bk moore

It’s been a long time since my last post. A really long time. Not sure how many still use tumblr. I still browse on here occasionally and have great memories of the early days of this platform. Here’s a few posts from the past year and a half. 

I first started exploring the world of the Internet around in 1997. I was in the 4th grade. It amazes me how far it has came in a relatively short time. The Internet we know today is still very young. The opportunity it is affording people around the world is nothing short of incredible. I can’t wait to see where we are in 5-10 years. 

If there is something that you want to do for a career, chances are you can do it online. And be successful. I still hold down a full-time career in an office, but I have been able to work with someone really great people outside of my job thanks to the Internet. Some I have met in person, some I have not. A couple months ago I got to consult with a startup out of Austin. That’s not a humblebrag, just a fact that blows my mind. 

“Everyone has a skill that can earn them money on the side. What often intimidates people is learning how to offer that skill as product or service.”

Live small, travel big. A philosophy of sorts. When I say this to myself, I’m not telling myself that I should live super cheap and take lavish vacations. It’s more of a method that for me leads to happiness and clarity. Its easy to say, but not always easy to live by. It took awhile to get where I am today.

I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to travel outside of the Midwest. It wasn’t something that I thought about often. It was more of an assumption since I came  from a small, working-class town with limited opportunities. When my teenage years rolled around, I got the itch to see more and do more. That didn’t happen right away though. Traveling takes money and money wasn’t around much growing up. For some reason, it hung out at my friend’s house and rarely came over to mine.

Once I graduated high school, I quit a job in a factory and joined my cousin in a van for a musical tour. This tour was semi-planned with the help of Myspace and had lots of holes in the schedule. Highlights included doing dishes at a cafe for a place to stay, sleeping in the Wal-Mart parking lot in the Texas heat, diving for bread in a Panera dumpster, and welcoming a hitchhiker. A few months, I was fortunate to go on another tour with my all-time favorite band, Park. This was more of an actual tour and it took me to 14 states over three weeks. While doing this I worked another blue-collar job.

Riding in van, getting psyched on Taco bell, and working outside 30 stories up in the bitter cold helped shaped me. It’s funny how it’s the struggles or the times that things don’t go as planned stick with you. They came at time of change as I was out of high school, not going to college, and figuring things out. Ten years later, I’ve seen both coasts, most states between, and left the country. And not all these trips were vacations. Some trips were to help others that are in desperate need. Those are the trips that will punch you in the face for  thinking you had many real struggles.

Also, while we’re talking about vacations, I’m not a big fan of the word “vacation.” Vacation alludes to recreation and disconnecting from the real world. That’s not the reason I travel. I prefer to travel to connect, to expand my thinking, see how others live, and learn more about myself. Those reasons are why I believe traveling is one of the most important things a person can do in life.

Now for living small. This is something that I think is just as important. Living small, to me, is living with what matters. We are a country of consumerists and while there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that, it’s just not for everyone. I think more possessions often equal sacrifices and more responsibilities.

I’ve often seen friends and family let possessions take a up too much space in their life, figuratively and literally. I’ve been guilty of this as well. I work hard for what I have and nothing has ever come easy. I just have to remind myself that it’s just stuff.

This past fall, as part of an entrepreneurial program, a high school senior chose me to be his mentor. It’s been a great experience, but I see this path that he has been pre-programmed for through those around him and our society. He has it all figured it. College, postgraduate school, new car, nice house/apartment, family, kids, etc. I want him to realize that’s not the only way. There are other ways to achieve success. That you can do something you’re passionate about even when there isn’t a paved road leading to it. A new car and a $900 apartment right after school are just handcuffs. Living small allows you to still be free. I don’t think many people realize this.