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The More You Improve, The Harder It Gets

I always love a good quest. While flying Southwest Airlines recently (it’s a long story) I happened to pick up the in-flight magazine and read about a guy who’s trying to become a professional golfer.

DanPlan3 The whole article is interesting but isn’t the easiest to read in online format. The short version is that Dan, an ordinary guy from my hometown of Portland, Oregon, is trying to become a professional golfer despite never having much of an aptitude for playing golf before.

Dan pursues the quest partly because he wants to see if it's possible. Does talent come about entirely through "putting in the hours"? Here's a real-life case study to find out.

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Work

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Three Days of Learning & Community: Last Weekend at Pioneer Nation

21786167469_8c1fd27994_z We did it!

Last weekend I worked with a small and dedicated team to produce our second-ever Pioneer Nation, a gathering of independent entrepreneurs.

For the first time in any big event we’ve done, we took everyone onsite for the entire experience. The event was held at The Resort at the Mountain, a scenic setting near Mount Hood, an hour’s drive from Portland.

Events are a ton of work, but they can also be hugely rewarding. Once again I felt honored and inspired to be surrounded by great people.

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Life

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Warning Signs That Your Life Lacks a Consistent Vision


You don’t know what to do at the start of the day.

Someone else or some other external events determine how you schedule and spend your time. Sure, you eventually jump into something, but your priorities are not your own.

You are pre-occupied with tactics and short-term opportunities.

Instead of seeing the long-term goal, you see only 2-3 steps ahead. You are a tactician instead of a strategist, in other words.

You are disillusioned with the things that used to bring you joy.

What once made you happy is no longer sufficient. You do the same things you used to, but without the same feelings of anticipation and enjoyment.

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Profiles

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“Everyone Gets a Call to Adventure”: On the Road with Erin McElroy

ErinHorseHours Erin McElroy decided to take an extended trip to one of the passionate places she could think of: Argentina.

I believe the hero’s journey is possible for anyone; that we all get a "call to adventure,” and have the innate desire and responsibility to do something great.

I call myself a writer, adventurer, and change-maker. I work with people one-on-one and in workshops to help them find the “thing” that makes them feel most alive and happy because I believe the best thing we can do for ourselves, those around us, and the world is to be the most authentic version of ourselves at any time—and I want to contribute to this.

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Travel

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The Best Travel Hacking Advice for People Who Can’t Get Credit Cards

13043841253_43b3e37e81_z I write about travel hacking a lot on the blog (and much more in the Cartel), and I always try to point people to the best available deals and opportunities. Some of these opportunities are for credit card signup bonuses, something I’ve been experimenting with for years, ever since first applying for 13 cards of my own on the same day way back in 2009.

Of course, not everyone is able or eligible to get these bonuses—so what else is out there? There’s actually a ton. Credit cards are an easy way to earn a big boost of miles and points in many different programs, but they aren’t the only way.

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Life

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Only Floss the Teeth You Want to Keep

That’s what dentists tell you. You don’t need to floss all your teeth—just the ones you need to keep.

When it comes to your business, your life, or your relationships, a similar principle applies. You don’t have to pay attention to everything and everyone. But you do have to pay attention to what matters most.

It may help to identify some priorities. In my business I track only two metrics on a consistent basis:

1. Email subscribers

2. Product sales
My thinking is that if these things are going along okay, everything else will fall into place. I don't check other statistics or track anything else. Checking my bank accounts will not make more money.

This year I added a "relationship metric":

Every day I will write or call at least one friend.

It’s simple, but effective (at least for me). So far this year, I haven’t missed a day.

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Travel

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Q&A on the British Airways 100,000 Point Bonus Offer

Link: 100,000 Point British Airways Bonus Offer

Since I first published the news about the updated signup offer for the British Airways Signature Card, I’ve received a bunch of questions from readers.

The first thing to note is that this is a really good offer for a lot of people, but it will definitely help if you know a bit about how to best use British Airways points, also known as Avios.

fromthesky

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Profiles

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“If We Never Booked the Tickets, We’d Never Go”: On the Road with Serena Star Leonard

Well into her third year of continuous travel, Serena Star Leonard and her husband John spend their days exploring the world and documenting stories of people who make a difference.

I’m Serena, a half-Kiwi, half-Malaysian born in Hong Kong. My husband is John, an Irishman. We were both living in Australia when we met, fell in love, and got married in the space of 16 weeks.

I’d worked in corporate environments for a number of years, but I wanted to change things up. My goal was to work for money one day a week and spend the rest of my time doing work I was passionate about but wouldn’t necessarily make a cent.

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Travel

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The Best Place to Be Is Somewhere Else

14169021075_25892e09d7_z On the road is where a traveler feels most at home. Sure, you can take it slow for a while, staying in one place to save up funds or work on a project or do whatever you need to do.

But secretly you’re like a junkie, thinking ahead to the next hit. There’s always somewhere else to go and another way to get there.

You find yourself getting to the airport several hours early.

You go to the airport and look at the departure signs, reminiscing about previous trips and daydreaming of destinations you’ve never seen.

You can live in the moment, but that moment exists in another place. And you have to get there!

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Life

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“What Have I Missed in My Life?” Notes on The Novels Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge

"I think the message in the book is that we all have flaws we can’t resolve." -Amazon reviewer

I recently read Mrs. Bridge, a lesser-known novel from 1959 in which nothing really happens. A boring and largely unsympathetic character ambles though normal life events, rarely seeing her equally boring husband. Their three children have normal childhood problems, and eventually grow up.

Sounds thrilling, right? But underneath the surface, there’s a lot more going on. The novel is essentially about discontent and regret, or about encountering the panic and quiet desperation of an ordinary life.

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Profiles

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Live a Life of Travel, Even with a Full-Time Job: On the Road with Ruby Escalona

As many of our readers know, having a full-time job doesn't mean you can't make travel a regular part of your life. Ruby Escalona tells us how she does it.

Hi! I'm Ruby. I grew up in the Philippines, but now live in Jacksonville, Florida. I’ve always had ambitious dreams. When I was a child, I wanted to read all the books in the world.

Now, I’m passionate about traveling. My fiancé and I have desk jobs, and a motto: live a life of travel, even with a full time job. We’re seeing the world, one bit at a time. It’s a little slower than people who are location independent, but it works for us.
Ruby9

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Profiles

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Woman Completes Mission to SCUBA Dive in All 50 States

Jennifer-Idol Congratulations to Jennifer Idol, who just accomplished a huge mission: becoming the first woman to SCUBA dive in all 50 states.

Jen spoke briefly in the lightning round at WDS 2014 and we profiled her back when she was well on her way to accomplishing her quest.

"I did it! It's a relief, and I am tired. In a way, the journey is ongoing with articles, the book, news, and social media. I won't be diving all 7 continents, the U.S. territories, or all countries as a new quest. Instead, I'll be undertaking assignments, still working on sharing the meaning behind this current journey, and working on something new.

As I suspect you also know, journeys are long, cost more than we plan in more ways than we can anticipate, and yet help us define who we want to be, where we want to go, and what we want to do. They can be platforms from which we launch our true aspirations, or just end when they're completed."

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Life

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The Game Is Rigged, So Learn to Play the Game

You probably learned in kindergarten that life isn’t fair. You can’t always get what you want—and sometimes you might not even get what you need.

When something doesn’t work the way we want it to, we tend to dismiss the process as unfair, flawed, or even fraudulent. “That’s a scam,” you hear about any number of things.

Getting into college, for example, is unfair and flawed. Sure, you can study hard, join the service club, but “the game is rigged” in favor of people who invest in standardized test prep.

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Profiles

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A Journey to 40 Countries to Learn How the World Prays

Jared and his wife were interested in how the world prays—so they went on year-long exploration of different types of Judeo-Christian prayer. Here's what they learned.

My name is Jared Brock. I’m a writer and filmmaker. Together, my wife and I run a charity that fights human trafficking, and we’ve traveled to over 40 countries and visited more than 40 American states and Canadian provinces.

My most recent adventure was a 37,000-mile, year-long prayer pilgrimage around the world. I explored prayer traditions across the Judeo-Christian faith, including some of the "weird uncles" and "crazy cousins" under that umbrella. I danced with rabbis, visited monks, spent time with Quakers, checked out the world's largest church (1 million members!), and visited numerous ancient sites including Assisi, Avila, Monte Cassino, Camino de Santiago, the Vatican, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.

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Around the Web and the World