Welcome to my Tumblr! This will be a bucket for creative brain vomits of all types. You can find my latest thoughts and discoveries on fitness, minimalism, entrepreneurship, creativity, writing, art, personal growth and spirituality. In essence, its an eclectic potpourri of high impact thinking.      Go there now!

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This year I had strawberries, blackberries, and cream.  The reason?  Right now I’m on a 30 day sugar detox, an experiment in something called a “low and below” diet.  For 30 days I’m eating no sugar, nor anything that acts like sugar in the body.

What acts like sugar in the body? Lots of things.  All starchy foods (flour, potatoes), alcohol (no 2Buck Chuck this month), ice cream, cookies, bread, pasta.  I eat none of these.

So why do this? When we consume a food it delivers nutrients to our bloodstream, one of those nutrients being sugar.  As the sugar enters our blood, our body responds with insulin.  Insulin causes our cells to absorb sugar.  If you eat a lot of sugar, or the sugar you eat enters your blood quickly, then your insulin will spike dramatically.  Insulin is directly linked to two very important things: 1.  Fat deposition, and 2.  Muscular recovery.  I’m interested in the latter, but I’ll cover both.

Spikes in insulin cause the body to go into fat storing mode.  Your cells take all of the excess sugar in your blood and deposit it all over your body as fat.  Habitually eating sugary foods can exacerbate the problem, leading to insulin resistance.  In addition Insulin is inflammatory.  For muscles that have been worked out, this slows recovery down dramatically.

How can you avoid these problems? By adopting a “low and below” diet.  A diet where you only eat foods that have low Glycemic Indexes, or are below the scale altogether.  The Glycemic Index is a measure of how quickly the sugar in a food will be released into your blood stream.  A low GI food, like a Strawberry, will releases the sugar slowly, causing little to no insulin spike.  A high GI food like a potato (a potato is a starch, which is digested into sugars in your stomach) will dump a large amount of sugar into your blood all at once, causing a massive insulin spike.  Preventing insulin spikes keeps your body more hormonally balanced, and combined with intense exercise, will aid in the bodies natural release of testosterone, HGH, and other muscle building hormones.  By staying “low and below” you are helping your body to give you a natural steroid boost!  That means more lean muscle mass, more natural weight loss, and more energy!

Currently I’m half-way through the thirty days.  Before doing this I had no idea how addictive sugar is!  The first three days I was extremely cranky.  This was caused by withdrawal.  I hadn’t realized it previously, but sugar is very addictive.  Have you ever been stressed and pigged out on cookies?  Ever hoarded candy? Ever drowned your sorrows in cake?  I’ve done all of these in the past, and its textbook addict behavior.  After getting over my initial crankiness I felt much better.  I had more energy, and was no longer tempted to break the detox by eating the cookies (which are abundant in my house).

I became aware of a new layer of hunger.  For the first two weeks I found I was hungry constantly.  I was hungry even while I was eating!  I was even hungry after finishing a big meal!  I realized this wasn’t hunger at all, but craving.  My new diet ensured I wasn’t receiving any large quantities of sugar, and like any addict I had intense cravings.  I’m on day 18 out of 30 now, and am happy to report the craving is gone.  I feel completely satisfied after meals, and no longer even miss the sugary foods I once found so important.

My diet these days primarily consists of lean meats, veggies, big delicious salads, and both fresh and frozen fruit (low GI only).  My staples are eggs, beans, apples, fresh ground peanut butter, cheeses, nuts, avocados, carrots, olive oil-balsamic vinegar dressing (most other dressings have sugar), and tea.

I highly recommend everyone try a “low and below” diet for thirty days at least once in their life.  You’ll learn lots about yourself.  If you need support you can find it on the OlsonND website.  One thing I didn’t realize was how sugar has crept into almost every food in our diet: peanut butter, salad dressings, sauces, cereals, breads, drinks, everything!

Break free and live better!

Perhaps not.  What if the inert metals that Alchemists worked with weren’t metals at all?  What if turning lead into gold stood for something much deeper and much more valuable than generation of precious metals?  What if the processes of distillation, transmutation, and transfiguration referred not to processes performed on minerals, but on man?

My first re-examination of Alchemy began by reading Paulo Coelho’s classic work The Alchemist.  A story in which the character, a shepherd, receives guidance from an Alchemist on an epic quest to find lost treasure.  This was an exceptional book that I highly recommend to everyone.  Not to be missed.

The story discusses an emerald tablet which contains the secret to Alchemy.  After a little independent research I was stunned at what I found.  The Emerald Tablet is a real artifact!  It was the manifesto and instruction manual for alchemy.  Sir Isaac Newton, the founder of modern physics, calculus, and consequently science as we understand it today, was fascinated by this tablet.  His translation, found among his alchemical papers, is included at bottom.

Soon I noticed the emerald tablet popping up in other places.  Have you seen The Secret?  In the introduction, while the narrator dictates that the secret has been repressed, a man furiously takes a charcoal rubbing off of… you guessed it!  The Emerald Tablet!  As I listened to famously successful people talk about themselves, many identified with Alchemists, including people like Jack Canfield,  Anthony Robbins, and Bruce Lee.  Carl Jung was purportedly an alchemist.

What is Alchemy, really?

Alchemy is the process of turning the normal (symbolized by lead) into the extraordinary (gold); of manifesting thoughts and ideas into reality.  It is a process of creation and personal transformation.  It is creating something, discarding all but the valuable, then creating again.  A sort of evolution, alchemy is the distillation of the self.  It is reducing and refining that which is valuable within you until there is nothing left but Self.  True Self.  Alchemy is a form of Yoga, or union.  It is a process, a science, and an exercise.

In JKD, one does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity. Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I’ve understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. The height of cultivation is really nothing special. It is merely simplicity; the ability to express the utmost with the minimum.

Bruce Lee

Who are Alchemists?

Artists, musicians,  athletes, scientists, entrepreneurs, martial artists, yogis,  dancers, and actors are alchemists.  Writers are alchemists.  Who else but an alchemist could wave an ink-filled wand over paper and produce scribbles so valuable that people will trade sums of money for it?  Alchemists are creators.  They make the unseen become seen.

How do I practice Alchemy?

Create!  Make something.  Anything!  Look at your creation.  Love it.  What does it communicate about you?  What areas of personal strength does it exhibit?  What areas of weakness does it expose?  Go back to work.  Create again, this time it will be different than before, deeper, and more honest because you know so much more about yourself.  Deepen your connection to the mystery of life, learn from your new work, then continue the process.

All I know is, if you don’t figure out this something, you’ll just stay ordinary, and it doesn’t matter if its a work of art or a taco, or a pair of socks! Just create something… new, and there it is, and its you, out in the world, out side of you and you can look at it, or hear it, or read it, or feel it… and you know a little more about… you. A little bit more than anyone else does… Does that make any sense at all?

Holly Kennedy in P.S. I Love You

The Emerald Tablet as translated my Sir Isaac Newton:
1. Tis true without lying, certain most true.
2. That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
3. And as all things have been arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,
5. the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.
6. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
7. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
7a. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.
8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior.
9. By this means ye shall have the glory of the whole world thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
10. Its force is above all force. for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.
11a. So was the world created.
12. From this are and do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (Or process) is here in this.
13. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.

Thanks Wikipedia!

“Work hard, play hard.”  – My father’s life motto.

Numerous times during my life I have heard the expression “Protestant Work Ethic” to describe someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty.  In a sentence it communicates drive, persistence, and willingness to work.  I’ve also heard discussions about why the Protestant Work Ethic is ruining our society.  It prevents people from relaxing, keeps them from family, causes ulcers and rocky marriages.  It makes life difficult for everyone involved.  For The Protestant Work Ethic to be a universally positive trait, we need to re-define what it means to work.

Work is earning value (perhaps cash) by giving value (work/service) to someone else.

The line between work and play should be very blurry.  The ideal job feels so intrinsically rewarding that you would do it for free.  Most have given up the search, and this constitutes failure.  It perpetuates stagnant social systems, and fails to give your fullest gift to the world.  Live in accordance with your purpose, driving towards a life that both serves others AND yourself.  Serving others while feeling like crap is self deprecation and self-destruction.  Serve others because it feels good; because serving others is benefiting you at the highest level.

Work as play:  Your approach to your job should be one like a kid in a sandbox.  A child kneels, and free to express himself in the moment, picks up a trowel.  He explores how it affects the patterns in the sand, notices how the grains fall from its face, feels the grip, and tests the size of the hole it can dig.  Be a sandbox child at work.  Develop a new marketing plan.  Implement it, noting the customer reactions, the changes in revenue, the spirit among the employees.  Remember to enjoy the process.  If you’re not having fun, what’s the point?  The last thing the world is needs is another unfulfilled professional.  Give up some of the pay and responsibility in exchange for more time to connect with loved ones, and chase dreams.

As a budding entrepreneur, I realize fully that my future lifestyle will be determined by how I shape my career.  Is working 12 hour days 6 days per week necessary to be successful?  Perhaps.  But perhaps by focusing on the high impact tasks of a given business, most of the success (measured in this case by income) can be achieved in much less time.  Why not ditch the fast lane for the scenic route?  The only thing you could lose is some cash, but you gain a life.  You could go skiing on a week day, or take your kids to the zoo dammit! What are going to remember in 10, 20, 30 years?  Pushing pencils, or the time you and your daughters saw a llama spit all over a lady in her Sunday best, and laughing until you cried?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the career/business path.  It’s a path I’m walking myself.  The key to its it success, and I mean that in the most inclusive possible sense, gauging happiness, excitement, contentment, leisure time, and cash flow, is to work with people you love.  Work with people who inspire you, who excite you, who intimidate you, who push you to be better and won’t settle for your “I’m not good enough” crap.  As you step towards challenge you will come alive.  Only then adopt the Protestant Work Play Ethic.  Your job will suddenly start to look more like that sandbox, and lets face it, that’s what we all want.

This world is temporary.  Things wear out.  Statues of long dead great men erode and dissolve until nothing is left.  Nature remembers no names.  Your legacy, literally whatever work you do, will have to stand up to that test.  Ask yourself:  In 1000 years when my great grandchildren’s great grandchildren are gone, will anything I’ve done really have mattered?  Most people will have to say no.  It takes a truly exceptional person to be able to say yes.  But, if you change the lives of even a few people in your era you set into effect a chain of positive events that shifts the present state of the world, and therefore transforms its future.  Forget about the legacy.  Let go of the idea.  Embrace the obliteration of anonymous and eternal bodily death.  Then go to work now.  Change the current circumstances.  Work like there’s no tomorrow, because eventually there isn’t.  If the work doesn’t feel like play to you, then you’re wasting your precious breath in the face of the void.

I don’t have all the answers, but this I know:  The peak you intend to climb determines the mountain face on which the climb will take place.  If the face is unbearable, chances are you picked the wrong mountain.  Pick a peak who’s very existence is a defiant call to action.  One whose whisper your hear in the witching hour: climb me…climb me.  The voice is usually rationalized, rejected, then ignored.  I speak from personal experience.  The risk seems too absurd, the mountain impossibly tall.  But that’s why you need to climb it; to conquer the boundary that it places on you, until all that’s left is your own limitless awareness.  After all that’s why your thoughts picked it.

What keeps you awake at night?  What nags at your mind to be fulfilled?  We have thoughts for a reason.  They are not random events, caused by collision after collision of elementary particles.  They are evidence, designed for us to decipher and pursue.  Your true work, and therefore your true play lies within your own mind.

A job is a way to make a living, and in this society that means earning cash.  Money is earned by rendering goods or services.  Your dream job is therefore giving away your most exciting service.  But developing your dream job will require help, service from others.  In pursuing you own dream, you enable others to serve you; thus engaging them in the pursuit of their own dream.  As others reach for their goals they will enlist your dream service.  You get paid to help others live their dreams simply by living your own.  That is the life you’re meant to live.

Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am -a reluctant enthusiast… a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it.  While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space.
-Edward Abby

The clerk in Denver International looks up through his azure glasses at me, a fresh college grad escaping the grips of day to day existence.  I can’t stop smiling!  Checking into my flight, I don’t realize that in thirty days I will be forever changed by my experience.

Jamaica: Paradise!  Bananas and coconuts grow abundantly from uncultivated trees, yet times are hard.  People ask for money while buildings lay in disrepair.

I meet Captain Eveready, pilot of a glass bottom boat.  A jolly man, he shares himself and his experiences.  He praises his homeland.  He says money is occasionally tight, but asks, “How could anyone be poor in a beautiful place, surrounded by amazing people?”  I meet another man on the beach who shares my name: Steve.  With him the conversation repeatedly shifts to faraway places.  Can he stay with me if he gets a visa?  Can he borrow money?  His eyes darken when making such requests.  He emphasizes his poverty, but wears nice clothes, eats restaurant food, and drinks imported beer.  When asked about his home, he has little praise.

These men are opposites.  One sees wealth everywhere.  Going to work is an adventure.  He loves his home, and loves sharing it!  The other looks for a way out, a better place to go, missing the abundance all around him.  I promise myself when I return home I will savor every experience, every morsel of life it will offer, no matter what.

Colombia:  I walk past a souvenir store on a side street in the north end of Bogotá.  Guitar music comes from inside.  A man is singing.  I turn back, stepping into the store.  I’m greeted with a smile.  A conversation unfolds in English and Spanish.  Introductions are offered:  Profession, home town, instruments played.  Saul, is an artist.  He wakes up early every morning to open his store and pay the bills.  In the evenings he works as a professional piano player, but his specialty is painting large murals.  I note how robust he is.  He works long days seven days a week, yet radiates more happiness than most urban professionals.  He tells me about a mural on 12th street between 6th and 7th avenue.  Leaving the store, I walk briskly.

I look up at the mural.  It encompasses the side of a building.  In the left a woman holds a village of multicultural people to her bosom.  The colors are vibrant.  The villagers are connected, happy.  In the right a mounted demon sets fire to the other side of the village.  His eyes are dark and a money insignia blazes across his chest.
I look down at the postcard Saul wrote to me.

“Steve: This is Colombia with two faces.  One conflicted and dramatic, the other our happy vision of life.  It is necessary for all people to help fix this problem.  – Saul.”

Exiting the plane on October 8th I feel more clear than ever, the world is what you make of it.  Now I see the face of life smiling back at me wherever I look.

The biggest challenge in starting the fitness habit is time.  People just don’t seem to have enough time to begin.  One solution is spend less time working out.  This immediately begs the question: Is it possible to get an effective workout in a short time?  The answer is an unequivocal yes.

The solution: Tabata squats.  20 seconds of all out work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times.

Duration: 4 minutes.

The name Tabata comes from Dr. Izumi Tabata, a Japanese physiologist most famous for his research with Olympic level athletes.  While working with Japan’s speed skating team he developed a protocol that simultaneously maximized aerobic and anaerobic adaptation.  A study illustrates his results: A group of athletes was analyzed before training.  For six weeks they performed the Tabata protocol 5 days per week on a bicycle ergo-meter (exercise bike).  Measured again at the end of the experiment, the athletes had increased their aerobic capacity (VO2max, or how long and hard you can run) by ~15 percent as well as increasing their lactate threshold (how long you can sprint all out) by just under 30 percent!  Compare this with traditional cardio: 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, which over six weeks typically yields an aerobic capacity increase of ~10 percent with no effect on lactate threshold.  Tabata concluded that intensity drives adaptation.

The Tabata protocol can give you greater fitness than traditional cardio in much less time.

WARNING: Do not go all out on your first workout unless you would like to walk funny for the next couple of days!  This protocol is that effective!

Instructions:

Timing:  Get a wall clock, watch, or interval timer.  Even counting in your head can work (don’t worry if the intervals are not exactly 20 seconds).  Time 20/10 intervals (20 seconds of all out work, 10 seconds of recovery).  You’re finished after 8 rounds or 4 minutes.

Mechanics:  Stand in a neutral position with your heels shoulder width apart.  Your toes should be pointed slightly outward, never more than 30 degrees.  Hold your arms extended in front of your face.  This will help you monitor posture.  Slowly move your pelvis backwards just like sitting down in a chair.  Continues until your thighs are parallel with the floor.  Pause.  Your weight should be in your heels.  Can you lift your toes off the floor?  Are your knees directly over your toes?  Is your back erect?  Make sure the answer is yes to all.  Slowly rise, thrusting your hips forward until you are fully erect.  No giggling at that last sentence please.  If that entire process was comfortable then you are ready to workout.  If not repeat it while adjusting you positioning until it is.

WARNING:  Squatting can be bad for the knees IF and ONLY IF you have improper mechanics.  It is worth seeking instruction to insure you are squatting correctly.

Scoring:  At the end of you Tabata squat session, write down your score to track your progress.  Your score is the lowest number of repetitions you do in ANY of the 8 rounds.  If you do 20 squats every round, but only squeeze out 13 in last round, your score is 13.

Scaling: For those just beginning with Tabata squats aim for a score of 10-14 (doing 10-14 squats every round).  As you continue add one rep to each set on every new workout.  So if you scored 10 on Monday, and worked out everyday that week you would score 15 on Friday.  Continue with gradual increases until you’re able to go ALL OUT each round.

Benefits:

• Tabata Squats will simultaneously increase your leg strength, lactate threshold, and maximal cardiovascular output.
• Studies show it burns fat more effectively than long slow cardio!
• It speeds up your metabolism for the rest of the day (you will burn more calories just sitting on your butt!).
• The lactate generated will instigate a release of natural anabolic (muscle building) hormones, which will benefit the whole body.

Happy Squatting!

The police often question him just because they find him interesting.  He’s been known to cure narcolepsy just by walking into a room.  His reputation is expanding faster than the universe.  He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.  His legend precedes him the way lightning precedes thunder.  His charm is so contagious vaccines have been created for it.  His personality is so magnetic he is unable to carry credit cards.  Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number.  People hang on his every word, even the prepositions.  He lives vicariously through himself.

Young men often hold vision in mind of the kind of men they wish to become.  The vision is of impeccability; of positive masculine qualities such as adventurousness, and self-assuredness.  Characters such as Indiana Jones, James Bond, Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt, Bruce Wayne, and Zorba the Greek are examples.  Recently a new character has emerged; one that sets an attainable level of greatness for males to aspire to: The Most Interesting Man in the World.  The character, played by actor Jonathan Goldsmith, embodies qualities like poise, experience, and intrigue.  Examining The most Interesting Man in the World we can discover how to implement his qualities into our life, to the benefit of all those we encounter.

1. Poise:  The Most Interesting Man in the World (MIMitW) maintains a dignified, self-confident manner.  He is firm, but not aggressive.  For example when endorsing his product he says “I do not always drink beer, but when I do I prefer…”  His mannerism communicates that he is clear about is own tastes, and allows you your own as well.  Its merely a dignified suggestion.  In conversation he maintains his own space, and does not dominate the exchange.  Around him conversation flow freely and openly, because all are able to contribute.  Poise suggests a centered, grounded individual.  When driving the MIMitW feels so centered its as if the world is moving underneath his tires like a trackball, but he understands the world does not revolve around him.  He never ran with the bulls in Pamplona, the bulls ran with him.
2. Intrigue:  The MIMitW arouses curiosity and interest through unusual, new, or otherwise compelling qualities.  His living space is an extension of himself: He keeps particularly inspiring or fascinating objects  around.  They are not necessarily expensive, but all have a captivating story behind them.  Most notable is his world map.  It contains pins in all the places he has ever traveled.  This instantly invites dialogue among anyone who has also been to those places.  You need not follow his lead exactly.  Perhaps your travel experiences are few at the moment.  In that case use two different colors of  push-pin; one denoting the places you have traveled, the other signifying place you would like to go in the future.  Guests will surely volunteer travel advice.  The MIMitW utilizes Peacocking:  To attract mates male peacocks use brightly colored and distinctive plumage.  This strategy, when used by humans to spark interaction, is called Peacocking.  This can be overstated, such as wearing a giant-sized Doctor Seuss hat, however the MIMitW would never stoop to such garishness.  He prefers sporting a full-beard when most men go clean shaven, or perhaps wearing the first three buttons on his shirt undone to a formal event.
3. Creativity:  He never says something tastes like chicken.  Not even chicken.  The MIMitW always seeks to express himself creatively.  Instead of saying something tastes like chicken, he would say: “This dish has a savory flavor with an underlying robustness, not overpowering, similar to the Pheasant I tried while visiting friends in Belgium.”  When expressing anger he may use the word “peeved,” and he always makes toasts from the heart, never from note cards.  When exposed to a new art form he pretends he has been doing it his whole life, and never makes excuses about being a beginner.  He looks to integrate seemingly separate concepts, such as applying principles of foreplay to story telling.
4. Levity:  On a two party system:  The after-party is the one you want to attend.  On Happy Hour:  Happy Hour is the hour after everyone from happy hour has left.  The MIMitW is a master of humor.  He has a few favorite quips he uses semi-regularly (such as “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy,”) but creates most material on the spot.  He never laughs at his own jokes, though will occasionally find the laughter of others contagious.  He utilizes the Dead-pan Delivery:  Telling jokes with a straight face to increase their humorousness.  Actively discovering what different individuals find funny allows the MIMitW to connect with people from all walks of life, from wealthy yacht owners, to dice playing Polynesians.  He is often seen laughing raucously with whomever he is with.
5. Activity:  To lead an interesting life one must do what they love while actively exploring the novel.  This is especially true in choosing leisure activities.  The MIMitW enjoys activities like deep sea fishing, snooker, big wave surfing, participating in NASA reasearch, Jai Alai, noctural exploration, Kendo, boating, arm wrestling, parachuting, dice games, dog-sledding, snorkeling, martial arts, treasure hunting, traveling, and falconry.  When choosing a leisure pursuit, ensure that it tests your abilities in some specific way.  Intellect, steadfastness, courage, agility, strength, or determination are qualities that you could challenge.  Jai Alai tests agility, big wave surfing tests steadfastness… you can figure the rest out yourself.
6. Strength:  He’s a lover not a fighter, but he’s also a fighter so don’t get any ideas…  He could disarm you with his looks or his hands.  Either way.  Musculo-skeletal strength is an important skill to develop.  It increases vitality, resistance to injury, physical stamina, mental fortitude, and develops the physique.  The MIMitW knows this.  Also, strength is practical when faced with a risky situation, such as getting mugged in Buenos Aires, or evacuating a fellow mountaineer after an accident.  To build strength one can use weights, bodyweight exercises like yoga or gymnastics, and martial arts.  Finding novel ways to train (like Parkour) ads to one’s intrigue.  Instead of maximizing the weight on your bench press, try developing a planche push-up.  The MIMitW likes to develops a few stunts of strength he can use to inspire others at parties.  Examples include bench-pressing two women in chairs, and arm-wrestling.  Other ideas: doing 10 squats on one leg (pistols), handstand push-ups, backflips, or breakdancing.
7. Purpose:  Find out what it is in life that you don’t do well, and then don’t do that thing.  Choose a career that matches your talents, abilities and passions.  Don’t pick something based solely on income.  The last thing the world needs is another unfulfilled lawyer, doctor, or priest.  Read The Zero Hour Work Week (for free) to learn how to match income with passion, ability, and talent.
8. Benevolence:  He’s against cruelty to animals, but isn’t afraid to give a stern warning.  The MIMitW rights wrongs wherever he has the ability.  Perhaps saving a fox from being killed for sport, or releasing a bear from a trap.  This attitude is not restricted to the animal kingdom.  It could mean building houses for impoverished families, helping African villagers receive clean drinking water, or buying a herd of goats for an Andean family.  I’ve heard rumors that the MIMitW has been seen building houses with Jimmy Carter’s Habitat for Humanity troop.
9. Experience:  His beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man’s entire body.  The MIMitW understands the C.S. Lewis quote “Experience: that most brutal of teachers.  But you learn, my God do you learn.”  It is this attitude that is at the core of his philosophy.  The more risks you take, the more you learn.  The more you learn, the more interesting you are.  Adopt this into your own life by taking one calculated risk tomorrow.  Ask an attractive stranger out on a date.  Streak around your block.  Stand up to your boss.  Whatever the outcome you will have a very interesting story to tell in the morning.
10. Integrity:  You cannot buy him.  But occasionally trimmings from his beard come up in auctions…  If he disagrees with you it is because you are wrong.  The MIMitW rarely lies, but never to himself.  Quite often people confine themselves to mediocrity by not being completely honest.  They think “I would be most happy watching TV,” insead of “I would be most happy living my dream of becoming an author.  I must start wiriting now!”  People often cheat themselves out of lasting fullfillment by settling for some fleeting tittlation.  This is dishonesty to self.  You are allowing your blade to rust.  The MIMitW never makes such a compromise, and in doing so keeps his blade, and therefore himself, razor sharp.  This gives him the strength to live his dream, and to tell the truth even when no one is ready to hear it.
11. Commitment:  When he orders a salad, he gets the dressing right there on top of the salad.  Where it belongs.  Where there is no turning back.  One cannot bungee jump by keeping one foot safely on the bridge.  The MIMitW knows this.  Whenever he acts, he act fully, without hesitation or regret.  He knows the parable of the preist who would think about making love to his wife while praying, and think about praying while making love to his wife.  In the preist’s conflict he was poor at both.  When the MIMitW prays, he simply prays.  When he makes love, he simply makes love.  This small secret gives him the edge over mediocre men.

Being the most interesting man in the world is a simple philosophical choice.  While it may seem like egotism to aspire to such a goal, it is not.  Its about choosing to be open to life experience wherever it presents itself.  Do you see a woman you would like to talk to, but are too anxious to approach her?  That anxiety is closing you off from a life experience.  Do your traditional Christian beliefs prevent you from joining in a Sufi mystical dance?  Your rigid belief system is shutting the door of life in your face.  That’s a problem.  From now on make the choice to be open to life experiences.  Remember the Mark Twain quote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  Because that is what being interesting is all about.

To learn more about the Most Interesting Man in the World or play titillating online games visit The Most Interesting Academy.  http://dosequis.com/academy/

Special thanks to Dos Equis (www.dosequis.com)

All quotes in italics.

Recently my half forgotten high school Spanish received a steroid shot right to the buttocks.  Let me explain; I visited Bogotá, Colombia.  Spending a week in the country did more for my Spanish than months of schoolwork.  Traveling to a foreign country seems to be the ideal way to learn a language.  Why is that?

• Motivation:  When you have to speak another language just to eat, or get around the motivation is huge.  Learning, which might have seemed like a chore at home, becomes a quest for survival.  Learning then becomes a badge of accomplishment; it feels so much better when its needed.
• Immersion:  Hearing a foreign language all around brings it to the forefront of your consciousness.  Constant bombardment makes the language familiar to you, part of your experience of the world.  It also provides constant reinforcement of sentence structure and pronunciation.
• Cultivation:  Everyone you meet is a teacher.  Anyone you interact with can help you improve your language speaking ability if you are open to them.  They can correct pronunciation, teach you new vocabulary, phrases, or my everyone’s favorite: swear words.  All that is required is a curious and open attitude.

Selecting a country for language immersion requires attention to many factors.  Things like the culture, friendliness of people, and daily costs should all be taken into consideration.  Also the dialect of language must be considered.  For example those wishing to learn German should probably steer clear of Switzerland, as the German spoken there has a heavy accent.  It is important to identify places where language is spoken clearly and pick those.    The criteria below can be used as a model for picking any location, or learning any language.

1. Clarity of dialogue.
2. Attitude.
3. Culture.
4. Cost.

Bogotá is an ideal place to learn Spanish.  Lets apply our criteria to find out why:

1. Clarity of dialogue: Colombian Spanish has very little, if any, accent.  It is the same Spanish that you learn in university classes all over the world.
2. Attitude:  In general, the Colombian attitude seems to be a combination of Caribbean easygoing-ness and European business sensibilities.  This creates an environment where students will feel the warmth and friendliness of people while not feeling alienated by totally foreign economic culture.
3. Culture: Tango, Salsa, Guitar are all very popular in Bogotá.  Tango is an excellent way to meet people, and those who are experienced say you can learn more about a person by Tangoing with them for a few songs, than by having weeks of conversation.  Salsa is similar.  Colombia is home of Cali, the world Salsa dancing capital.  It is a $17USD bus ride from Bogotá.  Guitar players are abundant and lessons are very inexpensive.  Bogotá is also big enough to offer a variety of other things to learn, such as soccer, Tae Kwon Do, painting, or nearly any other activity you could imagine.
4. Cost:  Bogotá is very inexpensive for a U.S. traveler.  High quality dinner range between 3-12USD, 12 meals being from world class restaurants.  Accommodation can be garnered for as little as $5USD per day, and cheaper for a longer stay.  To facilitate a move there, one can hire an assistant to help in renting an apartment for a very reasonable price.

For anyone who is trying to master a foreign language: go abroad, then live your life.  The language will teach itself to you.  There is really no easier, nor more fun way.

What I did:  I was instantly very excited.  After a few days of deliberation I bought the ticket.  The pass flies to many locations that would cost almost the price of the all-you-can-jet ticket for a one way flight!  With only two or three such locations the ticket would more than pay for itself.

Another issue was being able to afford accommodations and activities while abroad.  As a traveler time is the most important commodity, however budget is usually the most limiting.  To escape the confines of a tight budget I’m employing a few techniques.

1. Joining couchsurfing.org, a global social networking site made for travelers.  It is a community of individuals whose goal it is to make the world a friendlier and more unified place.  They do this by offering their couch or spare bed for travelers to sleep on for free, or by offering to show someone around.
2. Traveling to places with a favorable exchange rate, thus increasing the power of my budget.
3. Traveling with a companion which allows costs to be shared.
4. Staying in Hostels and guesthouses, not hotels or resorts.

With the addition of these techniques the trip became so affordable I couldn’t miss the oppurtunity.  The next question is: where do I go?  It was an easy question to answer.  After learning about the possiblilties, and researching each destination either in a guide book, or on wikitravel, I outlined a rough itinerary.  My choices for visitation are based upon the activities found there, the culture, the reputation, and my preconception of what the place will be like.  While the last item is a poor predictor of what a destination is like, I find picking this way to be enjoyable because place are never completely what you expected them to be.

My Rough Itinereary:

• Sept 8 12:30AM Fly out of Denver International Airport. ~10AM Arrive in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  Spend time snorkeling, surfing, relaxing, hiking, exploring, and drinking girly drinks with umbrellas.  Perhaps travel to the Blue Mountains, famous for their excellent coffee.
• Sept 12 Fly to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic via New York.  Explore villages, beaches, and ocean.  Perhaps take buses to other areas of the island.  Work on my Spanish.
• Sept 19 Fly to Puerto Rico.  Travel by bus through the country.  Learn to Salsa dance (better), and maximize time in Aguadilla spent surfing.
• Sept ~29 Fly to Bogota, Columbia.  Explore the city.  Go do some adventure sports.
• Oct ? Visit mystery destiniation- TBD.

Any recommendations, tips, or places to visit?