Life Is Awesome

Haven’t seen a sunset in New Zealand yet that hasn’t been beautiful.

We took a ferry ride over to Waiheke Island the other day, after spending a few minutes on the wharf trying to decide on the best destination. The ride itself was quite nice; it takes about 40 minutes to get to the island and there is plenty to look at leaving Auckland.

Once we got to the island we had to decide what to do. Our choices were between sea kayaking, riding a scooter, or riding bikes around the island. We chose the bikes because it would be a fun way to see the island and provide a little bit of exercise.

It was a lot of exercise as the island is hilly, so we were going up a pretty steep hill ever five minutes or so.  We biked over to this beach and took a little water break underneath a tree.

In the end we cut across the traditional loop they had for bike riders.  We shortened the route due to sunburn and fatigue on my part, and missing the first turn we needed to keep going the marked route.  Instead of back tracking to get back to the normal loop we just picks a street and cut across… missing another turn, but in the end reconnecting with the correct streets.  Might not have gone the right way but we still had a fun time on the roads we did decide to take.

Since we cut it short it turned out to be a fun time. I did end up with a decent sunburn and super tired muscles, but all in all the next day I feel fine. I’m glad we did it! And next time? Next time we will do more and I won’t be so tired/unprepared.

I’ve decided to do site/internet activity updates, similar to what many other bloggers do.

Writing

Some of my favorite posts here include the post about changing your life through blogging and why instead of personal branding you should just be yourself.

On my personal weight loss blog I explained why it’s called “A Merry Life.”

This month I also wrote a couple guest posts, including “Don’t Procrastinate On Weight Loss, Take Small Steps Now” and “A Detour From The Skinny Goal” both about living healthier.  My goal for the next couple on months is to write more guest posts, because these were easy and fun.

Awesomeness

An item from my life to do list was accomplished – I took my mom on a vacation.

I found out New Zealand is awesome, just like I thought it would be.  After years of wanting to come here I finally managed to get here.  I’ve got two weeks left in the country and plenty left to see.

If you missed the post, you might want to go back and see the pictures and video from when I bungy jumped in Taupo, New Zealand.  Another item off the life list and the introduction to life as an adventure junkie.  (I loved it.)

Other Stuff

I’ve left my ad network that previously was used on my other sites.  I wanted more freedom with what I could do with my own content and felt like there were too many rules without much benefit.  It seemed like it was worth it when I thought they were paying the rates they claimed, but when the pay and page views no longer matched up I realized it was time to leave.  Now I’m looking into other ways to monetize and will be working on that this next month.

Other than that just pondering the direction I want to take with blogging in the future, when I get a free minute that is, because mostly I’m just enjoying New Zealand right now. ;)

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is go kayaking. In Memphis I’m a bit limited in where I can, or would want, to go kayaking so generally I just don’t do it. I wait until I have opportunities when traveling and then take advantage of whatever beautiful river or lake I’ve happened upon.

In New Zealand, Lake Taupo offered the almost perfect kayaking opportunity. I say almost perfect because the weather didn’t cooperate with us. We set off in our kayaks in mid afternoon after having clear skies all morning. There were a few clouds in the sky but nothing to indicate what was coming. We were so blissfully unaware.

We kayaked a while, maybe around a mile down the coast. And then we saw the clouds darken and the rain begin to fall across the lake. We had not gone as far as I wanted, so I didn’t want to turn back yet. I thought the rain might stay where it was and we could continue. As we kept paddling the rain crept closer and closer. Soon it was raining on us and we started paddling toward shore as the rain fell harder.

Sitting on shore we waited until the rain let up… or at least that was the plan. Once it seemed like there was a break we got back in the kayaks and started to head back to the hotel. But then we saw the lightning and heard the thunder and decided that wasn’t the best plan of action. As we searched the shore for a place to hang out until the storm passed we realized we were out of luck and had nowhere to hide.

Then the woman who had been swimming with her family and got out of the water when the lightning started like we did came down to ask us if we wanted to wait out the storm with her family. We put the kayaks in her shed and then went up and had coffee and tea with the family while their four year old son entertained us. We tried to wait out the storm but it never got much better and after an hour we decided to try to get back before the sun went down and made the situation worse.

We made it back without incident and ended the Lake Taupo Kayaking Adventure that had started out as an easy paddle down to the city center. Was the first time I’ve ever gone kayaking in the rain or had any kind of storm show up. It turned out to be really nice meeting and spending some time with a family from Auckland vacationing at Taupo. But next time we will check the weather before we head out.

At least the day ended well with a beautiful sunset, even with the clouds. Every sunset I’ve seen since being in New Zealand has been gorgeous.

Check another item off my life list, because I FREAKING BUNGY JUMPED!

Need proof?

Even though it was on my list of things to do, I never really thought I would get around to doing it.  But I did!!

I was super nervous about it when we got there, because it’s something I’ve never done and it’s jumping off something HIGH with only a cord attached to your ankles. In the video you can see that I was slightly freaking out in the beginning. That was partly because I must have looked nervous so the guys working started joking about being drunk and accidents and how nervous they were. Ah! But really the worst part is slowly waddling your way to the edge of the platform so you can jump. The cord is hanging off the platform and pulling at your feet like it is going to pull you off – it’s scarier than actually jumping. But once I got in place and they told me you just fall forward I knew I could do it… and I did!! I screamed for like a second and then realized it was fun and laughed during most of the jump. If you have three-ish minutes you should totally check out the video because it is freaking awesome.

Yeah. That’s how it is.

We also went to The Honey Hive where I bought some honey, took a little excursion to see Huka falls, and we went kayaking, then got caught in a storm, camped out for a bit with a super nice family from Auckland, and then hauled ass back so as not to get electrocuted. Maybe not the best kayaking adventure, but definitely a unique one.

Just another reason why Taupo, and New Zealand in general, is awesome.

Two of my new favorite bloggers Matt and Sean both recently posted about starting a blog to improve your life. Sean writes about it as one step to take to improve your life and Matt agrees that blogging is the one thing you can do to change your life.  It might sound strange to the people who don’t understand the opportunities blogging can open up for you, but for me it makes perfect sense.  My blogs have changed my life and made it immensely better. 

BLOGS TAKE YOU PLACES

The funny thing about blogs is that they take you places.  Sean’s took him from Portland to Thailand.  Matt’s took him from Nashville to a new life and job in Chicago.  Mine has taken me from Memphis to Vermont to New Zealand.  Because of our blogs we connected with the right people who helped us make these moves and plans possible. Blogging can take you places if you are open to the possibilities that will grow out of your blogging.

BLOGS GIVE YOU SUPPORT

No matter what you want to do – be it become location independent, lose 50 pounds, pick up a new hobby or start a whole new career, there is a community of people online who have already done it or are doing it now.  Getting online and starting your own blog gives you a chance to connect with these people.  When I started trying to lose weight I didn’t have the support I needed in my life so I started blogging.  Now I have a great weight loss support community that helps me in my journey to be healthier.  Blogging is one of the fastest ways to connect with like-minded people.

BLOGS GIVE YOU DIRECTION

Many of us bloggers started blogging without any direction.  We have found our paths or at least a good directional wind in life because we started writing and putting ourselves out there.  In some ways I’ve done this already and now with this blog I’m trying to do it again.  I’ve not been writing here long (and I still can’t decide on a blog name) but I’m beginning to see how I’m drawn to travel, lifestyle design, and business related blogs and blogging.  The more I blog here the more I will be able to clarify what it is I want to be writing about and what I want to be doing with my life.  Blogging can help you figure out what you want to do with your life.

START BLOGGING NOW

I agree with Sean and Matt that a blog can and will help you achieve your goals, no matter what they are.  I also believe a blog can help you define new goals and explore new experiences.  No matter what you want to do we all seem to agree that a blog can help you.

If you aren’t a blogger yet, I suggest you start a blog on anything that interests you.  Start writing and find out what a blog can do for you.  

I’ve been in New Zealand for three days now.

I LOVE it here.

What’s not to love?

It’s a really great city.  Clean and green, that’s the New Zealand slogan, right?  Totally fits.  Even in the city there is so much green space it’s amazing.  And you are just minutes from water and beaches in every direction.  In my book that constitutes a beautiful place.

I’m enjoying visiting a place with a built in tour guide.  Traveling for the sake of seeing new places and having new experiences is fun and all, but I think I enjoy the experience of having friends show me the city from their perspective.  I like seeing someone else’s favorite spots and seeing what makes them appreciate the city they live in.  And since I’m staying here a month it’s much more like I’m living here than just visiting.

Next week I’ll be going to Taupo and Rotorua, so there will be a little touristy goodness during my stay here.  And on Saturday I’m hosting a health/fitness blogger meetup in Auckland.  That’s the niche of my other blog and I’m quite excited to meet some other bloggers and discuss things.   Meeting other bloggers is one of my favorite things to do because I enjoy blogging yet have few friends who do it, or at least do it consistently.  So this weekend’s meetup should be fun.

Alright, I’m off to enjoy another beautiful day in New Zealand. ;)

Back from Gatlinburg, TN after a fun trip with my mom for her 60th birthday.  It wasn’t exactly what I would normally do, but she seemed to have a good time and that was what it was all about.  We walked a lot and went to the top of the mountain and ate all her favorite foods and let her relax instead of worrying about her family.  She had a good time so my birthday present was a success!

Looking back the only thing I wish we had done was got a picture together.  Not sure how I managed to miss that particular thing.  But the rest of the photos are great and we had a really awesome time in the mountains.

Love the smoky mountains. One of my favorite parts of my home state and most definitely one of the prettiest.

But I’m going to leave it on Wednesday.  Headed to Brisbane, Australia for a day to hang with a blogging friend and then on to Auckland, New Zealand.  More on this later, but let’s just say I am super freaking excited!!

Today I spent the morning hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then walking through Gatlinburg, TN.  This afternoon was made for resting and I decided to randomly surf the web/blogosphere with no intentions.  This is something I rarely do as I always have a purpose when I’m online.  The results were very disappointing.

I love how bloggers and “social media gurus” talk about building “personal brand” by one of two ways.  They either lay out a list of how-to items to make your super special personal brand stronger or they say the basic line: Just be yourself! Either way it seems that people don’t listen or have meltdowns trying to carry out the advice.  Everyone out there copies the original bloggers and no one says anything new.  Everyone wants to build a personal brand for themselves but is afraid to do anything different or unique.

There are very few original voices and ideas online.  Everything else is just a less exciting copy of that original version.  It is quite disappointing.

I understand how it happens.  When you want to blog but have no ideas about what to write or who you are or what your super special personal brand should be, it just seems easier to search the fanciest blogs and then do what they are doing.  Clearly their ideas are working.  People like them and read what they say.  If you just do the same thing you will get the same results.  Right?  Right?  That must be what people think.

Matt Cheuvront, one of the few good bloggers I recently found out there, wrote a guest post about personal branding and questioned whether we (20 somethings) are too young to worry about it. His best point: “There is NO right or wrong in the personal branding world. Your personal brand is YOU – whatever that means, for better or worse, you are who you are and once you embrace that and run with it, everything else will fall into place.”

Ah.  Be YOU.  Be who YOU really are.  Run with it.  Don’t try to build a personal brand around what you think you should be or someone you think you should act like.  That doesn’t just go for young people but for anyone.

Why spend your time being fake hoping someone will notice and like the fake version of yourself?  Seems like a fruitless endeavor to me.

First, stop trying to be someone you aren’t.  Second, don’t take other people’s advice on how to be authentic.  If you need someone to tell you how to be yourself then YOU AREN’T BEING YOURSELF. Being authentic and real comes from inside.  It’s just who you are.  No matter what the subject I’d rather read about it from someone who is being themself rather than trying to be something or someone they are not.

Perhaps it is just me, but I don’t understand why we all seem to need someone to tell us how to be who we are.  Unless we are all trying to be the same?  Oh, is that the goal?   I sure hope it isn’t.