Browsing Tag

Inspiration

Car-Free 2018 Recap

January 17, 2019

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. Continue Reading…

Inspiration

A Game Changing Birthday Wish

July 22, 2012
charity: water

2 weeks ago, I sat in the beautiful Newmark Theater in Portland, Oregon as I listened to Scott Harrison of charity: water describe his story and the history of this incredible organization. Like me, Scott spent many years in the nightlife scene and saw enough sketchiness to last him a lifetime. Yet, after all the years of drinking, drugging and everything in between, Scott had a realization that he wanted his life to stand for more than just a stream of good parties.

Scott spent time in West Africa alongside volunteer doctors who were treating hundreds of patients a day that would otherwise have endured unimaginable suffering from a variety of maladies. Continue Reading…

Don’t Stop Believing

July 10, 2012
Brandon Sutton - World Domination Summit

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.  Continue Reading…

To Connect or Disconnect?

July 5, 2012
Jacks River - Cohutta Wilderness

3 months ago, I flew to Singapore on a business trip and was fully expecting to have in-flight internet access on the plane. In the hours leading up to the flight, I found myself putting certain tasks off until I was safely nestled on the plane. The thinking was, ‘oh I’ll have plenty of time for that when I’m on the flight.’

Imagine my surprise when I opened up my laptop on the plane and had no WiFi service. 2 flights and 25 hours of travel with no connection to the world below forced me to be with some questions that had been nagging me for some time. It was the best forced downtime I’ve had in quite a while. Continue Reading…

Inspiration

Doing the thing you think you cannot do

March 7, 2012
Brandon's Run

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do” – Eleanor Roosevelt

When I was in high school, I told myself that I wasn’t a runner. ‘I have bad knees.’  This is a belief I held onto, and I believed it all the way into adulthood. I’ve always been a pretty active person, particularly when it comes to outdoor activities, but running had been completely off the table.

An interesting thing happened lately, though. I went for a run in the park across the street from my new home. It was only about 2.5 miles, but the pace was respectable (8’14” if I recall). I did it again a week later, and then again a few days after that. Continue Reading…