Dare to Dream: Aim Higher, Much Higher!
December 5, 2008 by Vagabond Investors · Leave a Comment
Only one out of hundred people think that they can achieve something extraordinary. This, of course, has nothing to do with the fact that most people have within themselves the capacity to something much larger than their present reality suggests. The majority of population chooses to settle to mediocre results. This is because their goals are not big and exciting. If we dream only of small and achievable things, we are not willing to make the necessary contributions to make things radically better.
I have found that small goals are not exciting enough to generate the kind of momentum that is needed to solve any problem and go through any uncomfortable challenge. I need something big, completely unrealistic that would change the quality of our lives to a completely new level. The results have to be worth the effort. I’m willing to sacrifice my feeling of comfort, some time and capital to create something outstanding. We need to be a bit naïve to do this.
It seems that there is less competition when we’re after big things. 99 % of people focus on playing it safe and small. It is much, much easier to acquire €100,000 financing for a deal than €10,000. €10,000,000 is more reachable than €1,000,000. Similarly, it’s easier to get a date with one 10 point beauty in the bar than trying to get five 8’s. Most people don’t even dare to approach the 10 point lady. That eliminates most competition right there. At the same time, there’s more flirting work to do with five ladies than focusing on the perfect one. In addition, all the other guys are there too. So aim high! Be grateful for whatever it is that you get.
Everything was possible, when we were kids. If we wanted to be astronauts or pilots, nobody told us it was impossible. Our mommy and daddy said that we could be anything we wanted to be. We were invincible. In the same way, our parents seemed flawless and their capabilities were limitless. Everything was possible for them. So it would be for us when we grow up, right?
Not quite. At the edge of adulthood we learned to be realistic and to listen to other people’s depressing comments. We learned to believe in our own smallness. You don’t need much to survive. In Finland there’s this saying that states that those who try to reach high ultimately fall to the ground. The fact is this is just a coward’s cry. We try to bring our loved ones to the ground because we don’t dare to try reach our dreams.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that more is always better. I’m saying that life can be about excitement, growth and possibilities! Each one of us chooses the things that are most important in our lives.
Wake up our inner child. Dare to dream. Dare to get excited! Get excited of your possibilities and visions. Don’t worry if it’s possible or not or how you’re going to do it. Just get the feeling! Spend 15 minutes dreaming of the most thrilling things you can possibly imagine. You might even write it down and clip pictures out of magazines and put them where you can see them.
What could you dream of? Traveling around the world? Paragliding in Pery? A business meeting in a private jet? Your own island? 10 schools for the children in Africa? Go for it!
Get the feeling. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. Even though you never reached a single one of those dreams in your lifetime it’s still better to be excited of things that you love inside than living a life of quiet desperation.
Live with passion!
Matias
What Is Lifestyle Design?
November 24, 2008 by Vagabond Investors · Leave a Comment
Times have changed. In the industrial age one needed to be a millionaire to enjoy the millionaire’s lifestyle. Back then the two could not be separated. How much you had money greatly dictated your way of life. Today, you can have the millionaire lifestyle without first having the million.
As analogical world became digital, much of the old rules became obsolete. Something disturbing emerged as the young generation became adults. Something fascinating and striking called Lifestyle Design began to take place.
What is Lifestyle Design?
Lifestyle Design is like tuning a car or tweaking a computer only that it is done with life itself. For example, you can tune a car to run faster with less fuel and look cooler. You can tweak a computer to make programs run smoother and crash less often. No more system resets in the middle of something important.
Similarly, you can tweak your life. You can make your life run smoother, eliminate unnecessary loopholes and have less often those “system crashes” that require you to reset your brain to be able to function again. You can tune your life to be cooler, more fun and more exciting.
Consider the following examples and analogies:
Car Computer Life
Consume less fuel Consume less disk space Consume less time
Run faster Smoother performance Less headache
Turbo charger Assistant application Personal virtual assistant
Automatic gears Automatic virus scan Automated income streams
More horsepower More processing power Massive action
Fewer engine crashes Fewer system crashes Fewer mental crashes
Transportation Computing Excitement
Many people run their lives without any Lifestyle Design whatsoever. They’re like a computer with tons of fragmented files on hard disk, too many simultaneous applications, not enough processing power, no virus scan, no firewall, slow internet and no manual. They then try to consume their way to happiness through useless stuff which they cannot afford. No wonder so many of us feel empty inside.
Lifestyle Design reverses it.
The purpose of Lifestyle Design is to make life much, much more exciting! It is actually a tool by which we can become wealthier. Wealth, in this context, refers to having income, time and mobility. It’s not just about money, although it’s fun, but excitement and time for the things we really love.
So how is it done?
It’s quick to apply and disturbingly easy to understand. In this category of our posts, we will share with you the experiments of our Lifestyle Design. You will find more and more ways to do less the things you do not want and more the things you do want. Yes, this applies to our work as well, although you might not readily believe it.
This category is a collection of Lifestyle Design tools ready for immediate use. We’re sure you’ll find them just as useful and enjoyable as we and our fellow vagabond investors. Let’s get started to tweak your life!
Jaakko & Matias
Example on Lifestyle Design: Visit Ground Zero in Berlin
July 19, 2008 by Vagabond Investors · 11 Comments
I landed in Berlin in a funny Zen-like state of mind. I thought I had gotten used to slowing down when I want to. It turned out I wasn’t.
Waking up in the morning with no alarm clock and having no to-do list for the day was like going from triple espressos to de-caffeine. In addition, I had forbidden myself from checking email and news except for every second Monday for one hour. I was having serious disorders. What the hell was I gonna do all day?!
It’s impossible to realize how much constant motion blurs you until you stop. Based on my discussions with many serial vagabonders it takes 2-3 months before you can truly settle down and get rid of the addictions of Western work life environment. Hence the prohibition of news, email and non-fiction text books. It’s time to fill the void with something fun and exciting!
I have been to almost all major cities in Europe when I was vagabonding back in 2003. After seeing many places I finally fell in love with Berlin and have made several visits here ever since. The city is highly affordable and is rich in culture.
The shift from vacations to mini retirements is life changing. Vacations merely reward hard work, but mini retirements justify it. If you are new to mini retirements, you’ll find filling the void is a major challenge. When you’ve done ripping off your ass in frustration because you don’t have an alarm clock and a to-do list anymore, consider doing something you really love. Unplugging from your normal life may take a week of silence.
Here’s a simple example of what is possible with little money and little time. No, I’m not suggesting you go vagabonding around the planet for three years. This is just a little trip to give you an idea.
- An enormous fully furnished apartment in the trendy Prenzlauer Berg with wireless internet access and a Jacuzzi (never mind my confusion about Mitte on the video, I don’t know where that came from). Cost: €420 / month including water and energy.
- Tasty food dishes in pleasant restaurants. There’s everything from sushi and Vietnamese wok to huge steaks with a delicious wine or fantastic German beer. Cost: €15.
- Full contact Mixed Martial Arts for six times a week in one of Berlin’s top MMA gyms. This is as intense and real as it gets! It’s a blast! Cost: €56 / month.
- Want to become conversationally fluent in German in 3 months? Learning the language is the window to a new culture. Try intensive learning in Nollendorf Platz. Meet other students and get a dramatic discount for transportation with your student card. Cost: €200 / month.
- Make money in a cool Sony Center with free internet access. You can go to the money tree every day. If you don’t want to spend much time doing it but want to enjoy a high-tech environment, this is one of the most appealing places in Europe to do that. Cost: FREE
- Dancing in the hottest clubs in West-Berlin with your friends. Have the time of your life and go on a buzz to party and meet new people! Entrance, food, champagne and snacks. Cost: €60.
- Front row seats to Cirque du Soleil show. This group’s shows are the most incredible, most impressive and most bizarre audiovisual overloads I’ve ever seen in my life. Being there again was intentional. Cost: €80.
- Delicious breakfast on a corner café. Hotel-style breakfast with an excellent cappuccino. Cost: €4.
- Want to move on? Berlin is a hub. Travel all around Europe for less than €90 and all the way to Asia for around €400. I suggest you take a flight to one of Europe’s hubs (London and Berlin are the best) and take a local flight. I have traveled in a decent Airbus aircraft from Berlin to Helsinki for €29.
You could easily save 60% of the expenses I listed above. My goal was not survival, though, but royal enjoyment. Total cost for all of the things listed above (except for extending trip to Asia) plus transportation is highly affordable. Total cost: €1,600 / month. One good deal can so easily finance it.
How does this compare your normal expenses at home? If you think of the most expensive part of the trip (learning German quickly), you’ll notice that it’s probably 2-3 weeks’ cost of distracting yourself from all the stress in work. Once you get conversationally fluent, you can leave it out.
With a monthly expense in mind you can start designing your lifestyle. The trick is to make your finite cash flow provide you an almost infinite return in lifestyle output. Think it’s difficult to come up with figures like €1,000 / month in automated income? Not so. It’s a matter of financial IQ. I suggest you pay the price to learn that subject well. That’s what the Vagabond Investors is all about. We do our best to help you out.
Time for Mixed Martial Arts! Until next time,
Jaakko
@ you guessed it, Sony Center Berlin
