Personal Journey | Brandon Sutton's Personal Journey

Car-Free 2018 Recap

by Brandon on Jan 17, 2019 • No Comments

Last January, I gave up my car and went ‘car-free’ for the first time in 20 years (I lived in NYC in 1998-1999, which was the only other time I was without a car since turning 16). I’ll get to the reasons why in a minute, but the headline is that I saved over $10,000 in 2018 compared to 2017. Cool, right?!?!

Now for the breakdown on how that happened:

I was spending around $1,000/month on vehicle expenses when I had my car; occasionally more, but this is a reasonable baseline. This was mainly the lease payment and the insurance (which was getting out of control at $234/month). I didn’t drive that much, so fuel was never a big factor. So, a total of around $12,000/year to have a nice car that was parked the vast majority of the time. Read more…

Personal Journey

Finding and Expressing Inner Voice

by Brandon on Jul 18, 2014 • 2 Comments

I used to think my voice didn’t really matter. That I wasn’t smart enough, eloquent enough, educated enough, good enough, etc. It’s really quite ridiculous when I look at it now. Sure, some of my heroes had more resources, education, money, better looks, etc., but others were no more prepared to have a massive impact on the world than I am now.

Last week I was doing some research on a project I’m working on, and I came across the story of OutKast and their rise to the pinnacle of stardom from their humble roots in my home city of Atlanta. One part of their story really struck me, but I didn’t really know why at the time. Read more…

Personal Journey

Running Around The World

by Brandon on Mar 3, 2013 • No Comments

Life sometimes provides us with opportunities that we could never imagine for ourselves and it’s up to each of us to take each one and seize it.

I’m typing this on an airport shuttle bus bound for Tokyo’s Narita airport for the final flight of a round-the-world trip for a client that began in mid January on the sunny beaches of Santa Monica. Since then, I’ve had a chance to slip on my sneakers and take off running in some truly incredible places on this beautiful blue planet.

In just over a week, I’ll be running in the Hunger Walk/Run in Atlanta for the second time. Read more…

Personal Journey

Bold Horizons and Global Change

by Brandon on Nov 5, 2012 • 2 Comments

Sometimes the universe lines up things for us that we just don’t know what to do with right away. The past 4 months have felt like that for me. So many days I’ve thought to myself, I need to sit down and write; to process all the things that are going on. But, to borrow a phrase from Jonathan Fields, I’ve been in ‘The Thrash.’

Truthfully, it really started in July when I returned home from the World Domination Summit, which was yet another incredible experience in Portland. I saw the talk that I gave at WDS on Vimeo for the first time recently. This was a pivotal moment for me. If you have 5 minutes to watch it, it explains a lot about where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. Read more…

Personal Journey

Don’t Stop Believing

by Brandon on Jul 10, 2012 • 21 Comments

Just over a year ago, I attended the inaugural World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon, which would come to be an experience that motivated and inspired me in ways I find difficult to fully convey. This past weekend, I returned to beautiful Portland for the second WDS, and it was nothing short of magical for me. Allow me to take you on a journey, if you please.

I will never forget walking into the Portland Art Museum last year on the first morning of WDS and seeing Chris Guillebeau’s welcoming smile (the conference creator) as he asked me if I would go down to the front row and help fill it out shortly before the first presentation began. Never one to argue with one of my biggest personal heroes, I happily obliged. Read more…