Owner, LiveAllYourLife.com

Do you have things you want to do, but procrastinate in doing them? There may be some hidden benefits to this inner battle.

We don’t make sense.

It would seem there’s a whole spectrum of motivations. I say I want certain things, but I resist my own efforts. I feel inspired to train until it’s time to go to the gym.

I hunger to become a writer, but out of my allotted weekly writing time, I estimate my writing to consume a tenth of it.

I fancy myself as an artist, but I’ve averaged one or two sketches per year for the…

The Unexpected Side Effects of Getting Out Of Debt: A Debt-Free Love Story Part 1

If personal finances were about the math, I imagine we would all be millionaires…

Spend less than you make. Save the rest diligently in compounding interest accounts over a long period of time. The math is stupid-simple. But we are not ledgers. We’re people. We have complex emotional needs and desires, influences and distractions, subjective values and abilities, relationships and…

Procrastinate Like A Pro.

Humans have the capacity to envision complex outcomes. We dream of traveling to the stars. We plan for unknowable futures. We strive for god-like powers. And often, fail to fold the laundry when it comes out of the dryer.

For me, having good ideas is easy. Implementing them is hard.

When I was younger I had a lazy streak. I would watch T.V. for hours. If that wasn’t an option I would sit in my…

I’ve carried around a lot of destructive guilt most of my life. Spent too much time feeling inadequate; immature, uneducated, unfit, unworthy, unproductive.

I could look like a complete failure if you see certain aspects. I sold my failing business for just enough to pay off its debts. I divorced after 25 years of marriage. An interesting side effect of divorce- you tend to lose family and…

Born to Fail: Letting go of guilt and inferiority

If you’ve ever felt guilt or shame for not achieving more, consider this:

You were born to fail.

At least by societal standards. Our biology is primed for survival. But the modern ideals of success are far beyond survival. In fact, the people who are “just getting by” are the outcasts of our culture. The Losers.

By evolutionary standards, these people are no more or less successful than the elite…

Imposter syndrome.

Rejection.

Starving artists.

These ugly symptoms of fear present themselves in various ways. Every creative person is familiar to some degree with at least one.

Are these personal flaws? Do they present a lack of discipline? In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield speaks to these obstacles as necessary attributes of the creative process. He overcomes with a…

To Move Forward; Step Back

(note: This is a raw and vulnerable post. Cathartic? Maybe. But it’s my sincere hope that my story might help you approach the hard decisions that are required to overcome your obstacles. I know you have your own.)

Our actions may be impeded but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The Mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the…

The governor of our progress is our reluctance to make hard choices. Want to improve your life? Seek the obstacle you fear.

I think I’ve learned more about myself in the last 6 months than in the 42 previous years combined. And it started with a willingness to make the hardest decisions of my life.

Divorce after 23 years of marriage.

Quitting the company that I founded 14 years ago.

Making a major career change at the age of 42.

Deciding on a minimalist, mobile lifestyle, leaving the comfort of the suburbs.

Take your…

When the Music Dies – Dance!

I’m going to be real with you. Today was not the best day of my life.

It’s not that anything majorly devastating happened. More like a long list of minor disappointments and concerns for people I care about. A friend and fellow Freedom Fighter, Adam Kokesh was arrested. I read this literally back to back with an email from an employee. She gave notice of her resignation, right as I’m about to…

Life is amazing. But we forget.

We forget that we are surrounded by beauty, opportunity, adventure.

Stop and smell the roses!

Cliche’ advice that we tend to smile at and go right on living the same as before.

I’m busy.

We’re all busy. We’re all stressed (at one point or another). We all struggle. We all have disappointments, failures, setbacks. Some more than others, for sure. Even if we’re not…

Friday to Friday Paycheck to Paycheck Friday to Friday Paycheck to Paycheck 9-5 Friday to Friday Paycheck to Paycheck Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Do the dishes. Friday to Friday Paycheck to Paycheck Feed the cat. Watch T.V. Wake the Kids up for school. Meet up for happy hour. Friday to Friday Paycheck to Paycheck Take that vacation. Finance the car. Auto-pay into your 401k. Buy a home. Mow the…

I’ve had enough.

Enough of the rat-race. Enough of the maze. Enough of the tricks that have been trained into us.

We’re born into a world of expectations put upon us by people who are already dead. Anything that takes us away from those expectations causes friction. The people who are following the rules don’t want to see you get free. They’ve been taught that the expectations are “right”. If…

For the next two years, I’m living an experiment. I plan to purchase a box truck to live in and haul my motorcycle.

“See what the masses are doing, and do the opposite.”

That’s not bad advice. But I have one improvement to make to it…

See what the masses are doing and ask, “why?”.

Why do you work at a job that you don’t love for 8 or 9 hours per day?

Why do you commute to work?

Why do you spend a…

I have more opportunities than I can keep up with.

For several years I’ve dreamt of establishing a writing career and create a location-independent income to allow me to migrate to warmer climates and see the world. And for most of that time, I was full of “good ideas” that never came to fruition.

Most of us fill up the time we have. We have our routines and commitments. We have bills to pay.…

The final morning brings a spectacular light show. It was 15 degrees Fahrenheit ( -9 Celsius). The clouds and the light were dancing partners…

This the 3rd and final installment of my photos from this year’s elk hunt in the Wallowa Mountains.

You can see Part 1 here.

You can see Part 2 here.

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The clouds slowly lift off the mountain in time with the rising sun.

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  The light demands…

The mountain is not as quiet as most people think. Chattering squirrels, croaking jays, knocking woodpeckers punctuate the rolling sounds of cattle herds and machinery from the valley below. But as the mornings grow colder, silence falls on the forest.

This is Part 2 of my photo collection from this year’s elk hunt in the Wallowa Mountains of Northeast Oregon. You can see Part 1 here.

Standing…

They say you can never return home.

Of course, change is a constant. Each time I return home it’s different. But the mountains remain.

As a kid, I spent many summers with my Grandparents up on “The Mountain”; our family ranch that sits at the base of Ruby Peak. I still have family on the mountain, and I still return at least once a year. These days my trips up there are less play and more work,…