One of TED’s most viewed talks and one of my personal favorites. Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.
If you’re interested in living with passion, this TED talk is it. Enjoy!
It all started in how neither of these things happened, almost happened or ever even thought they would happen. Just some good ol’ fashioned marketing to get your attention. And I do so because the point that I’m trying to make wouldn’t sound as interesting as a “how I found myself in a tub without kidneys after hitchhiking” story . And it’s simple: despite the fact that Nicaragua is filled with backpackers, there are plenty of prejudices and taboos regarding a common backpacker resource: hitchhiking. Here’s a story of what actually happened to me while hitchhiking through Argentina.
It was my third-ever lift. I had been waiting for almost three hours so I got in his truck real fast. I quickly glanced at a guy with a messy beard, smirky smile and surfer-like sunglasses. However, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. The guy was bleeding, badly. As he had just murdered somebody and “forgot” to change shirts. Took me about five minutes to ask (I obviously had to play it cool), until I finally said it: “so what happened to you?”. I can’t remember his exact words, but he said something in the lines that he was a Butcher and just dismembered and brutalized some pigs. “Great” I thought to myself, “I’m getting butched”. I honestly don’t remember what we spoke about in the next 15 minutes. In my mind I was picturing the different ways this guy was going to slaughter me or sell me to some rapers. But then it happened…
Somewhere in the middle of Argentina.
I started talking about exchange rates and how much I had lost by not going to the black market, changing USD to ARS. It was something I said out of the blue, just wanting to kill some time until the guy interrupted me and said “let me explain…”
We then spent the next most fascinating 30 minutes discussing about the financial policies of quasi-neoliberal states, the absence of rule of law in Latin American “democracies” and revolutionary discourse of left-wing caudillos. This guy, who in terms of looks could have fooled you for being the most dangerous bum ever, was giving one of the most fascinating discussions (explanation, really) on financial policies I’ve ever had. I had the most intense Macro-Economics class of my life. “I taught economics for about 10 years. It’s been my passion all my life”
I had over 15 people who gave me a lift during my two weeks travelling from Buenos Aires to Bariloche. They ranged from mate-drinking truck drivers to teenage punk-rockers to the typical nextdoor average Juan. Each of them with their own particular story and way of being. They all had something interesting to share. And even though I didn’t necessarily want my life to be like Mr. Pig Butcher here…
There was always something to learn from each and one of them.
I found that, due to the circumstances and spontaneity of the circumstances, you can instantly bond and relate to people while hitchhiking. Because of the one in a lifetime meet up, they also have no restrictions in showing vulnerability, which creates instant trust and allows you to relate to a much higher lever with that person. As they often say “The world is like a book, and those who do not travel read only one page”. The same can be said with people.
This is then an extraordinary opportunity to learn from these people and give back through your own stories and personal experiences.
Hitchhiking may not be the fanciest way of traveling. Nor the fastest. Nor the most comfortable! But if you’re looking for new experiences, a way connect and share with people or a good story of your own, I would definitely say you should try it out. Forget the taboos, the fear of bonding with a stranger or any of the thousands of other prejudices associated with it. Instead, try it our for yourself. Hitchhike yourself or offer the next hitchhiker you see a warm and friendly ride. I promise you won’t get butched!
And yes, they are in order
5) 48 Laws of Power – Robert Green
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone without any sense of morality. It’s raw, straight to the point and Machiavelical to say the least. It is, however, an excellent insight on Power, and anyone interested in it. The Laws will teach you how to either “gain power, watch power or arm yourself against it”. In that sense, there is nothing wrong with the laws themselves, but I definitely don’t deny that they can be used for either good or bad. It will ultimately depend on the reader. Great read!
4) Made to Stick – Chip and Dan Heath
I’ve read many reviews labeling this book being about “ideas” and “creating memmorable messages”. To me, this book is about communication, and the best one I’ve read.
It’s amazingly structured, practical and enlightening. The authors present six principles on how to communicate effectively and have a lasting effect on people (SUCCES: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Story). Even better, they stick to their principles and created their book based on their own principles.
3) Start with Why – Simon Senek
I must admit, I thought this book was utterly repetitive and redundant, but I would be a complete stupid if I didn’t grasp the greatness of this idea. It is for no reason that I placed it in #3.
The premise of the book is that when figuring out yourself, your business or basically anything in life, you must always start with why: the reason why it exists and why you’re doing it. The “how’s and what’s” can vary and change over time, but as long as you figure out that compelling reason behind them you will always succeed.
2) Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl
One of the great books of the century. Besides the countless positive reviews about the book that already exist, I would just emphasize on how touching and inspiring it is. How can you really endure Auschwitz and end up writing such a master piece?
1) The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
I have been into self-development books for quite a while now but have never ventured into spirituality (which is funny as my mother is a Buddhist monk), until I finally say: ok, let’s do it! I chose The Power of Now because of the reviews, the people that recommended and the book’s non-religious appeal. So far, it is the book that impacted me the most last year.
As stated by others, the Power of Now is one of those rare books with the power to create an experience in readers, one that can radically change their lives for the better.
So that’s it! Books currently on my shelf: Atlas Shrugged, Thinking Fast and Slow and Practicing the Power of Now.
And yes, I plan to do them all.
Fun
– Run 5kms naked
– To have gone to at least 6 Salsa International Congresses by the time I’m 30
– Videotape awkward, social experiments
– Sail through the Emerald Coast
– Kiss 100 women on a single day
– See a Broadway play
– 1 month without cell phone
– 1 month without facebook
– Go to the World Cup 2014 in Brasil
– Be bitten by a wild animal (and survive)
– Go rock climbing
– Do ecstasy or LSD
– Fly an airplane
– Be in a fist fight
– Have sex in a plane, bus or cinema
– Yell at a tornado (in a way that I don’t end up dying)
– “Work” as a bartender
– Solo skydive from 8,000 feet
– See the northern lights
– Live an “into the wild” experience. No money, possessions, ego or anything.
– Organize/participate in a salsa flashmob
– Have an orgy with two unbelievably gorgeous women
– Ride to Costa Rica (from Nicaragua) on a motorcycle
– Bungee Jump
– Attend a PUA Conference/meetup
– Backpack through Europe
– Have dinner with a PAI
– Spend a week camping and living off the land
– Go to an Argentinean or Spanish football match
– Tell all my secrets to a stranger
– Pretend and live and invented life for 3 days
– Dress as Goku for the next dragon ball z movie
– Participate in a pro-LGBT parade
– Go to a ska-punk or old-school rap festival
– Pee on every ocean
– Learn, word by word, at least 5 poems from Rubén Darío
Contribution
– Directly contribute to the development of youth entrepreneurship through a social business of my own
– Create shelters/home for street dogs in Managua
– Fundraise $1,000 for street children in Granada, Nicaragua
– Start an NGO
– Take AFS to Nicaragua
– Fund for Education: take and foster new educational models in Central America
Career/Finances
– Never ever work for somebody else other than myself
– Have at least 3 investments in the stock market
– Invest in beach-front Real Estate
– Have more than 100 followers on my Blog
– Deliver a TED talk
– Make CDB a financially successful business
Spirituality/Fitness
– Constant 6% body-fat
– Complete an Ironman competition
– Drink only water for 3 months
– Meditate 1 hour a day
Me
– Write 3 books by the time I’m 30, each of which will be best-sellers!
– Own my own German Sheppard which I will name Son Goku. He will like to go the beach (he better)
– Shoot manual like a fucking pro on DSLR photography
– Own a cool-ass Jeep (which I will name Pegasus II)
– Take my mom through a trip through Southeast Asia
– Take my dad to a trip through Western Europe
– Learn how to cook (properly…)
– Teach my nieces how to dance salsa
– Dance salsa on2 at a semi-pro level
– Attend a Tony Robbins seminar
– Have a home in the beach and the forest.
– Own a sailboat
– Finish learning French and Portuguese and become fluent on both
I’d say the most important thing I’ve learned in the last couple of months I learned it from a llama.
How many of us have these great business ideas, personal aspirations and visions of ourselves ending world poverty but never follow through? There’s a huge misconception that change is difficult, that it takes time and huge amount of effort. Eventually, these feelings overwhelm you and you go back on facebook, watch youtube videos about funny cats and end up doing nothing.
What is it that you normally say to yourself, and correct me if I’m wrong.
1. I’ll wait for the best moment, until the conditions are perfect. They probably never will be, anyhow. So why wait until “the best time comes”?
2. The first step is always the hardest. This is nothing but a limiting belief. It’s just like what nurses tell you after an injection: “Wasn’t that bad after all, was it?” No it’s not, so just deal with it.
3. I’m not yet an expert. Ok, so you’re a bit scared you don’t yet have the skills to perform on whatever you want to do . Well, guess what… How do you think you’re going to become better at that if you’re not doing it? No brainer, you actually learn much more by doing than by waiting.
In a nutshell, the best time to start is NOW.
To succeed, you have to do something, something that will move you toward what you want. Now, usually, many of our ideas do have several stages and steps needed to be taken to succeed with it, what you need to do is:
Start NOW. Start SMALL.
The great thing about getting shit done is that there’s loads of shit to get done. So, to get started, start with the smallest and quickest way to get you closer to your goal. As long as it’s bringing you closer to your goal, regardless of how small this is, what’s important is that you’re already closer to your final goal. You’ve advanced. You’ve made up your mind and taken action. You should be proud of yourself.
Going back to the llama, I recently found this image which I completely fell in love with. It really conveys the attitude I’m trying to talk about.
“Let’s do this shit”. Fuck yea. So whenever I have this great idea but then feel overwhelmed by all the things I need to do to get through, I just say to myself fuck it, “let’s do this shit”. It reminds me that the important thing is to get started with something small, now. Neuroscientists have wrote countless of material on the subject, but in a nutshell, the “science” behind it is that small acts increase your compliance and commitment with the final goal.
In a way, this is how I actually came to begin this blog. I’ve always enjoyed writing so I said: Fuck it, why not? This blog is probably gonna change over time, nor this post is probably the best out there, but who cares. I’ve taken the first step already.
Because it’s from another planet. The feeling, the stars, the endless awesomeness!
P.D: I didn’t edit this photo in any way. No silicone, Photoshop or any of the likes. 100% natural 🙂
Epic Living 