LegendaryLife Blog

Elief.com Web Hosting: They ripped me off!

Jon — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:43:17 +0000

I don’t normally bad mouth another company but in the case of Elief.com web hosting – I must make a clear exception. At first, they were fantastic – Richard (the owner) helped move all my sites to his servers and after a year I was in need of some Magento upgrades after my sites went [...]

Invest in yourself and the rest will come!

Jon — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:44:48 +0000

It seems the news these days is all doom and gloom… you have an employment rate of 92% in the USA and instead of being proud of this fact considering how much stuff is happening in the world, the news seems to focus entirely on the 8% saying life is over, they lost this, they [...]

Dr. Neil DeGrasse: Too smart for politics (sadly)

Jon — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 01:09:10 +0000

Looking at politicians the world over these days, it saddens me to realize that MOST would fail a grade school IQ test based on the way they act and their real knowledge of things BEYOND THEM in the world. I really don’t understand why the human race prefers to elect incompetent leaders at best with [...]

HowToChinese.com: A Practical Mandarin Chinese Course… my 6th book is published!

Jon — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:36:50 +0000

I’ve been learning Mandarin Chinese on/off for 15 years… each time, making great progress then life getting in the way – usually in the form of a business that takes over all my time (WoodMarvels.com didn’t grow from a lack of work!). This has happened to me several times so far – and will continue [...]

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s remarks at Senate Commerce hearing on the future of our space program

Jon — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:24:44 +0000

I’m a great admirer of Dr. Niel deGrasse Tyson – and I’m with him all the way. If you invest in the impossible… it becomes possible. Sadly, today’s “leaders” have neither the balls nor the ambition to really push people out of their comfort zone. There is always an excuse, always a barrier… but big [...]

Games Uncles Play

Jon — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:43:34 +0000

I’ve been traveling for a while now and am finally staying put for the next month or so while I wait for things to sort themselves out with (I hope) Australia but with each new place, you see new habits. Going from a cabin in the woods back to “civilization”, I noticed my uncle took [...]

Narrow Minded People and Success

Jon — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:59:55 +0000

Every once in a while, I’m reminded at just how narrow minded people at the executive level of a company can become the longer they work on ONE task for an extended period of time at a specific position. It isn’t their fault, our minds are built to build initial comfort then doing anything possible [...]

We are all Africans… and a few other things too!

Jon — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:08:53 +0000

This video is so full or ironies I don’t know where to start but should be mandatory viewing for all children and (most) adults as well who have any kind of prejudice against people of other races. Just read the comments from this video on TEDs site, it’s incredible that in the face of GENETIC [...]

Life in transition… and re-invention!

Jon — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:24:52 +0000

In a months time, my life will change radically yet again… as it has every year for the past few. This year I accomplished a lot of goals and still have many yet to come to fruition but the biggest, one that I’ve been working on for several years looks like it may come to [...]

Create your own Niche and DOMINATE IT!

Jon — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 15:04:34 +0000

There are two kinds of companies out there, the “me-toos” which see how successful others are and try to replicate it with a few changes in order to enjoy the same amount of success and the “what-the-___” ones who create their own unique niche and take years to get steam. I’ve had a very bad [...]

Autodesk 3DS Max 2012 Subscription Download NOW available!

Jon — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:39:26 +0000

I’ve been checking my Autodesk subscription account for 3DS Max 2012 and it’s now downloading… I’m anxious to get working on this major 3DS Max upgrade. I spend easily a few hours EVERYDAY in this incredible program. I really hope that it also features faster (higher quality) rendering within MR so that I can blow [...]

Importance of financial diversification

Jon — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:52:43 +0000

I’m constantly reminded at how important it is to be well diversified, financially speaking. If you learn only one skill that provides but one stream of revenue, you are ASKING for trouble should that stream become a trickle or worse, be damned upstream. Now, more than ever, learning isn’t something just done during your school-age [...]

Knowledge without context is like a Burger without a bun

Jon — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:10:49 +0000

As we all observe the events happening around the Middle East, it becomes blatantly obvious at how much was sacrificed by those living in those totalitarian countries simply to provide the rest of us with cheap, dependable oil. We all traded our morals and values for a fatter wallet. What I find most ironic of [...]

Length does count!

Jon — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 09:54:28 +0000

If your life was counted using a meter stick, with 0 representing your birth and 100 the year of your death… how much of it would you like to dedicate towards having a job you didn’t love?

…. and it all started with a Perfect Attendance Record!

Jon — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:49:35 +0000

Growing up, I was never the best student when it came to academics… I would look outside and see a place of endless adventure then go into a classroom and find it rather stifling. I never seem to have the same values or goals as other people… I always wanted MORE and DIFFERENT so conformity [...]

20th Century Generalism… 21st Century Specialism

Jon — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 04:58:13 +0000

It struck me this morning after waking-up just how much happened in the 20th century. How much society, knowledge and even various influences that shape our world dramatically changed. Looking back, here is just a short list off the top of my head about what happened in the 20th century of which I only participated [...]

HowToChinese.com: Boostrap Startup… just how bare can it be!

Jon — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:38:52 +0000

I had the idea for HowToChinese.com mulling in my head for a while but finally the circumstances were right to give it a real go. I just did some major software upgrades for my other site, WoodMarvels.com and really wanted to put it through its paces and get into green screening. 3D is great fun, [...]

Fresh Thinking = New Opportunities

Jon — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:44:12 +0000

Looking back, it seems like every 6 months or so, I begin a new company in one way or another. I think the lessons learned by DOING something are far more valuable than not doing something or endlessly planning. One thing I have gotten better at with time though is seeing the long term opportunity [...]

HowToChinese.com: New Business Venture

Jon — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:50:30 +0000

A few weeks ago, I started on a new venture, HowToChinese.com. Background One reason why I started WoodMarvels.com was to keep my 3D skills on an upward improvement trajectory and the same goes with HowToChinese.com except in this case, it’s teaching myself about editing, green screening and general everyday VIDEO work. I’m always doing 3D, [...]

Getting through the mental minefield layed by culture

Jon — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:57:22 +0000

From the moment we are born, our brains are given programs that decide our future, whether we realize this or not… they are incredibly deep within our unconscious and changing them is like walking through a mental minefield. Brain = Computer. Culture = Software. I struggle with getting over the software put into me growing-up [...]