the headaches, create time out of thin air, and enjoy your work.

So here's tip #1: First Things First.
Immediately upon entering your office/cubicle/dog crate in the morning: do not check your email, do not check your phone messages, do not check your inbox, and do not get a coffee.

Start your day with your #1 most important task - and focus on it - for 20 solid minutes.

Dispel Procrastination. Often times, the things I dread doing most can be completed in 20 minutes of focused attention. Just think of how many stupid things you do to fill the time, just out of avoidance. The burden will be off your shoulders, and I promise you'll notice the difference.
Create Serious Momentum. Even if your task will ultimately take you all day, the momentum from this uber-productive 20 minute blast will carry you for hours.
Start Uni-Tasker Training. If you try this every day for a week, you will acquire a unique ability in today's workforce: focus. If you feel doubt creeping in, repeat this three times to yourself: "multi-tasking is evil, multi-tasking is avoidance." I promise, there is no emergency phone call or email that can't wait twenty minutes - and if there is...well that's another tactic we'll be tackling in the future.

Again, here is your fortune cookie:
Start your day with your #1 most important task - and focus on it - for 20 solid minutes.
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JSJ

Experiment: Zen and the Way of Tea

2011-02-09T10:00:00.004-05:00

Ceremony

Winter room,
cool, conserving.
We sit. The mix is thick.

Summer room,
grassy, temperate.
We sit. The mix is thin.

She moves with intention
craft, form, gift.
She practices beauty,
passes the bowl.

She wisks in rhythmic chatters
otherwise
we are still. Watching.

The bowl we share
is heavy with its own clay memory.
From earth, through fire, up mountains
then to the sea of our mouths.

If only we all
had to kneel, crawl
armourless through the door
for bowls of heat.

The way of tea, peace
in the details. Her eyes
still ponds of matcha
drawn from the same green world.

- by Mollie Coles Tonn

We sat cross-legged as our tea master prepared the matcha. It didn’t take long to taste the beauty of the tea ceremony...

I’ve loved tea for a long time, but in the last few years I’ve been learning that, for many cultures, tea is not a drink, but a way of life. Centuries upon centuries of history bring such a weightiness to the way of tea.

In a Japanese tea house, the entrance is so small that you must crawl in. In order to fit through, a Samurai once had to take off all his armour and leave the sword that defined him outside. Even the Emperor had to do the same for, inside the tea room, all are equal.

Behind the “way of tea” I found Zen. As an eager learner, I set out for my new challenge: a month of studying the way of Zen.

Marketers currently use the word Zen as an undefined term that generally means “if you want to seem spiritual, but don’t know what ‘spiritual’ means… buy this.” I knew there was more to it than that, so I wanted to give it a chance.

Zen, itself, is very difficult to define as it is not something in itself, but a way of liberation – liberation from convention. Can you see why this caught my attention?

Zen is neither a religion, nor a philosophy, but a way of being. historically, Buddhists have appreciated this way of being the most. Unfortunately, my ambition worked against me in this experiment. It was as if I had asked “teach me Zen?” And the master had laughed in my face and said “Zen cannot be taught, the more you grasp, the less you will obtain.”

The experiment was, then, not about researching and getting as much info about Zen as possible, but about trying to practice Zen and have it become part of me.

There is no Zen bible, but since I don’t know too many Zen masters, I used a few books for guidance. These books contained nothing more than discussions between students and their Zen master and accounts of how the student was finally “enlightened.”

It was a stark realization to see that what I wanted to learn in a month often takes a lifetime to achieve. In fact, when a person asks a Zen master to teach him, the master will reject the student in a very harsh way. The student will continually ask the master and continuously be rejected. This weeds out those who aren’t serious candidates (Mr. Miaggi style). To “learn” Zen’s liberation, it requires an utter frustration with conventional thinking. Finally, once the student is so frustrated with life and is so confused about Zen, the master may offer a few stories to help liberate the student.

The stories are not meant to impart knowledge, but to release the reader from the false problems that plague them. Here’s one as an example:

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912),

received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself.

"It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations.

How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

I also noticed Zen always steering away from representational thinking. The cup is a cup. The tea is tea. We are to appreciate things for what they are, not what they may represent. Zen is known for the creation of the Haiku poetry form. Notice the “direct pointing” they exhibit.

The old pond;

A frog jumps in:

Sound of water.

Veiled by gray showers,

Mount Fuji unseen:

More beautiful today.

Reading haikus is great, but how did I practice Zen?

During my experiment, my wife and I would have loose leaf tea each night, sitting on the floor, reading a portion of “Zen Art for Meditation.” Each night we would read a Zen “tenet”, reflect on an old art tablet painting, read the author’s thoughts on the art, and then read the haikus they offered.

Here are a couple of Zen tenets we reflected upon:

"The realities of life are most truly seen in everyday things and actions."

"Man arises from nature and gets along most effectively by collaborating with nature, rather than trying to master it."

After the month-long experiment, I really only touched on Zen. It was a great practice in being present, appreciating the simple things in life, and spending time in stillness every day.

Zen Master? No. Successful experiment? yes.

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JSJ

[Photo Cred.]
Haiku's by Basho.
Tenets taken from Zen Art for Meditation, by Chimyo Horioka

Potential Means Nothing.

2011-02-03T16:28:00.001-05:00

Fireworks: No Fire = No Work.

Potential: It’s great to have it…if you’re under 15 year’s old!

If your acne has cleared up and you’re an adult now you can THROW YOUR POTENTIAL IN THE GARBAGE. It doesn’t matter. We need to get off our butts and do something for any potential to be of value. Potential is to adults, what shoes are to an athlete. And having a pair of shoes will not help much when it comes to running a marathon.

In my adult life I have found an interesting formula confirmed again and again…

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...

The Money Game

2011-01-25T14:31:00.006-05:00

Do I sell drugs? No. Have I inherited a fortune? Nein. Do I rake in a huge salary? I wish. That being said, the following facts have raised some eyebrows around my office:

In the last year and a half I paid off over $18,000 of debt.
I took an eight-week leave of absence from work to spend the summer with my wife and newborn son.
I have traveled more in the last 3 years than in the rest of my years combined.

Three years ago…

No matter how hard I tried, I could not get my finances under control. Life consisted of endless overtime during the week, working as a DJ on weekends, taking on renovation side jobs, and even renting out my basement for extra cash. Overall, I had more disposable income back then—yet that was when all my current debt racked up! The solution was not as straightforward as simply making more money.

Actually, I discovered that, when my income increased, my money problems were magnified. Higher income equaled higher debt. After all, the bank lends based on income, not financial intelligence.

Money stressed me out. I could not talk about money before bed or I would not sleep. I found finances difficult. Thankfully, difficulty is not objective; difficulty occurs when we simply encounter something outside our skill set.

In re-imagining my life, I wanted more time with family and friends; to have fun, to read, and to study. I wanted less stress surrounding finances, shorter work hours, longer vacations, and I wanted to start achieving some of the goals I have for my life. Goals can seem impossible when life is too busy; and busyness is often “justified” because it brings home the bacon.

Thankfully, I have discovered there is a Revolutionary Alternative to drowning in debt, constantly working, and never getting anywhere.

As someone who used to be terrible with money, I’m excited to finally be in control, catching a glimpse of what it’s like to be financially free. The following is a list of 7 steps I have taken thus far in my journey.

I completely transformed the way I thought about money. When it comes to money, our mind can be our biggest liability or our biggest asset. Everyone brings baggage with them to the subject of finances and the mind needs to change before actions can. This must be step #1. I decided to study people who were financially free—the rich. Yes, that’s right—I went into the belly of the capitalist beast! I met with consultants, went to meetings and conferences, and read a ton of books. I wanted to see what wealthy people had in common with one another, and especially how they thought about money. I started with an easy read called “Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the rich teach their kids about money, that the poor and middle class do not.”
My wife and I got on the same page. This step was essential. We had to have the same mindset in order to pay down our debt, save for trips, and take extended time off work. My wife’s return on investment is that she is now taking a year off without any pressure to ever go back to wage-work, especially if that work does not align with her calling as a mother, a poet, a writer, or a social justice advocate. We discuss our goals as individuals, as a couple, and as a family, and we keep each other accountable when wanting to spend money on something ridiculous (“Hey look a real pinball machine!”)
I took a chance, quit my job, and took a new one somewhere better. My new job pays about the same (to start) but is only 35 hours per week. They pay for all my professional memberships and educational goals, and the progressive workplace culture is amazing (they care about morale). The transition was a little stressful but, in the long run, it has allowed me much more time off work; and the workaholic I once was has since died.
We started a trip fund. My wife and I were whining to some friends who travel all the time that we can’t save up because we have debt and need to pay that off first. They told us to start a tin or jar called the trip fund and sneak money in whenever we could. We started with the odd $20 bill and then, as the trip was being planned, we started saving a lot faster. This worked great but, since we don’t use cash much, I customized the idea. I started a special savings account at a credit union and created a direct payment coming from my bank account every second week on payday. Now the saving is automated, it adds up quickly, and the withdrawal amount is increased every time I get a pay raise. Also, the game of cutting costs has become fun because we can allocate every dollar saved towards our real goals.
We stopped saying “we can’t afford it” and instead asked ourselves “how can we afford it?” This eliminated all mental limitations such as “work doesn’t pay me enough” and gave a sense of freedom and possibility to every desire. Sometimes, after strategizing and realizing what we would have to do (or say no to) in order to afford something or other, we would simply opt out and decide it was not worth it. Many times, however, we would figure out creative ways to get what we didn’t think we could afford (i.e. taking the summer off work, and increased giving to charity).
I took my debt into my own hands. I cut up the credit cards and stopped spending money I didn’t already have. Then I did something strange; I spent one hour every month calling my new best friends—the four banks I deal with—asking them to increase my credit limit, reduce my interest rate, and give me promotional offers. I then did balance transfers from bank to bank at low 2% interest rates for 6-12 month periods at a time. Every month at least one or more of the banks gave in to something. The weirdest thing was getting a $60 “courtesy credit” on my account for no reason! I had it down to a science: I just asked how long I had been a customer with them and if there was anything they could do for me. Note: I used to treat the bank representatives like crap, not get anywhere, and feel disgusting afterwards. Then I changed my approach—I was super friendly on the phone, using their name and humanizing the experience. If they can help, they often will. I hang up feeling great, grab a beer, and dance around the living room!
I keep re-thinking the “fixed expenses”. Now that saving a few dollars per month meant hundreds per year towards an awesome vacation, I was motivated. I switched Internet and phone providers, dropped some monthly subscriptions, started carpooling, reduced insurance costs, noticed the bank had been taking more than was needed for property taxes, etc. Also, led by my wife, we became professional garage salers, finding awesome things we would have paid full price for in the store.

I am still on this journey, but momentum is carrying me now. Debt is being paid off, giving has increased, and the trip fund is getting fatter. Should we go to Thailand or Europe?

Freedom is addictive and contagious. I’m passionate about this topic and want the discussion to continue. What’s your story? Vent your frustrations. Share your success.

JSJ
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[Photo Cred.]

Three Awesome Things

2011-01-06T00:24:00.003-05:00

Recently I've been reading The Book of Awesome which lists a zillion strange little pleasures to be thankful for. In an effort to cultivate thankfulness I started making my own list.

1. High School Poutine. I can still hear the damsels in distress, "PLEASE James, help us out and take some of these FRIES, we'll never finish this ginormous plate on our own."

2. The ball of dough that used to come in the middle of a pizza. You know how they use a 3-legged-white-plastic-thing that keeps the pizza box from collapsing into the cheese? It used to be a wicked ball of dough! It excited me, even though my sister usually got to eat it.

3. Sneaking food into an event and getting away with it. I once sat down with my friends in the movie theater, gave them each a paper plate and a spoon, and busted out a full apple pie and a tub of ice cream for all of us to share!

Make up your own, and post it in the comments section.
JSJ
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You Can Travel the World!

2010-12-02T21:48:00.008-05:00

Resting at Semongkong Falls in Lesotho (Africa)
Photo from my favorite photographer Michael Nakou

Global travel is now among my biggest goals in life. In the last few years, I’ve felt so alive while traveling. Part of it may just be the exciting realization that my co-workers are shuffling papers while I’m swimming in a waterfall lagoon in the tropics! But the main thing I love about travel is knowing that I can.

I grew up without a concept of a world much bigger than the co-operative housing community I lived in. Nobody I knew could travel—we were poor. Travel was for the rich, or so I thought...

I married into a family that is obsessive about travel; a few of my wife’s uncles are actually the family travel agents!

My wife also grew up without much money, but her family has always prioritized travel. It started with day trips and camping trips around Ontario, then the odd trip to Florida. As their income grew, their travel just became more extravagant. Recently, my in-laws were in South Africa doing everything from a three day safari to attending World Cup soccer games and, as I write this, many of my relatives are on a Caribbean cruise.

To contrast–one day, my dad called and asked me what I was up to, and I reluctantly told him that we were packing for a seven-day cruise we had booked just the week before. “Must be nice, being able to afford all that traveling you do,” he mumbled under his breath. “Dad, we got a last minute deal and it’s almost as cheap as sitting at home!” I exclaimed.

I understand there are many people around the world who cannot afford to travel—but if you’re reading this blog I can guarantee you are not one of them! If you want to travel, you simply need to prioritize it. Cut down on pizza and movie rentals; consider which of your monthly expenses can be traded for a trip.

In a future entry, I will explain how I was able to take control of my finances. This took some work, and a new way of thinking, but I prioritized travel and have been making it look easy ever since.

Some trips have been relaxing and luxurious—on the deck of a cruise ship watching movies under the stars. Some trips were pure fun—riding Vespa scooters around Bonaire all day long with friends. Others were adventurous—tubing down a river in a Belize rainforest, lined with spiny bamboo, floating past a crocodile.

Still think I’m just a privileged jerk who’s just rubbing it in? It’s been proven by one of my favourite travel-hackers that saving $2 per day for three years can pay for a round-trip plane ticket to anywhere in the world (with money left over for meals and duty-free shopping). Round-trip tickets to some countries can be as cheap as $100!

How can you afford room and board when oversees? The less money you have, the more creative you’ll need to be. The exchange rate alone in many places makes accommodation and food really cheap. But let’s assume you want to fly tomorrow and can only afford a cheap plane ticket...

For Free?

Are you willing to work on an organic farm for a few hours each day, a few days per week? Then you can get your accommodation and meals for free! Did I mention this is available in nearly 100 countries? Not only is the money step removed, most who do it rave about the experience. Whether you want to travel for a week, or a year, the option is yours and each farm has its own terms. The organization behind this is truly a revolutionary alternative.

I recently interviewed Becky Young, the coordinator for WWOOF Canada (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). I asked Ms. Young what she thought the most revolutionary thing about WWOFFing is, and I was surprised by her answer:

“If you were to ask some WWOOFers what prompted them to WWOOF, they might very well say “free travel”. But as they are exposed to organic and sustainable living, this plants a small seed of awareness that one day prompts them to act on it.”

“The most revolutionary thing about WWOFFing is that it has created radical change in regards to the understanding and importance of organic and ecologically sound growing methods. It raises questions about what we feed ourselves and how we feed ourselves—and then showcases some of the alternatives to the destructive and wasteful modern methods in practice.”

Travel the world.

Do it cheap.

Change yourself and the world in the process.

Revolutionary Alternatives explores the hidden side of everything. In this case, travel is often seen to be impossible unless you have thousands of dollars sitting around. That’s dead wrong—if you prioritize it, you can travel the world. It just takes a little creativity.

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JSJ
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Voluntary Simplicity (Part 2)

2010-11-19T01:24:00.010-05:00

If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, it may put this in perspective– click here.

“Is Greed Dead?” This was the title of an article in an issue of Fortune magazine from 1989. In the same year, a survey found that 75% of young Americans wanted to see their country “return to a simpler lifestyle, with less emphasis on material success.” Over twenty years later, life is now faster and more materialistic than ever, both in the USA and around the globe. Greed is alive and well.

Sure, maybe we all want simplicity, but it requires a counter-intuitive approach to life...

This approach goes against everything the ka-zillion dollar advertising industry tells us. Less is more.

So, what does Simplicity look like?

Under-consumption: I notice that those who have embraced simplicity tend to give the metaphorical finger to the advertising world. They do this by strategically supporting local businesses, boycotting corporations with unethical business practices, buying products that are durable and easy to repair, and observing holidays in a less commercialized manner.

Reconnecting to the Environment: Another step along the path to simplification is getting back to the way things used to be. Sustainability is old school and environmentalism is more like a radical orthodoxy– doing things the only way our grandparents knew. This is explored by using efficient transportation, living closer to work, eating local produce, relying less on processed foods, and eating less meat since it takes a large amount of natural resources to produce.

Duane Elgin, the author of Voluntary Simplicity, offers some additional observations.

“Those choosing a simpler life:

· Tend to invest the time and energy freed up by simpler living in activities with their partner, children, and friends (walking, making music together, sharing a meal, camping, etc.), or volunteering to help others, or getting involved in civic affairs to improve the life of the community.

· Tend to work on developing the full spectrum of their potentials: physical (running, biking, hiking, etc.), emotional (learning the skills of intimacy and sharing feelings in important relationships), mental (engaging in lifelong learning by reading, taking classes, etc.), and spiritual (learning to move through life with a quiet mind and compassionate heart).”

These observations are great, but I wanted to get specific and show off a couple cool guys who are leading by example, one challenge at a time.

I came across Dave Bruno and his 100 Thing Challenge. Frustrated with his cluttered life, he reduced all his possessions to only 100 things.

Then there’s Rolf Potts who also wanted to prove to the world that our needs are few. He asked himself how much luggage we really need when travelling. He decided to prove we need no luggage whatsoever!

Potts’ Travel Stats:

42 days on the road

34,440 miles traveled

12 countries visited

3 oceans crossed

12 flights flown

4 trains taken

0 bags

What would your experiment be? How would you simplify your life? Start by asking yourself “What clutters my life the most?” (eg. clothes, papers, dishes, etc.) Then ask “What is the biggest waste of my time?” (eg. shopping, commuting, TV/movies, etc.) And lastly, “What is the most stressful thing in my life? (eg. debt, vehicle repairs, paying bills, home maintenance, etc.)

Want more ideas? Here’s 72 Ideas to Simplify your Life – from Leo on his Zen Habits blog.

Now imagine a stress free life, spending time on the important things you love, without clutter. It can be yours, for just 3 easy payments of…just kidding. It’s free.

Remember, this is a community forum.

Join the discussion by posting a quick comment.

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JSJ

Voluntary Simplicity

2010-11-12T18:09:00.006-05:00

“One does not accumulate,

but eliminate;

It is not daily increase,

but daily decrease;

The height of cultivation

always runs to simplicity.”

– Bruce Lee

The Simple Life. The words look so innocent and deceptively understandable, like a beautiful woman—too complex for comprehension. While reflecting upon simplicity, my superfluous thoughts have drowned some of my presuppositions. I am left to rebuild my outlook, starting with the concept of enough...

The Golden Mean is an idea I recently stumbled upon. One generation after another has been discussing this concept of enough or the perfect amount. The idea permeates the writings of Aristotle, Confucius (doctrine of the mean), and Gautama Buddha (the middle way). Though the name originates in the mathematical world, it has been widely applied in moral philosophy: where is the virtue between two vices? It also translates perfectly to the material world: how little is too little? How much is too much?

How much is enough? I often find myself getting lost in getting; I desire a simpler existence. I ask myself, “How can I find my own golden mean and simplify my life?” Let’s get spiritual and talk about money and stuff. How much is enough money? How much is enough stuff?

Money. For simplicity to be genuine, it must be voluntary. Poverty is too little; wealth is too much. Those in poverty strive to survive, spending their energy on obtaining necessities. Those who are wealthy spend their energy maintaining their wealth and never reach a point of satisfaction (American Dreaming). Neither the poor nor the rich seem to ever have enough.

Charles Wesley once figured out how much money he and his family required annually to survive. He then lived within that amount for the rest of his life. Though his income grew higher and higher, he believed that it would not be right to spend it—he already had enough. He felt he was responsible to help others with his surplus. He found enough; more became an afterthought.

Stuff. A few years ago, my wife and I downsized from a large house in a rural area, to a small loft in the suburbs. Imagine looking at your house full of stuff, and realizing you had to try to fit it into a space only 1/3 the size.

We had a serious garage sale. We made $450 in less than two hours. We gave away van loads of household items to our relatives. We gave van loads of clothes to Goodwill. And we threw out a large dumpster full of crap that nobody wanted.

You may think it would feel sad to part with so many possessions, but it was exhilarating. We felt light. Not having to care for so many things gave us a form of new mind space. The clutter was gone and that removal had such a calming effect. This was simplicity. And our first taste of it was both delicious and addictive.

This has led me to ask: How can I simplify every part of my life? I want to focus on fulfilling my life’s dreams and stop fretting about money-getting and stuff-maintenance.

The underlying BIG question: How can I shift my energy and attention from the material side of life to the non-material side? How do I spend less time dedicated to money and stuff and more time dedicated to fulfilling life dreams?

Voluntary Simplicity. What does it look like? What are the next steps? I hope I’ve enticed you to want simplicity. In the next post, I’ll give you some key resources to help you get started. Also, I will include the best contemporary examples of simplification I have ever seen.

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JSJ
Continue to Part 2 Here.

Does The Education System Stunt Creativity?

2010-10-28T01:13:00.003-04:00

"James is a bright student, but he needs to stop disrupting the class with his many questions outside the curriculum." - Mrs. Smythe's comment on my grade one report card.

Was your creativity stifled in the school system? Is this something we need to counteract in the next generation? If so, how can we teach kids to think for themselves?

The author of BetterParenting.com stumbled upon Revolutionary Alternatives, really liked it, and offered to do this guest video post. I'd love to hear your opinion.

Is he shockingly correct, way off base, or just a wacky American that looks like a cross between Chandler and Joey?

CLICK HERE FOR THIS SPECIAL GUEST VIDEO POST.

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JSJ
[Photo Credit]

30 Days of Veganism

2010-10-22T01:19:00.004-04:00

Purpose: To make one of my biggest habits – eating – a conscious action. Experiential learning about the ingredients in my food, vegetarianism and veganism.

The first morning I woke up in fear of starvation. Am I going to be able to make it past day 1? I skipped breakfast, and headed off to work. At 10am I excitedly headed to Tim Horton’s, when it suddenly hit me that I couldn’t have cream or milk in my coffee – so I had it black. I cringed at each sip, it was sickening. I’d never had black coffee and thought I would have to go without my java for V-month – until I remembered SOY MILK. I had seen hoity toity women in power-suits order non-fat soy latte’s at Starbucks before. So I converted to Starbucks and soy milk made caffeinating my month long experiment possible...

A month of backlash. By simply making a personal decision not to eat meat or animal byproducts, it came across as an attack on the world’s carnivores. I faced way more criticism, prejudice, and mocking than I had anticipated – and this was just an experiment! “He’s just being difficult”, “Dammit James when are you going to stop this nonsense”, “That veggie crap is worse for you than meat you know.” “Oh no, not another vegamatarian.” And these comments weren’t from burly construction workers, but from my friends, even my nana.

Where did Veganism come from?

Wikipedia tells me that in 1951 the Vegan Society formally defined veganism as “the doctrine that man should live without exploiting animals.” Also that veganism is not itself a set of actions or practices but instead “a principle, from which certain practices logically flow.”

This makes sense to me, but there seems to be a lot of confusion out there as to why people live as vegans. I was often asked “how much weight have you lost?” Though I did lose about 7 pounds in a month, that was not the reason for the experiment, and proving that it was all healthy weight loss would be difficult.

My worst meal of the month. The thing is, I’m a terrible vegan. It is actually quite a talent to eat a healthy vegan diet and it takes practice and forethought which I was lacking. One night I arrived at my in-laws house for dinner and they apologized as they realized every dish they prepared included either meat or dairy. No problem, this happened to me often, so I hopped in the car to find something to sustain my ravenous appetite.

After the A&W drive thru guy’s laughing died down, he told me they were out of veggie burgers and that I could only have fries. I scarfed down the fries and proceeded across the street to Taco Bell. I thought I could get a bean based burrito, but realizing there would be nothing left if I took off the cheese and sour cream – I had to drive through without getting anything. I finally broke down, went to a convenience store and had a large bag of All Dressed chips and a Diet Coke for dinner. My ultimate low point. (Note: even most flavours of chips have milk ingredients and/or lactose).

My favorite meal. While I loved having vegetarian sushi, Indian daal, and thai coconut curry (notice they’re all foreign? cultures), my favorite meal was at a holistic foods market called Nature’s Emporium. For lunch they had a giant buffet of over 20 chef prepared vegetarian and vegan foods that were all spectacular. Tofu stuffed mushrooms, Mango coconut salad, baked plum salad, couscous, lentil pilaf, and many other crazy combos I can’t remember. Without meat, cooking is forced to be much more creative.

What kind of a diet relies on Processed Foods? During the V-month I found myself biting my nails while reading ingredient lists, and sighing a happy relief saying, “thank goodness, its all chemicals.” This felt strange, but some vegans feel it is much more strange to slaughter a cute baby cow for a veal sandwich, or to inject cows with hormones so they overproduce milk for us to steal from their babies.

Respect for Animals.

I’m not positive where I stand on veganism, but I definitely have a strong respect for the environment and animals, and with my part native (Metis) background have been taught it is “natural” to hunt/fish for food. Most carnivores agree with this, but in native cultures meat is for celebrations and special occasions since it is hard to come by and would not be sustainable to kill livestock everyday.

I started to notice the North American diet is way bloodier than I thought. I used to say that those who eat meat should be willing to kill their food themselves. I think I could kill a chicken or fish, though I may be crying as I do it (as per Avatar or Into the Wild). But once I started counting the death toll of the average day I realized I would have to be a mass murderer.

Bacon and Eggs for breakfast (unfertilized embrios and a slaughtered pig)
Coffee with cream (taken from cows)
Chicken wings and fries for lunch (5 baby chickens are now dead)
Lasagna and caesar salad (beef, milk, anchovies, bacon bits)

Yikes, I have to cut down my (unconscious) personal death toll if I am going to say I respect animals and sustainable living.

When in Rome, bring your own tofu. My number one annoyance during V-month was having to bring my own vegan snacks everywhere. An apple, or a banana is one thing, but tofurkey sausages and non-dairy bread is high maintenance. I see food as a uniting force in building community and was upset that I had to miss out on many shared meals, say no to friend’s baked goods and even reject birthday cake. It is disrespectful to reject cultural/family dishes for reasons other than allergies – and I can’t imagine trying to travel internationally while eating my own specialized diet.

It comes down to discovering our own philosophy of food. For me, eating is a conscious process of refueling, nurturing, and celebrating. And what are we celebrating if not the bountiful earth that sustains us, its beautiful creatures, and our family and friends we share meals with. In the end – food is about respect. So have your cake, but think about it too.

JSJ

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[Photo Credit]

Perspective from a Revolutionary: Sean Aiken

2010-10-01T17:39:00.008-04:00

Sean Aiken completed an epic journey around North America, working 52 jobs in 52 weeks in search of his passion. His book about the experience, The One-Week Job Project, was recently published by Penguin Books, and the documentary has just been released. Find out more at: www.oneweekjob.com

A special thanks to Sean Aiken, the author of "The One-Week Job Project" who agreed to write this guest post for Revolutionary Alternatives. Once done reading check out this video clip of him on Rachel Ray (7 minutes). ###JSJ

A Revolution In Work Consciousness

- by Sean Aiken

"Your work is to find your work, and with all your heart,

to give yourself to it.” -Buddha

My generation has been described as a “Peter Pan generation,” “adultescents,” “kidults” and a host of others to describe how we are putting off the transition into adulthood later than previous generations; generally taking longer to finish university, get married, move out, start a family and to enter the work force...

If you asked me when I was ten, I probably would have told you that I would be expecting my second child by now. But hey, times have changed, and so have we.

I think that many in my generation have seen our parents stuck doing the same job they were not necessarily happy with for way too long. It’s incredible how our careers play such an integral part of our lives as we tend to associate so much of our existence with them. Ask somebody to tell you about themselves, and the majority will probably respond by first telling you what they do for a living.

If it is a fact that we spend most of our waking hours each day working, why not spend that time doing something we enjoy doing and are truly passionate about?

I think my generation is realizing this and the importance of making a career choice that suits our skill set while at the same time matches our personality, values, and passions as well.

It’s no longer cool not to care. The coming generation has realized the stakes are too high to leave in others’ hands. They’ve decided to get involved. To use our power and opportunity to change the old paradigm.

In many ways, this is what One Week Job is all about. With respect paid to our parents for creating a cushion of stability, our goal is to redefine our relationship to work.

The old thinking says, “Work has to be hard. It’s not meant to be enjoyable. You can do what you really want when you’re retired.”

The new thinking says, “Work and passion are not mutually exclusive. Life is not retirement. Life is right now.”