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One of the things I have yet to come to terms with is: what are the consequences of losing my brother? That is, what will be different now that he's gone?
Obviously I am still grieving, and even still largely in shock. I wake up every day remembering him, disbelieving for a moment that he could possibly be gone. But these are short-term circumstances, not long-term consequences. The bottom line is that I don’t fully know what the loss entails for me and for everyone else who was close to him. In my case, I just have no doubt that my life will be different, not only now but always.
Today is Ken's birthday. He would have been 32 years old. I probably would have texted him to say “Happy birthday, bro!”
And to be honest, that’s probably all I would have done. I might have sent a bottle of whiskey or a copy of a new book I liked, but in most years I usually just called or wrote. He was always better at birthdays and other holidays than me or anyone else in the family.
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Toward the end of Up in the Air, the character played by George Clooney calls up American Airlines and asks to transfer some of his Frequent Flyer miles to his sister.
"How many miles?" the agent asks.
“Enough to go completely around the world."
I saw that movie with my parents several years ago, and when we left the theatre, my mom asked, “How many miles does it take to go around the world?”
She thought I’d know the answer, and of course I did.
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One day, Kristin looked around at the life she thought she wanted—the job, the relationship, the stuff—and realized her heart yearned for something else. So she decided to do something big: travel the country in an effort to go to every vegan restaurant.
My name is Kristin Lajeunesse. I'm a 32-year-old, self-employed business clarity coach and creative marketing strategist for small business owners and entrepreneurs. I work from home (or rather, my computer), and enjoy picking up and moving every few months or so to explore new locales.
My quest was to promote and share vegan restaurants and eateries from around the world. Between October 2011 to August 2013, I lived in a van and entirely off of donations in an effort to eat at and write about every vegan restaurant in the United States. I called my quest Will Travel for Vegan Food.
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A reader sent me this fun video from a long-ago sketch on Sesame Street.
I love the turning point right at the halfway mark: Dan would do everything that Stan did, until one day he decides to make a change.
“Hi, I’m Dan. I decided I’m not going to do everything that Stan does anymore."
Isn’t this exactly how it works in life? You go along with the crowd, playing follow the leader and keeping your head down. The status quo is maintained—until it isn't.
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Deciding how you value your time can help you make decisions. But how do you really know what your time is worth?
It’s partly a hypothetical question, because you don’t always get to choose how much money you'll make or how much free time you'll have.
And it’s partly a practical question, because sometimes you do get to choose. Life is all about making choices, some of which are exclusive and limit us from other opportunities.
A free tool guides you to your own answer of "How much is your time worth" in both hypothetical and practical scenarios.
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For almost two decades, Bruno Caumette has made his home in a Toyota Land Cruiser. He's been around the world once and is currently working on his second voyage. His stories are touching—and his photos are incredible.
I was born in France, but by now I’ve spent as much time outside of my birth country than in it. In 1998, after working for fifteen years, I bought myself an old Toyota Land Cruiser, converted it into a home on wheels, and set off on the road. I was heading for Africa, but beyond that I didn’t have a plan, a timeframe, or even money.
Fourteen years later, I’d returned to Africa—after having traveled overland through places like Afghanistan, Mongolia, Siberia, Korea, Alaska and Patagonia—inadvertently completing an around-the-world trip. I’d driven over 400,000km (that’s 248,548 miles) and taken three ferries, but never once hopped on a bus, train, or plane.
Now I’m three years into my second around-the-world trip. It’s no longer a trip, it’s a lifestyle. My car is my home and the planet is my backyard.
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I often enjoy the personal finance columns by Carl Richards. In a recent one, he explains how to create an “emotional balance sheet” to quantify (or at least tally) your non-financial assets.
Carl tells the story of how he and his wife Cori made the choice for her to become a full-time mom, despite the fact that the family would lose more than $1 million in earnings over the next twenty years.
He’s quick to point out that the moral of the story isn’t “all mothers should stay home with their children”—which is good, since presumably many readers would make different choices. The lesson is a) to be clear about your intentions, and b) learn to value non-financial assets.
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I heard something in a dialogue recently. One character was complaining about being unhappy, and the other character replied, “You have a misguided notion of what makes you happy.”
The sentence made me stop and think. Most of us, at different times, have a misguided notion of what we think will make us happy. We go around trying out different prescriptions and remedies.
Maybe the new thing will work ... or maybe I should go back to the old one?
Maybe there's still something else out there, just waiting to be discovered?
That’s why the alternative to misguided notions—true clarity with the possibility of contentment—is so powerful. Knowing what will really make you happy, as opposed to what you think will make you happy, is no less a superpower than flying.
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This is a travel hacking case study. (Read others or nominate yourself.)
Not only is Lauren Lancy a travel hacker, using miles & points to see the world, but she's also merged travel and fashion with her new project, The Kindcraft.
I’m a fashion designer and trend forecaster from Brooklyn. At the end of 2012, I traded New York City’s concrete jungle for the jungles of Southeast Asia. Now, instead of designing for fast fashion brands, I advocate for slower, more thoughtful and ethical kinds of fashion.
My interest in handmade products, textiles, and ethnic arts took me to Luang Prabang, Laos where my husband and I lived for 2013. Our home is now in Chiang Mai, a creative city in the tropical mountains of Northern Thailand.
I travel regularly to meet artists for my latest project, The Kindcraft, which is a celebration of makers of traditional art and contemporary craft from around the globe.
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Thanks to everyone who sent notes or sentiments or just thought about Ken and our family after reading yesterday’s post. I appreciate it all.
I’d also like to encourage you to not borrow trouble. This isn’t your burden, or at least it isn’t for most of you. I wanted to share what had happened for anyone who cared, but you don’t need to feel bad or think that there’s something you need to do.
In the best of cases, a story of loss can inspire you to live more intentionally and to not take your loved ones for granted. I’ve often felt inspired and challenged by stories of loss myself, so if that happens for some of you as a result of hearing about Ken, that’s great.
I’ll still be writing the blog, daily whenever possible, and I don’t want it to be all about sad things. As always, I’ll be writing about entrepreneurship and seeing the world and whatever life lessons I happen to pick up along the way.
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Dear Ken,
When I look back at all the memories we shared together, there are so many that stand out.
I tend to think of our childhood, which was not particularly a happy one for either of us—but my memories of you and me are consistently happy. I remember when we lived in different states and sent things back and forth to each other in the mail every week. We talked on the phone a lot then, too, but having something physical arrive in the mailbox was a fun thing that we each enjoyed.
I remember all the video games we played together. Well, I probably don’t remember all of them, since there were so many. But I remember going from console to console as we both grew up, sometimes competing against each other (you were always better at Sonic; I could usually beat you at Street Fighter) and sometimes cooperating.
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Chiara Cokieng, born and raised in the Philippines, has been on a journey of multiple career changes. After graduating from a prestigious university program and landing a nice gig as an international consultant with assignments in America, she then quit her job to work on a business idea.
The business idea didn’t pan out, at least not right away—so she took on a new role as a full-time employee for a startup. She plans to see this commitment through, but eventually wants to go back to her own thing.
In all of these changes, she’s had to manage the emotional labor of shifting directions, including telling people that what she hoped to do was no longer happening.
Here’s what she describes as the most important thing she’s learned...
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Link: The Wayfinding Academy
Most of us know that traditional higher education, especially in North America, doesn't work for everyone. Far too many students struggle, wander aimlessly, go into debt, or do all of these things.
The Wayfinding Academy is a new answer to the age-old problem of "What should I do with my life?"
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The UK National Air Traffic Control Services (NATS) handles over 2 million flights in UK airspace every year. Of those, over 1.2 million arrive at or depart from one of the five main London airports.
I could look at flight paths all day long, and this video makes it easy.
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Here's Round I.
After spending hundreds of hours in preparation and then hosting a week-long adventure for thousands of awesome people, I don’t usually say much about it afterward, at least not on the blog. I’m a writer who doesn’t do a writeup.
Thankfully, our attendees do a much more thorough job—and wouldn’t you want to read the unfiltered reviews anyway?
Every year we see hundreds of blog posts from attendees. Here’s the first second round of unfiltered reviews and opinions on a variety of topics related to WDS.
