Sharing Sangsom buckets and bear hugs with the local mob boss before he rides off on his Harley…

Meeting multi-millionaires to talk business over coffee, celebrating Christmas on sailboats, and on Krabi’s beautiful mountainous beaches, watching fireworks in three directions and witnessing thousands of floating lanterns take flight, and New Year parties in the 18th story luxury riverside penthouse…

Getting rammed sideways off a motorbike in the darkest hour of night and attacked by nefarious bandits with machetes…

I’ve shared a few very strange travel experiences, but there’s still a load of crazy weird stories I’ve still never divulged here.

Working for secretive Hong Kong corporations headed by international men of mystery…

Getting screwed out of thousands of dollars by asshole affiliate merchants and ex business partners…

Island hopping, half moon parties, and spending months at a time in tropical paradise on Koh Phangan…

The story of how I was detained by Singapore airport security…

I’ve been off the radar for a while here at Thrilling Heroics. And not just because I’m avoiding SG airport security… but more importantly because I’m a guy who really can only focus on one thing at a time if I want to do it well, and I’ve spent the last year and a half putting nearly all of my time and energy into helping my students at Digital Nomad Academy start their own sustainable internet-based businesses… I’ve poured my heart and soul into creating a world-class community, and the best content for people who want to have the freedom to experience similar adventures.

Eating everything from deep-fried bugs and salted snakehead fish on street corners to the finest duck confit served in a giant fishing boat mysteriously dropped down in the middle of the tropical jungle…

Hosting charity mixer parties at Bangkok’s luxury hotel rooftop pool bars, drinking and dancing until the sun comes up on a regular basis…

The story of how my beautiful, courageous rescue-diver girlfriend pulled a big hardcore Mancunian off a speedboat propeller and saved his life during the filming of a Russian mafia-funded action film…

Staying in breathtaking 4-star resorts, shithole backpacker hostels, boutique hotels, creepy sexy rendezvous motels, and in our own beautiful private pool villas…

Diving with bus-sized whale sharks, attending startup events, having the Filipino police personally escort us around town, track down my stolen iPhone via GPS, and take us to the culprit’s front door…

I’ve always been absolutely transparent – the digital nomad lifestyle isn’t all butterflies and roses. Anybody who tells you that running a business, traveling, and living abroad are easy is full of shit. There are plenty of challenges and setbacks. But there’s also a load of fun, plenty of learning and growing experiences, and even the worst days will eventually make great stories for the grandkids one day.

Now Emily and I have packed up our backpacks and our laptops again…

We’re on the move for the next few months, traveling full time, living out of hotels, bungalows, villas, resorts, homestays, guesthouses, housesits, and possibly friends’ floors, exploring new uncharted territory where we’ve never been, and having plenty of fun, weird new experiences. There’s certainly never a dull moment, and I’ve already got tons of new anecdotes to share with you here soon.

So I’ve decided I want to share our current unfolding journey in new ways you’ve never seen before on Thrilling Heroics, and publish a lot more of these never-before-told, gritty real life stories from the last few years, to give you the real dirt on expatriation, business, and investment opportunities in developing Asia.

To learn about these and many other adventures as we travel through Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Burma, and more… and to be the first to learn about the BIG developments I’ve been working on in my business, some news I’ll be sharing soon… make sure you’re signed up below to follow our journey.

Tim Ferriss reads Thrilling Heroics! Do you??

7 business lessons from charity:water: thrl.in/charitywater

— Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) March 30, 2012

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The Real Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Follow our Jetset (Mis)Adventures

Ever feel like everyone’s trying to do the same thing, and it’s near impossible to break away from the pack and distinguish yourself?

I sure know from experience—as someone who’s been labelled a “lifestyle design blogger” especially—it frequently feels like we’re all in one big echo chamber together and everybody’s competing for the same things… everybody’s doing things the same way.

We got into this to break away from conformity. We didn’t get into this to start a new “norm”.

Read on for seven actionable insights that will help you set yourself, your business, and your blog, apart… to shine… and to rise above the rest. Today’s incredible guest post is from Logan Marshall, creator of the upcoming blog Free Life Project (Check out his video trailer) and offers 7 in-depth insights you can glean from one of the most innovative social entrepreneurs out there.

(And if you’re into social entrepreneurship, or if you want to try and sneak a cheap seat into my Digital Nomad Academy program so you can get a head start building your lifestyle business, remember to make a donation to In Search of Sanuk for my Birthday Gamble and you just might be a lucky full-ride scholarship recipient. Help me raise $1,000 for refugees and underprivileged kids in Bangkok! See the details here, and check out what DNA student Tim has to say about how crazy you’d be to pass up this opportunity.)

But I digress. Enter Logan:

Deep in the heart of the Central African Republic, hundreds of people wait anxiously as the drill lurches to life, thrusting into the red African earth.

After five failed attempts and weeks of waiting… this is the final shot. The last stand.

The machine roars, echoing through the rainforest as it plunges deeper and deeper underground, desperately searching for water.

As the drilling progresses, time seems to slow. The once enthralled villagers now look on with disappointment and skepticism.

One hour passes… two hours.

And just when all hope appears to be lost… it happens.

Crystal clear water erupts from the ground like a fountain, blasting from the earth and glistening in the afternoon sun. Children leap from their mother’s laps and sprint into the water, dancing and laughing as the clear liquid rains from the sky.

In an instant… their lives are changed forever.

This is the work of charity: water, one of the coolest non-profits on the planet.

If you haven’t heard of charity: water, go watch this video. It’s SO FREAKING AWESOME! (Sorry, it makes me excited).

Not only are they helping millions of people get access to clean and safe drinking water… they are also marketing geniuses. Seriously. They’ve taught me so much.

In this post I’m going to dissect their “business” strategy and give you 7 key lessons that you can apply to your own online ventures.

Regardless of your goals (philanthropic or otherwise), these lessons will help you ignite a firestorm of support, stand out from the crowd, and change thousands of lives for the better.

Let’s dive in.

Lesson #1: People Want To CARE About Something

Over the past few years I’ve noticed that there’s an “epidemic” ravaging the western world.

No, it’s not obesity or technological addiction..although these are both equally dangerous.

It’s a lack of meaning.

A “fulfillment deficit” that is leaving people tired and depressed… deprived of one of our most basic human needs: purpose.

To take this a step further, I believe that deep down all people want to make a difference. To change the world. To make their lives amount to something worthwhile.

This is why charity:water can attract such raving support so fast. This is why they can get almost 1.5 MILLION Twitter followers. They are a “meaning vehicle.” They give people the satisfaction of knowing that they are (even is a small way) making a difference. And that is powerful.

You see, everyone wants to be a part of something great.

A movement.

A community.

People want to CARE.

With this in mind, here’s my question to you:

Why should people care about YOUR business?

If you don’t have a clear answer, take the time to formulate one. If YOU don’t care about your business… you can’t expect others to either.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

Okay so you understand that people are hungry for meaning… and will jump at the chance to fill this emotional void.

But how can you apply this knowledge to your own lifestyle business?

Well, the answer is simple.

You give people something to care about.

How?

I’ve identified two main ways:

1) Incorporate GIVING into the CORE of your business model.

Make helping others the primary focus of your existence. Connect your readers to a meaningful vision that is bigger than any of you. Something worthwhile. Something worth caring about.

If you can be a medium through which people can solve their pressing problems AND make a positive difference in the world, attracting a community of raving fans will be considerably easier. Instead of fighting through the tangle of look-alike blogs, do something that fundamentally contradicts your business intuition: give.

Read that last paragraph again. This is incredibly important.

While few online businesses are embracing this “giving based model,” here are a few offline businesses that are making a difference (and a killing) right now:

• Toms Shoes
• Feed Projects
• Method Products

2) Create a “superstar story.”

This is a term I made up. All by myself

What’s a superstar story?

Well… In essence, a “superstar story” is a unique, remarkable and easy to remember STORY that differentiates you from your competition and sparks frenzied interest and support from your audience.

It’s a goal, mission or objective that people naturally want to rally behind and share with everyone they know.

Chris Guillebeau uses this by “visiting every country in the world.” So does Steve Kamb with his “Epic Quest of Awesome.” So does Scott H. Young with his “MIT Challenge.”

Base your existence around a (near impossible) goal that you’re trying to reach, a ridiculous experiment that people will CARE about… and watch your business skyrocket.

Lesson #2: Stories Are The Key To Connection And Engagement

If you didn’t watch the video at the beginning of this post, watch it now.

Pretty incredible right?

Besides the beautiful footage and professional editing, why was that video so engaging? Why was it so powerful?

The answer is simple: Because it was a story.

It took you directly into the lives of the Bayaka people and made you FEEL their pain… and their hope for a better future.

You see, the human brain is hardwired to seek out and appreciate good storytelling. It’s human nature. As Robert McKee puts it, “Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.”

Stories are the key to spreading your message.

Here’s how to use them…

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

You understand the power of stories. Now let’s get practical.
Before we dive into the “nitty gritty” of incorporating stories into your business, there’s something I want to share with you. It’s from an article I recently read by the infamous John Carlton.

In the article he writes…

“So the main rule for writer/marketers is this: Learn what kind of story appeals to your audience. If you don’t know, you’re taking a risk with anything other than a paragraph-long tale.

Don’t pretend to know how to weave a story that gets listened to. Instead, learn the craft. (Just as you would never pretend to be able to play guitar if you wanted to impress real musicians.)

There are no shortcuts… but you can get hip to good storytelling fairly quickly if you apply yourself.”

He goes on to say…

“You gotta tailor your tale to your audience. That’s the primary lesson. A story that bores the bejesus out of one person, may dazzle the hell out of someone else.

And you should get good at knowing whether you’re bombing or scoring quickly (so you can change course if necessary).”

Such great advice.

Storytelling is one of the most important skills you can develop as an entrepreneur. And the only way you’re going to get better at it is to practice. To sit your BUTT in a chair and write like a writing fiend.

Storytelling is an art. Take the time to master it.

Okay… back to the matter at hand. How to incorporate stories into your marketing.

Here are my top 2 ways:

1) Center your business around a story.

At the heart of all great businesses is a remarkable story.

As Blake MyCoskie (founder of Toms Shoes) writes in his phenomenal book Start Something That Matters, “A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices.”

So true.

Regardless of how big your business is… you need a story. A story about how you got started, what you’re about and where you’re going.

Make it short. Make it inspirational. Make it easy to remember.

Here are a few examples:

• charity: water: “We’re a new kind of charity dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet.”
• Toms shoes: “With every pair you purchase, Toms will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for one.”

What’s your story?

If you don’t have one. Find one.

2) Infuse storytelling into your marketing

Go back to the beginning of this post and read my introduction. See what I did there? I used a story to suck you in to the post and get you to keep reading.

Stories aren’t just for all-encompassing mission statements. They’re a TOOL to be wielded daily when communicating with your audience. A tool you can use to break through noise and capture attention.

Use them in your blog posts.

Use them in your follow-up sequence.

Use them to make people CARE.

Lesson #3: Video is the MOST Effective Medium

If you don’t know already… video kicks ass.

It’s the most engaging, valuable and effective content medium out there. No question. Hands down.

YouTube rivals Google in traffic-driving power, videos are shared more than any other form of content… and video sales letters can literally TRIPLE your conversion rate overnight.

Jon Morrow used video to gain 1,740 email subscribers in seven days. The Invisible Children KONY 2012 video has been viewed over 80 MILLION times in less than two weeks! No blog post in history has ever come close to this.

Yet, despite this mountain of evidence… very few people are utilizing the power of video in their business.

But Charity Water does… and they’re experts at it.

Charity: water introduces each of their projects and promotions with a specially created video. Videos like this and this. Inspiring videos. Videos that give viewers an intimate connection to the organization.

And as their thriving YouTube channel and MASSIVE impact illustrates… it’s working wonders for them.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

While video can literally be incorporated in all aspects of your business, here are three high-impact areas you can address

1) Create a killer homepage with a trailer or welcome video.

My guess is that your BLOG is on your homepage. Am I right?

Personally, I think this is a BIG problem.

Here’s why:

By leaving visitor experience to chance and not strategically crafting a homepage that is proven to convert… you are leaving SO many opt-ins on the table. An absurd amount of subscribers.

Here’s the deal:

The average conversion rate on a well crafted “squeeze page” is around 35%. But most blogs convert at less than 5%. With this in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to OPTIMIZE your homepage in order to maximize conversions?

Yeah, I think so too.

Want some examples of this strategy in action?

Clay Collins and Brendon Burchard know what’s up.

2) Drive Traffic With an “Army” of YouTube Videos

Not only is video a killer conversion and sales strategy… it’s also a great way to drive automated traffic. All year round. Like a boss.

By creating video content and syndicating it around the web you slowly build up an “army” of videos that can be leveraged to build your list.

People watch your videos, enjoy your content, then follow your call to action and join your list. Simple.

3) Trade out the long-copy sales letter

I recently heard an interview with Jon Benson, the creator of the “Ugly Video Sales letter.” You know the ones with nothing but plain text…

… .yeah, I thought they sucked too.

But here’s the thing:

In a series of rigorous split tests (Both from Jon Benson and Ryan Deis)… it’s been proven that these bland, “ugly” sales letters actually convert 3X better than the conventional long form sales letter. THREE TIMES!

Crazy cool stuff.

If you’re selling any kind of product and aren’t getting the conversions you want… I HIGHLY recommend you switch to video.

At least try it out. See how it goes. You can always switch back.

For more info on how to create killer video sales letters I recommend you check out Lewis Howes’ interviews with James Wedmore.

Lesson #4: People Will Follow a Leader With a Vision

Scott Harrison (founder of charity: water) is an inspiration.

In 2004, after spending years promoting top nightclubs and fashion events… living selfishly and arrogantly by his own admission… Scott decided to make a change.

He signed up for volunteer service aboard a floating hospital called Mercy Ships and embarked on a new journey that he hasn’t looked back from since.

Today he has a mission. A vision for a better future: To bring clean and safe drinking water to every person of the planet.

When you watch his videos you can hear the authenticity in his voice. The passion bubbling through the computer screen.

Scott is a leader.

Over the past few years, I’ve had a realization:

People are hungry to be led. They WANT to follow someone who has a bigger vision than they do.

As Seth Godin puts it:

“Human beings can’t help it: we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people. We are drawn to leaders and to their ideas, and we can’t resist the rush of belonging and the thrill of the new. … We want to belong not to just one tribe, it turns out, but to many. And if you give us tools and make it easy, we’ll keep joining. Tribes make our lives better. And leading a tribe is the best life of all.”

Do you have what it takes to lead a tribe?

If so, here’s how.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

There isn’t much to say for this one. If you want to gain a loyal “tribe” of followers… you must be a leader. You must highlight YOURSELF in your business, be upfront with your objective and passionately convey your vision for the future.

Where is your movement going? How can people help? Who is the enemy?

Steve Kamb does a great job of this. So does David Siteman Garland. So does Pat Flynn.

To quote Seth Godin one more time, “Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.”

Lesson #5: Design Matters

Charity: water’s website is a work of art. It’s beautiful. It’s clean. It’s sophisticated.

Just check out the animation and graphics on this page.

Whether you like it or not, you will be judged based on how your business “looks.” While content is king… design is a strong and equally formidable queen. Especially in today’s blogosphere.

Yes… you can succeed with a “hack job” design. Some do.

But as the competition online continues to increase, your chances of “making it” with an out-of-the-box design are getting smaller and smaller.

This doesn’t cut it anymore. This does.

Scott Harrison’s original (and current) objective is this: Bring clean drinking water to 1 billion people, make sure 100% of public donations go directly to funding projects, prove to donors where their donations are spent, and in his own words, “not suck at design!”

Design matters. Don’t neglect it.

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

Again, this lesson is pretty self-explanatory. If you want a killer design, get a killer designer. Learn web design or invest in a custom site, get an “eye popping” logo, focus on first impressions, keep it clean.

Want a few examples?

I’m glad you asked. Here you go:

• Nerd Fitness
• Word Lens
• Serene-Naturist

…Okay, the last one is a joke. You caught me.

Lesson #6: Innovation is Critical

Let me introduce you to Water Forward. It’s Charity Water’s brilliant new idea for how to raise money by harnessing the power of social media. And it’s brilliant.

Watch this video to see how it works.

Pretty cool huh?

Charity Water is harnessing social media, reciprocity, and social proof (three key marketing tools) to raise thousands of dollars for clean drinking water.

Personally, I think it’s genius.

But not only have they created this completely automated way of raising money… they’ve also built My Charity Water, a free interface where you can start your own fundraising campaign and track your results in real time.

So cool.

If you hope to stand a chance online, you have to be different. All that “basic” stuff has been covered. People have heard it all… ten gazilion times.

In order to break out of this tangled web of conformity, you gotta innovate. You gotta sit down, get creative and “rethink” long held assumptions.

As Milan Kundera puts it, “business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.”

How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business

As you know, innovation is CRITICAL to your online success. It’s the key to standing out. It’s the secret to rising fast and avoiding pitfalls.

Understanding this, here are three ways to replicate Charity Water’s ingenuity.

1) Nail down your “Motif.”

You’ve probably heard the common advice: “You must find a killer Unique Selling Proposition.” And while I agree that this is important, I’ve recently realized that you can achieve the same effect with what’s called a “motif.”

In essence, a “motif” is a unique and intriguing “experience” that sets you apart from your competition. This “experience” can be based on your personality, a common theme, an intriguing story, or even a simple idea.

For example, Naomi Dunford’s “motif” is her personality and “colorful” language. D Bnonn Tennant’s is a cowboy theme.

To get a better understanding of what I’m talking about, check out this article.

2) Create the “Ultimate Experience”

Imagine for a second that you’re surfing the web when you see an interesting link. Intrigued, you click it and are instantly directed to a website on YOUR topic. A website very similar to yours.

In order to capture your full attention and get you to take action, what would that website have to do? What would it say, what would it offer, how would it look?

What would the ULTIMATE experience look like?

Take the time to nail this down. Then go create it.

3) Break all the rules

My final tip is this:

In every niche, people EXPECT to be treated in a certain way. There are a set of “Industry Norms” for how things are sold, priced, delivered, marketed etc.

For example, in the blogging/lifestyle design niche people have come to “expect” good content, a free e-book for subscribing and little or no free advice. With this in mind, I have consciously positioned my business AGAINST this raging river of conformity.

I have purposefully created something different than what people expect.

In charity: water’s case, the used their 5^th anniversary as a way to try something new. Over the course of one week, their entire staff made 250 personal video thank your messages for donors large and small. The videos were customized for each individual donor and they were made with enthusiasm and fun. Check them out and think of ways you can break the mold as well.

Bottom Line

I know I’ve given you a ton of information in this post… but hopefully you’ve gotten at least a few key takeaways.

In all of this, there’s one thing I want you to understand.

And that’s this:

There are lots of organizations raising money to build wells. People have been doing it for years. But no one has done it better, smarter, or more creatively than charity: water. They’ve taken an unoriginal idea and built a new and REVOLUTIONARY movement around it.

Scour their site, fundraise for them, see how it’s done and then… go do it too.

The world needs us all.

So what are we waiting for?

Logan Marshall is on a mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs change the world with their message. If you’re one of them, check out the cinematic trailer to his upcoming blog.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 6 Key Lessons Charity Water Can Teach You About Building a Thriving Lifestyle Business

Vishen is the founder of Mindvalley, a world-changing firm in Kuala Lumpur, and the not-for-profit Awesomeness Fest events. I immediately found his company fascinating when I learned about it, as he’s led by a solid vision and desire to improve people’s lives. He spent a few years working in Silicon Valley, then took what he’d learned there and returned to his home country of Malaysia, where he built Mindvalley up as a model company that both improves the local economy and provides an incredible experience for their employees, who come from all over the world.

You can learn more about his mission to build the world’s greatest workplace and get enlightened ideas out to 500 million people by the year 2050.

Mindvalley serves as an amazing example for entrepreneurs around the world. You need to have, as Vishen calls it, a noble mission. What’s your big vision for the world?

So what’s really exciting is he has decided to “open source” his entire business, and even let us in on closed-door meetings that reveal Mindvalley’s financial data, metrics, insights into their copywriting, design, marketing strategies, and more. Why are they telling all? Watch here:

There is nothing for sale, you don’t even have to submit an email address for access. It’s all free, and truly open-source. You can see all the latest trainings on analytics, branding, copywriting, design, entrepreneurship, customer service, building traffic, launching products, and more here at Mindvalley Insights.

I know I’ll be checking back here and putting some of these resources to use in my business, and I just thought this was such a cool development that I wanted to share it with all of you. A few of my favorites I’ve watched and read so far:

• On building the world’s greatest workplace.
• How they made nearly $1 million on a niche blog in 18 months.
• 20 minutes on how to double your site traffic.

The Birthday Gamble

One more rotation around the sun! Yes, for those of you who noticed, March 20th, like every year, is my birthday. For anyone here in Thailand, we’ll be having a little soirée at our local pub here in Ao Nang, Krabi.

If you feel generous and want to do something for my birthday, then please consider making a small donation to In Search of Sanuk, the volunteer project run my my good friend Dwight Turner in Bangkok. You can learn more about him and his mission helping at-risk families and refugees in Bangkok here. Or you can also see the part In Search of Sanuk had in changing our friend Ryan’s life, as one shining example.

Help them hit their “Fun-Raising” goals for 2012 by making at least a one-time donation here through PayPal. I suggest you send in at least $28 (as it’s my 28th).

To sweeten the deal, if we hit $1000 in donations before midnight April 7th, then I’ll open up my Digital Nomad Academy for a few more completely full-ride scholarships again (as I did for the holidays). This time around though, it’s much simpler, if we bring in $1000 or more combined donations by midnight on the 31st, then the free spots will go first to those who make the largest donations (of $100 or more), and secondly to anyone who is also a past scholarship applicant who makes at least a $28 donation.

If you’re feeling generous like I am, then let’s share with In Search of Sanuk to help them continue the good work they’re doing to improve lives in Bangkok. And above all, have fun!

Go here to make a donation.

**UPDATE: I’m extending this opportunity for an extra week so that hopefully a few smart folks get the chance to do some good and sneak their way into DNA for significantly less than the going price of admission (minimum $750+). You have until April 7th.

Also check out Rodrigo’s review of his experience inside DNA—a past scholarship recipient—and what Tim has to say about how crazy you’d be to pass up this opportunity.

Other Bits and Bytes

I also wanted to share a few recent links and pieces of press, to say thanks.

John Bardos over at Jet Set Citizen recently compiled information from 14 digital nomads, bloggers, and online business owners to really answer the question: can you make money with a travel blog? John and his wife have just finished up a short location-independent trip to Chiang Mai, and are on their way through Australia, Japan, and back home to Canada. I hope we get the chance to finally meet in person next time! But, I think this is a great round-up that really addresses one of the biggest misconceptions many people have about how people like me and many other nomads and lifestyle designers make our money. Check it out here: How to Really Make Money from a Travel Blog – An Overview of 14 of the Biggest Names in the Industry

Florian over at 4-Hour Workweek Success Stories recently interviewed me about my “4-Hour Workweek” (more like a 4-6 hour workday really, but listen in to the interview to learn more about that!). Check it out here: The “Sexiest Lifestyle-Design Blogger” Cody McKibben Talks About His 4 Hour Workweek (and just to clarify, that is a joke from my About Page, voted by all the ladies of the world!

Also, a few friends have already spotted my cameo appearance in the latest issue of Business Punk magazine, one of the coolest web-entrepreneury mags in Germany. This month’s issue features Darth Vader on the cover, and a Q&A about me and my Digital Nomad Academy project. Big thanks to Christoph Stockburger for the article, and to founder/editor Nikolaus Roettger. And a warm welcome to any of you new readers from Germany!

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: A Noble Mission, An Open-Source Business, and a Birthday Gamble

Thanks to my friend Ryan Paugh, I was lucky to get an early seat as a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council (the Y.E.C.), an organization that has recently impressed me with its lofty goals and achievements. The organization has recently spearheaded the Youth Entrepreneurship Act with the White House, petitioning for student loan forgiveness programs for college graduates who start businesses, expanded access to micro-loans for Gen-Y founders, and increased investment in entrepreneurship education.

They’ve also started Gen Y Capital Partners—the first startup accelerator for Gen-Y, by Gen-Y, providing access to venture capital and peer-to-peer mentoring.

As its founder Scott Gerber mentioned in his latest piece for TIME:

“Our government is being strangled by partisan politics. Youth employment is at a 60-year low. Student loan debt is approaching $1 trillion (and default rates are rising quickly).

Yet young Americans are far more optimistic about our country’s future than the pundits would have you believe – and they are demonstrating that optimism through entrepreneurship. According to a 2011 survey, 23% of young people started a business as a result of being unemployed. Fifteen percent started a business in college. And let’s not forget our veterans, who are twice as likely as other Americans to own businesses.

So why are so few pundits and politicians building on that entrepreneurial energy as a solution to joblessness and economic malaise? The fact is, it’s high time we funneled our collective energy toward rebuilding an entrepreneurial America.”

It’s a great article. If you find youth entrepreneurship compelling at all, then please go read it right now, and then come right back here. Go!

Alright, you’re back. Good. So…

This morning Scott emailed me about the YEC’s latest campaign, #FixYoungAmerica. Suffice it to say that I’m thankful to be involved in the YEC and what they’re doing as they grow more and more ambitious, and I agree wholeheartedly that it’s well time to bring our education system out of the industrial age and leap forward into the information age and the coming entrepreneurship economy which is upon us.

I’ve been living in Asia for over three years, where I’ve witnessed firsthand the entrepreneurial and creative power in this part of the world. And all I will say is that if we want to remain competitive in this “flattening” world, we’ve got to play some catchup. And it’s high time that the politicians in power stop wasting our time and money on their campaigns (speaking of which, peek at this too), stop with the misdirection and distractions, and start listening to the next generation of young people who will be coming for their jobs in the coming decade.

As usual, even those who campaign on a platform of hope and change haven’t delivered on their promises. All across business, we’re seeing new players slowly shaking things up in all the old games, they’re even slowly pushing banking to change… politics is the next frontier that needs some major disruption, and I’m excited because I know when my peers start to run things our generation stands at least a fighting chance at taking the world in a new direction.

That old game will be over soon. It’s time for a new game, and it’s time for them to start listening and taking the next generation seriously. All of this is what makes me proud to have a seat at the YEC, and it’s why I continue to build and expand my Digital Nomad Academy where a few colleagues and I provide mentoring to other young aspiring entrepreneurs.

Because it’s time for change.

So, to that end, I wanted to share the email that Scott sent me this morning to help spread the word about the YEC’s new campaign:

“Today is the day that we band together as one to #FixYoungAmerica.

Millennials are turning to entrepreneurship in record numbers in a bid to hang onto the American dream, but they’re doing it without our support. Why? We at the Young Entrepreneur Council have mentored thousands of young people and worked with dozens of American organizations, and we’ve seen firsthand that there ARE solutions out there. And that’s why, along with dozens of other organizations, we’re leading a solutions-based movement to #FixYoungAmerica. But we need YOUR ideas and support to make it work.

Here’s how you can help #FixYoungAmerica RIGHT NOW:

• Pass the Baby: Your ideas to #FixYoungAmerica are just as important to this campaign as the ones in our book. Visit our website and click on the Pass the Baby button to share your own idea to reduce youth unemployment and underemployment. Then, share your idea (and our baby mascot) on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or your website to show your support.
• Contribute: Your tax-deductible contributions to #FixYoungAmerica through IndieGoGo.com will help us put a copy of our book in the hands of every politician, thought leader and decision maker in America, and will fuel our efforts to transform innovative ideas into actionable solutions. YEC and #FixYoungAmerica is a 100% nonprofit effort, and part of your contribution will be donated to programs for young entrepreneurs. If you share our passion for rebuilding America through entrepreneurship, contribute to this campaign today.
• Visit our website for even more ways to help.

From the Arab Spring to the Tea Party, from Occupy Wall Street to the SOPA and PIPA protests, we’ve seen the power of what like-minded individuals can achieve.  #FixYoungAmerica is about starting a much-needed conversation in America and implementing a REAL plan of action. I’m honored to be able to launch this campaign with so many great friends at my side.

Thank you so much for your help and support!

Scott”

If you’re a Gen-Y business owner or you support youth entrepreneurship, please take a few minutes to look at the Fix Young America campaign fundraiser, and leave your thoughts in the comments below. What do you think should be done to improve education, improve our standing in the political realm, and help put the economy back on the right track?

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How Safe Is Your Career from Today’s Economy? It’s Time to Fix Young America

I had wanted to share this cool inspiration with you a bit earlier in the New Year obviously, but Business MBA decided to compile the top ten into a very interesting infographic to find out how ten of these young adults are making huge impressions on business and on the world.

(click for a larger version)

Matt Mickiewicz, 99designs Co-Founder—27 Years Old

• 27 employees, with plans to double that number over the next year
• No official revenue released—“eight figures”
• Recent acquisition of Series A funding from venture capitalists Accel Partners—$35 million
• 80% of the company’s business comes from word-of-mouth
• 77,000+ projects completed so far

Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowski, Dropbox Founders, 28 and 25 Years Old

• 50 employees
• 3 months in, landed $7.2 million in funding from venture capitalists and individual investors
• 25 million users

Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram Founders—25 and 27 Years Old

• 4 employees (yes, 4)
• After it launched in the App Store at midnight on October 6, 2010, Instagram had 10,000 users in just a few hours
• Now 7+ million users
• $7 million funding from Benchmark Capital

Hussein Fazal and Kristaps Ronka, AdParlor Founders—29 and 24 Years Old

• 15 employees
• No official revenue released—“tens of millions”
• One of fewer than 100 companies with access to Facebook’s ad API
• Over 100,000 ads daily on Facebook

Alexa Andrzejewski, Soraya Darabi, and Ted Grubb, Foodspotting Founders—27, 27, and 29 Years Old

• 10 employees
• $3 million in angel funding after highly successful run at Startup Weekend in SF

Jason Baptiste and Andres Barreto, Onswipe Founders, 25 and 24 Years Old

• 12 employees
• Received over $6 million in funding from companies like Spark Capital and Lightbank before platform launched
• Now, a deal with WP has Onswipe running 18.6 million blogs for iPad

Siamak Taghaddos and David Hauser, Grasshopper Founders—Both 29 Years Old

• 50 employees
• Growth of 1,983% in 2007
• Due to grow 20% on top of 2010’s revenue, with more than $15 million

Matthew Corrin, Freshii Founder—29 Years Old

• 50+ locations in 4 countries—United States, Canada, Austria, and UAE
• 500+ employees
• No official revenue released—est. $50 million

Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp, Birchbox Founders—27 and 28 Years Old

• 25 employees
• Projected revenue for 2011: $7 million
• Currently about 45,000 members
• Just 1 month after launch, $1.4 million seed

Daniel Gomez Iniguez, Solben Co-Founder—20 Years Old

• 15 employees
• Revenue for 2010: $1 million
• Projected Revenue for 2011: $3 million

So what are you working on? How are you going to leave your mark on the world?

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The Top 10 Young Heavyweight Entrepreneurs of 2011

• When we were organizing events together in Bangkok, he proved it was possible to do good and have a blast at the same time.
• He showed me the secret recipe for absolute guaranteed happiness as we volunteered with children throughout Thailand.
• He has written here to show us how to be an unconventional giver, and he leads by example.

My best friend up in Bangkok, and fellow DNA student—Dwight Turner—is the crazy changemaker behind the grassroots volunteer organization In Search of Sanuk. He is an inspirational and unique character in the strange chaotic melting pot that is Southeast Asia. His love for others, and his dedication to helping children and families in need shines brilliantly in the darkness. If you’ve been following me here at Thrilling Heroics for long, you will have seen his name before, but somebody with some skill finally picked up a video camera and followed him around Bangkok to get a real tactile feel for what he’s doing to make this little corner of the world a better place, working hard to help urban refugees in Thailand:

I’ll let this quick 4-minute documentary speak for itself, so watch it. If the video doesn’t appear for you, click here to watch it. It’s only a few moments of your time, and I promise it will be well spent.

To me, Dwight is a shining example of the entrepreneurs—or social inventors—who are creating new realities that will shape the next century. He’s a selfless, hard-working, global citizen who genuinely cares about making the world a better place, and people like him are doing it, a little bit at a time.

If this short documentary has you inspired, then find out more about Dwight’s project and begin your unconventional giving by donating today. Give just a few dollars, a small sum that could very well have a major impact on the lives of an underprivileged family living in poverty.

Dwight is just the first of many incredible social inventors and changemakers who I hope to highlight here in 2012… But  Bangkok certainly wouldn’t be the same without him.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The Young Social Entrepreneur Shaping the Future Helping At Risk Families in Bangkok

All of the last week, my grandfather had been fighting his last losing battle for his life in a hospital on the other side of the world. He had been suffering of Alzheimer’s the last few years, and finally decided it was time to go Saturday morning, thankfully in a peaceful sleep and surrounded by family.

He was the kindest, most happy, content man I knew, with a very gracious heart, always patient and positive, and exceptionally slow to anger. I can only wish I was as good and strong a man as he was. He is my dad’s hero—rightfully so (although you fill the shoes pretty well pop)—and he will forever serve as an amazing role model who I hope to live up to and make proud.

I was particularly close with him as he played a large part in raising me, and I actually never once in my life remember seeing him angry, aggressive, or even hardly upset. I remember how he used to make my sister and I pancakes, waffles, and oatmeal nearly every morning as kids. And how he genuinely seemed to be able to fix or build just about anything…

He built us a sandbox, a playhouse (2 full stories!), a tree house, a go cart, a telegraph machine, pianimals (like, animals made out of piano keys), and probably loads of other things. I remember staying the night at our grandparents’ house every once in a while, and he and I used to stay up late watching episodes of NOVA on public television, learning about the universe or ancient Egypt…

He lived a long, healthy, extremely happy life.

Grandpa fought for five days, and only left on his own terms… It was time to go.

I’m only sad I couldn’t be there at the end to touch him reassuringly on the hand and say goodbye (it’s strange, it gives you very mixed feelings, torn, maybe it’s almost selfish in the end, really), but I had a lot of good time with him my last two visits home, and years of fond memories.

In loving memory of the great Robert L. McKibben, 1929–2012, a truly virtuous man who will be sorely missed by the big happy family he raised.

grandpa used to play this beautiful song

If there is one thing I hope my grandfather could be remembered by it is his joy and his unconditional love. Many of you have already sent your thoughtful and heartfelt condolences, so don’t feel the need to do that, but simply make the most of your time here and enjoy the little things in life. Don’t waste what you’ve been given.

I love you Grandpa.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: In Remembrance of a Truly Virtuous Man, Robert L. McKibben, 1929–2012

A few weeks ago, my old blogging buddy Ron Davison sent me a copy of his new book The Fourth Economy: Inventing Western Civilization, which examines the pattern of progress from an agricultural economy to an industrial one, then from industrial to an information economy, and predicts what the next generation will see with the rise of an entrepreneurship economy. If you feel the same entrepreneurial rumble around you right now as I do, we’re only just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Already in the first few pages it had me absolutely spellbound, so I wanted to share. Ron’s thesis revolves around how the evolution of society has always depended upon invention… but he points out how we tend to think of invention solely as a technological act… when in fact there is another, equally important form of invention that almost invisibly shapes society: social invention.

I’ll quote extensively from Ron’s first few chapters, as he’s much more eloquent and academic about this important claim than I could ever be (emphases are mine):

“Money is only money because we agree it is money. As soon as we all agree that Confederate currency no longer has any value, it no longer has any value. When we agree that information on magnetic strips affixed to plastic has value, it has value. Whether someone is a slave, employee or part-owner of an enterprise is not inherent in any physical reality or dependent on any brute facts, but is—instead—true only as an institutional fact [i.e., a social invention –Cody].

[…] “A technological invention results in a product that can be seen independent of any agreement about it. While its use might require some instruction, instruction that might be something akin to declaration or agreement, its existence does not. A steam engine translates heat into motion and even if it requires an operator to do this, its existence falls more into the category of brute fact than institutional fact. By contrast, a home loan is a [social invention]. Without a contract specifying terms and even who owes what to whom, the loan makes no sense. Further, the loan assumes a whole other set of [social inventions], from money to banks to a real estate market to determine the value of the home for which the loan exists.”

…Ron goes on to explain the immense importance of social invention, including all the institutions that you’ve become accustomed to in your lifetime, in shaping society—nation-states, churches, banks, corporations, money, democracy. At some point in history, each of these things was invented, agreed upon, and eventually accepted as the status quo. But these things haven’t always existed, they haven’t always been the norm, as we tend to forget.

“A set of inventions defines a culture or civilization.

“We recreate civilization in each child. We call it education. Look at the huge amount of time and attention we devote to ‘civilizing’ a baby to become a member of society. The gross effort it takes to recreate society in each child should be testament to the fact that a culture is not a ‘natural’ or spontaneous state; it is, instead a social invention that takes great effort—every time. Language and manners, what we question and what we accept, social roles—all of these end products represent the teaching of parents, teachers, and even the media and are essentially conventions that work to construct meaning, to create the modern life. Rather than see them as inventions, we often see social inventions as simply ‘the way things are.’ Should you want a reminder that social inventions are just made up, however, raise a child. Mothers know that the curious, rebellious, stubborn, and lazy child will challenge social inventions. My family lives close to the Mexican border and when my daughter was protesting her car seat, she would say, ‘Mexican kids don’t wear seat belts.’ She, like every child, knew that things could be different and questioned why they were not. And of course, travel, news reports, novels, and history all remind us that our social inventions are not universal or even stable. What makes you successfully fit into your neighborhood in Manhattan would make you stand out in Afghanistan. Or even Montana. What made you fashionable in 1972 makes you look silly in 2012.”

He implores the need for social progress, for us to become more conscious about social invention. And I love how he describes our opportunity to create a new social reality:

“Perhaps teachers and parents should add this to their list of admonitions and lessons: ‘Warning: contents of this society have been known to create feelings of anomie and alienation; provoke wars, homicides, and suicides; and pollute the habitat you need for survival. Most of what we tell you should be questioned and could be improved upon. This is, really, just the best we’ve been able to do up until now and it could be that improvement will actually overturn much of what we now accept and advocate. Learn about your culture and your place in it, but don’t cling too tightly to it. What we’re teaching you probably needs to change, and soon.’”

[…] “a hypnotist, in a matter of minutes, can program you to do things you don’t normally do and to believe what is not so. […] how much more powerfully can society program you during the course of your life, given that it has so much more time and so many more persuasive tools at its disposal than does a hypnotist?”

[…] “If social invention is to become more widespread [ie: and we are to harness our inherent abilities to pave our own destinies and craft our own world –Cody], the individual will have to become more aware of how his or her life is also an invention. Up until now, it is the few who have defined society and the many that have been defined by it. A few receive the divine revelation and many receive Mass. Think about a world in which the direction is increasingly reversed, a society in which the individual is less social invention than social inventor. Or, rather, imagine a world in which more people engage in acts of social invention. If social invention becomes to this century what technological invention was to the last, we’ll witness such a change. Or, rather, we’ll create such a change.

“If daily life is an invention, the question is, whose invention is it? It is hard to underestimate the importance of inertia in defining society. Yet entrepreneurs challenge this inertia and invent something new.”

[…] “an entrepreneur is a social inventor. Their work is to create a new social invention, an organization, an institution, a new market, or a new business. Social entrepreneurs might start a new non-governmental organization (NGO) or nonprofit or charter school. I’m going to include under my broad umbrella of entrepreneurs not just business entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Henry Ford but political and religious entrepreneurs like Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther.

“The next economy will popularize entrepreneurship in the same way that the Information Age popularized higher education and knowledge throughout the twentieth century. As entrepreneurship becomes more popular and diverse in its expression and application, social invention will become as normal as technological invention.”

My wish for 2012 is to see more interesting people building interesting things—projects, businesses, organizations, art, nonprofits, social inventions…

I am excited to see this become the new norm—to see many more people wake up to the realization that they don’t have to be a slave or an employee, but can instead choose to be creators, artists, shapers of the world around them, entrepreneurs. If you find these ideas and trends as fascinating as I do, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Ron’s book The Fourth Economy for a much more in-depth look at the entrepreneurial revolution he predicts will sweep across the world.

I only hope we can play a small role in this huge societal shift with what we’re doing here and at Digital Nomad Academy, by enabling many more ambitious trailblazers to use their inherent abilities to create and shape things around them to help move the world forward.

On that note, I’m very excited to announce the recipients of our 2011 DNA scholarship and have a couple very special people join us inside soon.

The decisions were extremely difficult between 24 incredible video submissions. You guys attracted over 2,100 views on YouTube, 403 comments, 122 Likes, 44 tweets, 4 Google +1′s (where are you guys on +1??), 251 Shares and a bunch of Stumbles… I don’t think I’ve ever had a blog post as popular as the last post.

THE FINAL DNA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS:

So after lots of consideration and tallying all the qualifying votes, here’s a big congratulations to the winners of the $1,500 spots to join us inside the Digital Nomad Academy! The DNA students and Thrilling Heroics community overwhelmingly voted you as the most energetic, ambitious candidates to join us:

• Eileen Campos
• Rodrigo Flamenco

And, because there was such a flood of outstanding videos, Ms. Claus and I decided to offer another “wild card” scholarship to a third excellent applicant whose story really resonated with us. That spot goes to:

• Tim Juliussen

Please keep an eye on your inbox over the next 24-48 hours for follow-up details.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!!

HUGE thanks to my friend and fellow nomad Maneesh Sethi, who has been good enough to offer up something special for the three runners-up here as well (you each deserve major thanks)! For showing up and making such an effort, you’ll receive a free copy of his Online Marketing Master Class (a $367 value). That means you: Janet, Peter, and Jeff, please email me at cody at thrillingheroics dot com and we’ll get you set up.

Sincere thanks to all who submitted video applications—Jamie, Chad, Michael, Iván, Alex, Sondra, Rick, Naomi, Berrak, Sidney, Marty, Michael, Daniel, Isabelle, Sergio, Tim, and Libor. You’ve all inspired us with your videos, you’ve stepped out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there, and you’ve been amazing sports. You rock!

For everybody: Maneesh is also giving away a sweet mini ebook exclusively for Thrilling Heroics readers called Taking Advantage Of The System, where you’ll learn a ton of awesome stuff, including specific steps to get a free round-trip international plane ticket, and free office space in almost every country of the world. Grab it here.

If you’re not one of our scholarship recipients, please stay tuned as we will have many more opportunities like this in the future, and I’ll work to ensure we make Digital Nomad Academy affordable for the people who need it most and get the right people inside. I hope to have many more of you join us inside in the months ahead.

You are the pioneers of the Fourth Economy. Here’s to creating an improved, more connected, whole, healed, better society through entrepreneurship in 2012 and beyond! 

Photo credit: Abode of Chaos

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How You and I Are Going to Shape the Next Century Together (PLUS Scholarship Winners!)

NOTE: VOTING HAS ENDED – THANKS!

It’s been one hell of a hectic Christmas week as the video applications I asked you for have come rolling in. I’ve been honestly overwhelmed, impressed, and moved by your submissions and reactions to the Digital Nomad Academy scholarship opportunity! I really didn’t expect such a resounding response.

It was clear to me that there were people who wanted to be a part of this, who could benefit from being part of the ambitious community we’re building, but who aren’t necessarily in the same socio-economic situation as others or who have hit tough financial times in this economy, that might not otherwise have a chance to be involved.

But WOW you guys have truly blown me away and proven to me how many incredible, ambitious individuals there are out there with lofty goals, big dreams, and visions for building an improved, more connected, whole, healed, better society through entrepreneurship.

To those of you who applied, thank you all SO much for your creative and heartfelt videos and presentations.

In the end, we received 24 amazing videos, pouring in from Germany, Canada, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Argentina, Japan, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, and many more… Narrowing the selections down to even ten or five of our favorites was exceptionally difficult, and picking just two winners is near impossible (this made me want to hand out like 15 scholarships!), so I wanted to include you—existing DNA students, faculty, and dedicated readers here at Thrilling Heroics—to help me make the final decision about which two should be awarded the full-ride scholarship.

We tried our hardest to select the finalists based on a balance of who had the most compelling story or vision, who seemed to bring the most specific value to the table for the other students and the Academy, and who seemed to have the most genuine need for this. Again, it was incredibly hard to choose, and I can’t say with certainty that we were absolutely right (which is why I need your help), but please find below our six favorite applicants for the 2 scholarship spots at Digital Nomad Academy.
So here’s what help I need from you and a few important notes on how this will work:

1) There are six contenders, listed in no particular order. Please watch the videos and vote on your single favorite at the bottom of this post. Please use your real name & email in the form sections of the comment box. If you want to write a very short explanation for why you think they deserve to win, great, but not necessary. I do especially want to hear from you students already inside DNA though as to you think would add the most to the group.

2) If you are in the running below, feel free to ask your friends and family to come watch your video and add a comment to vote for you.

3) But so that nobody games the system, you may only vote once, and only for one person. DNA students may vote for their top 2 (but believe me guys, I know who my students are so anybody else who writes down 2 names, only the first will count). If you appear below then please DO leave me a comment and be sure to use a valid email address (it won’t appear publicly) so I can contact you at in case you are chosen as a scholarship recipient, and please consider voting for one of the other good folks in the running.

4) Voting ends Monday, January 2, at 11pm EST.

5) Once tallied, your votes will decide the 2 final scholarship winners.

Because there were so many outstanding videos, I’m working to see if I can put something special together for runners-up as well (you each deserve major thanks). No promises yet, but I may pick a “wild card” third scholarship at the very least. That’s right—another $1,500 spot in the program.

I will be in touch with all the winning applicants to discuss the specifics of how you can measurably give something of value back to our existing students and our community…

To those of you who applied, thank you all SO much for your creative and heartfelt videos and presentations. Many more are worth watching and can be found here. I watched them all, there are some amazing people with some amazing projects and passions in there and I can only hope you will get a little extra visibility by stepping out of your comfort zone and putting yourself out there.

I hope you love watching these as much as I did… They make me so thankful that you come here, read what I have to say, and participate in the communities we’re creating. You’ve made my 2011.

I am truly excited to have some of you join us very soon, so best of luck to all, and stay tuned as we announce the scholarship winners.

Happy New Year everyone. Here’s to creating a new reality for 2012 and beyond!

NOTE: VOTING HAS ENDED – THANKS!

Big thanks to ALL of you who applied and to everyone who helped contribute to our decision for the final scholarship recipients. We’ll announce the winners soon.

Jeff Kimes – Germany

Tim Juliussen – California

Eileen Campos – Philippines

Peter Griffin – Oregon

Janet Brent – Philippines

Rodrigo Flamenco – El Salvador

Photo credit: JD Hancock

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: Help Me Spread the Holiday Cheer: I Need Your Help to Decide the 2 Most Deserving Scholarship Recipients!

After we left our friends in Seminyak after a couple days, Emily and I took off on our own for a genuine escape—a proper holiday away from the traffic, the crowds, away from the laptop and the wifi connections (for the most part)…

If you go to Bali, then the small village of Ubud is the place to be if you want to find amazing landscapes, quiet oases, fascinating arts and crafts (like the impressive batik wax-dyed fabrics we watched in the making, shown below), raw and vegetarian food, spas, and yoga retreats. They say Ubud is sort of the spiritual center of the Island of the Gods.

The last time I was in Ubud about two years ago, I enjoyed the attractive Teba House homestay, especially at the height of the Hindu Kuningan Day festival when the streets are just paved with special decorations, everyone gathers in the streets in traditional clothing, children are in the streets parading, playing music…

But this time we wanted something a bit more remote, quiet, and luxurious. I happened across a new boutique retreat through my friend Amber, the Soulshine Bali villas and retreat, which is nestled between the breathtaking rice field terraces on the outskirts of Ubud and the Agung river.

Surprisingly enough, I learned this amazing getaway was Spearhead frontman Michael Franti‘s place, founded and designed absolutely beautifully along with Carla Swanson. Soulshine is designed mainly for week-long yoga retreats, but we managed to squeeze in a regular booking between retreats (and actually had the place to ourselves), and it served as the perfect escape for a romantic, rejuvenating little holiday.

The Sound of Sunshine room where Michael wrote the song.

Emily made the most of the large rooftop sala, putting it to good use for some yoga practice, with an amazing view of the rice fields as her backdrop.

Carla put us up in their finest room—the Sunset Room—just like it says, with a sunset-view terrace, a gorgeous bedroom, and spacious, modern bathroom. The amazing thing about Bali is the incredible attention to detail, and it showed here.

We enjoyed the emerald infinity pool every single day. (Funny enough, although I live 10 minutes from the beach, I rarely go see it, so I desperately needed the tan!)

In the cafe, the friendly staff cooked us up all kinds of tasty morsels—a traditional Balinese feast, as well as all kinds of raw vegetarian delights and fresh juice smoothies. The raw cacao and coffee creations in Ubud are impressive (I’ll write more about that next week)—at Soulshine I recommend the tasty orange infused truffles, and prana energy balls, with dark raw chocolate, coconut, spirulina, and mint.

What I loved perhaps most about Carla, and their beautiful resort, was that, unlike many other spas and yoga retreats, there was no pretension, no funny attitude about purity, and we could still get our hands on beer and wine!!

We did go out on the town though for even more food marathon! While I definitely enjoy my share of veggie and raw food recipes, I’m certainly no vegetarian, and thankfully, in the heart of Ubud, one can get their fill of greasy, tasty meat as well!

We met my friend Stuart from TravelFish for some incredible BBQ spare ribs at the famous Naughty Nuri’s. Anthony Bourdain also says they have the best dirty martinis outside of Manhattan, so of course we had to test that hypothesis…

Then of course we had to pay our respects to the local hotspot Ibu Oka Warung, where every morning they roast a pig on a spit (sometimes two or three) and divvy out the delicious results. While seeing your food isn’t for everybody, you can’t miss the babi guling, or suckling pig, if you come to Bali! Again, Tony Bourdain agrees. (You must watch No Reservations!)

We also ate at the famed Bebik Bengil (the “Dirty Duck”), a beautiful restaurant that’s grounds are covered in ornate garden walkways and water features… we got our own dais(!), and feasted upon delicious Balinese crispy duck. They say the restaurant got its name when they were completing construction (back in the days before there was much development and they were still entirely surrounded by rice paddies), and one day a monsoon came, and a flock of ducks all came running into the restaurant, jumping on tables and tracking muddy footprints all over the floor. Apparently things worked out bad for the ducks… but tasty for the rest of us!

Although it certainly felt far away from the bustle of Seminyak and from the “real world”—wherever that is, back here in Thailand, on the interwebs, wherever—Ubud was actually a great spot to chill out with the laptop, enjoy the surroundings, the sunsets, and get a lot of solid writing done.

Ubud served as a perfect digital nomad oasis, as well as a romantic getaway, and a real culinary adventure (even well before the holidays, as you can see I was already gorging myself on all kinds of incredible Balinese and international food!) If you’re looking for your escape while you’re in Bali, I can’t recommend a few peaceful days in the mountains of Ubud enough.

If you want to see all my Ubud photos, go here. If you’re interested in yoga at Soulshine, check out their website for the retreat schedule, or I recommend you look into my friend Amber’s upcoming Raw Yoga Jedi retreat there in March.

If you’d like to take some time out and relax by the pool, but you’re not sure how you’ll break free from the office this year, then make damn sure you get your ass over to Digital Nomad Academy and apply for our official scholarship program. Do it now! What do you have to lose? I’m giving away two absolutely free seats in this $1,500 mentorship program. Applications are due no later than this Thursday, December 29, at 12 noon EST.

I’ll be back with more from our time in Bali soon… Stay tuned if you want to watch me drink cat shit coffee.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The Perfect Place in Ubud, Bali to Make Your Escape, Chill Out, and Write Your Masterpiece!

I’ll be back early next week with much more about our time in Bali, but I just wanted to thank everyone who comes to Thrilling Heroics for making 2011 a wonderful year, wish you Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and express my sincerest hopes for a very happy New Year. 2012 is going to rock!

Every week I get a load of great emails in my inbox from readers. A while back, I received this comment from Sam (edited for length):

Man you really inspire me. I read your website at least 3-5 times a week. Since I graduated from high school I’ve always said I wanted to travel the world. Unfortunate obstacles have led me to say ‘#@%& I want to do this’. I want to live my life on my on own terms. I’m saving money now to get started. I want to thank you, keep doing what you’re doing man.

You probably have no idea how frequently you guys make my day, with subject lines like “Wow! This site is incredible!” … “ridiculously inspired.” …and “Thank you for doing what you do.” Your gratitude, appreciation, and feedback are what makes this all worthwhile. I am incredibly excited and humbled any time somebody says that this site or my writing have helped to inspire in any small way.

I receive lots and lots and lots of great questions, and I try to respond to as many as I can. Lots of people who want me to get on Skype and help them with their business ideas. Even people who want me to do some nebulous consulting work with their companies (from small projects to one very large foundation even).

But there just aren’t enough hours in the day! There are simply too many insanely interesting people out there who want to live life on their own terms, or build some cool, useful resource or project and share it with the world. That’s why I started Digital Nomad Academy at the beginning of 2011, as a comprehensive learning center for aspiring online entrepreneurs, where I can focus my time and energy and multiply the benefits many times over to teach, encourage, connect, and support many students all at once. And it certainly has become the focus of my time this year, along with many other incredible collaborators who have generously shared their time as faculty instructors and guest speakers.

I wish I could help every single person who comes to me with questions one-on-one, but I’ve consciously decided to invest my limited time into building something scalable, sustainable, and that will help many hundreds or thousands of students over the next several years (hopefully many more years).

But my faculty and I can only teach you so much. We can give you the business “recipes” if you will, share the techniques and tools that work for us, and connect you to a larger network of like-minded, ambitious people, including successful experts who’ve done it already. But actually building a business that will help provide you with the lifestyle you desire still requires an immense amount of time, effort, and investment that only you can do.

If you’re one of those people who’s been dreaming of starting your own business, quitting your stupid job, and creating a lifestyle you’d really enjoy (hint: ideally, the business part needs to come first), or traveling around the world, but you keep putting it off because of the latest TPS reports that have landed on your desk, this week’s important final exam, or you’ve spent the last 4 months planning the family Christmas celebration, or whatever else keeps you busy… let’s make 2012 the year everything changes.

I’ve put almost all of my energies into DNA this year, to the detriment of most of my other projects. We’ve brought together an incredible community of teachers and of exceptionally bright, motivated students. Many of them have already quit their jobs, started up their own small businesses, started freelancing, gone on short mini-retirements to Europe, moved to the peaceful countryside here in Asia, or set out on epic trans-continental road trips down through Central and South America!

Digital Nomad Academy will continue to provide a stellar learning environment for a long time to come, and as we bring in more and more students, it creates increased opportunity to meet each other, partner with each other, trade services with each other, and together we all improve and build our businesses up. The admission fee is a significant investment, but I believe we will continue to over-deliver by far, and the lifetime value to everyone involved will be priceless.

But I know this is not within everybody’s reach. I’ve heard your requests, and I’ve thought a lot about a financial aid program for the Digital Nomad Academy.

For the holidays I was feeling especially generous and I wanted to do something to give back, after all of you involved here and at DNA have made my year such a fantastic one. I want to help provide a chance for you to join me, my entrepreneurial colleagues, and our amazing students in building a community like none which has ever been seen before.

So, I will be sponsoring two full-ride scholarships, all-expenses paid, to our mentorship and training program at Digital Nomad Academy, so you can come learn directly from me and my all-star cast of faculty and guest experts, and collaborate with our incredible cohort of ambitious students.

What a great way to ring in the new year, right!?

→ Full details and applications for the 2011 Digital Nomad Academy Scholarship Program ←

That’s a $1,500 annual value for two very lucky people. This is a huge opportunity for you, but also for me, and for all of us. 2012 will be a year of explosive growth and improvement inside DNA.

If you want a shot at one of these two seats, absolutely free, all it takes is to get off the sidelines and show us what you’re willing to bring to the table for our student community. Go here to apply.

I hope to get your application, and hope to see you on the inside at Digital Nomad Academy in the New Year.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas. And a happy New Year. Let me know where you’re spending your holidays in the comments below. I’ll be spending mine here on the beach…

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: The $3,000 Holiday Giveaway: Get a Full-Ride Scholarship to Digital Nomad Academy

1,076,955 rupiahs – and that’s just what I spent on 9 drinks one afternoon at the pool!

About one week ago, my girlfriend Emily and I returned from a relaxing 2-week break on the stunningly beautiful island of Bali.

Being back on the ground in Indonesia reminded me how much I really love traveling to places like Bali, Cambodia, and Laos, with very high exchange rates to the US Dollar. Who doesn’t love to look at the ATM screen and see balances in the several millions?

According to today’s exchange rates, if you trade in 1 US Dollar you’ll get 4,005 Cambodian riel. That means that if you have $250 in the bank, you’re a millionaire in Cambodia.

In Laos, your dollar is worth 8,030 kip, so for every $125 you’ve got a million in local currency.

It’s 9,174 to the dollar if you’re buying Indonesian rupiahs, so it only takes $109 to be a Balinese millionaire.

And amazingly, in Vietnam you’ll get 20,833 dong to the dollar, so if you’ve got $48 pocket change, you’re a millionaire.

Of course economics, exchange rates, and cost-of-living are things that are constantly in flux, changing all the time, but for now Asia is where it’s at. The biggest corporations all flock here to keep their expenses down, and smart individuals are doing the same. There’s nothing immoral about going where the deck is stacked in your favor, seeking work and a thriving lifestyle where you have the best chances. So why shouldn’t you?

I’m not a millionaire in the typical sense of the word—in US Dollars. But in Thailand, I’d say I’ve lived like a king for the past few years, at a fraction of the cost I’d need to lead a similar lifestyle in San Francisco, New York, London, or anywhere in the West.

So many people I talk to think that a permanent travel lifestyle would cost a tremendous amount of money and that it’s out of reach for them—but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Learn how Steve Kamb got his round-the-world tickets traveling 35,000 miles, visiting four continents, nine countries and 15 cities for just $418. Or read how Nora Dunn, one of our faculty members at Digital Nomad Academy, has been traveling full-time around the world for less than $14,000 annually for several years.

Money and toys and possessions are all fun and good, but I think in the West we have developed a serious societal disease—in the middle class at least, a majority of people mistakenly accept the fallacy that those things are an end rather than a means to an end.

What you do while you’re on this earth, how much enjoyment you get out of it, who you are, and the impact you make (on the world, on the people around you…whatever scale you want to operate on) matter far, far more than the things you own, and the material shit you collect.

“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.”

–Tyler Durden, Fight Club

They have you chasing all the wrong things, wasting your time working a job so you can pay for shit you don’t need, while they call all the shots.

We’re still a small minority, but I see more and more people “waking up” and realizing there is another way to live. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned living abroad is that you don’t have to play by anybody else’s rules, and you don’t have to do things the same way everybody else around you does them.

I boarded a plane in San Francisco on November 25, 2008, with a one-way ticket to Bangkok and a crazy idea to come out to Asia to bootstrap my web development business while I enjoyed a much lower cost-of-living than back home in California. I’ve now lived in several different locations around Thailand and traveled to at least seven other nearby countries here in the region on a regular basis for over three years. Actually, I’ve been living abroad and traveling for exactly 1,121 days now!

I’ve learned a tremendous amount in those 3+ years. A lot about myself, a lot about business, about the world, about other societies and cultures, I’ve met hundreds (if not thousands) of interesting people along the way…

The biggest benefit I’ve had on my side throughout all this time “offshore” has been my ability to leverage geo-abritrage in my business—working remotely with clients overseas (in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Singapore, South America, and more) where I can bring in strong currencies, while I spend in Asian currencies where my money goes much further, and I get to take advantage of a much lower cost of living in Southeast Asia.

My advice to anybody who wants to live the high life for less is you must come to Asia.

Tim Ferris said in The 4-Hour Workweek, it’s not that we really want to be millionaires, it’s that we want to have experiences we think only millions can buy.

While we were in Bali, we split an amazing 2-bedroom villa with private pool and gardens with our friends Chris and Hannah, definitely a four-star, truly luxurious experience that far surpassed most accommodations I’ve ever stayed in, for only about $150 a night.

Emily and I had a spacious, serene villa and retreat oasis all to ourselves for a few days—an interior designer’s dream, every detail crafted with care, a true sanctuary hidden away from the noisy chaos of real life around us, where we enjoyed the quiet, stunning views of wildlife, rice paddies and forests up in the mountains of Ubud.

We had a brilliant two-story family villa in Seminyak for a week with the parents, spent the afternoons catching up with friends, soaking up the sun in private pools…

We enjoyed cocktails, beers, and sangria at the swim-up pool bar at the Potato Head Beach Club, voted as one of Bali’s top restaurants and bars, and the kind of ultra-posh hotspot that would easily cost several hundreds of dollars (or possibly into the thousands) if you wanted to be a baller in Miami, Los Angeles, or even Ibiza.

We lazed on comfy bean-bag chairs of Bali’s beautiful beaches, taking in breathtaking sunsets that lit up the twilight sky with brilliant reds, yellows, and golds.

Definitely a million-dollar sunset.

I see more and more guys (and gals, and couples) selling all their possessions and choosing to travel and move abroad to experience a different kind of life. More people are “waking up” to the realization that it’s not about how much crap you accumulate or what your net worth is on paper, but life is more about how much varied experience you accumulate, how much fun you have along the way, and how happy you are.

Check out how my buddy Mark and his friends went island hopping in Palawan on their own boat with crew, eating a delicious crab feast on their own private beach, and how he felt like a millionaire, all for just 35 bucks (flight included)!

Dan Andrews, another collaborator of mine at DNA, has built an incredibly successful business here in Asia—he has a huge 4-bedroom house in the heart of Bali’s happening Seminyak area, with their own pool, and maids and gardeners, all for only about $1500 per month, where he brings interns out to live and work with him on the Tropical MBA (which I just think is the coolest fucking thing BTW), living a fantastic lifestyle, hustling and building a great business like nobody else I know, all while they have a great time too!

Back home here in Krabi, Thailand, my girlfriend and I have an immense, modern 3-story, 3-bedroom townhouse on the quiet outskirts of town that overlooks breathtaking limestone mountains and lush green jungles for just $575 per month. And that’s splurging for us, in a big way, so that I have a spacious office where I can be productive and so we can easily host a big happy family during the holidays.

I’d say that the value you get for your money is incredible here in Asia. If I’d been living back home for the last three years, I probably would be going out on the weekends with friends, but living on ramen noodles and sharing a small apartment with roommates to get by.

Instead, we get to have a wonderful, fulfilling lifestyle, live in abundance, travel frequently, spend a tremendous amount of time with friends and family, all while we keep our costs down substantially. That means we get to do a lot more of what we love here than we might somewhere else.

Making a move somewhere like Asia or South America might be a way you can also spend more of your very limited, precious time making memories you’ll cherish, having new experiences, and building something (preferably something of your own—a business, a charity cause, a legacy, what-have-you). You only live once, so don’t waste it.

Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: How to (Literally) Be a Millionaire and Live the High Life on the Cheap