After nearly seven months that went by way quicker than I’d even realized, I find myself back in Portland, Oregon.
In the five days I’ve been here I’ve found that the weather is even more beautiful than I’d hoped, the beer is even better than I remember, and having a flexible lifestyle in the States is going to be even more enjoyable than I’d imagined.
Over the past three days I’ve done something that I haven’t done in, well, I can’t remember how long.  I’ve been completely shut off from the internet …

I am probably 37,000 feet up by the time you read this, so I will approve any comments and respond as soon as I land!

Over the past 9 or so months I’ve been incredibly selfish.
Now, I’m not saying I’ve done anything wrong, or that looking back I should have done anything differently, but the fact of the matter is that I’ve been focused only for what is best for me, with little regard for those around me.
That said, just about everyone around me has been incredibly supportive of everything I’ve …

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to scuba dive.
When I was younger I used to get incredibly jealous when my dad and uncle would leave on dive trips, and I’d have to stay at home and do fun things like go to school.  Exotic places like Cozumel, Roatan and Thailand became implanted in my brain as these holy grail destinations – perhaps that’s what led me down my current path.
For years, I considered the prospect of getting certified, but there were numerous road blocks that always got …

I feel like I’ve been doing more traveling over the last month than I had in the previous six months combined.  Although I guess when I think back, I’ve been a lot of places and seen a LOT of cool stuff.
Currently I’m writing from a nice bakery on the Thai island of Ko Tao.  Ko Tao is without a doubt one of my favorite islands that I’ve been to thus far.  A far cry from the insanity that is Koh Phi Phi, as soon as you get off the boat …

Have you ever had something you’ve really wanted to learn how to do, but couldn’t seem to pry yourself away from work long enough to actually get it done?  Yeah, me too.
My whole life I’ve had an interest in photography.  I’ve always wanted the ability to be able to capture the photo that would make people say “wow”.  However, up until recently I never really put much effort into it.  My high school photography teacher told me that my pinhole camera was one of the worst constructed she’d ever seen …

For the longest time in my life, I’ve struggled with finding balance.  I was always the guy that would get ridiculously excited about something and then let my world revolve around it until I lose interest.  This has happened with everything from golf and rock climbing (which I usually get reinvigorated on about once a year) to business start up ideas.  Oh the business ideas. I could go on for days with things that I was convinced would be the best businesses ever, only to lose interest a week later.
The …

I’ve learned more about myself in the last 6 months than I think I have in the previous 6 years.
There is no denying that since I began publishing at Location 180 I’ve acquired a ton of new skills that I didn’t previously have.  There are the technical skills such as basic html, WordPress and a bunch of SEO knowledge which have transferred great to the business side of my life.  Along with that I’ve greatly improved my writing and general communication skills.
However it’s the less tangible feelings that I think …

Dear Reader,
Today marks the official one year anniversary of Location 180.  Wow. It kind of snuck up on me, much the way that Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, the Super Bowl and every other big American event that no one cares about here has.
But in all seriousness, the last year has without a doubt been the most profound I’ve ever had.  For the first time in my life, not only did I outline a path that I wanted to follow, but I acted on this plan in some extremely …

“A bucket list can be your best friend or your worst enemy.”
Did you ever watch Wheel of Fortune when you were younger (or perhaps you still do)?  Every once in awhile they would have categories called “Before and After”, well here is my bucket list before and after.
The Before: Bucket List.
My Bucket List has been pretty much the one thing about this site that has remained fairly constant since the beginning.  Sure about 6 months back I did a bit of a remodel of it, but if there has been …

In life, the enormity of your success or the depths of your failure rely entirely on the consequences you establish for yourself.
If you set your life up in a way where consequences, both good and bad, are at the forefront of everything you do, you will be much more likely achieve your goals than if you don’t.
Think about the time you worked the hardest in your life.  A time when you spent hours and hours working on something, and never thought twice about quitting or doing something else.  That was …