In the last week, I’ve read two of Colin Wright’s books. He’s the blogger behind Exile Lifestyle and a promoter of living a remarkable life. He moves to a new country every four months as a way to create material for his blog — all in pursuit of an amazing, independent life.
Today, he turns 30.
I think he’s written 30 books. Some of them are short, $.99 e-books. But, still. 30 books. I feel funny at times taking life advice from a young man, but he’s a brave explorer. He deserves to be listened to, having learned so early to avoid a life of “quiet desperation.”
What I intend to explore in this blog is a range of paths for “being remarkable” (Mr. Wright’s phrase). This isn’t about fame or fortune. For me, those aren’t the goals. And if you are reading this, I bet they aren’t your primary goals either. Once you have enough to feed and clothe and house yourself comfortably, you want something more. But it isn’t more stuff. It’s something different.
This blog isn’t about rejecting all possession, all technology and becoming Amish. Science and technology have made human lives better. Being materially comfortable is a blessing.
What I’ll be exploring here: how to be happy and how to live well while — how to steer a “middle path” that uses the best information available to manage yourself in a world teeming with new (and conflicting!) advice and new gadgets promising life-changing results.
My goal will be to test-drive each new lifestyle idea, each new habit, evaluate it, and then share the experience. And I’ll encourage you to test-drive each one, too, before you make a commitment.
You don’t have to move to a new, exotic location every four months like Colin Wright to live a rich life (though it is certainly one very cool path!). But you do have to understand what you really want out of life, what really makes you happy, and how to pursue it. Hopefully these explorations in living will help.
Patrick O'Kelley 