Kauai, Hawaii October 13-19, 2009, This is just a little side blog, the real Kauai blog will come shortly :)
Many people that we meet tell us that we our living the dream, and while this is most certainly true, it is important to point out that it is our dream. We realize that we are lucky to be able to do what makes us so happy in life and we are thankful everyday for that. I have been given great advice from so many wonderful people throughout the years and because of it I have deeply grown as a person. I am at a point where I have no regrets about decisions that I have made in my life to travel, move from city to city, not to have children at this point in time, etc. . . and I have been ultimately successful in achieving my goals and I am truly HAPPY . Because of this I believe that I am finally in a position in my life where I am able to give some friendly advice as to how to get to that point . Please do not confuse this with arrogance or pretentiousness. I mean only to answer so many questions that I receive on a daily basis as to "how do you do it?" In the mission statement of this blog we claim that our goal is to "inspire, intrigue, educate, and entertain", and I would like to dedicate a little section to inspire, so here goes. . .
On Life:

• Find what makes you happy and DO IT! Happiness is the key to everything. I simply cannot stress this enough. I am sure that you know what I am talking about here. If you are unhappy at work, then that will trickle into every aspect of daily life, and so on. . . Find a way to find happiness, it is worth it! If you are in a terrible relationship, or even in a relationship where you just don't love the person. . . GET OUT! I am so tired of hearing people say how their significant other doesn't make them happy, or blah, blah, blah. I realize that a relationship is hard work, but if you can't fix it, move on. I promise you will be able to find someone that appreciates and loves you for who you are. Of course most of you reading this blog are in amazing relationships, I just want to say that this advice is aimed as a general for everyone, not geared specifically towards those reading this blog.
• Open your hearts, please. I believe that love is at the center of our driving energies; spiritual, emotional and physical. Love balances us out. I don't mean that you have to find that "one true love", I just believe that the more you give love, the more that you will be loved. Exuding positive energy is a great way to give to the universe, and you will almost always get positive energy in return. Don't sweat the small stuff and please try to stop arguing with others over trivial things, it wastes so much time and energy that could be used for. . . um well, use your imagination. Remember that Beatles song "all you need is love. . . ", they were really on to something don't you think? Happiness and love are are synergistic and when you put them together they are like one big screaming or. . , wait well everyone likes those right?
• Life is short, so remember. . . no regrets! No one wants to be that person that always says " I always wanted to. . . ". One day you are going to wake up and you will realize that your life seemed to just pass you by. Life comes at us so fast! You do have a choice; Do you watch your own life idly pass you by like a bad rerun of Roseanne, or do you become an active player in the game? If you have always wanted to skydive, learn to paint, go to college, swim with sharks, change careers, or volunteer, why haven't you? It is important for us to find what makes us happy and do it! Remember? If you have always wanted to travel and learn about other cultures but aren't able to, bring the culture to you! Look in your newspapers for local art or culture fairs and attend them. Go see a movie that has subtitles! Yes, subtitles. Foreign films are amazing :) Try Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, or Ethiopian foods. They are delicious! Open your eyes and open your hearts to other cultures. The United States is incredibly unique because we have so many amazing cultures and right at our fingertips and most of the time we look right past the beauty in this diversity!

• Money isn't the only key to success and material things should never take over your life. Yes, we all need money to survive and in this economy I may sound like an ignorant nincompoop if I say that money isn't the key to success, but please hear me out. Material things have begun to take over our lives and it seems as if everyone is trying to keep up with the Jones's. Think twice about buying that over -sized, gas guzzling SUV, that is way too expensive, and just not eco-friendly at all. We try to live beyond our means and that is when the money problems truly start to begin. It seems to me, as Americans we have an insatiable appetite for, well. . . things. Cars, homes, True religion Jeans, flat screen TVs, cell phones, gadgets, gadgets, and more gadgets, Sham Wow's ( just seeing if you were still with me), etc. I am not immune to this, believe me. Las Vegas is a prime example for excessive consumerism and maybe that's why Vegas has the highest foreclosure market in the US? Living beyond your means=trouble. It can be a vicious cycle but it all boils down to the first two points : Love and Happiness. Contrary to popular belief, money and material things will not bring you either one! Try to cut back on the gadgets, homes, and Starbucks, and save your money so you can actually do something that makes you happy (I realize that many of us, myself included, would put up a good argument that Starbucks does make us happy)!
  

So to sum it all up: Live a life full of love and happiness and aspire to achieve your goals. Money is a helpful commodity to have but "money does not make the man". Take time to stop and smell the roses , plumerias if you are in Hawaii, and love life! It is so AWESOME!
Thanks for your patience and interest in this blog. I love you all.-Savvy Nomad 1