Vagabond Insider

Ni Hao.

Ok, I haven’t talked about this much. I moved around California a lot, even to big weird cities like San Francisco. It was a fun experience, though not the place for me.

I didn’t really plan where I was going, I just found things which interested me and choose to seek out the areas.

I’m now across the ocean in a far time zone away from the places I called home. I packed my 28L bag, and side bag and flew away.

This awesome tropical island I’m at is called Taiwan. I don’t speak Mandarin at all. Doy-ba-chi.

I have to say the people here are very friendly. It started raining and I stood there in my shorts and no umbrella near a jewelry shop. I took the rain cover out of the bottom of my backpack and covered my backpack. The shop owner walked out side and beckoned me to come over to him, he handed me an umbrella. He made the motions to throw it away when I’m done with it. This was awesome.

I went to the local 7 eleven (they are on most corners, literally 1 block away from each other) and bought an umbrella. I brought back his and thanked him.

I didn’t come to Taiwan prepared for a lot of things, I took the time to figure it out while I was here. I prepared myself with clothes, and the ability to reach the internet, though beyond this, all I did was book a plane and a hostel (the day before the flight) and figured my way around as soon as I landed.

Some folks I talk to here say I’m really prepared when it comes to my gear. Not really. I just put a lot of research before hand to have stuff which works great around the world. I’m not prepared for everything, just most things.

It basically boils down to this, be prepared for 20% of the important stuff, and you’ve covered 80% of the important things. Of course this is the 20/80 principle or whatever, just apply your numbers in whichever way works for you.

This 20/80 principle basically applies to all of life. The numbers might look like 10/90 or 5/95 or even 30/70.

If you focus on the important aspects of ANYTHING, the rest usually falls into place or is worth putting mediocre effort on [...]

Posted on October 31st 2010.

Our spines support our whole body. (photo: diice)

Do you have back pain?

Does it bother you when you sleep? When you wake up?

Does it make it difficult to do what you really want to do? Spending time with loved ones or doing kinky things hurt by your back?

Hey, I’m in my twenties, and I have back pain. That’s right, I’m in my twenties and I have back pain. Not as bad as some people, though it gets pretty bad sometimes.

It gets to the point where I can’t even go out and do anything.

I know a lot of older folks and even younger who also have immense back pain.

Some people try to fix it with Icy hot, or some bengay cream. Some use ice as well. This is all temporary relief. It doesn’t last for a long time.

Remember when I said to fix the system not the symptom?

This is one of those situations.

Do you want to know one of the biggest causes of back pain is?

Guess. [...]

Posted on June 20th, 2010.

Leverage yourself to change your world (and others). (Photo: alicepopkorn) Hey there. I’m writing this from LAX airport in Los Angeles. I just finished a seminar by Eben Pagan. It was the GURU Business Plan. Eben charges $4997 to attend this seminar. I got in free. Almond Butter! It was about managing self and doing [...]

The road less traveled.

I originally started Vagabond Insider with the thought that I will be doing video a lot more.

I wanted to show people where I’m at and other things. Since then, I have learned how to screen capture my screen and show other people how to do things.

From now on, expect more videos!

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Here are some simple quick tips and resources on saving money on flights, hotels, and cars.

I’ll show you what you need to plan for and what places to look for some great deals.

YouTube only wants videos 10 minutes or shorter, I had to cut out some of my very awesome commentary.

Here are the slide notes from the video:

LAX Seminar Last Minute
$4,997 GURU Management Summit
2 days Away
Hotel, Flight, and Parking Arrangements
Hotel + Flight Package Savings

Certain Days and Times are cheaper
On certain days it is cheaper to travel Tuesday, Wednesday, & Saturday
Most expensive are Monday & Friday
Cheapest Time to Travel is evenings except Friday and Sunday

Booking in Advance Saves tons of $$$
Of course not all travel arrangements can be planned out
Procrastination is sometimes are closest friend (like for me in this instance)

Try Travel Agents or Booking Sites
Some Travel Agents know certain places and are able to work out a deal better than any booking site
Try many different booking sites and the actual sites of airlines as well

Where to Look for a Flight and/or Hotel
Kayak.com (my favorite for many reasons
Cheaptickets.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
Priceline.com
Hotwire.com

USA Flight Places to Find Cheap Flights
Southwest.com
Jetblue.com

Hotel & Hostels & Others
Hotel.com
Hostels.com
Hostelworld.com
Couchsurfing.org

Cars
A lot of the websites before can include cars
Beware of special upgrades your credit card might offer, such as American Express Platinum
Look at a lot of different types of cars if price matters, some convertibles can be $19 or less a day [...]

Ah, with being apart only grows fondness.

Hi there, it has been a while since I posted yes? We’ll I’m back now!

A lot of things have been happening; I’m sure everyone’s world didn’t stop for me being gone and if it did, that is cool!

Currently I’m temporarily in wine country while I wait for my braces to be taken off (in two weeks!) and we’ll see where I end up. My priorities shift based on what my priorities are.

In March I had upper jaw surgery. They literally broke my jaw and moved it to a good position. I’ve had preparation for over a year now for this surgery (who would go out and pay to have their jaw broken). Now I have 4 metal screw/plates type things holding my jaw up, my muscle will grow on top of them.

It is really fun to have the jaw wired shut, drinking only protein drinks and other liquids. Thanks to everyone who cared for me while my jaw was annihilated, I appreciate it.

I’m working out two times a week, using a weightlifting guide I found on Tim Ferris’s Blog and it works great for me.

I’m eating a whole lot more healthy as well now, only “whole” foods. I didn’t say organic, I said “whole.” I’ve eaten well since I read the book The Abs Diet, though I’ve gone even further with it. I’ve learned from many different places at the same time that our bodies are our temples, I will sacrifice short term pleasure of sweet fattening, greasy, yucky food for long term “feel great” living. I really love this Organic Food Bar too.

I canceled my Shoemoney System account, the program is just way too slow and basic and videos thrown up on the fly. The other reason I really didn’t enjoy the program is because I think there were more than 500 students in the first round of sign ups. Jeremy said it would be only open to 500 students though many other marketers advertised it after it was closed before he “opened” the doors again. The program just lacks enough guidance for some things he shows and most new videos were thrown together a few days before they were [...]

Posted on May 21st 2010.

How much preparation done for a road trip can mean how much fun it is or how miserable it is.

There can be both too little preparation and too much preparation.

Can you imagine coming back from a road trip to find out you lost your job or someone died in your family?

This is why there are some things to prepare for. Of course if you were a true vagabond, you would be location independent.

Planning for Work

If you are indeed working, you’ll need to plan for time off. Not every place will grant vacation time or time off so be prepared for a no.

Submit your time off request early and ahead of your trip by months. If you wait too long, there may no slots for time off when you want to go on a road trip.

Plan ahead for holidays and other busy times of the year, many people who work on the holidays apply for time off on the holidays.

Not all places you work will allow you too much time off at one time either, which is one reason why I quit my job.

Many companies do not function well when an important person leaves for too long, unless you learn to delegate your job functions. I learned to delegate my job functions in my previous job and was able to leave for a week or longer without telling anyone.

I used [...]

Posted on February 27th 2010.

Take responsibility today for good.

About 99% of the people I have met in my life took less than 51% responsibility in their life. Meaning most of these people blamed something else for their good fortune or bad fortune.

Of the 1% I’ve met who decided to take 100% responsibility in their lives, they were usually ambitious and very enlightening to be around.

The reason is because this 1% decided every action in their lives determines their future and everything about themselves.

They are always moving forward attempting to be better then yesterday. I admired these people and decided to take the step for myself about 4 years ago.

There are many benefits for taking 100% responsibility, while there are also costs [...]

Posted on February 18th 2010.

Changing the world is easier done than said.

This is a series of posts about changing your world. How do you change your world? Easier DONE than said (challenge yourself to believe this phrase instead of the normal “easier said than done”).

In the later posts in the series, I will elaborate on the main details below.

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One of my favorite phrases comes from a video game, Xenosaga I (which I recommend if you like Role Playing Games).

“Perception and pain are one in the same.”

The “current” main enemy says this as he blows his head off with a weapon, and grows it back. The main characters watch in this event with disgust.

If we think about these words, it says we don’t all feel the same pain and we don’t all see the same things. Our idea of how much a punch hurts can mean something completely different to a martial arts fighter or [...]

Posted on February 16th 2010.

Smelly feet makes a room smelly!

I had the choice recently in the new place I’m staying.

Either have the steamer guys come back and re-clean the room for more cost or find a way to remove the odor with an at home process.

I’m frugal with myself. Even if my land lady would pay for it, I opted to do it myself quickly instead of waiting nearly a week for them to come. I definitely didn’t want to sleep in a stinky room for a week.

I researched a little and set out to my local Wal-Mart to look for some carpet cleaners. I also read Baking Soda was great for eliminating odors. After looking for a while to only find ONE type of carpet cleaning powder, I went for baking soda. It was much cheaper and I only wanted to remove odor. I also read that carpet cleaning powder is for high traffic very short carpet, more industrial type area or office. In shag carpet, it doesn’t all get picked up by the vacuum and cleans dirt off shoes to dirty carpet.

I would not recommend using [...]

Posted on February 12th 2010.

You may conquer with the sword, but you are conquered by a kiss.

Valentine’s Day is coming up. V-Day is on Sunday on February 14th actually.

I know I know this day is a commercial created holidays to generate sales. I know I know it is a superficial day to care about.

The girl, boy or others (maybe your dog or the other gender) usually don’t care about your reasons why you think Valentine’s day is a waste (I know this from experience). All that matters is this, their feelings about Valentine’s Day and why they want to do something special on this day.

Taking their feelings into account, it just doesn’t matter anymore what you want. Maybe they say they don’t care, when they really do, they only say they don’t to please you sometimes. If you are a vagabond traveling away from your loved ones, there are many things you can do to still show them they are special.

Now let’s think of some Valentine’s Day ideas! If you have any feel free to leave them in the comments below. I’m interested in hearing new ones for myself; I’ll steal an idea or two.

For Vagabonds or Travelers [...]

Posted on February 9th 2010.