Nate Ritter is a failed expat who was unable to live in France. Since then he has founded a company called Room Steals which is a hotel booking search engine which allows you to find wholesale prices of hotels. He has seen savings of many hundred dollars on a single night but savings are often 20%.

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Top 3 Takeaways:

• "The night before we left, we were like, what do we do with all this paperwork?We don't need it because we got our visa. And we literally burned all of the paperwork. It was like a book of paperwork that proved who we were and what we were doing and all this kind of stuff. So we burned it in the fireplace that night, thinking this is a fun story to tell people later"
• "My favorite story that we had is that we spent $250 to send four of us round trip to Europe, and we stayed for a month and paid zero on accommodations. So for 250 bucks to fly to Europe for four of us, and then stay there for a month, like it's definitely, people are spending three, $4,000, easy on that kind of a thing."
• "So that's Room Steals. I took that inventory source and I said, "this needs to be public." Instead of doing what everybody else does, which includes Expedia booking, they say here's what the wholesale price is, and mark it up to that and then they keep the difference. So I thought we should be a little bit more transparent than that.  We make all of our money like a Costco model. We're doing a membership."

1:00 "Failed expat, how does that work?"

7:00 "What happened in between then and now with Room Steals?"

9:00 "What kind of travel hacking were you doing?"

12:00 " You found an unused inventory of rooms?"

18:15 "So what kind of savings do people usually get?"

20:15 "Do you mostly get the savings on the higher end?"

21:45 "So how do you book a room?"

23:15 "I'm also very curious about the RV lifestyle and how you transferred into this"

25:00 "Any tips that you wanna share with the listeners about RV life?"

29:45 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

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Francis Tapon rejected his normal Harvard Business school life and instead chose to hike the Appalachian trail and travel in Africa for 5 years. He hosts the Wander Learn podcast where he talks about the benefits of being a wanderer.

Top 3 Takeaways:

• "Sometimes I think the best way to learn is just to forego college and then just go travel the world and spend a few years going traveling around. This probably costs you even less than college."
• "That is a more important question than how to make a billion dollars is what you do once you have a billion dollars, because once you have a billion dollars, how you spend your time is extremely telling it shows whatever you're spending your time at that point is your passion is what you really want to do."
• "The protest during the Occupy Wall Street and people are saying like "the top 1%, the top 1%, top 1%." And I felt like walking into that crowd and just saying "You guys are all in the top 1%, every single one of you protesters, because compared to most of this planet, which lives in India, China, Asia, and certainly Africa, you guys are way wealthier than most people out there.""

0:45 "Do you want to do a brief synopsis of all the travel you've done and then why you think why you like this name wander learn?"

7:45 "Have you continued doing robotic vision stuff or have you done only the travel stuff?"

13:45 "So you haven't grown tired of this?"

16:15 "Let's talk about Wander Learn"

21:45 "Sounds like you like hiking"

23:45 "So what's the point of walking so much for weeks and months? What do you get out of it?"

30:30 "How about you for the meditative hiking stuff? Does time go by quickly?"

38:15 " Is there anything that you wanted to talk about that you wanted to cover?"

Lawrence Leyton is a therapist who has helped people overcome fears. In this episode, Ladan interviews Lawrence Leyton and one of his clients, Mark Wein, whom Leyton has helped to overcome his fear of flying. Lawrence Leyton and Mark Wein have since created a course to help people overcome the fear of flying. In this episode, they discuss the fear of flying in detail, what it is, and how it affects people's lives.

Top three takeaways:

1. People don't realize how small the risk of being involved in an aircraft accident is. There is a higher chance of dying from falling down stairs or being kicked by a donkey than there is of dying in a plane crash. However, the fear of flying often stems from the perception of a plane crash, rather than the actual statistics.
2. A phobic creates fear by concentrating on the worst-case scenario of a situation. Whereas most people would view a vacation as a positive experience, a phobic person focuses on what can go wrong, like for instance the plane crashing on the way to their destinations.
3. Sometimes after gaining new major responsibilities, such as having children, people become more conscious about the risks they take. In the case of flying, people worry more about being involved in a plane crash and not being able to be there for their children.

Adaptation and adjusting to an environment are some of the most important things in my mind. I see that a person able to adjust to a situation is the one that will be the most successful.

I talk about how I am am not happy with my ability to adjust during my Masters thesis in India. I talk about how I could have done a better job with blending in. I think it was because I had a reasons for it, that the way I was doing things previously was more correct. That was my big dilemma, do I do things the local way or my 'best' way?

Since I believe that those people who are most able to adjust and integrate will be the most successful I think that I could have done a better job

There are very few things that are set in stone. Travel helps you see that things are done differently in different places by different people. By seeing that cultures and ways of doing things are different you become aware of the fact that some things are variables. When something is a variable it means that you can change those things in life. Maybe it was all based on a false belief and that the only thing holding yourself back is yourself. Blaming other forces such as a boss, the economy, or god could actually be in your hands.

In this episode I ask if travelling can be more valuable than a College degree. In the US a bachelors degree can cost $30k and this doesn't even guarantee you a job. I have found that travel costs about $15k per year, so would this money be better used in travel? Can you learn more in travel than you could in the classroom?

To find the value of College or University ask yourself: 

• are you learning a trade that can make you money such as engineering, science, or trades such as welding or automotive work?
• are you getting a network which can help you later in life, especially if you are going into a field?
• are you diving deep into the subject and learning all that you can learn so that you actually come away with useful knowledge?

To find the the value of travel ask yourself:

• are you diving into the culture and are you only talking to hotel staff or are you learning the language in a local village?
• are you staying a week, 3 months, or are you living abroad to understand more of the location?
• are you going somewhere interesting with many learning experiences?

So of course it depends on what your answers to all of these criteria are but in many cases travel can be better than a University degree

In this episode I talk about how expanding your limits allows you to do more revolutionary things in the future. Because stretching your limits allows you to see what is possible and your reality has then changed. It can only be beneficial.

I talk about how I did this when I wrote most of my 70 page Masters thesis in one 20 hour chunk. By doing this I was able to break any previous ideas what is possible for me. I learned a bit about myself and found that actually it was probably the best way to write something. From now on, I can't complain about doing lots of work at one time now that I see I am capable of more. It is also possible to do this using uncomfortable or generally growth-inducing experiences. 

The limitations you have are only in your head, this is the best way to discover that you are capable of whatever you want.

In this episode I talk about a prompt that a previous guests had mentioned of "if things have been good in the past, why not the future?" 

This was a profound thought because things for me have always seemed to work out fortuitously so I should expect that it may continue. This thought can give you confidence that you are capable in what you plan to do. I talk about how you can use confidence from other parts of your life such as sports, hobbies, or other things that you are good at and transfer that to whatever you are having troubles with.

You are going to get the same results from your actions in the past, is that good or is it time to change?

My former Couchsurfing host, Marcus Stein, came to visit me in Bangalore, India after doing a charity trip in nearby Nepal. He shared his story of how he was able to raise 4000 euros back in Germany which he had promised to donate in Nepal after their terrible earthquake in April 2015. He used his own money to get there and to do fun things so this money was only to be used for charity. He and his friend originally were going to buy school materials for children such as notebooks and pens but later also bought water filters and solar lamps. 

In this episode we talk about how he got this idea as well as some of the challenges in doing this. Since the money goes about 5x further in a place like Nepal, it is almost like trying to use 20,000 euro in a few weeks. He also talks about how he found a great guide and helper to buy all of these supplies. Then he talks about how he had made this change from a set career to something more flexible where he is happier.

Finally he asks, what does magic mean to you?

First of all, apologies for the delay in the episode. I had finished my work in India and my family came right after to travel India and didn't have time to uploaded the episodes I had finished.

In this episode I talk about what I am planning to after my stay in India. I have been trying to figure out what to do after and I am ready to share my plans. I talk about how I am excited to go look at Switzerland and potentially go move there. It is a great place for my field in nanorobotics and looks like one of the best places in the world for this. It is also very comfortable for me being in Europe, travelling is very quick and easy, and it is a multilingual country, and a good business environment for startups.

I talk about the 3-6 things that were most important for me to decide on this location. I also go through how you can decide on where to go if you want to make a change in your life

Let me know if you are planning a change and want to figure out where to go next at travelwisdompodcast@gmail.com

James Abbott is a cofounder of Coboat which is a coworking space which is on the sea. The boat goes to different paradise locations as it circumnavigates the world. Entrepreneurs and people who can work online can then join and take part in activities like snorkeling and swimming while getting fast 3G-4G Wifi connections. Everything (except alcohol) is included in the 980 euro per week price in places like Greece, Maldives, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other beautiful places.

In this episode we had technical issues in the beginning and I was unable to record the first 15 minutes of the show. However, before the show he talked about how he moved to Thailand and set up a coworking space. On this island, he has about 30 people 

Vinh Ly used to be a private jet salesman traveling around the world and was a contestant on the French version of the Apprentice. Now he a digital nomad and author of Billion Dollar Influence: A Persuasion Skills Masterclass from Someone Who Sells Private Jets for a Living. He also started a Conversion Optimization business and and has had many global experience - and leaving a prestigious corporate job to become an entrepreneur nomad.

In this episode we talk about how he got into the private jet business and some funny things he did in order to get more sales. Since we started the podcast before an official introduction he didn't realize we were recording and therefore had to remove some sensitive parts. But he talks about what he did within this company to make sure these $100 million machines were sold well. Then we talk about his leaving the company to teach people about persuasion which he learned selling jets. He goes over his MITT method of Meditation, Improvisation, Technique and Training. These are good ways to learn almost any skill. He talks about how this method can help especially in job interviews and sales. His tip is to make sure you know what your 3 main strengths are and to make sure they shine through in the interview. Finally we talk about his experience with travel and how he has been used to it his whole life. We also talk about the ways that French people travel and how they only go to places that also speak French.

I have now been working in India for over 6 months and have noticed many differences between the work culture in India, the US, and Germany. I talk about a few including the differences in power dynamics and how everyone spends their time.

Do you have experiences working abroad? Tweet to me at @ladanwisdom

In this episode, Ladan discusses his trip to China. He discusses the sights he saw, the experiences he's had, as well as how China is modernizing.

Top three takeaways:

1. A lot of China's advancements, such as the proliferation of electric vehicles, bullet trains, and more modern ways of paying for goods and services (such as facial recognition) are mostly a matter of the last 3 or so years.
2. China is not a democratic country, as is clearly illustrated by the "Great Firewall", which censors the internet for its citizens. VPNs are required to access common sites such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. However, the lack of democracy may be how China is able to advance so quickly without much hindrance.
3. The best way to know what a country is truly like is to go and see it for yourself. Propaganda and hearsay do not paint the true picture of what a country is like. By visiting China, one can see how modern and advanced they truly are.

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Kara Ronin is the founder of Executive Impressions which provides international business etiquette training and consulting to companies, universities and individuals to help them succeed in the international business arena.  Her services focus on business etiquette, leadership skills, and executive communication. 

In this episode we talk about how she got started in providing tips for international business people because of her having lived on 4 continents. She talks about her experiences speaking and seeming interested in her new home in France. We then talk about the mysterious Indian head wobble and she explains a bit about the differences between showing yes and no. She mentions a video which can be watched here. She then talks about how when you are in a new culture you have to respect their customs. Simply doing what you want to do may not be received too well and could hurt your relationships. Then we talk about my experiences with my boss at my work in India and the way things are different there. Finally she talks about how travel helps you learn about the world and learn about yourself.

Guthrie Chamberlain is the host of the Wisdom Trek podcast where he teaches wisdom and discipline. He helps you understand the insights of the wise, to teach you to live disciplined and successful lives, to help you do what is right, just, and fair. By obtaining this wisdom then you will be able to create a living legacy for today that will live on and be multiplied through the lives of others.

In this episode we talk about how Guthrie grew up in a family of 10 children which has shaped how he looks at the world. We talk about the analogy of life with hiking through the mountains. If you take things slow and know where you are going you will get there before you know it. He then talks about how you can't expect to plant a seed and expect a plant tomorrow. You need to work and harvest fruit in different seasons. It seems he is full of analogies to life and I absolutely love it because it helps clear things up and make it more understandable. He then talks about his grueling schedule making the podcast, spending about 2 hours each day to put the 7 minute podcast together. He then talks about the benefits of taking your children with you while going to conferences or generally travelling for your career.

Dorie Clark is the author of  Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future and her most recent book, Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It. She talks about how in order to succeed in today's world you need to have some sort of brand or things you are good at in order to get above the noise. She also consults and speaks for a diverse range of clients, including Google, the World Bank, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Yale University, the Mount Sinai Medical Center, and the National Park Service.

In this episode we talk about her crazy podcast interview schedule having been on about 160 podcasts in the last 9 months. She talks about how she got into this field through the field of politics and a nonprofit. We then talk about a story from Reinventing You who was let go from his passion job as a Rail trail advocate (bike and hiking trails on old railroad tracks). After being laid off he was able to use his creative side by opening a bed and breakfast next to a rail trail and becoming the place to stay for those loving rail trails. Then he got his real estate license and became the rail trail real estate agent. She then talks about how interests and other elements in your background can be brought together in order to make wonderful new things which have never been done before. Finally she talks about how travel can help you 'speak different languages' as well manage different social settings.

Emilie Wapnick runs puttylike which is the home of multipotentialites online. She says that most people have multiple potentials and should not be led to do only one thing in life. In her TED talk she mentions her start as a lawyer and how that has changed to blogging as well as many other passions over the years. She embraces the changes in direction of her life and thinks it is beneficial.

In this episode we talk about her coming trip in a trailer and my experience with ladybugs in camping trailers. She then talks about how she has gone through many careers and how it is ok to explore and jump around. Then she talks about how having these many kinds of backgrounds can be beneficial and can make unexpected combinations that could be very popular. We throw around ideas like scuba diving for historians, laundromats with ice cream, bike shops that are also coffee shops, and other non intuitive businesses that can be surprisingly successful. She has helped people find their passions for the last few years and hopes to do this for the future. We then talk about how being flexible and puttylike is the way to thrive in the new economy. Most jobs existing today did not exist 10 years ago and our current jobs will not exist in 10 years.

Grant Baldwin is a professional public speaker and host of the How Did You Get Into That podcast. He talks about living your life's passion and doing what you were put on this earth to do. He especially likes to give students the confidence to face the real world.

In this episode we talk about why he started his podcast after being asked so many times how he became a professional speaker. He has earned $1k for his first one hour keynote speech and he also teaches how you can do something you love and make a good living at it. He knew that he was always good at it and passionate so he just jumped in and did it as well as made sure to get better at his skill. He also gives some tips on how to book speaking events whether you are experienced or not. He talks about the non-glamorous side of speaking and compares it to his friends who do over 100 events per year. Finally he talks about how travel gets you out of the bubble that you are comfortable with and being able to experience other cultures.

I have now lived in India for over 6 months and even now things seem to shift every week. The travel mindset and sense of wonder goes away a bit and now it is more like I am living here. Travel and living somewhere are different but I think that both are recommended in order to expand your wisdom

Let me know about your experiences living somewhere versus simply travelling there

@ladanwisdom

Scott Beebe is the proprietor of My Business On Purpose; a multi-broadcast platform that equips, inspires, and mobilizes business professionals to live out their skill set to society. He helps small business owners and organizational decision makers uncover things that they cannot see, and create game-changing strategies so they can take immediate action and live out their life and business with purpose and intentionality.

In this episode we talk about his trips to Nigeria to help businesses there get help. He does coaching and has fallen in love with Nigeria over the last decade because it has so much potential. He does lots of face to face interaction as well as online interviews and helps people find where the business is going. He also hosts Masterminds where people get together to help each other with their problems in business and in life. He talks about how he got connected to the work in Nigeria and why it is so special. We then talk about the benefits of doing a for profit company even if it is in the developing world.

I talk about how when I finish my work here in India I am not really sure what we will do next. Travel has unfortunately opened the door to many options and now it seems we must slowly choose what career path and part of the world to live in. I feel I have left behind good recommendations and know that there is lots of places I could make a good living. However, now it is just a question of where I want to stay and what I want to do.

Have you had any life questions like this? I want to hear about your struggles and how you got through them. Email me at travelwisdompodcast@gmail.com

Jonathon OByrne is the founder of Collective Works, the largest coworking space in Singapore. Looking over 90 businesses there, his business has quadrupled in size since he opened it two years ago. This allows small companies or startups to rent office space and have access to people one otherwise wouldn't have access to. It is what hostels are to the business office rental. 

He opened this coworking space in isolation and when he opened his he thought he had opened the first one in the world. Seeing a need in Singapore to make it easy for someone to easily rent office space, especially for high performing spouses. Since Singapore attracts a host of high performance people, their high performance spouse usually comes along with nothing to do. This means that they now have something to apply themselves towards. Since the minimum and maximum stays are not really set, a company could stay as long as needed. Many times even corporations and for their regional branches to be held in a coworking space.

We went to Sri Lanka to extend my visa in India. Although we only stayed for 9 days it was a really fun time. Our visa processes took even longer and we were forced to stay in the capitol city of Colombo longer than we would have liked. In the end we only spent one day on the beach but this was enough for me to get an epic sunburn.

I talk about making sure that you have enough time to get administrative stuff done when you travel. We had to jump through many hoops to speed up the visa process by even one day which could have cost us a hundred dollars extra. Luckily I got the visa just an hour before closing and was successful!

David Wood is a coach who teaches people to have tough conversations. These conversations are the most important things you can do otherwise you will repeat the thing you didn't want to happen over and over.

Ryan Williams is the host of the Influencer Economy which is about the changing world of media. Where before, it would take a media company to give the green light to something, now this is done by the audience instead. What this means is that some things end up being wildly successful yet is very strange.  A good example of this is something called machinima which uses existing video games in order to act out a story. What he shows is that the future is changing and that we need to be successful. Ryan talks about what happens when the niches become mainstream

In this episode we talk about the the power of this new community and their relationship with their audience. People who supply content or somehow are an influencer online are following a whole new set of rules than before. Collaboration is the new name of the game with the bigger person giving social proof and credibility to the little person. This is the new way the games are being played which will influence the way media will be done. These people are able to crowdfund over $2 million from fans by allowing access in a way not possible before. Although it looks like an overnight success, all of the people he profiled had done their craft for many years before being 'discovered.'

I believe that it is important to become a wiser person. I think that experiences are important in life and that to experience more is to live a fuller life. That is why I thought that trying different types of drugs was important for my quest for wisdom.

• It started picking the brain of a colleague working at UPS who, although young, had tried many things

• Then when I was living on my own I made friends that could give access to the things I wanted to try

• I was told that there were a few drugs you should never try because the risk was too high, heroin, crack, and meth.

• I think drugs can be an eye opening experience, it can completely reset your way of thinking

• I eventually found that most drugs were kind of useless and a waste of time but that psychadelics had a use

• You should be mature enough to understand and interpret what you are seeing and what it means

• I then moved to the opinion that especially psychadelics could have beneficial effects just like a spirit quest

• You can ask a question or somehow focus on a problem to get it resolved. For example, on a mushroom trip I realized that I already had all the power within me to do the things that I wanted. Only I was holding myself back and that I needed to stop stopping the things I knew would lead to success

• I think that psychadelics should be done in a good environment. Going to the amusement park is dangerous but being with trusted friends can be beneficial

• Once or twice per year is probably the upper limit because more than that might be damaging

• Psychadelics are like heat applied to plastic. It can help soften it to mold it easier. The plastic is like your psyche and ways of thinking. Over time it can become deformed or rough and has to be smoothened

• Trying to shape plastic without heat can work but it can take time or break it. Also, applying too much heat can cause a mess

• The plastic can be smoothened if done correctly but if done incorrectly it can make it even more deformed or rough. The plastic would then cool and it would be stuck like that for a very long time

• One needs to be extremely careful and be mindful with any drug. Know why you are taking it and what outcome you are trying to achieve by doing it

• Dislcaimer: Of course don't do illegal things and make sure that you are in a place that these things are allowed

• With great power comes great responsibility

Special thanks to Diana Dell for getting in contact with your unique story. She is finishing up her Masters degree in environmental science and is moving to Armenia. Its a crazy idea but as far as I know she has never done drugs :P Good luck! :P

The Hicks family of Grady, Mason and Brianna have all gone through a pretty amazing trip. Starting out as a fun graduation present for the oldest, now the father Grady has taken all his children on a month-long trip around the world. During this time they decided to make things more fun and they gave themselves a checklist of things they had to do and see everyday. They have since turned it into a series of books for the adventure with each child. Grady's hard work pays off with his planning of hundreds of things to see and why to see them for each trip.

In this four way episode we talk about how the idea for a Amazing Race themed trip around the world.  We talk about how he was able to plan the trips and the amount of time it took for each trip to be planned. We discuss the ability for the children to remember the places versus the father and how things were forgotten. We also talk about the power of travel to make the world smaller. Finally, the show turns into a bit of a therapy session on how this travel experience can be used to enhance the rest of life. By not only keeping some experiences segmented in one part of your life but allowing it to become who you are, you can take in even more of the experiences.

Exercise has been an interest of mine for over a decade and I have always wanted to be fit and have a sexy body. Over that decade I have learned more about the body and experimented with many things myself. Now I feel that my exercises are much more effective than they used to be

• I was interested in working out and exercise ever since hitting puberty. It was my surefire way of getting laid! Unfortunately I found it is just a multiplier and that if you are starting from zero, anything times zero is still zero

• As I mentioned in the previous episode, exercise is not the best way to lose weight but nutrition is. Exercise can activate some things in your body to make weight loss even faster and not to mention you look more sexy when fit no matter if you are a man or a woman

• I was always pretty fit but never a meat head and even if I had muscles it could be hidden by the right shirt. But I was never able to keep it due to my travels since I was 18. I would go on a multi month trip at least once per year and it would screw up my workout plans

• Many times I would lose lots of weight on a trip and it would take many months to get it back to how it was. This would mean with the length of the trip and the recovery I would lose about 6 months. Any gains during the rest of the year were then later wiped out by lack of good nutrition while travelling

• I have never really maintained an exercise regimen while travelling although I know theoretically what should be done. Some elastic bands are often useful which allow you to train almost anything with about 10-45 pounds (5-20kg) resistance. Also bodyweight exercises are useful like pushups, pull ups, squats, or even running up and down stairs

• I have never wanted to do these exercises so much because it always got in the way with activities that I was doing throughout the day. I think I also really liked the weights at the gym and jumping up and down didn't feel like a good substitute

• Anyways, what I have found out is that shorter and more intense workouts are more effective. I used to do jogging for an hour or be on a cycle for that long but then some people I follow and personal experience showed that doing 4 minutes of intense exercise and 1 minute of rest was much better. Repeating this a few times would give much better results than an hour long run ever could

• This is something I recommend (although I will only start doing it again this week) is to do sprints and to run about 5 times longer or further than your walks in between these runs. If you repeat it 2 to 5 times this is about the best workout you can do

• I believe that lifting weights is also essential, even for girls. Girls look sexy when they are strong and don't worry, your hormones will not allow you to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Those women you see in the muscle magazines have loaded themselves with Testosterone and have devoted many years of their lives to this, so its not just going to sneak up on you!

• Woman who are surprisingly strong yet sexy are pole dancers / strippers. They have to hold themselves up using only their grip and move their legs and body around. It is very hard and it requires lots of strength (try it!). So if you are a girl worried about gaining to much muscle, just remember if you try hard then you will probably end up just as muscly as a stripper. Said another way, you will have a strippers body

• Men, of course, do not need much convincing to go lift weight because it is what makes us look good. But it is also important to not get lost in numbers competitions trying to outdo the next person which could lead to bad form while lifting or focusing on it too much at the expense of your other muscle groups. This can lead to an imbalanced body which is also not sexy, the opposite of what you were going for!

• Besides simply looking sexy, exercise gives you energy in the long run because your body learns to handle using so much energy. That means that you then have more energy for the other things in your life like career, family or other projects. It gives you strength for those times or tasks where you need it. I find it can also triple your sex drive, perfect if you have a partner. It improves your posture. Also it can become addictive and refreshing. After about two months of exercise your body starts to get used to it and craves some sort of physical activity. How is that for a healthy addiction?!

• So what kind of weightlifting regimen is the best? I find that the most essential movements are squats, deadlift, pull ups, incline bench press, clean and press and the row. If you don't understand what all those mean, just click through to the links here or google it yourself.

• If these 6 exercises formed 70% of your exercises you would be quite successful in becoming much stronger. These 6 will hit every part muscle in your body and you will end up looking great. Doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman.

• Another key thing to remember is how much to lift. Some have said that you need to do each movement 20-50 times but I disagree. I have seen that when you use the maximum amount of weight, so that you can only do the movement 2-5 times it is the most effective. This means you do 2-5 repetitions, rest some time, and do it again. This is generally enough, more is not always better.

• This also goes for women. Although it might not seem like a feminine or girly thing to do, you want results, not to look girly at the gym. Also, the men are naturally going to be stronger so even your heavy weights will be small by comparison, so still girly

• An important thing to do is to cycle through those 6 exercises. Otherwise you could get what I had for a long time, muscular imbalance. It can come from many things but it can be quite damaging to your health. It can change your posture for the worse, cause some muscles to be strangely larger than others, or even put stress on your body in ways it was not designed to handle. Watch out for this and this should be your highest goal, balance

• It is also important not to overtrain. For me, I find going to the gym or generally exercising 2 or 3 times per week for about 45 minutes each time is perfect. Do you have an hour and a half each week to spare in order to look great? This is less than 2% of your waking hours of the week. Seems like such a small thing to ask huh?

• Finally, the most important thing to do for exercise is to find a sport or activity which you love. This should be a physical activity where you lose track of time. For my gf this is salsa dancing, and for me it would be surfing or snorkeling. When you have something like this then the exercise is automatic and integrated into your life, just the way you want it.

• Travel can be great as you can find new activities that attract you more. I didn't really have any activities where I would lose track of time except snorkeling and surfing where you couldn't get me out of the water (no, I was not drowning). Although I have only done it a handful of times I recently realized this was my favorite activity and will make sure to do it as often as possible. But my activities depend on travel

Let me know what you thought of this. It is a bit difficult to put everything I have experienced in this field into a short bite sized clip which can be useful as well. I have tried to only put in the essential things and I hope that it is helpful for you

Tijana Momirov of Follow the Elements has been an independent Software Engineer since 2010. Before being a digital Nomad was a thing, she was earning money while travelling. She especially loves Kitesurfing, letting it take her take her all over the world. Now she teaches how it is possible to 

In this episode we talk about how she has been able to be a freelance software engineer for the last 5 years. She has not been in a set location since then and has been living from her suitcase ever since. It all started during a job in Greece where she realized that being in the office was not necessary and the clients did not even know where she was. She now is a freelancer and generally works about 20 hours per week in order to make more money. We then talks about the first steps in setting up a freelancing job. She recommends going through some of the largest freelancer sites in order to gain more visibility. Then we talk about the benefits of living on the beach and how to get into Kitesurfing. I love the water so I am sure that I would love it, if it only wasn't so expensive that would be great!

Losing weight and staying fit seems like an impossible thing to many people. It can feel like you are desperately flipping switches and pulling levers on the inputs of your body with no response. Of course it is no surprise that many have given up on staying fit because what we know we should do is not as powerful as they say. I will talk about my struggle with weight and how I now have been able to keep off 45lbs (20kg)

• I was raised in a health conscious family so health and weight were always at the forefront of my mind

• I was chubby between the ages of about 12-15 and being made fun of for it. In our group of friends I was the fat one. Then when puberty hit, the weight came off very quickly

• I was a normal weight for a long time until I started dating my first gf which caused me to become lazy and I ended up gaining about 40 pounds (~20kg) in 8 months. At first I was hopeful that it was muscle because it was being put on in the right places, but then I realized it was actually just fat.

• Then after doing my study abroad a year later in Germany and again being separated from that gf I was able to first lose 20 pounds (~10kg) in 3 months and later the final 20 pounds (~10kg) over about 6 months.

• I have been able to keep it at that level now for 2 years with some more minor 10 pound fluctuations but when I notice that happening I take care of it and can have it fixed within a month.

• I am a big guy at 6'3” (193cm) and my 'thin weight' is about 175 pounds (80kg) so for some of you smaller people it would be like a 5 pound (~2kg) fluctuation

• In the end, all that I had learned during my minor in Nutrition during my Bachelors degree proved to be useless or completely wrong. The US government's recommendations was actually part of what kept me fat and when I broke from that I was able to control my weight the way I wanted

• I realized that nutrition was the most important factor in weight management and health. Exercise is important also but it is almost impossible to make up for bad eating decisions by exercising more (you would need to chop wood for 2 hours a day). I find the impact on weight is about 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. I will talk about exercise in the next episode

• So, now for the most important part. I found through my experience that sugars (also carbohydrates) are pretty much to blame for gaining weight. This is of course found in anything sweet or starchy: bread, rice, potatoes, many sauces, sweets, sugar, soft drinks, and anything along these lines was the biggest contributor to fat creation.

• This means eating fried chicken with extra oil is nowhere near as fat generating as eating a bowl of pasta. Crazy, isn't it?

• Actually, it could be healthier as well. Science is finding out that the rate you create insulin, or the hormone that is secreted when you eat sugars, is the rate that you age. Creating insulin along with the spikes in blood sugar are very stressful for your cells and contribute to aging. Cutting down on sugar or at least eating more slowly digestible sugars could help you live longer

• If you are able to minimize carbs, then you can pretty much eat as much of the other stuff as you like. It is just not possible to eat enough of the other stuff to gain weight and you will be full and not be able to eat anymore first

• It is impossible and unwise to completely eliminate carbs as they are everywhere and some baseline is essential for human function. But for me, I went from carbs being about 75% of my diet to about 25% of my diet and now I can eat what I want

• Generally, you want to eat lots of veggies which is good for your digestion. Fruits however, are not very good because they contain so much sugar and all of the vitamins can also be found in veggies. That is why you should limit fruits or fruit smoothies.

• High quality fats are also very essential. Because your entire brain is pretty much made of fat, you need to keep it healthy. Coconut butter, quality milk butter or ghee are very good sources of oil. Since you have also cut down on your carbs you can add more butter so your food tastes even more amazing!

• Good protein is also very important. This is the type of food that will keep you full the longest. I have sometimes eaten a whole chicken and then not been hungry for about 36 hours following that. If you eat more protein like meat, fish, eggs, or beans, you won't be like a yoyo to the refrigerator every two hours.

• You should be able to easily manage going 5 hours between meals and if you are getting hungry after less than 2 hours your body is telling you that your last meal was not very nutritious

• This now becomes a more expensive way of eating, because you are trading cheap food for expensive ones. You trade rice for beans, vegetable oil for ghee, and a plate full of pasta to one full of meat. Since there are no more 'filler' foods, you need to eat more of the expensive 'good stuff'

• Finally, an advanced thing I follow is something called 'Intermittent fasting.' This basically says you eat for 8 hours during the day and fast, or eat nothing, for the remaining 16 hours. This is supposedly good for cellular repair but I do it because I feel great

• Instead of eating throughout the day, I have one mega size meal and one small meal. This is enough for me to last through the day and I am full for the whole day. I love that I don't think about food, I can eat like a king, I spend less, and I lose weight. It may take a while to get used to it but I recommend it. But it is not necessary and girls may not need it at all

• The key is to try everything yourself out. It is not good to blindly follow diets, food research, or the latest fad in cutting weight. It is important to try it out for a few weeks and watch what your results are. The good diet you follow is better than the perfect diet you don't follow

• I have started with a few diets ideas and then tweaked some small things as I learned what my body did and did not like. Some good places to start are the Slow Carb Diet, the Bulletproof Diet, the Paleo Diet, and even the Atkin's Diet. Check out each one, which one sounds most appealing, and try it out

• My personal guideline is also not to be 'that guy.' Some diets advocate eating every 2 hours which can ruin going to the movie theater if the guy next to you starts eating chicken and broccoli and stinking up the place halfway through your chickflick. I try to remain flexible and especially when you are a guest it is good not to reject their food but to eat it, even if it doesn't follow your diet

• Now travelling has played a role in all this diet as it has been a great way to wipe the slate clean. Whenever I travel I usually eat less and generally lose fat and muscle. This can be good depending on what I am doing.

• Travelling for a few months many times cut my weight. Ethiopia is the most drastic example as I lost 15 pounds (7kg) and my travel companion Conner lost 25 pounds (12kg) all in 2 weeks!! It was because eating the local food 3 meals a day was very unpalatable to us so we would rather not eat. After we realized this we started to also eat Western food to stop the unhealthy weight loss

• Japan was also quite difficult for me as they have small portion sizes and they are expensive. I lost about 10 pounds (4kg) in 2 weeks. I felt that most of that weight was muscle and it took me almost 6 months to get it back to something I liked

• So travelling can be good for resetting your system or your habits. Because it forces you to change your habits and your favorite restaurant may not be available, you have to adapt and your body will also. This is of course when you eat like locals and you need to go for enough time, usually at least 10 days

• Finally it can give you perspective on if your daily eating habits are normal or even healthy. It can again give you perspective on the things you want to find out about

What do you think about all this? I want to hear your opinion! Send mail at travelwisdompodcast@gmail.com

Aprille Janes of the Bolder Biz Community and Podcast talks about how to make a difference in your business. Aprille is a former corporate business consultant formerly working for companies like Coca-Cola and Minute Maid, something most other business coaches cannot claim. Because of this she is able to better give the outcome of everything that is possible. That is why she focuses on entrepreneurial soloprenenuers who want to better manage their work rather than those trying to double their business every month.

In this episode we talk about a trip to the Yukon in Alaska which changed her life. She was originally in corporate business consulting and after a long overnight drive she realized that she wanted to help people on a personal level. Since she believes that business is personal and it is impossible separate those, she has tried to give people the ability to create that for themselves. From this she has also created a meeting for women that were interested in business networking. She has been quite successful in this and has had many sold out events. We then talk about how to maintain these kinds of events and prevent them from being filled with bad people.

It feels great to have 100 episodes and 1 year of podcasting behind me. Things have gotten even better now that I am hearing more from you. It is finally starting to pay off! :)

Thanks so much for listening and here's to another 400 episodes!

Callum Laing has been called the most networked man in Asia. He is a New Zealander that has started built, bought and sold half a dozen businesses in a range of industries across two continents. He is the owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 11 countries and he is also the CEO of Entrevo Asia, a company that runs 40 week Growth Accelerator programs allowing executives and business owners to become a ‘Key Person of Influence’ in their industry.

In this episode we talk about Callum's move from working in technology in Netherlands during the tech bubble to Asia. He talks about how markets do not like profits and that only during times of large change is it possible to take advantage of massive opportunities. We talk about how when he moved he had to create a new network that was no longer based on convenience and location. He ended up starting some networking events which brought people together. During his meetings he might be personally connected to about 1000 people and tens of thousands went through his networking groups in Asia. He also shares the story of how he was able to make $50k by putting a group together within a few months.

I think that Western society's way of looking at sexuality is wrong. I think it can be extremely damaging and I believe that other parts of the world may have solutions. By suggesting that only gay or not gay exist, it pidgeonholes people into only these two possibilities and limits what might actually be happening in development. I also think that gender reassignment surgery is not a good idea

• First of all I recognize that it is a privilege brought by wealth that you could choose anything except a heterosexual marriage

• Money and technology have made the unimaginable a reality. Transgender people are extremely common in Thailand which would not have been possible a few decades ago

• I am a bit worried about these kinds of surgeries especially the fact that they are irreversible

• Since people don't know what they want even 10 years from now it should not be allowed or at least heavily regulated to allow something that is not reversible

• Being done at a young age is even worse. Imagine a child who is in love with Tennis and wants to get a tennis racket implanted in their hand to improve their game. Should this be allowed? What if the child REALLY loves tennis and has so since they were young?

• I am a scientist and understand the arguments that being gay or wanting to be transgender is genetic and rooted in biology. I don't buy it. I think that the same forces that make somebody love tennis and think about it all the time are the same ones involved in homosexuality

• Just because sex, and sexual organs are involved does not make it any different. It is only our sex averse culture that doesn't want to touch or discuss it because it involves stuff 'down there'

• So if we would not allow that tennis surgery because the possibility of changing your mind is too high, why allow it with something else? We live in an age now where our careers are expected to change every 10 years and we will completely have to reinvent ourselves. The world will change so much so why do we think that we will love the same thing 60 years from now? I think this is a ridiculous idea no matter what the subject is, tennis, becoming a woman, or knowing what you want to do with your life

• I am friends with some transgender people but I still question their motivations. Maybe it is just too different from my reality and I won't be able to understand it.

• My opinion is that homosexuality is too common and that it is an excuse for merely being different, more effeminate, or scared to do anything with women

• The irreversibly of coming out of the closet is also apparent to me. Many voices on the media promote being gay but I have not heard much about the trouble of being stuck one way.

• If you did a big show to 'come out of the closet' is it possible to change your mind a few years later or is it irreversible?

• I have had these questions based on my travels especially in Thailand. I saw this place as one of the most interesting places I had been especially in terms of sexuality. I definitely think that a documentary should be done especially of the ladyboys in Pattaya just because it is so different than anything else. I think there is much to learn there. But the question of permanence of your choice is still troubling to me

• I also have struggled with these questions at a personal level. Although I am in a happy relationship with an awesome girl, I remember a time many years ago when I was struggling to get laid. I had made a semi serious commitment that I would turn to men if that drought would go on longer

• This is why I see the possibility that announcing that you are gay is a way to get rid of responsibility. It prevents you from doing the hard thing of getting with a girl and instead going the easy route. Its like trying to feed a baby versus trying to feed a hungry dog. One takes much less effort to get them fed

• I also think that entering the gay scene could also be a blunt way of saying you reject traditional masculine roles. Being ostracized from a young age could leave you with resentments which could manifest them as joining this community. It may not be completely correct that is why I think there should be more emphasis on the fluidity of sexuality

• Sexuality should be taken as a fluid thing and that it can change over time. Depending on your environment or your social group it can be different.

• I can't think of any other decision that has such a permanent impact. Whether it be a choice in a career, to have children, or to devote your life to a sport, none have such long lasting impacts as declaring your sexuality. This is expected at a time when you are too uncertain to make the small decisions let alone the permanent ones

• Although I like to try new things, and have done some things with guys I have done enough to know I don't want to do everything. I'll let you decide what that means

• So many of the opinions I've shared are either based on myself, people I met, or things I had observed. They are just opinions and theories that can be changed in light of new evidence. My aim is not to judge or criticize, but rather offer an opinion for something I have not heard much about.

• Here is a thought experiment: in a hypothetical world which is completely made up, what if there was some chemical in certain plastics which would change the hormones in a human body and increase their chances of being gay? Would we want to ban this chemical from our plastic supply or would we keep it? Would it be homophobic to neutralize this compound within the body to bring people back to normal or would we keep it the way it is? I am very curious to hear your responses as I don't think it has a correct answer. Please send me your ideas! :)

Special thanks to Heavy Driver for leaving a review on iTunes “if you are a regular traveller or about to take that long awaited trip, this podcast is for you”. Thanks so much Heavy Driver and I hope that there were some takeaways from some of my shows that helped you. If you want a shoutout on the podcast, leave a review on iTunes. This helps more people discover the show and also you will become famous! :P

After a long hiatus here is my first episode talking about my trip to Thailand this summer

Melanie Curtis is a life coach, author, and location independent entrepreneur. She started as a corporate American, turned professional skydiver, turned life coach, fear consultant, and mobile-entrepreneur expert. Her 10,000 jumps out of a plane were not interesting enough so she decided to stop that and start her own consulting business while doing a world tour.

In this episode we talk about her transfer from being a famous professional skydiver into a life coaching business. After having started this for some years she decided to quit the skydiving and then do a many month world tour. During this time she was able to run her business as well as gain the wisdom from being abroad. We also talk about what it means to be a life coach as well as what they do. We discuss her qualifications and how she got accredited in this field. We then do a bit of a life coaching session to discuss my issues with my fear of speaking German.

I believe that it is important to become a wiser person. I think that experiences are important in life and that to experience more is to live a fuller life. That is why I have always tried to say yes to any experience that has come my way. I am not one to say no to something like skydiving, river rafting, trying new foods, going to strange lands, or trying out new business ventures. I have a heard a good quote that stuck with me recently “Good judgment comes from experience, which often comes from bad judgment.” So in order to have more good judgment, my opinion is that you need to have as many experiences as possible and from that you can gain good judgment.

What I try to show is that travel can open your life to experiences which is absolutely essential to gain wisdom. I have also tried to show that travel is not the only way to obtain wisdom. Since experiences can really be anything, and generally are simply reacting to new things, attaining wisdom can be all around you. All you have to do is put yourself in a new situation like talking to people you wouldn't otherwise talk to, doing things you wouldn't normally do, or going places to places you have never been. You can do all of these things without ever leaving your hometown, all it takes is the adventurer's mindset. By putting yourself in this mindset you can put yourself in learning mode which will allow you to continually get better in what you do.

Doing new things will give you perspective on your life and will help you realize that the way you have been doing things is not necessarily the right way. You can start to see that there are many ways to be successful and even if you continue doing what you were doing before, you become richer through this knowledge. Who would you rather listen to for advice and guidance, someone who had never left their hometown? Or someone who had travelled around the world and had experienced much more. I think the latter is one who could have a more balanced perspective on things and might be able to offer solutions that others implemented in faraway lands.

Of course one of my heroes, Immanuel Kant, never left his home town. He was still able to become a world renowned philosopher who's ideas are respected to this day, especially my favorite idea of the categorical imperative. This basically asks the question that if everybody on earth was doing what you were doing, would it be a good place? This is something I ask myself often whenever I embark on something new. Is it good, is it sustainable, and what will be the benefits of it? Finally, is this something only I can do or would it work if a large amount of people were doing it?

The way that Kant was able to do this is by immersing himself in books. So although he did not travel, he was able to effectively have a one way conversation with someone who may have been alive or dead. This follows the first rule of talking to people you wouldn't otherwise talk to. By having these 'conversations' one can learn more about the world around them and possibly solutions to everyday questions. Remember, a book holds the same information you could get as talking to someone, just more condensed and better organized.

However, just like while travelling, it is important not to listen to only one person. Otherwise you could be led astray by the fallacies of one source. It is when you talk to more people that you get a sense of the options available and what everyone is leaning towards. Especially here in India, I make sure to ask a few people when asking for directions. Everybody tries to be so helpful even if they end up leading you the wrong way.

This leads to the next method of gaining more wisdom, talking to new people. By going out and seeking those people that you normally do not talk to, you can get a different perspective on life, lifestyle, beliefs and more. So if you are a student, or working in a corporate job, get out of your usual circle of friends and explore a bit. Go to the poor part of town and strike up a conversation with someone. It will surely be interesting and even if they don't convince you of another way of looking at things, it will be enlightening. A common community that people ignore is those of immigrants. No matter where you live, there is most likely a neighborhood of a particular group of people from a different region of the world. In this way you do not need to walk more than an hour in order to get the same insights you could get by going across the world. Listening to them and hearing how your town is different from where they are from can be very interesting. Additionally, these people are often very grateful for outside social contact as they can often seclude themselves because of not knowing the language well enough. But if you have patience, and wear a smile, you will make friends and become beloved in that community.

My friends Liz and Veit have started an community in Dresden, Germany where they help out the refuges ending up there. These people often don't speak very good German or English and so are ostracized from the community. Additionally, they have culture shock by moving to a wildly new country. That soft serve ice cream you just bought them might be the first one they have had in their life! A little goes a long way.

Now, you don't necessarily need to dedicate your life to service nor may you have a large refugee population like Dresden. However, people from another country exist in every city larger than maybe 10,000 people. By finding them, and learning from them, you can experience their country by proxy. It can also be a good push to visit their country and learn even more. Who know? You could fall in love with an aspect of their culture and it could change your life for the better! But my opinion is that actually visiting the country is better, but this is very similar.

Next is to do things that you normally wouldn't do. This could include simply going to events or activities that you have never tried and keeping an open mind. My gf recently took me to a salsa dancing club and although we practiced, I wasn't very good and didn't find it as fun as she did. However, I am grateful for the experience because it made my life richer and now I know a bit more about myself. I would recommend trying out any type of event such as a music festival, convention, meetup, house party, celebration, or anything else. You could end up liking it and become a regular, or realize that you don't like it and not do it regularly. Either way, you learned something and became a fuller human.

It can also be as adrenaline filled as skydiving or paragliding. I have tried both and absolutely recommend them to anyone! I actually hope to work on a paragliding license so I can fly on my own someday. It was such a fun experience, well worth the $60 for the 5 hour session. When you spend your money on experiences instead of things, you learn a bit about yourself and know what your limits and capabilities are. I now feel more confident in things that I do because I was able to fly a parachute on my own after only a few hours of training.

Of course when you are travelling there are more options for these kinds of activities. Your town may not have opportunities to do scuba diving, hiking, or river rafting but it usually has at least something. That is why it is easy to opportunistically take part in many new things while travelling. Especially to do the things that are not an option where you're from. That is why I always try to do new and exotic activities or events while I am travelling even if they may be expensive.

The final way to gain more wisdom even while at home is to go to new places. Even if you have lived in a town for many years, there are likely many roads and parts of town that you do not normally visit. This partially goes back to meeting people you wouldn't talk to because doing that may lead you somewhere you have never been. This can be really good for freshening up the weekly routine and can put you in an adventurer's mindset. I'm not sure that you will necessarily learn anything new by walking down a street you have never seen, but I think it will set you up for enjoying new experiences. This tip I guess is more of a building block kind of thing in order to get used to novelty.

So, gaining new experiences and wisdom is not only limited to travel but it certainly helps speed things up. If you are in the right mindset, and talk to new people / read new books, do novel activities, and go new places, you can speed up the wisdom that you accumulate.

Remember, wisdom is just the accumulation of experiences so that you can have better judgment. So what are you doing this week to have more new experiences?

Special thanks to Edward Meyer who left an iTunes review saying “One of my favorite podcasts, thanks so much for the information presented in a pleasant and easy listening style. Always love it.” Thank so much Edward and I hope that I can continue to exceed your expectations until I am your favorite podcast! :P

Andrew Henderson is host of the Nomad Capitalist where he helps people discover the offshore secrets "they" don't want you to know about. He share 100% legal strategies for wealth creation, asset protection, and doing business overseas. He talks about how you can shop around to go where you are treated best in terms of a passport, bank account, business accounts and even simply talking to people. He teaches that the US might not be the best place for any of these things.

In this episode we talk about how 'flag theory' is something that can allow you to shop around for the best deals in terms of all aspects of your life. Since travel is so easy and cheap now, it is easy to have a second residency somewhere and banking somewhere else. He says that it is always best to be treated as a tourist wherever you are. Many of these things affect mostly those who have their own companies or those making more than $100k a year. Although this probably does not affect you now, it is always a good thing to know and to know that options exist. Finally we talk about the possibility of me giving up my US passport to get something else, although I am not sure about this at the moment.

Addiction. Now, I can get in lots of trouble for talking about this but this has been a part of my journey and I think it has helped me on my road to wisdom. This is a very dangerous thing to say especially in my home country of the US where drugs are demonized and even soft drugs like marijuana are seen as the devil incarnate. However, through my travels around the world I have made it a point to not say no to anything and to experience all that I can.

I think that drugs can be used as a tool for gaining wisdom or perspective, the same way travel can. By using some drugs you are removed from your present state of thinking which allows you to see that there is more than what you perceive. Just like travel, it can also be done in such a way that no beneficial thing comes out of it. It can be abused and the learning opportunities ignored.

I had remained extremely clean for the first 18 years of my life. Possibly living with my family deep in the suburbs prevented me from making any contacts with people who could tarnish me. But as soon as I moved out on my own I felt independent to make my own friends and to live my own life. Part of this was experimenting all sorts of things that I wanted to try so that then I could judge for myself if it was good or not. An old friend used to say “you cant knock it until you try it.” The same way you couldn't talk about how horrible it is to live in Australia for example, if you've never even been there, you can't speak of the horrors of a drug and shun the people who use it if you've never tried it. That is why I went on a journey of exploration to see all that I could see and to try as much as I could. Partway down the path I got hooked on some but now I feel I am back to where I should be.

Let me explain what I define as a drug. Anything that changes your body or brain chemistry to me is a drug. Even food and especially sugar does this. I have had some bites of sweets when I was hungry and my first reaction was to grab all of it and stuff it in my mouth. That is why I was always a bit surprised when the Mormons in my home city of Salt Lake City had very strict rules on what a drug was. They said they didn't want to alter the mind not knowing that Indonesian sailors who don't drink regularly get 'high' on sugary drinks. In Europe many centuries ago, sugar offered another way to get high. So chances are if you have had some sweet coffee, you have already had at least two drugs, caffeine and sugar.

The reason I am talking about this is because my travels directly led to my drug use. Whether it be getting drunk for the first time in Russia, or smoking weed for the first time in Netherlands, it was the place that opened the door for me. However, I was actually seeking out that this door would be opened and I was happy that it was. Experiencing all that there is and knowing more about life was something going back early in my life. I remember as a 16 year old talking to the druggy work colleagues on the pros and cons of each drug and the route one should go on in trying them. This was research for my later years. Looking back on it now, it feels like a research project that I had intentionally set out on in order to learn more about the world.

Essentially, what I learned is that any drug can be useful, beneficial, or harmful depending on the mode of use and the frequency. Even though I have never tried it, I think even a drug like Heroin might not be so bad if done in a safe setting maybe once a year. I think the addiction is the most damaging part and it can sneak up on your. Even I thought I wasn't addicted even though hardly a week would go by if I didn't smoke weed or drink.

The main question I learned from overcoming addiction, or at least getting it under control, is to ask why are you doing this. What is the purpose of doing what you are doing and what do you hope to accomplish. Who do you want to be like, and if you continue down this road where are you likely going to end up? Is this a place you want to be? This is what I asked myself and my answers weren't shocking like I'll end up dead on the streets but it was actually much worse. I will end up in the same place as I am now in the next 5 years and nothing will have changed. This is what I noticed when a friend would always come over with some nice weed to smoke, nothing ever got done even though there was much to be done. I would complain about all the homework I would have to do for school even though I would waste 30 hours a week getting high.

Even realizing this, its hard to stop the cycle unless you change your environment. In my case I got a girlfriend and as things tend to happen, I did not meet as often with my friends. This definitely helped but probably the biggest thing was my allergic reaction to weed that developed. Possibly after getting into some really bad stuff, I became extremely paranoid and couldn't function after smoking. It was so bad that I had to stop. A few times I forgot the power of this and how bad it feels and smoke again but then realize that I cannot ever do it again.

I have realized this with drinking as well. I realized that the combination of drinking, smoking, and staying up late absolutely killed my body during any weekend I did this. Those weekends I didn't, I realized there was so much time in the day that could be better spent by going on a hike, learning something new, or exploring your city. I realized that it was a time suck without any real benefits being built up.

This is a key with all addiction. Actually this morning I decided to kick the habit of going on a website called 9gag which was also introduced to me while travelling. It has user generated content where people post cartoons and funny stuff and I would spend about an hour a day on this. After coming back from a week long trip without it and feeling fine, I came home and got sucked back into it. I realized it doesn't lead anywhere and the possibly 10 hours per week could be better used either reading or learning Hindi as I should be doing. I believe that by kicking this habit I can also be more productive in the mornings when I can be very lazy. I already had the urges to just go on it for a few minutes but I had to fight it and give myself something else to do. By changing your environment you can change your outcomes.

I have found that there can be certain tricks to make your mind think differently. Instead of doing something that you would usually do, you can instead do a much healthier option. Earlier I talked about how sugar is a drug and actually it is extremely unhealthy as well. Some new science is emerging showing that sugar and carbohydrates is one of the main things that ages you and damages your body. That is why possibly skipping desert could be extremely healthy for your life and your physique.

But what do you do if you still crave something? I have learned that one piece of very dark chocolate of over 70% cacao usually does the trick. My mind is satisfied with it and I know that I hadn't eaten much sugar at all. There are many tricks that you can do that are similar to this in order to change your environment to change your outcomes. Instead of drinking on the weekend, simply get out of the city during the weekend to completely avoid any temptations. I would do this in Germany to get myself to study instead of lounging around in my apartment all day. I would go to the library with all the hardworking people instead of watching YouTube, taking a nap, and cooking food. This was a huge improvement and I was able to get about 3x more work done.

I started out wanting to write about drugs and their benefits but ended up writing about the downsides of drugs and what they do to your time. I guess this was more on my mind and I want to tell people about what I learned. What I learned is that travel introduced me to many of my addictions and I am grateful for that. I had seeked out many of these experiences in the past but then got sucked into some of them. But I am grateful for this because it gave me perspective on addiction and I can better understand those dealing with it. I also believe it has made me stronger, so when the next addictive thing comes around I can stop it or at least recognize what is happening.

What I also learned was that travel can be the solution to many of your addictions. By changing your environment so drastically, sometimes you can't have the thing you once used every day. This can be good in realizing how you can live without it and can be much easier than trying to simply not use it while you can still see it. Whether it be not being able to drink in the Middle East, not smoking weed in former Soviet Georgia, or not having internet to go on 9gag, it can force you to quit. When you get back you can judge whether or not it was beneficial and what you got out of it. Your circle of friends will also heavily determine what you do. Being around alcoholic students who party all the time will probably cause you to become one just by hanging around them. Sometimes it is easier to see if reversed. If I told you someone was best friends 5 partyers what would you think that person was? What if I told you someone was best friends with 5 bodybuilders, what kind of person do you think they are?

So in the end, addiction is bad but mostly because it is a time suck. Whether having a hangover the whole weekend, spending your evening being high, getting sucked into the uselessness of the internet, or even getting fat one sugar, it causes you to have to undo the wrong direction you went in. But maybe if you can catch yourself early enough it can still be a learning experience and you can teach others how to get out of it.

Special thanks to Stan Warner for leaving an iTunes review saying “Great podcast with wonderful guests and fantastic interviews. Highly recommended!” Thanks for leaving a review and increasing the visibility for the podcast. Now if you have been listening for at least a few episodes and like what you hear, please also leave a review so more likeminded people can find it on the interwebs, thanks!

Cheval John is the host of the What's the Word podcast, a show about finding out what motivates people to be successful in their respective careers. Cheval is an Amazon Best-Selling author, blogger and social media consultant. Every week, he asks guests how they chose their career paths and how they overcame the odds to be successful. 

In this episode we talk about how his study abroad in Mexico and Chile affected his life. While his classmates were complaining about the conditions there he was offended by their perspectives. Instead, he decided to embrace the people and the culture. There he learned about what to do and what not to do, especially sensitive things to talk about like someone's favorite sports team. Then the show devolved into a therapy session to get Cheval to go back to Chile and live there. Since he seemed very happy over there I think it could be good for him to go back to the place that he loved so much.

MK Sharma has been trying to preserve the history of the desert state of Rajasthan India in his Desert Cultural Center for almost 20 years. He has collected many rare historical artifacts into one museum which is mostly self funded. When we went to his museum we started talking to him and it was so interesting that I knew I had to come back to get an interview. He had seen so many changes in his state and was a wealth of information about the history and culture of his state.

In this interview we talk about the importance of keeping your culture. He talks about how the young people are chasing money and fancy things that the West has to offer instead of how to live a balanced and tradtional life. We talk about his efforts to maintain history and how we should do this as well. Finally we talk about how things will change over the next 50 years and if there is hope in even maintaining this. 

This is an interesting episode because with Westernization and modernization many cultures are sure to be lost. How do we preserve our culture and who we are for the future? 

Ani Alexander is the host of the Write to be Read podcast where she talks about being a writer and making sure you sell books. She has written a few books like Highfall that have been quite successful and now is sharing what she did in order to make sure it went well.

We talk about the travel and moving around that Ani did for much of her life. She has lived in many countries and she shares how she started getting into writing. It is a strange story that shows how your mind knows what you want to do before you know yourself. We talk about her success getting successful people on her podcast as well as creating relationships with some of the most successful people in the industry. She does this by first creating a relationship and providing value in order to get names like this on her show. She then talks about her company which helps people publish and become successful. Finally we talk about how her travel has affected her writing. 

I have felt insanely rich during my stay here in India. Because the cost of living here is so low, I am able to live on less than $300 a month for all my expenses. During the travels for 6 weeks in Northern India and Nepal, I think I only spent around $600. This has ended up being one of the cheapest places that I have ever travelled to and needless to say I love it!

I am not one to hold back on money on certain things. For some things like fashion, hotels and other luxuries I find relatively pointless, I am incredibly cheap. However, in terms of food, travel, education, electronics and the things that I find useful I am not afraid to spend money. Sometimes I even spend more than I have. Then I have to look at it as an investment rather than just a fun thing to do. If I can't justify the expenditure as something that can benefit my future, I won't buy it.

From some investments and other things back in the States I have about $1000 a month that comes in passively. This means that whenever I can live for less than that, I can choose to work for fun instead of working in order to live. Honestly, when I was in the US and then later in Germany, it was a bit difficult to live on this amount and I sometimes had to supplement my income doing odd jobs or little side projects to make me money.

Not having enough money was not fun as I could not focus on things that could help me grow as a person but instead had to potentially work in a soul crushing job which would not get me anywhere. Whenever I didn't need the money as much, I was free to do unpaid or lowly paid internships which would allow me to progress in my career and teach valuable skills. This is one of the main things that I attribute to being able to get to where I have. I feel very privileged to have gotten to do the things I have because it was a luxury to be able to pick and choose the path that I wanted. Before this, I had experienced a very turbulent environment which would force me down a certain path only for money. It was only after a certain distance down this path that I would discover that it was not where I wanted to go. By then it would feel like I wasted time and I felt a certain 'sunk cost.' It would be tempting to just stay on the path because I had gone so far already and it would take my friends and family to convince me to take the path to be happy, but more on that in another episode.

Maybe that is why I never really went all in on any certain path. I have always been one to try many things before making a decision and always enjoyed being sent on other jobs at some of my previous employers. I wanted to see how everything was done and I wanted to make sure that I was doing the thing that would be the most interesting. Maybe this is the reason I have gone to 80 countries, to see them all and eventually to pick a few I liked. I finally feel like going all in, now that I feel like I know what I am choosing from, but more on that in another episode.

So back to this situation in India. Even when I was travelling here I was spending less than the money than comes in passively. I realized I was eating well, doing the things I wanted to do, seeing the things I wanted to see and I still had money left over. But I really didn't see a point in spending more. I had my needs met and was living a comfortable life. Anything more would be just an invented or fabricated way to spend money. I did not need fancy suits, fancy cars, or somehow showoff my status. But it wasn't always this way, I used to be the opposite.

I attribute everything to outside influences. I feel that the way I acted before was not really the way I actually am. The BMW, 1000W stereo, and other flashy ways to get attention were probably encouraged by the things I surrounded myself with. The pop radio playing songs about showing off money, the TV shows about fancy things, and finally surrounding myself with people who would blow a paycheck in a weekend on a good time. Being surrounded by these sorts of things makes it really hard to then do the opposite. But I wasn't happy.

It really wasn't until I went to Germany that I was able to experience the things that I really needed. There they have a culture against spending money and everyone is a hipster, rolling their own cigarettes and wearing old clothes. I ended up liking this much more as the culture focused on having and spending time with friends. It felt like there I was able to get better at these skills as well. Needless to say, I loved it and when I came back to the US to finish my bachelors I couldn't wait to come back. There, a crazy night out would cost maybe $10 but back in the States it could cost $50.

I've gotten a bit off topic, but what I meant to say was that moving to Europe made me see that the way I was living before was a bit strange. There were other ways of spending money and more importantly not wasting money. After living there for some time I started to focus only on the essentials: food, drinks, a few electronics and of course travel. Everything I spent money on had a purpose and I could clearly say that it would help me in the future.

That is why when I went to India recently it really struck me as strange that people would spend so much money on silly things. This was of course after visiting all the temples and palaces built centuries ago. It seemed strange to me and frankly a waste of money to be spending so much money on such opulent things like baths and even larger palaces. It wasn't until we went to the desert city of Jaipur where I saw something I could get excited about, an astronomy exhibit! Finally there was somebody that used their money to advance science instead of merely trying to look more impressive than the next ruler in the next city. One could hardly call this as an investment and the energy and time far outweighed the $3 entry fee for foreigners a century later.

That is why I think that the best things to spend money on are investments. First you need to invest in yourself to make sure that you are the best that you can be. Then you can invest in the things around you to make life better not only for you but also for those in your environment. You can also invest in learning more about the world either in terms of culture, geography, or science. But ultimately this is also an investment into yourself and your surroundings.

After feeling extraordinarily rich here in India, I realized that I am not spending all the money I could be. This is because my needs have been met and I don't need to spend more. Paying for the expensive drink or expensive clothes will not make my life better and so I use less than I could. However, I see many business opportunities that require a small investment and I am happy to give it. I see it as a way to plant a seed for success and further income in the future. By doing this you also help people with jobs as well as cool products that you are providing.

I look forward to starting businesses that make lots of money. But not necessarily to have more money. I guess I could use more money for plane tickets but that is still a relatively small expense. Actually, what I am most excited about is using that money to spin off other businesses and ideas to make more things a reality. I look forward to the day that I can bring a new product or service somewhere which will improve people's lives and provide money for employees as well.

I feel blessed because I am rich. But by being rich I have realized that it doesn't bring happiness. Of course you can buy certain things that guarantee happiness, like a Jet Ski, but even this will not last. What I now see is that the thing that will create happiness the most sustainably is to make sure that others experience the wealth as well. This doesn't mean that you directly give a beggar money, but by creating a job or a fair source of income for someone you can make the world a better place. By sharing the wealth evenly, everyone is able to spend money on the things that they want and need. Hopefully, they also spend it on investments.  

Matt McLeod is the host of the Austrailian Backpacking podcast. He has worked in the hostel industry for over 6 years and has seen the change of many people who go through the doors. The podcast talks about what to see while in Austrailia from an expert in the industry.

In this episode we talk about his life journey which eventually led him to work in a hostel in Australia. We talk about the trip that made him change his mind about what is important to see while in Australia. We talk about the work opportunities doing farmwork and other ways to make money while travelling. They have many people coming through who spend many months and can do it without much in terms of savings. Finally we talk about how he has personally seen travel around Australia change people's lives. He talks about how after 3 months the same people come through his hostel and he can see a change in their behavior and speech. How mothers call him and thank him for the changes done to their child during their stay abroad. This has been the episode that has proven the idea of the show the most, Travel is a learning experience which can lead to success.

First of all I want to hear what you guys think about my new microphone. Although I had bought it about 9 months ago, I was too cheap to pay for the faster shipping and therefore it was sitting in my mom's house until now. I hope you guys like it as well as my ever increasing commitment to quality. I hope I can have a super sexy voice that you guys will fall even more in love with!

Now this episode might be a bit strange but in my mind it is incredibly important! What would it be worth to you if you never had to charge your phone again? Our phones are becoming the centers of our world as they have replaced a dozen devices from a decade ago. I myself have seen this shift in my travels and what I needed to carry with me while backpacking. Earlier, I had to carry my camera, laptop, books, microphone, ipod, and of course my cell phone. Now this is all in one convenient device which has dropped my packing weight in half!

The problem with this is, before you had many batteries to handle all these things, but now you only have one device. I can sometimes drain my smartphone battery in only a few hours. These are usually the times that I need it most! When I need to check my bookings, find my accommodation, or take that once in a lifetime picture. The stress that comes with a low battery is real and I can start to act differently depending on the numbers at the top of my phone screen.

So what would you do or pay in order to never have to charge your phone again? What would you do in order to have unlimited phone charge? I have tried many devices and methods in order to make this happen. I have used battery banks, battery cases, charging it wherever I go, and even turning it on airplane mode for most of the day. However, no method works nearly as well as simply having extra batteries.

With extra batteries, as soon as your phone is dead, you can simply pop out the old ones and put in new ones. There is no time to wait for charging and you can get on with your work within 30 seconds. You might also carry an extra one in addition to that which means your battery life could extend for days. I did this as I was looking for a location in London. I was actually given the wrong address and therefore was using Google Maps for about 4 hours. But I was not worried even as my battery bar kept going down, I knew I had a few backups. That day I actually went through 3 batteries, and I could not have imagined finding the place without it.

Since I hosted many events in Germany I would always laugh when there was a get together and inevitably there was someone with a dead phone. Sometimes they would try to revive it and frantically ask around for a charger. It was like a drug addict running around wanting more 'juice.' It actually ended up being somewhat of a constant and I now estimate that one out of every 20 people at an event would want to charge their phones.

I actually have gone many months without charging my phone. What I would do is simply pop out my dead batteries and then put in the new ones. I would then put the old battery on a charger. This would mean that when it was charging, I would not have to be tied to an outlet to do whatever work I needed on the phone. I was free to move around or even leave the battery there while it did its work. Since the chargers also have an external USB, it is also possible to charge both at the same time. This means that overnight in your hotel or hostel, you can charge twice as much.

Some people use power banks and I used to also. However, it doesn't make sense to need to hold two devices for a few hours in order to get it to work. They are big and clunky and I have actually messed up my charging port by putting both of them in my pocket at the same time. But mostly, the biggest inconvenience is the time it takes to charge it.

Finally there is a great problem to be solved in terms of emergencies. Even if you charge your phone as you normally have, it is always wise to keep a spare in case of an emergency. I tried to tell my friend, that even if you only use the spare battery once per month it is still worth it. That one time in that month would likely save your ass and you would be very grateful that you had it.

Now, some phones with sealed in batteries don't have this option. This is a huge problem as phones like the iPhone think that their product looks better when you can't look inside. And if you have this phone, all I can say is I'm sorry, nobody is perfect. You will be stuck with a powerbank or tied to an outlet. That's what you get for getting the wrong type of phone :P

I have a recommendation for this. This is the charger and batteries that I used for over 6 months before my phone was stolen in Northern India. I absolutely loved it and it was very useful. It came with 3 batteries which were only about 80% the strength of original ones but that didn't matter much with 3 extras. It is only $20 with shipping and this is the cost to never need to charge your phone again. You will always be secure and always be able to use your phone when you need it. It is a small price to pay.

Sorry for this very strange topic but it is something I have become strangely argumentative of. I see that the way I have done things is far superior to the silly things that my friends do and I try to convince them. Hopefully I convinced you a bit about why it is better to have extra batteries rather than any other way of charging your phone.

Special thanks to Juliano José Lourenço for writing in!

Shawn Paris has spent the last 4 years of his life essentially homeless. He has stayed with around 200 couchsurfing hosts in the US, France and Japan while going around and performing. I hosted him for a few days and we ended up talking about the benefits of living like this. I had done something similar in 2017 and although I got sick of it after a year, it definitely had its benefits. 

It is definitely possible to save rent money or money on a mortgage and spend that on travel instead.

Jasper Ribbers is the author of Get Paid for Your Pad which is all about how to make money by renting your place on AirBnB. In March 2010 Jasper gave up his finance career to pursue a lifelong dream: to travel the world full time. To support himself, he runs several online businesses. He shares his adventures with the world through his blog, The Traveling Dutchman, which he also wants to use to inspire others to live their dream.

In this episode we talk about his journey to start listing his apartment in Amsterdam on AirBnB. By doing this he was able to earn over $200 a day all while travelling the world. This money was more than enough to cover his expenses while travelling, especially in cheaper countries. We talk about the importance of having good trustable staff to take care of the place while you are away. Keyless entry, talking to the landlord, telling your neighbors, and listening to your guests.

It has been an absolute headache getting settled in India! I hope that the things I share here will be the worst of anything you will ever experience when moving to a new country or city, it certainly has been for me.

Anytime I move, I always try to remember that things are not the way as I am used to and that I cannot expect immediate results. When I moved to Germany I was frustrated at finding a place for so long and some other differences in the ways of doing things. However, it seems like now in India the struggles are much higher. Although I was warned about this and had done a bit of mental preparation, actually being inside of it has proven to be frustrating and kind of makes me never want to move again.

When we first came to Bangalore we stayed with some friends of my gf from a few years ago. They were very nice in letting us stay at their apartment and we had a nice bed under the foosball table. It was honestly quite comfortable but I wanted to get out because I felt I needed my own place to start getting settled in. I was anxious to move out also because the place I was going to work was a 2 hour bus ride from where we were located. But looking back, it was still a good location and we could be happy to be living there.

After many days of deciding where we wanted to live, either close to work or close to the nightlife, we decided to stay at the Guest House on campus. This was a price friendly option and the living there was quite nice. It also satisfied my curiosity about having a maid clean the house and change the sheets, a potentially expensive option if we did this ourselves. We were sold on the idea the second that we saw it. It being only a few minutes walk from where we were going to do our work was also a big plus. However, it seemed to take a long time to get all the paperwork done for this. Perhaps I was just anxious to get out on my own, but every extra day felt like an eternity.

Finally, after a week we were able to move in. This was about two weeks after we had come to India, honestly we thought this would be much worse! The place was furnished but we still had to get the small things that make it comfortable for living: refrigerator, stove, dishes, utensils, and other small stuff like this. This honestly added up and took considerable time to track down. Since we are students and are both cheap at heart, we wanted second hand items which was a bit hard in our neck of the woods. After about 3 weeks of living in the apartment we had collected everything that we needed.

Another issue was internet. Did I mention I am a podcast host and I need Skype quality internet to work? Our internet was based on a wireless one for the whole Guest House and was only available in certain positions through the window. It was extremely difficult to get things done and Skype was out of the question. We eventually tracked down a wireless router after two weeks and set it all up. But it still didn't work! We had to do some fancy configuration and the guys from IT department came to our apartment to set it up. This was a frustrating extra week while we tried to make it work. I was fine without steady internet for the 3 months prior, but now that I was expecting to have good internet, not having it was really aggravating!! Finally it was fixed about 3 weeks after we came and has been good ever since.

The hardest thing we had to deal with so far was getting SIM cards and replacing my stolen smartphone. This is also something that is incredibly important especially when you have gotten settled in a place and want to do more than just wander around. When you want to be in contact with people it becomes much more necessary. Since a residence permit is required to get anything done, it was absolutely horrible that the Guest House didn't provide ours. We honestly spent maybe 20 hours walking around and asking places if we could get it there. We tried all sorts of documentation that could be accepted, followed people's advice which led to a dead end on more than one occasion. Finally, I bought the used phone I wanted and got the SIM card a full month after arriving in India. Since in Germany a SIM card is something you can buy as an afterthought in a supermarket, I never thought it would've taken 20 hours and one month to get this done.

Finally the traffic here is horrible! This is literally the worst traffic I have ever experienced or even heard about! Since we live in the Northwest side of the city and all the cool events happen in the Southeast side of the city, we have to travel across the city to do anything fun. Since rush hour is all day, we have to spend two hours in a bus to go each way. Four hours of transportation really puts a damper on anything you really want to see. This means that our nights out end up being mostly being in a bus and hanging out with friends for a short time before heading back. We want to buy a motorbike which could speed things up but the current monsoon season is slowing that idea down.

Other than that we have mostly gotten settled into our new home until the end of November. It is starting to be more comfortable with all the luxuries of a real home. Now that all of the hassle is behind us we can focus on our work, meeting with friends, exploring southern India and learning Hindi. This feels nice :)

So after all this complaining about the negatives of Bangalore, I have to say that it really is a very nice city. I honestly want to live here for a good part of the year. I recently heard about the 7, 3, 2 way of living where you spend 7 months in one place, 3 months in another, and 2 months in the last. I really like this idea and am currently thinking about doing 7 months of every year in India, 3 months in Germany, and 2 months in the US.

The biggest plus on the side of Bangalore is the price. As a Westerner coming in the cost of living is really nice. Although there are many places where you can still end up paying western prices for a plate of food or beer, most places are very reasonably priced and you can get a plate of food for $1-2 and a beer for $1.50. With rent for the both of us being less than $150 per month and food being our main expense, it is easy to imagine that each of our monthly expenditures for EVERYTHING being less than $300. I had never been in a place that was so cheap and we can live quite well on $300 a month. If we wanted to really pinch pennies (or paisals here in India) we could probably even get that down to $100 a month and still live quite well with restaurants every day.

Another great advantage here is the entrepreneurial spirit. This city is often called the Silicon Valley of India as it is home to many tech companies such as HP, Microsoft, Oracle, various biotech companies, and aeronautical companies. It really seemed that every Indian I had talked to either in the US or Germany had lived in Bangalore for some time. This is because it is so attractive to young educated people as the place to get your foot in the door on a successful career. The environment here certainly reflects that! I attended many MeetUps and it no longer came as a surprise when people said they had lived in the US or that they worked with companies there. Everybody has dreams of going abroad to make 5x more money.

The startup scene is also quite alive. When you get young, intelligent, scrappy people together ideas start to form and dreams of making big businesses bloom. There are dozens of startup events to teach people how to do the founding process and get people thinking. This is a great interest of mine and am excited to be among the next Indian Steve Jobs, founder of Apple. It really was a welcome relief after being in Germany where the startup scene was not nearly as lively, with only about 20 people in my city interested in this sort of thing. Here, there were about 10 events per week, each with at least 30 people attending each of them!

Finally the weather is quite sublime. It is a constant 60-90F (15-30C) throughout the year and is mostly sunny. We did come at a bad time, during the monsoon season where it rains the most but even this is not bad. The rain, although strong enough to need an umbrella, never lasts more than an hour and you can soon get along with your day if you happen to be stuck out at that time.

So in the end, although it was quite a pain in the ass to get setup, it has been starting to pay off. I hope that being around this entrepreneurial spirit will infect me with some good business ideas. I like to say that Bangalore is a combination of the three main Californian cities: San Francisco for the tech startup spirit, Los Angeles for the infrastructure and traffic, and San Diego for the weather.

Hope to see you here soon!

Chris Christenson is the host of the Amateur Travel Podcast which talks about different locations around the world and what to do and see there. It is essentially an audio travel guide to help plan your trip. This gives the best long term value and is evergreen content.

In this show we talk about Chris's travel experience and experience working in Silicon Valley. He started doing a show just on his own travels and then to get more material by interviewing people about different cities and countries. He also talks about how he makes his work coincide with his travels. He also talks about how even when he is offered free trips he sometimes rejects them because it is not a good fit. Then he talks about his motivation of doing the podcast and the great stories about different cultures especially in places that you have never gone to before.