So much stuff...

Good Morning World!

It's an overcast Thursday morning and my mind is racing with a million things to do... laundry, lots of loads... but then I have to sort and donate half of the clothes... damn. I need to keep selling things, even though my room is starting to look more empty. I still have way too much!

The goal here is 100 items. Things. Stuff? How much do you need?

I decided that I can live with a lot less. After all, its the stuff that we surround ourselves with, that weighs us down in life. I think George Clooney's character, Ryan Bingham, put it the best with his backpack theory in 'Up In The Air':

"How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack... feel the weight of that bag."

Stuff can't make you happy. You have to BE happy. And that involves BEING, DOING, and LIVING, rather than staying in one spot and nesting. I prefer to run, fly and do the occasional big air kick! (Definitely retired from flips though...)

"The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living."

Time for me to start moving! About to book the flights for my trip to Bucharest, Romania at the end of May. A week of travel to see the gorgeous Transylvanian countryside and mountains, Bran's Castle, Dracula, and the Transfagarasan Road, rated by Top Gear as the #1 road to drive in the world!

On return from Romania, I will travel to Algonquin Provincial Park, Northern Ontario to spend the summer working as a cook at summer camps. Nothing quite as beautiful or relaxing as the wilderness of Algonquin Park in summer. Its a hard life I guess...

Time to get back to sorting through things... and getting down to the really good stuff!
C.Stemp.Run... hopefully with less in my backpack!

The Transfagarasan Road, Romania is going to be a blast in my rental car!!
Picture borrowed from: The Carpathian Mysteries
http://thecarpathinasmysteries.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/10/transfagarasan-poza-de-sus-de-la-balea-lac-2/

In The Beginning...

So here it is. The very first post of my brand new Lifestyle Blog called C.Stemp.Run. I plan to use this blog as a means of documenting my life over the next few years, as I live without a permanent residence or address.

Thats right, as of May 1st, 2012 my lease ends and I will begin my Nomadic Gypsy existence.

You may be wondering right now: Why? Let me explain.

It all started when I decided I to go to Cuba, party hard, and take a break from life and society in general. Late October of 2011 seemed like the ideal time, however I couldn't find any friends to travel with... So I said 'FUCK IT!' and went Han style. Solo. Let's just label the trip as 'EPIC & LIFE CHANGING!!' and I can explain more about why, in a later post.

Once December rolled around, and I could walk again. I returned to my job, as a cook, at a great restaurant in Ancaster, however it just wasn't the same, I had already caught the bug. I was hooked. I wanted to travel. I needed to travel. I had to travel!

Unfortunately, its hard to travel when you have debt. Especially when I just piled more debt on top of it with a trip to Cuba and subsequent month off work with a broken foot. How could it be done? Time to dream, and for that I needed inspiration.

DID I EVER FIND IT!!
3 simple words: Life Style Design.

Check out The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, as well as the blog that he launched alongside the publication of his book. Absolutely, without a doubt, THE BEST book that I have read in a long time! However, I found that the lifestyle I was trying to design would need to be drastically different from my current one...

Enter another inspiring idea and book, The 100 Thing Challenge by Dave Bruno. Why? BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS TOO MUCH SHIT!! Including me! It was time to live life right, and thats about who you are and what you do. NOT what you have.... time to prioritize!

Finally, there was only one inspiring idea missing to complete my own personal Life Style Design Holy Trinity.  Check out Matrix Warrior: Being the One by Jake Horsley. Yes, it is about The Matrix movie trilogy, and Yes, I am a fanboy! However, the idea is more about 'life equals perception' and if you can live it, and believe it, you can mold and build the world to work for you! You can become The One. Just like I have in my world... don't believe? Just watch...

All of this led to months of reading, researching, and fine tuning to get to the point that I'm at today.

Ready to take the leap, abandon societal norms and conventions, and in my own modified form it was time to run.... Into The Wild......

So here I go... C.Stemp.Run... Run Stemp! Run!