There is plenty of talk among this community about the term Lifestyle Design. Popularized by Tim Ferriss in his book The Four-Hour Work Week, he talks of a “New Rich” who set up muse businesses and are able to travel for extended lengths of time in what Tim calls mini-retirements. The premise being that you can use the power of the internet, virtual assistants, and various tools to work from anywhere.

Tim’s approach is very specific to how he designed his life, but it is not even remotely the only way to design your life. So I am going to officially jack the term from him.

I have always preferred the term to be more tailored to an individual. My situation is not very similar to Tim’s. It doesn’t mean I can’t do everything he did and does. It means that I am not looking for the same things. Tim’s system is very viable. If it works for you, use it. There are many tips and bits of valuable information than can help you do things more differently than you may have imagined. But you don’t have to copy it exactly.

To me the term means literally to design your own life. It is whatever works best for me. My life is what I want and need to do for me. It is not your life. If what I do works for you, use it. If not, you won’t hurt my feelings. Absorb what is useful, discard the rest.

Designing Work Life

We hear so many people complaining about life in the 9-5 cubicle. They write songs about it, make movies mocking it, and have countless websites complaining about our daily lives. Yet most people strive to have this life they complain about. They hang onto it and defend it with everything in their being, mostly too afraid to dare the great things they know they have in them. They don’t like the rules we’ve all been taught, but rarely question them. Of course we’re specifically taught this dream-squelching way in our education system, but that’s another post altogether.

Though I talk of Lifestyle Designers and Digital Nomads working from anywhere from their laptops on this site, that is not the only way to do things. I’m not going to tell you to quit your job, sell all your stuff, and wander the Earth with nothing but a backpack and a smile. There are plenty of people who do just that, but it may not be for you.

No matter what you want to do, no matter what you think may stand in your way, and especially no matter who tells you that you can’t: You can.

Question the Rules

I’m not a believer in rebelling just to be able to call yourself a rebel. Some rules are good (“don’t play on the freeway” is probably a good one). But do question the rules.

Why are you living the way you live now? What are you afraid of? What is the worst that can happen if you try it? What is the worst that can happen if you don’t? Ask yourself hard questions to get to what you really want.

No matter what you want to do with your life, there is a way to make it happen. People make excuses their whole lives and stay stuck in lives they don’t enjoy. Will it be hard work to make a big change or build the life you want? Probably. If you’re looking for a magic pill or plan to fix all your troubles, make you a brazillion dollars, and make you look like a movie star all while you sit on the couch watching Oprah, then good luck with that.

There is no magic pill. There is no winning the lottery. There are no secret shortcuts. There are no overnight successes. It all takes work. Usually lots of it.

I am not some guru. I can’t do the work for you. Life can be hard. But rarely is it as hard as we make it out to be in our heads. You are going to die someday. Don’t spend your life living in fear. You’re the only one who has to live it, you may as well enjoy it.

The main idea I want you to at least open yourself up to is that though you may not see the entire path laid out beginning to end before you, there are other ways to live. Some may not appeal to you, and that’s okay. I hope you at least look at the ones who grab your attention and you see that there really are no valid excuses for anything.

My upcoming Lifestyle Profiles Series will show you more people doing whatever they want. Some will be living their own Ferrissian Utopia, while others will be living with far more modest means. Some will be travelers going places most people will only ever see in National Geographic, while some will be living happily in their hometown. Some will be working for other companies, but most for their own businesses. People on the road solo, and people with large families doing the same.

The Middle Finger Project

I don’t know if it’s just the holiday season, or circumstantial, but I have got a lot of good books and products lately to review. I have followed Ashley since she started writing, and met up with her this summer when she drove through town.

I mentioned this one back when she did her pre-order sale last month of her new book, and you may have noticed the ad space I put up for it on the right.

I have read and enjoyed the book. It is “designed specifically for beginners interested in learning how, exactly, to become a digital entrepreneur, do soul-shakingly good work that you love, make money, and do it all from a laptop.” She takes someone new to blogging, and walks you step-by-step to setting up your own place to reach people and get your entrepreneurial freak on. The why, the how and the must.

If you’ve been around for a while, you could say she takes a more Gary Vaynerchuk approach to her successful business as opposed to Tim’s muse-and VA style, though I’d bet she drinks far more wine than Gary. Ash is currently in Chile, and I highly recommend you follow her writing over on her blog, whether you buy her book or not!

What the Hell is Lifestyle Design and Why Do I Care? is a post from: Live Collar Free

The purpose of this site is to show possibilities for alternative lifestyles. I have talked a bit before about how I left the typical corporate workforce to start traditional businesses, then transitioned that into a mobile lifestyle which allows me to work wherever I have an internet connection.

One of the lifestyles that has always fascinated me is RV travel. I’ve always known people whose dream it was to see the U.S. at their own pace in their RV once they retired. My grandparents were such an example. He was a business owner in a small town in California. Kind of a big fish in a little pond sort of thing where they still have a street named after him though he died 30 years ago.

Some of my earliest memories were of camping out of my parents’s VW bus they bought brand new when I was on the way. My grandpa had an in-bed camper truck that we used to take short weekend trips in when I could barely talk. My sister & I loved camping in their backyard where they kept that camper truck parked. We were even more excited when he got a newer Class-C RV where we used to almost exclusively “camp” in the yard whenever we stayed there during the summer.

It represented waking up in a new place every day while exploring this vast country of ours, and beyond. All of the things my grandpa always told me about. One of my many dreams is to restore an old Airstream. The classic look just brings back something nostalgic and adventurous for me, like it does so many others.

I remember him regaling me with tales of all the places he was going to go when he retired. He just never got around to retiring before he died.

Life for me has always been very nomadic. I have never held the same address for longer than 4 years: once in grade school, and once as an adult (I’m 40). I’ve explored only small areas of the country, with only quick trips outside it’s borders. I’ve moved a lot, camped quite a bit, lived in my SUV for short periods of time when I felt like it, and always thought about making a move to a mobile RV life.

(Interestingly, about a year ago my dad told me that we lived in a parked Airstream when I was born. I had no idea.)

Most people think of RV life as something like my grandpa thought of it: something for weekend trips, family vacations, or retirement. While there may be plenty of good times to be had limiting it to just those activities, there are a lot of people of all ages living full lives in their RVs all over the world. Whether in full-sized RV’s, converted buses or cargo trucks, towing Airstreams or other trailers, and even stealth camping in vans.

Tales From Technomadia

If you’ve been to this site before, you’ve heard me talk about Chris Dunphy & Cherie Ve Ard. They have been traveling around the U.S. for several years now living in their towed Oliver travel trailer, along with their cat Kiki. They are not old and retired, but they enjoy working and living from wherever they happen to travel to at any given point. They are Digital Nomads who run several businesses from wherever they have internet access.

They’ve become very well-known in various RV and Location Independent circles here on the internet, and are experts at every aspect of life as a modern Technomad. I met them for a shuttle launch earlier this year, and use their handy State Lines iPhone app whenever I am about to cross into another state. They are always friendly and helpful, despite constantly answering the same questions over and over from people like me who are curious about or want to live their wandering experience.

They were recently selected to present on Technomadism at SXSW Interactive, and have recently settled in to explore the U.S. Virgin Islands for a few months over the winter.

Over the years, they’ve documented all of the various questions and obstacles people throw at them for why they can’t also live this life of freedom. Like with anyone else doing things outside the mainstream way we are taught to live in the default world, they get a lot of praise about their amazing life, almost always followed up with some variation of the “I wish I could do that” excuse.

They wrote an extensive series of posts on their blog about overcoming these obstacles to full-time travel, but they got several requests for a book form. They have now compiled this 15-part series into an ebook. I thought it was going to just be the posts sewn up quickly into a pdf, but it’s a 78-page, 25,000 word book.

They added a ton of stuff to it!

Chris & Cherie don’t use their blog to make a living, but to share information. They make enough money from their software development and consulting businesses to afford their travels. They’re working on some extra travel expenses to get to SXSW, but are generously offering this book for whatever you want to pay.

They’re not putting a price tag on this eBook – it’s offered to you on a ‘Pay-as-You-Wish’ basis. Pay what it’s worth to you. Heck, even download it for free, and come back later and pay what it’s worth to you.

Just change the suggested price of $15 in the shopping cart to whatever you want to contribute.

If you’re looking to live a mobile lifestyle or even just curious, it’s a great resource. I don’t say that because they are friends, because they quote this blog in the book, or because I’m an affiliate for it. It’s just a fantastic resource you should check out, and pay what you think it’s worth to you.

UPDATE 2-3-2011: They’ve added another chapter to the book! If you signed up for updates, you should have already received a notification. The book is still pay-as-you-wish, so you can buy the updated version at the same link.

Check out Answers to the Most Common Excuses to not Travel Full-Time

Don’t Die Waiting for Retirement to Travel the Open Road is a post from: Live Collar Free

I wanted to give an update on some of the people previously featured on the site. Some of the things we’ve featured here have changed, and people ask me how some others are doing. While going through previous posts, I thought I’d update you on some of them here.

Lemonade

One of the stories we’ve mentioned several times both here and on the Facebook Page is Erik Proulx’s Lemonade Movie. After a successful run being featured on Hulu, it is still available for sale.

Erik has been hard at work trying to get together funding for the “sequel” of sorts, Lemonade: Detroit. He has made a trailer for the basic premise and is seeking grass roots funding for the project. You can be listed in the credits for sponsoring a frame of the film (or 10,000 – I’m sure he wouldn’t mind).

Adventure Photographer Trevor Clark

Since Trevor did a two-part interview with us, he is still making fantastic pictures, traveling all over the U.S. in his Sportsmobile van.

After spending much of the summer in Alaska, he ended up with a home base in Tahoe to operate from when not on the road in El Guapo. He spends plenty of time there, so it made sense for him to have an operations center to help him take his photography business to the next level.

Crush It!

Gary Vaynerchuk is still going on and on about the Jets, can occasionally be found on Twitter, and has a new book coming out, called “The Thank You Economy” as a follow-up to his best-selling Crush It! I have not read it yet, but I plan on it. I will put up my copy of Crush It! for a contest prize if there are enough people interested who haven’t already read the book. If only one person emails me, you’ll be the winner!

Nine Lives Vintage Wears

Readers will remember the story of Kristi Coyne, who was downsized from her government healthcare job a while back.

She decided to take the opportunity to not spend the rest of her life unhappily working in a field she did not thoroughly enjoy, and decided to open a vintage clothing store in Tacoma. Yes, she decided to kick fear in the nuts, turn away from the field she’d acquired several University Degrees to attain, and open a retail store at the peak of the worst financial climate in American history.

I’m happy to report that Nine Lives Vintage Wears is doing well, and has recently celebrated it’s first anniversary! Go Kristi!

Tales from Technomadia

Everyone knows Cherie and Chris from Tales From Technomadia. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet up with them earlier this year to watch the Space Shuttle Launch. They happened to be out here in Florida with the Oliver Travel Trailer they call home, along with another couple from Our Odyssey. None of us had met in meatspace before that day, but since they were so close, and it was the last scheduled night launch, I had to go!

We had a great time, and they so graciously let us otherwise total strangers use the warmth of their home on that cold February night as we waited for the 5am launch (that got scrubbed).

Being the Technomads that they are, they are always willing to wander and explore, as they work entrely online, and are not tied to any one place. They’ve long thought of trading in their RV for a sailboat at some point, but they recently came upon an opportunity to spend the winter in the U.S. Virgin Islands!

They only arrived on the island of St. John a few days ago as of this writing, but be sure to follow along on their adventures there. They take lots of pictures and are great at reporting the details of what life is like in whatever nomadic situation they live!

Way Below Status Quo Meetup

Over the summer, I met with a few other people I only knew from the online world. They were on a trip around the U.S. to meet people from the blog world. They passed through town and were stopping to meet Andrew Norcross while they were here. I just happened to see a tweet and invited myself out with them.

Colin Wright moved to Thailand shortly after the trip ended, and is working on several businesses from there. I don’t know if his readers have decided where he is going to live next, but it is always fun to watch.

Norcross is still in town and I am pretty sure he has fixed every WordPress site of every person on Twitter.

Ashley Ambirge is having a presale of her new book “Why You Don’t Need a Job: You Need GUTS!” If I was on the ball, I would have told you about it earlier, but there is still a short time to get it at 50% off until tomorrow (Nov 12, 2010).

She just got to Chile a few days ago, so I don’t know what hour she will cut off the discount.

Andi is still doing her 30-day challenges at Instigationology. She is running (mostly) online businesses without the crutch of social media this month. I don’t think she ever sleeps, and has done harder things than that, but it’s fun to watch.

The Future

I’ll be bringing more people to you through the site in the coming weeks. There are so many more people out living and working way outside the default life we are trained to live. I want to share them all with you, so subscribe to the updates through RSS, email, Facebook, or Twitter to be notified when we have new stuff here for you.

“What Happened to Them?” Updates on 6 LiveCollarFree Stories is a post from: Live Collar Free

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Why haven’t you? What has stopped you? Some people do it seemingly with little more than a backpack and a smile. Others live the jet-set life in luxurious places most only know from Bond films. Everyone who wants to travel but hasn’t done so has one of 7 major obstacles or objections. There may be variations on the theme, but it’s always one of the 7 majors.

Anil Polat has been traveling the world since 2006. Where many people wish and hope to “someday” travel, he has actually been out doing it. Like most long-term travelers, he regularly comes into contact with people who tell him they wish they could do what he does, and quickly give him a list of reasons why they can’t do it.

He has gathered the 7 major obstacles he regularly hears on the road and from polling his readers. He intended to just write up a few quick tips on how to overcome these popular travel objections, but the series ended up taking on a life of it’s own. Valuable input came from readers who wanted to share their experiences or attempts to overcome these travel objections, as well as advice from several other world travelers who had already overcome them.

Anil gathered this information together for his ebook, Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World. The book breaks down each objection to get to the heart of the real issue, and shows how simply anyone can overcome these perceived barriers. Included are numerous useful links to help you realize your travel goals and helpful information and advice from world travel veterans John Bardos, Marina Villatoro, Dan’s Adventure, The Q Family Adventures, Deb and Dave, Akila & Patrick of The Road Forks, and Cody McKibben of Thrilling Heroics.

Purchase of this ebook for $8.00 also includes updates and expanded information as it becomes available. Two lattes worth of money for a book that can help you get out and see the world is a fair trade to me.

If you have fantasies of long-term travel, you can turn them into realities with Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World. What’s stopping you from following your travel dreams?

Overcoming the 7 Obstacles to Traveling the World is a post from: Live Collar Free

The popular Chris Farley skit on Saturday Night Live had him play a “motivational speaker” who lived in a van down by the river. It was his way of telling his audience that they would become failures and also end up living in a van down by the river. Most people would probably be surprised to know that there are thousands of people who live in vans all around the world. They do this not because they have failed. They live in vans willingly and are doing well.

We’ve featured interviews with Adventure Photographer and vandweller Trevor Clark here before (Part 1 & Part 2), and we have more features in the queue. Readers have told us they love his 4×4 Sportsmobile Van, as it is one of the best vehicles you can buy for a camper-type van.

Several people have asked us how to live like this. They have told us they would like to do what Trevor and so many others do, but usually follow it with a long list of reasons why they can’t. Why would someone want to live in a van instead of a house? How would they go about doing so? Most of the questions are asked in the “yeah but…” format, as it does seem like such an odd thing to much of the population. A lot of people have a lot of questions.

VanAbode

Jason Odom has spent years on the road, living out of a van. His approach is slightly different, using a nondescript van that blends in anywhere, rather than an RV or trailer. He and his wife have spent years on the road, living wherever they feel like being at any given time. They have gone from coast to coast, exploring the country.

Jason also got constant questions about how to create such a different lifestyle. He wrote a book of his experiences as a how-to for anyone considering living this way, called Vanabode™ – how to happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day.  He sent me a copy to read since I was getting so many questions, and he knew it would be of interest to me.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Vehicle choice and outfitting.
• Parking and camping considerations in every type of area.
• Safety and Security (which seems to be the most popular worry among readers).
• Money, savings and budget breakdowns.

The self-published book is 113 pages, and filled with tips and techniques for making the most of your time, money, and enjoyment while living in a van. The book covers a variety of tips and techniques to overcome the most common objections, as well as a tremendous amount of options. Everyone wants something a little different, and it covers a range of ideas for living in a van no matter what your situation.

As Jason says, “Vanaboding is about spending time living a fun life rather than spending money trying to buy a fun life.” They aren’t homeless, they are home wherever they park their vehicle, sleeping in their own bed every night. They aren’t starving, they eat at some of the nicest restaurants in cities all over the country.

They do more, spend less and have more freedom than the average person working too many hours a week to keep up their mortgage and toy payments. Whether you are ready to sell off your house and live full-time in a van or RV, or you just want a way to get more time and money out of family vacations, I think you’ll find Vanabode will answer any lingering questions or doubts.

Go check out his site and grab the book. If you think people living in their vehicles are just down on their luck, you may come to realize that the people living in a van down by the river might very well be living better than the rest of us.

Vanabode™ – how to happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day

Do you know anyone who lives in their vehicle? Have you ever lived in a van? Would you ever try it? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Vanabode: Home is Where the Van is Parked is a post from: Live Collar Free

I’ve said before on this site that LiveCollarFree.com is not exclusive to one “system” or style of Lifestyle Design. There are so many ways to live outside of the default life we learn we should fit into, and they all fascinate me.

Much of what I’ve done with my life has been to downsize. Toys are fun, but the stuff we accumulate takes a toll: moving it, storing it, insuring it, cleaning it, maintaining it, ad nauseum. We learn in the U.S. that we need to own a house and that all adults need a car. We are a car culture, and have been since they came about. Cars are one of the biggest purchases and expenses in most families. But do we really need a car to work and live today?

I have followed Tammy Strobel’s Rowdy Kittens blog for a bit over a year, now. She and her partner Logan decided to downsize their life, cut down their needless belongings, and even go so far as to sell their cars. Now they get around on bicycles almost exclusively and it works better for them. They calculated that their cars cost them nearly $8,000 a year to keep! And they had economy cars! How many hours of work does that total each year just to own a car? It makes me sick to think about how much I’ve spent over the years.

Tammy & Logan have improved their health, saved a tremendous amount of money, and lived a simpler, more fulfilling green lifestyle since their decision to scale down.

Simply Car-Free

Today, Tammy released her first book: Simply Car-Free: How to Pedal Toward Financial Freedom and a Healthier Life. I read an advance copy and can tell you it is a fantastic resource for planning and living in today’s world without the need to own a car.

It seems like such a foreign concept in most areas of modern America, but life without a car is not only quite possible but is very liberating. Tammy lays out a solid plan to make the car-free lifestyle simple to achieve. The Book goes through the process they went through, as well as how to make it even easier (they made their transition slowly and now wonder why they took so long).

She does an excellent job of covering all the “what-if…?” scenarios that come up when we talk about life without a car. Across America or even the world, not everyone’s lifestyle and community allows as simple a transition into a Car-Free life, but there are ways around most objections. Alternatives to going completely car-free are also covered, and how to handle situations that come up that all but require cars, such as long trips or moving.

The section on bicycling is also very in-depth. Whether you are a cyclist or just starting out, there are many valuable resources inside to cover what you need to know about bikes, as well as dealing with everyday issues like weather and getting groceries.

If you already live without a car or have never considered such a thing, Simply Car-Free is a good tool that collects resources from a variety of people already living this way all over the country. I am not just writing this review because I am a blogger buddy of Tammy’s. In March 2008, I got rid of my truck, and haven’t had a car or other vehicle since. I’ll do more about my situation in another post and link it here, but I know this topic very well as I have had probably close to 20 cars in my life (and 16 motorcycles that I can remember).

Simply Car-Free is a great resource for anyone considering life without a motor vehicle.

Simply Car-Free: Living Without a Car is a post from: Live Collar Free

Crush It! - Cover

Gary Vaynerchuk is the founder of the popular and long-running video blog at Wine Library TV, also known as the Thunder Show. He began to parlay his success with the show into speaking on the subject of business in today’s world, and now has a NY Times Best-selling book out called “Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion“.

I had heard of Gary about a year ago through Tim Ferriss’ blog. I watched a few minutes of his show but wasn’t very interested. I don’t drink wine, so I didn’t care about the topic (like he VERY obviously did). He seemed kind of funny, but I was too busy to watch a show about wine, and didn’t think much more about it.

A few months ago, I started to hear friends mention this wine guy, both online and in meatspace. I saw he had this book coming out and watched a short keynote speech he gave at a Web 2.0 event.

In the video he gave a passionate, cussword-laden speech about the nature of business and changing times. Everything he said was very spot-on, and got me digging into more of his thoughts on business.

“Crush It!” expands on his business keynotes, filling in details about the how and why of the changing business world. It’s embedded below if you don’t have children or nuns in the room with you.

In short, I loved the book. I bought a copy locally the week it came out, then ordered another through Amazon to pass along to someone else.

Reinventing the Rules of Business

Getting into business used to be a lot more difficult when the gatekeepers of the big media outlets were the only game in town (radio, tv and print). The little guy could perhaps compete on a very local level, but it took huge dollars to get seen by the masses in years past. With the largely free tools available to anyone with access to the internet, you can get your brand seen by more and more people every day.

This is in no way a “Get-Rich-Quick” book. The 3 major tenets in the first chapter of the “Crush It” method are:

Love your family.
Work superhard.
Live your passion.

Hardly a get-rich-quick strategy unless you skip all the parts where he talks about working until your eyeballs bleed instead of playing video games or watching tv.

Several times throughout the book, he talks about the realities of how hard you will have to work to make even a decent living like you may make at your current job. As he says, if you are even 1% unhappy with your job, you should work to change it. He does NOT suggest quitting your job to become a blogger. But if you want a change and do something you love, work your ass off after work until you can get to that place.

Hustle

Hard work and hustle is the theme of the book that he never lets the reader forget. He goes into more detail about starting out for the person who may be completely new to the “social media” scene. It is not a “one size fits all” approach to what specifically every person should do for a living, but a good starter.

There are several examples you could follow that will open your eyes and get you thinking. It’s not about selling chotchkies and passing that off as a living. It’s about working hard, becoming known as an expert in your field and doing something that will make your grandkids proud.

Passion

We all have something we are passionate about. Something we would be doing if we didn’t have to work (that job that makes you unhappy. If you’re already 100% happy this doesn’t apply). There are ways to do what we are passionate about, and make a decent living doing so.

You may not get filthy rich doing it, but there are so many ways to make a living, it only makes sense to use the tools you have nowadays. These tools have made it far simpler to get started and reach a greater audience than in the past.

It’s still a big deal for Gary to get on the Today Show and do a little sniffy-sniff with Matt Lauer, but advertisers are spending more and more money on internet platforms. The numbers of people watching each medium is changing daily. The little guys without the big budgets of the mainstream media channels are able to be competitive in this rapidly-changing world. Money follows the attention. More attention is on these internet tools every day.

Work your face off, and you can build a business that thrives, doing something you love to do. This book is a good starting place to start getting the ideas flowing. Get the book and give it a quick read. It is very short and you’ll get through it in a spare hour or two.

I don’t work for Gary, have never met him, and am not being paid to say any of this other than if people use my affiliate links above to order the book. In that case, I’ll make a couple pennies. I still don’t drink wine, but when it comes to business, I agree with what he says. As busy as he is, Gary answers emails and twitter comments. If there is anything you find unclear about the book, he tries to answer any questions. You can find him on WLTV or view his keynote speeches and other thoughts on business at GaryVaynerchuk.com.

Crush It! Work Your Face Off with Gary Vaynerchuk is a post from: Live Collar Free

If you aren’t yet familiar with Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind, now is a good time to start. Jonathan is a Life Coach and popular Personal Development Blogger who quit his “regular job” to live on his own terms.

I originally became aware of him about a year ago after seeing his contributing posts over on Leo Babauta’s popular blog, Zen Habits. I immediately subscribed to his blog Illuminated Mind, and have since talked a bit with Jonathan on his blog, Twitter, and over on the Black Sheep Project forums that he started. He asked me if I wanted to read his book one day and I was happy to get a copy to give a quick read through.

I realized when he sent it over that this was no sloppy ebook thrown together as a quick collection of past blog posts or regurgitated self-help platitudes.

“Reclaim Your Dreams: An Uncommon Guide To Living On Your Own Terms” is written in Mead’s typically eloquent yet blunt style. It only starts by laying out a step-by-step process for accomplishing the goals set out for the reader. But part two leads us through the process of stripping away any limiting beliefs about what we can or should do with the short life we are given, then it gives us the tools to figure out how get to what we want out of life.

“If you’re not enjoying life, you’re failing. It doesn’t matter if you have a yacht, a BMW, or a six-figure income. If you don’t wake up happy on a daily basis, you’re losing at the game of life.”

As I said, it does not just give you a smattering of tips and hints to change your life. It is no easy task to overcome years of the programming we get from the mainstream. Mead doesn’t snap his magic author fingers and heal your woes or tell you how you need to live your life. That’s for you to figure out. You’re the only one living your life, so make sure you are living your best way.

As Jonathan says, the main purpose of the book is to align your heart and mind. Too often we are in conflict. We don’t do what our heart wants for the sake of practicality or safety, leaving us in a constant state of conflict with ourselves.

There are plenty of exercises and tasks to help guide you to work through each section of the process. You aren’t getting through this one by just a quick browse in your dentist’s waiting room. You could just breeze right through it, but you’d only be short-changing yourself. For it to truly be of any benefit to you, you really need to take some action and complete the exercises.

If you are looking for a quick read or are just going to buy it and leave it sitting unread on your hard drive, then save the few bucks. I am a voracious reader and am always looking for quality information to learn. This is one you need to study.

If you are unhappy with the way your life is heading, even if you’ve always done what you were told was the right thing (quite often it really isn’t, you may be figuring out by now), this book will  open your eyes to the possibilities.

Disclosure: Jonathan did give me a copy of the book to read and review. If you buy it, I don’t make affiliate commissions or anything else. He gave it to me a couple of months before this blog was even online. Jonathan gave me a copy for free because he knows I’m awesome. He knows that if I thought his book sucked, I would say so.  So don’t buy it for me, go buy it for yourself here.

Book Review: Reclaim Your Dreams is a post from: Live Collar Free