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Sometimes you have to come up for air and Breathe

It’s low season here in Thailand which means it rains just about every day. Gloomy clouds, ponchos on deck, all of that. My business partner and great friend of over 12 years flew in from San Francisco to plot next steps for Core Media Concepts and Core Mobile Apps. While down in Phuket, we got a heck of a lot of work done (not much choice as it rained Heavy almost the entire time). We were on the grind from hotel rooms, to restaurant tables, to cafes and tiny coffeeshops. Our brains were cloudy and burning out from the work. We needed a break to get back in that creative zone. The universe answered. The very next day(and for ONE day only), the sky opened up, a breathtaking day presented itself and we took our meeting offline – happily! We hired a longtail boat to take us to Maya Bay in the Phi Phi Islands where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. Got plenty of sun rays and interacted with the marine life all around. Even got Fiifi to dive in the water and “live a little” too! Haha. A few hours later we were back on land relaxed, grateful and recharged. The next few days of work were even better than the previous. It was probably the best business brainstorm meeting I’ve ever had. Work was done and we enjoyed ourselves in the process.

So, whatever that it is that you are working on or striving for, stay hungry and stay at it… but don’t forget to come up for air from time to time. Live in “the present” as it is truly a gift. Enjoy the moments of NOW as “nows” tends to drift by and turn into “thens” faster than we all realize. Take a break, play with your kids, enjoy nature, tell family members and the people you care about that you love them(and often). Don’t forget to live and love. Have a fabulous day today!

Ps. YES that’s a piece of fried chicken and NO my fried chicken eating self didn’t bring it (our captain had a wing just chilling in the back of the boat LOL).

– All Underwater shots taken with a GoPro Hero 4 Black – 4K camera

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Power of Podcasts: Top 10 Business Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

In the information age, there is no shortage of helpful knowledge and insight out there on the web. From recipes on how to make some bomb baked chicken to calculating the monthly payment on a property you are looking to invest in, there is just so much to see! The inherent disadvantage to having ALL of this information at our fingertips is that we can drift in the vast “ocean of overwhelm” and not even realize it until it’s too late.

I’ve sat there working in a coffee shop and could feel myself wandering away from important tasks.

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Look, a Shiny Object! Gmail notifications…Oh snap, “Single-propeller ‘drone’ flies when you throw it like a frisbee”. What? For REALZZ?? – Click. Click. Bye-bye work… *Check out the wooden figurine about to hit the nae-nae #dead #yeahthatwasmewhodidthat #childish #ohwell #funnydoe

Time floats by and the realization hits; What was I even supposed to be doing to begin with? Panic sets in as I look at the clock and realize, I haven’t gotten $h!t done in 3 and a half hours!
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With so much to look at and sift through, the “noise” is real ya’ll. I needed a way to realign myself to the current task/goal at hand:

Keep it simple. Build businesses and live a dope life.

So what works for me personally is to get into the routine of consuming case studies of entrepreneurs who’ve been grinding it out and have had some successes. Hearing of other business minds helps me stay motivated, inspired, driven… and most importantly, on-track!

What have I found to be the most effective way to get this type of content? Podcasts.

In late 2011, I started listening to podcasts for constant knowledge and inspiration. I found myself diving more and more into them as they started to become more ubiquitous. I like this format for a couple reasons: 1.) I love the fact that I don’t necessarily have to be staring at a computer screen or sitting in one static position in order to obtain vast knowledge in things that I’m interested in. I can just pop in my headphones at the gym, or listen during my commute. 2.) There are always fresh podcast episodes coming out(weekly and even daily!) and new podcasts publishers getting in the game to provide even more value. I’ve learned things worth hundreds of thousands of $$ at this point. All for FREE.

Below is a list of my top 10 podcasts, all of which I have listened for a significant time and keep in steady rotation. I have a bunch of others I listen to (on topics like health & wellness, spirituality, etc) but the main focus of this post is the list the ones I would recommend to other entrepreneurs. They are in no particular order.

Top 10 Business Podcasts for Entrepreneurs

  1. Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn(Business & Lifestyle) – Listen Now
  2. Tim Ferriss Show by Tim Ferriss(Business, Lifestyle & Mindset) – Listen Now
  3. The Cardone Zone by Grant Cardone(Real Estate & Business) – Listen Now
  4. Freedom Fastlane by Ryan Moran(Business, Mindset & Real Estate) – Listen Now
  5. Entrepreneur on Fire by John Lee Dumas(Business & Entrepreneurship) – Listen Now
  6. Travel Like a Boss Podcast by Johnny FD(Business & Lifestyle) –  Listen Now
  7. Mixergy by Andrew Warner(Business & Entrepreneurship) – Listen Now
  8. The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes – Listen Now
  9. The Ask Gary Vee Show by Gary Vaynerchuk – Listen Now
  10. Bigger Pockets Podcast by Brandon Turner & Joshua Dorkin – Listen Now

Enjoy!

Ps. What are some of your favorite podcasts that weren’t mentioned here?

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Snapshot Check-In: From Corporate America to Freedompreneur

A quick snapshot in time from September 28, 2015 while travelling to/from Dallas Texas. Discusses topics such as morning routines and the overall transition from 9-5’er to Entrepreneur.

If you haven’t already, make sure to like/subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you receive new video alerts!

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Why I’m moving to Thailand… Let me explain

Well hello hello lovely people!

Let me start off by saying I’ve built blogs for other people for yeeears but haven’t really maintained a personal one… like ever. I’m no seasoned vet, so bear with me here. There will be some typos, some ridiculousness(some intentional lol) and some stuff that won’t make sense at times.. so just expect that..ok…? OK!

I’ll keep this post as short and as sweet as possible; most importantly, on topic:

Why am I moving to Thailand?

The quick answer is. Why the heck not!?

I’ve been asked for the past 5-6 months when I made it public that I was moving at the end of the year. “Will, why Thailand?”. Here are just a few reasons…

  1. Live life on the Low-Low – Here in the U.S.(as well as many other parts of the world, we get caught up in the hype of STUFF or what I call “life anchors”. We buy things we don’t need and we spend money on material items that have little to no value just several months after we purchase them. I can’t say I haven’t participated, but I also consider myself “semi enlightened” now. I still have an affinity for nice things, however, the value I place on them has significantly decreased. Bottom line is, that Crap doesn’t matter maaann! I want to save some money to live a more free and experience abundant lifestyle… so I signed myself up!
  2. Bootstrap business – I have 犀利士
    some business ideas/opps I want to explore and I can’t do that nearly as aggressively with a 9-5’er. Living in Thailand will allow me to essentially 2x-3x whatever dollars I make in my current businesses and give me the time to work on new ventures. Bing Bang, let’s do this thang!
  3. “Wanderlust Willie” needs to go to more places –  I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a bit here and there to date, but I want more. Thailand is amazing. I had a chance to spend a few weeks there last year and I absolutely fell in love with many aspects of it. From the food, to the people, to the culture, to the Super Fast Internet(what web peeps consider a mega must!), it all just stuck in my mind and I haven’t been able to shake it.
  4. Easy travel to other Asian destinations – While there, I plan on taking the mandatory visa renewal runs to hit some surrounding countries. My family is in Japan, and I actually plan on spending some time there in south Japan(the same home I lived in briefly as a child) to really focus on my business. Other major POI’s I’ve eyed and planned to visit are Bali, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, and Singapore.
  5. Give Back – I’ve been fortunate enough to help mentor HS and college kids in the technology space. If time weren’t an issue, I’d certainly do more. Currently co-founding a NPO called the Follow Hope Foundation and will be volunteering with various organizations to help younger children gain and enhance their grade level education there in Thailand. I’ll have a whole separate blog post on why I feel giving back is essential. “Create not Destroy”.. help not harm. Serve others.. it’s a fundamental must for all able bodied humans in my opinion. 
  6. Pad Thai – Need I say more?? On to #7…
  7. $6-$8 hour long deep tissue massages – I need to correct this jacked up back of mine from spending over a decade in the corporate world sitting behind a desk. It RUINS your back and legs. This should help, and it sure does beat the $75-$100 per hour massages here in the states.
  8. Muy Thai For Health – One of my mentors got his tail kicked repeatedly by a guy who weighed almost half as much as he and that didn’t even come up to his shoulder in height. Repeatedly. LOL. He warned me.. “Yo, those Thai cats don’t play, son!” – He is a smart man, so I will be heeding to his advice. I plan on getting my butt kicked a bit but mostly to get into better shape and maintain a high level of activity.
  9. Amazing(and cheap) food – (if  #6 wasn’t convincing enough) Not only do they have very tasty food here, but it’s also mostly inexpensive. The produce is off the hook here too!
  10. Coffee Shops and Coworking Spaces – The creative juices flow when I’m in environments that stimulate my mind. For that reason I plan on hitting many coffee shops and have already picked out my ideal coworking space in Chiang Mai Thailand.

So there are about 50 more reasons but those are a few of the top ones. Looking forward to the journey.. but now, back to work!

Ps. For now I plan on spending about 6-12 months in Asia but nothing is concrete. Could be more or less.. depending how things flow!

Anyone else out there thinking to or are currently doing the same? I’d love to hear from you.

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