This was one of coolest experiences I have ever had.

As part of the advanced scuba program with PADI, a person is required to do a night dive.

I have to say, leading up the night dive I was a little apprehensive. Thoughts of deadly fish that only come out at night, getting lost, or worse, running out of air in the pitch black, 20 meters under the water were haunting me.

As we boarded the boat I was joined by two guys from Denmark, who were also training for their advanced dive certificate.

As we began the journey to our dive location, occasional comments between us broke the silence, most along the lines of, “what the hell are we doing?” and “tell me again why we are diving at night?”

The tension peaked as we arrived and the boat engine turned off.

All we could hear is the sound of the waves crashing over the nearby rocks, and the boat rhythmically slapping the surface of the water. None of us were talking as we geared up. A few minutes later we dropped in the water, one by one, and filled our BCD’s with air, now floating in the middle of what most would call nowhere.

As the water rushed in wet suit the feeling of the sea against my skin quickly turned my fear into excitement. Smiles and uncontrollable laughter followed as we all realized, this was going to be fun…

“Listo’s?!” (ready?!) the dive master called out in spanish.

We all gave an OK sign with our fingers, and began letting the air out of our BCD’s. The hissing of the air quickly turned to a gurgle as the lead weights took over, pulling us slowly down, like an inescapable vortex into another world.

Once below the surface, as if by some innate instinct to explore was wired inside of us, we all began shining our lights towards the sea floor, eager to see the mysteries that awaited us.

The experience was beyond what I thought it would be. I am officially addicted. So much so that I am committed to seeing the best dive spots this world has to offer. Why not? After all, it’s like going to alien planet right here on earth.

It feels good to have something that I now feel so passionate about. Like a snowboarder who wakes up at 4 in the morning to be the first on the slopes, or the surfer who is still catching waves after 8 hours on the water, I have found my love.

I hope you enjoy the video of my first night diving experience above

Nate Bunger In Peru

As the plane landed in Lima Peru, I felt butterflies in my stomach.

The moment I’d been dreaming of had just arrived.

The dream wasn’t about Peru persay, but more about the fact that I was now embarking on an around the world trip that just happened to be starting here…

It was starting here because I decided to get off the plane here instead of catching my connecting flight to Buenos Aires Argentina.

I wanted spontaneity and this decision ensured I would get it.

That was a year ago as of this writing. And after a whirlwind trip around South America, full of experiences and adventures that I’m unable to explain without sounding like a lier, I’m currently living in Medellin Colombia, working online and enjoying life in a way I never thought existed. The best part is it’s only the beginning. (Big surprises coming

But the process of getting here was a completely different story. A story of letting go of my old life, my old self and embracing the dream I knew would bring me happiness.

It was a process of releasing my attachments to objects and things. Nice cars, nice furniture, a condo on the lake in one of the best areas of Phoenix.

I had no desire for these things anymore.

My desire for living life to the fullest now far exceeded any object money could buy. And I was willing to let go of everything for this opportunity.

After all, it was always this lifestyle that I was working towards. Six and seven days a week trying to make a million bucks so I could one day travel the world freely.

It was never the million bucks I wanted. It was the lifestyle that I thought only a large bank account could afford.

But I realized I could have the life I always wanted for far less then it cost to survive in the states.

And so the process of simplification began. Here’s how I did it:

Releasing Attachment To Things

The first step is realizing that things don’t necessarily bring you happiness.

Yes, they can add to the enjoyment to life and I am still a fan of nice things. But I’ve released my attachment to them. I can have them or not and still feel good inside my body.

I came to understand that lasting happiness actually comes from the constant and dynamic flow of new experiences.

The thoughts of living in the same place, working the same job, with the same routine, was always replaced with daydreams of sitting in the jungle drinking rum from a coconut and fishing for piranhas.

I’ve now experienced both and I can promise you that the ladder makes life much more interesting.

Even though the reality was I spent most of the time slapping mosquitos off my ass and now have a foot fungus that won’t seem to go away, I was loving every minute compared to the alternative.. Especially when you consider you can live this way for less than a car payment in the states.

You will also begin to see things differently and come to understand yourself and your place in this world with a completely new perspective. This new understanding will bring you a sense of well being that can only be experienced through this process.

Realizing Inner Peace Comes From Simplicity

When you begin to let go of the clutter in your life, I’m talking everything, you will feel a lightness like never before. Probably close to the bliss you felt as a child when you didn’t have a care in the world.

We came into this world happy, bubbling with energy and excited to experiment with our surroundings. We observed simple things with amazement. We didn’t care what other people thought or how we acted. We just enjoyed being alive.

This is the goal of simplicity.

To let go of things and experience the joy that comes from the flow of life. To get caught up and sucked into the river of energy, the life force, that is trying to pull us along to our true purpose.

Simplicity allows this energy to be felt.

De-cluttering and Letting Go Creates Space For New Things To Come

The Universe abhors a vacuum, and when you create space in your life, the Universe will rush in to fill it with whatever your strongest intention is.

Trusting this law is the quickest way to ensure positive change in your life. You have to make room so that something else can fill it.

I have practiced this throughout my life and have seen amazing results. From opening new bank accounts that begin to fill money, to ending bad relationships in preparation for better ones.

The secret is creating space while simultaneously having a clear idea of what you want that new space to be filled with.

It will come…

Trusting That Life Will Provide And Keep You Alive

Life will never give you more than you can handle.

Knowing this allows you to take risks where others stop. The fact is nearly all fears never come to pass. And when you let go completely and trust that life will provide, something will always come up right when you need it.

You will not die of starvation and when you let go completely you will never be without friends.

This is perhaps the biggest obstacle of for most people to accept. But trusting this law will turn life into a mysterious adventure. People will appear and things will occur that just seem too serendipitous to be accidents….All. The. Time.

Embracing The New Dream

One of my favorite quotes is by Voltaire that goes: “Man is free the moment he chooses to be.”

I love it because it’s soaks in truth.

Your dream life is a decision away. You just need to make a decision to overcome the thoughts in your mind, the invisible ceilings which you’ve created through years mental programming.

It will be scary, I am not going to lie. But at the same time you will be experiencing a sense of excitement that you’ve never had before. This excitement will persist day after day. It will not go away as you continue to submerge down the fascinating, magical and sometimes treacherous rabbit hole of life.

This is our purpose. To get swept away in the dream, to experience love and connection to simply be as we are.

Fish don’t try to swim, they just swim, flowers don’t try to bloom they just bloom. And it’s our nature to experience our dreams in reality with effortless ease.

As I look back over the past year, I look in amazement as I see all that I have accomplished.

It has been a period of massive transformation on nearly all levels, to the point where I don’t even feel like the same person anymore.

I have come to realize so many things about myself, my purpose and even more recently the roles I tend to play in my personal relationships. A humbling experience to say the least.

Getting here was indeed a journey and at times took some serious letting go of beliefs that weren’t serving me.

Achieving life goals (or personal New Years resolutions) is far from a perfect process. And there are many times, sometimes daily, when I would stray from my path.

But by hanging on (sometimes what seemed by a thread) to the commitment I made to stay true to myself, I am now experiencing a period in my life in which I truly feel happy.

And although the path of life continues to unfold in front of me, I have come to honor, whole heartedly the promises I make to myself. And it’s because of this, that I am where I am at this moment.

So with that, I want to share with you some tips and mindsets that I’ve used over the past few years to make my New Years resolutions, and more specifically my current dreams a reality.

Understand That New Years Is Not A Sacred Day

As you wake up on New Years day, realize it’s just a day like all others. And like all days, at any moment you have the potential to change.

There is nothing magical about this day, life is simply moving on. This is important to keep in mind because I promise that you are going to stray from your path over the following year.

When you come to understand, however, that you don’t need a sacred day to get back on track, you give yourself the power to change whenever you want. The only thing that is sacred, is this moment.

Describe Your New Years Resolutions And Write Them Down

I have spent a good portion of my life learning how to bring my dreams into reality. It has been my passion.

Through this process I have come to understand first hand, the sometimes eery correlation between what I speak and think about and what I go on to experience.

In essence, there is tremendous power in our words.

The ancient Toltec Indians believed words had magical powers. They said you create black magic when you speak negatively and white magic when you speak positively.

In the bible it even says “In the beginning was the word, and the word was God” John 1:1

The word is the foundation of all creation.

Further, there has been recent studies that show the success rate of people who write down their New Years resolutions over those who didn’t. The findings were astonishing.

For people who wrote down their resolutions nearly 40% went on to achieve them, opposed to a mere 4% success rate for people who simply spoke about them a few times.

To read an amazing story of an experiment I did using the power of words and visualization click here.

Create Affirmations And Say Them Often

Affirmations are basically one line statements that you create which are designed to re-iterate what you want to bring into your life.

For example, if your New Years resolution is to quit smoking you might create an affirmation that goes something like

“I am smoke free and healthy”

You could say this to yourself every time the urge came up to smoke.

The reason the sentence is stated in the present tense “I am” is because you are attempting to re-program your subconscious beliefs about your current reality.

You wouldn’t want to say, for example, “ I will quit smoking” because this implies that it will take place in the future.

By wording your affirmations in the future tense you will continue to be in a state of “I will do it someday” instead of “I am doing it now”

Create clear, present tense affirmations for all of your goals and use them whenever doubt creeps. It’s powerful.

By the way, having no more than 3 specific goals for your New Years resolutions is best.

Act On Your Goals Immediately

As T. Harv Eker puts it, “Action is the bridge between your inner world and your outer world.

It is here that we begin to bridge the gap between what we desire to have and what we actually begin to experience. Without this step nothing happens.

Taking immediate action towards your goals also gives you momentum.

There is a Universal law that says that which is in motion tends to stay in motion. And when you create momentum by taking action, it becomes harder to stop you then it does to keep going. You will begin to feel a natural tendency to keep moving towards the accomplishment of your goals.

To read a post I wrote specifically about creating massive momentum in your life, click here.

Renew Your Commitment When Times Get Tough

And finally, if and when you feel like quitting, make a new commitment to keep going despite how you feel.

This is a good time to look over your goals again, adjust them slightly if need be, state your affirmations with a new sense of conviction and take even more aggressive action towards your goals.

By doing this, you begin building massive self esteem and confidence in yourself. You will start to trust yourself more and your abilities to get what you want from life.

You will begin to see yourself as a stronger and more capable person and the thought of quitting will seem weak and unfathomable.

What you become is an unstoppable person able to achieve anything.

If it takes New Years to get up the motivation to begin making life changes, then use it. But make this the year that nothing will stop you. Make this the year that you become unstoppable.

I arrived into Iguazu, a town located on the border of Argentina and Brazil, after spending nearly two months traveling and living in different parts of Argentina.

Anyhow, after hearing for the past few months how amazing Brazil was, I was eager to begin making my way into the mysterious and lively country.

I heard from everyone that it was like another world, something that turned out to be an understatement.

So after several short lived, but passionate romances in Buenos Aires, I took a flight from BA to the border of Brazil and Argentina in a town called Iguazu.

Iguazu is a very famous attraction in South America because of an incredible series of waterfalls, surrounded by lush and wild jungles.

The experience was amazing and like nothing I had ever seen.

I spent the entire day hiking through the jungles. All around me in the trees were monkeys, snakes moving across the path in front of me, and secret hidden water falls located in deep remote areas where no one else was in site.

It was like something out of a dream.

The day started out sunny and then at one point it started raining so hard that the water rose up over my ankles in a matter of about 30 minutes.

After hiking for several hours I decided to splurge and take a boat to the bottom of the falls to get right up close.

It was an experience I will never forget.

Shortly after my time in Iguazu, I took an overnight bus to the city of Sao Paolo where my amazing experiences of Brazil began to unfold.

I will be posting a video soon of my experience in the Amazons….

Hope you like the video above of my experience in Iguazu.

(Here is a post of some of my other experiences in Argentina:)

Click Here Amazing Patagonia

My Experience In Patagonia

One of the highlights of my travels in South America was by far the time I spent in Patagonia.

Patagonia is an area in the South of the continent shared between Argentina and Chile… It’s one the last untouched frontiers in the world, and is home to the third largest glacier in the world, preceded by Antarctica and Iceland.

After a few months living in Santiago Chile enjoying the routines of city life, I was due for a bit of time in the wilderness to collect my thoughts for moving forward with many things in my life.

I started my time in Patagonia in a town called Ushuaia which is known as the End of the World, as it the the last civilized city at the end of South America. It is the launching point for expeditions to Antarctica (about 600 miles to the Antarctic Continent)

I spent nearly a month traveling by foot and by bus from the tip of South America in Ushia into El Calafate.

I hiked Torres Del Paines in Chile, and then spent some time hiking around the Glaciers outside of El Calafate in Argentina before making my way back to Buenos Aires city life.

My time there was amazing. Something about the nature always brings out the best in me and seems to center me in my core.

I reveled in the solitary of hiking alone most of the time and spent days in the pristine mountains enjoying my own company, my own mind.

I captured lots of video of my experience and put it together in the video above. Hope you enjoy! Love to hear your comments.

Creating A Life With Purpose

Living with purpose is they key to living full and happy life. It’s the secret to feeling like you have a reason for living.

There are four key steps that you need to take to begin moving towards a more purposeful life.

Here they are in order:

1. Discover Your Unique Passion or Gift

Step one is coming to grips with what you really enjoy doing. What is your true passion? Where do you have natural talent?

This has nothing to do with thinking about what it is. If you are waiting for your it to come to you in thought, you will literally wait forever.

You find it by just DOING what you love to do. By acting from your deepest source, in the moment.

By doing this and paying attention to what you are naturally good at, your passion will reveal itself with much clarity.

Think of someone like Picasso who painted essentially the same picture over and over in deeper and different ways.

The idea is to get lost in what you feel is your source.

Understand that it will be an ongoing process. Just keep acting from your core and pay attention to the feedback you get where you suddenly excel in a certain area.

When you experience spikes in success, and when it seemed to be more or less effortless and fun, this is a key sign that you are on to something.

Keep defining it until it clicks.

2. Create a Vision For The Life You Want To Have:

Next is creating a vision for the life you want to have.

Once you’ve come to grips with what you want to be doing, next begin writing out a vision for the life you want to create.

Write out goals for 5 years, 1 year, 6 months and 30 days.

A good exercise is write out a “perfect day” in your future life, as if you were living it right now.

Write it in vivid detail, describe sounds, smells and what you see. This is powerful. The more clarity and description you can bring to this vision the better.

3. Create a Routine That Brings your Vision Into The World … And Stick To It

Next you need to create a routine that brings your vision into reality.

Every day you will be doing something towards your dream.

Personally I like to make my action (output) tasks during the weekdays, i.e. working on my blog, book, interviewing, marketing etc… and my passive (input) tasks on weekends i.e. reading, planning, reviewing my output, reconnecting with my center etc…

In regards to your output and creating a action work routine, you want to find the top 3 tasks that have the most impact on bringing this reality into the world.

These three tasks will be the basis of your work routine and your main focus each day throughout the week. Create systems for them so you can do them even better, faster and more efficiently.

This action routine you create for yourself becomes the “track” of your life that people talk about. I.e. “I got off track”

Develop your track, and determine to stay on it.

By having this setup, you will be able to see when you are getting of track and what is causing it.

For example, say you are partying too much and your finding the following days you are hard pressed to keep your routine. You will know then when it’s time to scale back a certain behavior so that you can “get back on track”.

4. Create Priorities For Your Life And Make Them Sacred:

Finally you need to create and understand your priorities in life.

When you do this, and you make them sacred, this becomes the basis of your character.

For many people, this will be the first time they have ever thought about this.

Without priorities, you will go through life without ever having a clear idea of what is really important.

People without set priorities are almost always confused about what to do, unable to make quick decisions and easily swayed from their path when something shinier comes along.

Taking the time to sit down and write out your priorities is the process of developing your center, you core. It will clarify exactly where to put your energy and when.

Here is an example of my own and what I recommend:

#1. Internal Connection – Remaining centered and “feeling good” in your own body. The reason this is the top priority is because when you start your day from here, you will be acting from a place of purity and power.

When you become centered, the real you will be expressed in all other areas of your life, from your relationships to your work.

Having this as the top priority means starting your day before anything else by sitting quietly with your eyes closed, breathing, getting a clear mind, and then visualizing your future life in perfect clarity.

When you have finished, then you return to the present moment, not thinking about the past or the future, but simply acting in the now.

# 2. Family or Relationship – It’s said that merely 85 percent of our happiness in life comes from the quality of relationships we have with other people. By focusing on serving others we create the flow of positive loving energy in our lives.

After we look after ourselves, our next top priority is other people.

In the end, we can lose everything, but as long as we still have relationships and a sound mind (priority one) we will remain happy and with the ability to re-create anything we desire.

# 3. Business, Money and Vision – Serving your vision through a daily routine that brings your vision into reality.

Our work, when it is based on our passion, will bring a tremendous amount of fulfillment into our lives.

It can give us the resources and money to do the things we want, (priority four) and to better serve our relationships (priority two)

Here, once we begin our routine it becomes our top priority during a set time period each day. For example 8-4.  We focus and respect this routine and give it 100% attention above all else during this time period each day.

# 4. Actively Creating Fun Experiences – Finally, taking the time to plan and pursue activities that enrich your life. By embarking on experiential goals we in turn grow our minds through life experience.

From jungle survival treks to hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Amazing and rare experiences shift our worlds and make us full and deeper people. These experiences also give us tremendous motivation to keep the rest of our lives on track.

In other words, cool life experiences become the source of energy to keep living a purpose driven life.

In the end, your priorities will act like a guide posts that will help you in moments of decision.

Having them and keeping them sacred will make you a person of power.

January 1st New Years Day, 2009, I write in my journal the words, “I want to be free” not understanding where this would take me…

This is a true story of how I used my mind to completely shift my reality and get on the path to the life I have always dreamed of.

This was a very intimate process, and one that changed me forever.

I’ve used self hypnosis and guided imagery throughout my twenties, and always experienced great results with it.

But in 2009, at the age of 29, during a difficult transition in my life, I decided to take what I knew about this powerful practice and implement it in a way I’d never done before.

An experiment in which I made it the entire focus of my life.

The results, were haunting…

It was during the beginning months of the Obama presidency. And anyone who was on earth during that time knows that it seemed like the world was ending.

Banks and businesses were shutting down, millions of people were without jobs and everyone was afraid.

At the time, I owned a franchise in a busy shopping mall located in Phoenix Arizona. When I took over the business a few years prior, it was a booming little shop. Ranked in the top five in all of Arizona. The business was profitable, systemized and fun.

But then everything changed. Less and less people were coming despite our strongest marketing efforts. The mall in which we were located was starting to look like a ghost town. And it wasn’t long before I began experiencing monthly losses.

Even more, I had maxed out a line of credit from my home mortgage to finance my business and I realized I was on track to lose everything. My business, my home everything.

To make matters worse, at the same time I was in a very turbulent relationship with a girl I was supposed to marry.

She was someone I thought I loved very much, but we were beginning to argue almost daily. I could feel that I was beginning to lose touch with myself. And the stress of the business and the relationship was literally driving me mad.

At the peak of this situation, it became so intense that I remember going to bed at night and having vivid dreams of getting in a car accident and being completely destroyed.

I would see myself flying through the air in slow motion. It was silent and then I would smash into the pavement in the middle of traffic. I would feel the skin shredding off my body and my bones crumbling from the force, and then, I was dead.

It was mentally one the most awful times of my life.  I felt like I couldn’t control it. And I thought if the relationship ended I would continue to spiral into depression and maybe never recover.

But then like all things that reach a tipping point, one day it became too much. My fiance was arguing with me because I let my mother have our bed during a weekend visit. And then something snapped. In a single moment I made a decision to leave her. And to this day, have not seen her since.

That moment was the beginning of some major shifts for me, and really where this story begins.

If you continue reading from here, then this could easily be the proof your looking for that the power of your mind is real. And that we have the ability to manifest whatever we choose.

I have discovered, first hand that bringing our dreams into reality is our true nature. It’s what we are designed for.

As I said, this was an experiment in my life that transformed me …Not because of what happened to me, but because of what I made happen.

As you read, your going to learn how I how I consciously changed my thoughts to bring what I wanted into the physical world.

You will understand the importance of not resisting the moment when it seems like your not on the right path. Because the fact is, you are always on the right path. The only question is, is it the path you want?

So getting back to the story…

After I left her and the reality sunk in, just as I had imagined the pain rose up in my body, at times almost unbearable.

I could still feel her presence in my life, as if she was still there. Like a ghost that I couldn’t touch. Thoughts of her gone forever, and finding another man were overwhelming.

Then one night I had a profound revelation…

I was laying in bed contemplating these thoughts as they raced through my mind, but something was different. I realized these thoughts were were not a part of me, but in fact separate. They were like miniature movies playing in my mind. And it was these movies that were causing me the pain.

And then, a second realization.

I realized that if had the ability to think about the thoughts that were causing this pain, to be the awareness of my own mind, then I also had the ability change what I was thinking.

I also noticed that because I had just changed my thoughts to this “new movie” the pain in my body was gone. It simply was not there.

This revelation stuck with me and lingered for days…

After this, a strange peaceful feeling came over my body.  I wasn’t necessarily happy, but wasn’t sad either.

I realized I had been wanting this change for a long time and that I had actually created this situation I was in.  My thoughts had created this reality. I didn’t want to be married to that girl and the situation couldn’t have been more perfect. I had a clean slate in front of me with the ability to create whatever life I wanted.

What I realized was…

I had the ability to create the life I always wanted.

The more I thought of this, the more peace came over me. Almost like a calm after the storm. I began waking up in the morning feeling better than ever, happy again.

I started writing out the dreams and desires I had for my life. Things like world travel, unique and amazing friends, a loving and honest relationship, adventure, a bestelling book and a speaking career that would take me around the world. I wanted these things for a long time. And now, I was ready to make them a reality.

But there were a major obstacle. I had this business that I was still “chained” to. And if I didn’t sell it, everything in my financial world was going to crumble. The problem was I would be trying to sell a failing business in the worst economy since the Great Depression?

I realized I was at a crux in my life and either way, I was about to experience a major shift. If I could sell the business I would embark on this new journey, and if I couldn’t sell the business, I would lose everything.

It was here that I decided to take what I knew about the power of visualization and apply it to this situation.

Here’s how I did it…

First, I thought about the end results I would experience if selling my business were to become a reality. My intention was to create miniature movies that I could meditate on, and experience in my mind throughout the day.

When using guided imagery or visualization, it’s not important to understand the how, or the path of getting to your goal. What’s important is to try and create an end result movie that you can relate to, one that you can touch, feel and smell as if it were real. This is easiest to do if you see yourself, as you are experiencing this new reality.

Here is what I came up with…

Vision one.

I would visulaize myself  sitting at the escrow table in a room with no windows. For some reason this is how it came to me. Then I would visualize a hand pushing a cashiers check across the table towards me for the full amount of the business.

I would visualize this over and over again. This actually became the main vision I continually repeated every time doubt creeped in my mind. It was powerful.

I would experience the situation in my mind as if I were there. Feeling the tempature of the room, the cold hard table, the feeling of anxious and exitement in my body, the slight awkwardness and tension of a situation anytime large amounts of money are transfered. As far as I was concerned, it had already happened.

Vision Two

The next vision was a little more symbolic and less practical, but had a lot of meaning behind it.

I would visualize myself standing in front of my business. And behind the counter were all of my employees waving good bye. I would start to move backwards, like a camera panning out, the employees still waiving.

After I was about 50 feet away, I would jump in the air, Peter Pan style and fly away.

My business was located in a giant shopping mall in Phoenix, and as I flew away I would look back and see the building getting smaller and smaller, until finally, it disappeared.

I would then turn my head so I was looking forward and fly all the way down to South America. I would see myself sitting at some random cafe in the street, sipping coffee and watching people…mission accomplished.

The Visualization Process

Everyday, I would go down to the park in front of my house and sit in the same grassy knoll and meditate on these visions for about 30 minutes.

I would also bring a piece of paper with three phrases written on them. I would speak these outloud before I started mediating.

The three phrases were

1. My business has sold.
2. I am traveling the world freely.
3. I have an online income that supports my lifestyle.

I would say these things with conviction, and then set the paper aside and begin my visions, going inside my inner world as if the outer world were no longer real.

What happened next was astonishing..

First, after doing this for a few weeks, one day an idea flashed in my mind for a way to sell my business.

As soon as I had this vision, I went home and immediately created the ad I was thinking about and posted it on a popular business for sale website. I was so confident in the ad that I paid for the most exposure I could get.

I think it’s important to note, that about five months prior to this I tried selling the business using a broker. And after two months of being on the market we didn’t receive one single response.

However, after visualizing this new situation and taking action on this new idea that came to me, the following morning I had five emails in my inbox of people interested in my business. And every day more and more people started replying to my ad.

By the end of the second week, I was showing the business almost every morning to interested people. I kept meditating on my visions, but with even more intensity.

About forty days later,  I had a signed contract and a deposit check in escrow. Not only that,  I had two signed back up offers. It was amazing.

But the best was yet to come…

On the day of closing, it almost felt like I was living in my mind, like my inner and outer world had blended. When I was invited back to the conference room where the final deal and signing would take place, the room, to my utter amazement, was almost identical to the room I had in my mind, windowless and drab with a cold hard table centered in the middle.

I sat there, as if in some David Lynch film, feeling a strange sense of discovery of my own power, anticipating the moment the check would come. And almost exactly as I had imagined the hand pushed the check across the table towards me. It was the most profound experience I’ve ever had.

The rest of the story is easy to imagine. A few months later on December 31st 2009, News Years Eve, at approximately 11:45pm, I walked out of the International airport in Lima Peru to see a sky full of fireworks exploding around me. To date, I have spent nearly the last 12 months traveling South America. An experience that has changed me at the core. To say it was surreal would be an understatement. The word, if you could use any, would be perfect.

Written by dorotix, on July 1st 2009…

Move to paradise and save thousands...

Are you tired of busy cities, crowded streets, high rents and almost non-affordable mortgage? Well…there are places in the world where you can live well for less. The cheapest places to live are also the most beautiful and exotic destinations. So why not make your dreams come true, pack your bags and move to one of those paradise locations, if not for a lifetime, then at least for a year or two?

There are two simple rules to follow while searching for low cost destinations. Firstly: if you find a place cheap enough to travel to, then most probably you will also find it cheap to live in. Secondly: wherever you are, the further from the big cities and large agglomerations, the cheaper it gets.

Of course ‘cheap’ is a very relative concept, and what is cheap for you may not be cheap for people living some place else in the world.

But if ‘cheap’ means spending just a few dollars/euro/pounds a day, then these locations in Asia and Central America may interest you…

THAILAND

This could be your home. By rene ehrhardt

Have you ever been to Thailand? Do you remember that feeling of paying $1 (€0.70) for a glass of beer? Did you ask yourself then what it would feel like to pay that much for a drink back home? Or the other way round… what would it feel like to enjoy such prices on a daily basis? If your answers are yes, yes, yes …then why not consider moving to the Land of Smiles for a while?

Life is short and, really, no one forces you to spend your days sitting in the office with a computer as your best friend. Think about sandy beaches, constant sunshine and excellent food and realize that you can have it all for less than $500 (€350) a month.

Of course this amount will not pay a beach apartment but you can easily find cheap accommodation in places as beautiful as Chang Mai, up north, where you will pay around $30 (€21) a month for a small flat. Nearer the coast, a room in the apartments runs at roughly $90 (€63) upwards.

Chang Mai by Dj Badly

Cooking at home will cost you nothing as fruits, vegetables and meat at the local markets fall into the budget category. If you are too lazy to cook then try excellent Thai food from street-side food stalls. You can get spicy chicken with rice or noodles for around $1 (€0.70). Spending around $200 (€142) for food a month, you still have around $200 (€142) spare to enjoy local trips, restaurants, parties and some small shopping.

CAMBODIA

Angkor Wat. By Jon 2

Thinking about Cambodian history, the bloody regime of Pol Pot and poverty, no one would dare to call the country a paradise, but in terms of living cost Cambodia rivals Thailand. It does not have as great beaches as its Thai neighbor but, well, it is not all about beaches, right?  You can easily live for less than $500 (€350) in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh.

As there are more and more foreigners living in the town, the accommodation prices are getting higher – it would be hard to find something below $200 (€142) a month, but you can always reduce this cost by sharing a flat with a friend or some long-term travelers.

With $300 (€213) left, you can easily get by in the country. The food prices are similar or lower than in Thailand. Eating in local restaurants will cost you around $2 (€1.40) a meal and $1 (€0.70) a beer but if you really aim to trim your budget, you can try food from street stalls- simple but delicious. Traveling by tuk tuk will cost you several bucks/euro a day.

Getting around by tuk tuk. By tajai

Living in Phnom Penh, the town of no McDonald’s and Starbucks, may be a life changing experience for you. Be aware that Cambodians are extremely poor but modest people, so treat them with respect.  Getting to know a few natives may help you to understand the complex history and tough life in the country. You can always teach English or get involved with some non-governmental organizations to help change the reality around you.

For visa details read an article at www.shelteroffshore.com

You will find similar costs of living in nearby countries such as Vietnam and Laos .

PHILIPPINES

Such beach on a daily basis? Why not…By Eric Uano

Another exotic destination where life will cost you not more than $500 (€350) a month is the Philippines. Following the rule of getting away from big cities, Manila is not an option, as a rent prices start at $360 (€255) a month.  But if you head for Cebu, one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines, with sandy beaches, golf courses and great shopping, you can get an apartment for $150 (€106) a month. In other bustling towns, such as Damaguete City, you can easily rent a room for around $40 (€28) per month.

Food is also cheap. $200 (€142) a month will be absolutely enough to provide you with all necessities including alcohol and tobacco – a big glass of beer and pack of cigarettes cost $0.55 (€0.39) and $0.80 (€0.57) respectively.

Ricefields in the Philippines. By Sekitar

Moreover, the Philippines offer a special resident retiree visa that you can get as early as at the age of 35, but you need to deposit $50K in a bank there. At the age of 50 and above you have to deposit $10K and prove a monthly pension of $800 single ($1K couple).

Malaysia , has a similar retiree offer called My Second Home program.

COSTA RICA

Surfing in Costa Rica might be an option…By Saaron83

Just a few dollars/euro would be enough to survive in Costa Rica. And surviving in Costa Rica may be just a pleasure. The land has 12 different climatic zones and abundant wildlife, but in general, the weather is hot tropical and the natives (called Ticos) are very spirited and friendly people.

Prices in San José are low – the cost of goods and services is among the lowest of all cities throughout the world. You can easily live on $500-$600 (€350-€425) a month if you share a house or flat with a partner or a friend.

Obviously the further away from San José, the lower the cost of housing.  Around 75 km (50 miles) from the town you can rent a small or medium house for $250 (€177) a month.

In the restaurants you can have an excellent meal with desert for about $4.00 – $5.00 (€2.8-€3.5). And if you buy food at local markets and from the street vendors, you pay less- a bunch of bananas will cost you $0.50 (€0.30) or less. Cigarettes are only about $1.20 (€0.90) per pack. In general, the prices in supermarkets are 30% higher than on the local markets and street stalls.

Street stall in Costa Rica. By Angela Rutherford

While in Costa Rica you can learn or develop your surfing skills as the coast has great breaks and excellent surf conditions. And if you’re not too lazy, you can learn or practice your Spanish. Lessons will cost you much less than back home or in Spain.

To find out more check the blog by Tim, who has lived in the country for several years.  It seems that he knows a lot about living in Costa Rica.

If you seriously think about moving to Costa Rica, you should also read ‘Living Abroad in Costa Rica’ by Erin Van Rheenen, who herself moved to live there and wrote from experience. The book explores the country’s history and culture, describes the nation and, of course, suggests a reconnaissance trip to Costa Rica before you decide to move.

BELIZE

Belize sunset by Gold44

Your dream of a personal heaven for a bargain price may also come true in Belize, which is considered one of the most beautiful countries in Central America. It has it all: great beaches, subtropical climate, and diverse wildlife. The official language in the country is English – that makes things simpler, doesn’t it?

The country is also a paradise for scuba diving and snorkeling lovers .The Belize Barrier Reef offers 127 offshore Cayes (islands) where you will find the best preserved marine ecosystems in the world.

The costs of living are similar to those in Costa Rica. For a large house in Cayo district, a one-hour drive west from Belize City, you may pay $300 (€210) a month and if you share with two other friends, it is only $100 (€70)!!!

Groceries are cheap when bought locally. Imported stuff is in general 50% more expensive so if you want to trim your budget, you should shop at local markets and buy from street vendors.

If you’re 45 or more you may consider retiring to Belize. The Retired Person’s Incentive Program may allow you to live a tax free lifestyle, which should definitely help you save up a few bucks.

Storm approaching the coast in Belize. By Grant Heller

Before you pack your bags, be aware that the country has dry and wet seasons so the weather is not always as perfect as you wish. The wet season starts in May and ends in October – it rains all the time and the hurricanes may occur, so if you want to spend just a few months in the country, go between November and April.

P.S. At the time of writing, the exchange rate was $1 – €0.71.

Sourced from Location Independant and written by Jenn Miller

Image credit: Hamid Najafi

It’s a reverie all of us digital nomads share along with those who aspire to be:

Mornings spent working in a hammock under a palm tree, or dialed in through the omnipresent high-speed internet at the cosmopolitan coffee bar on a tree shaded, cobbled street.

Afternoons spent on cultural diversity, perhaps pursuing a passion for languages or photography, maybe slipping a snide “wish you were here…” postcard in the mail to our old office mates back home.

These images illustrate all the best benefits of location independence – it’s why we live this way – but it’s elusive as hell and anyone who is actually living the dream can tell you that sometimes the postcards lie…

Moving Beyond Stabbing a Pin In a Map

Picking the “next destination” epitomises the upsides and downsides of location independence.

Sipping a latte, comfortable in one location, surfing the internet in search of travel savvy information that goes beyond a guide book and was written by someone who has actually been there and going through the mental check list of potential discomforts as we pull up roots and hop the globe, can be anxiety inducing to say the least…

The brochures are always glossy. The beaches always pristine. The internet is always promised at highest speed. The apartments are always “modern.” There is almost never “truth in advertising.” If you live and work as a digital nomad long enough, disappointment is inevitable.

No matter how much you plan, how carefully you do your homework or how many checklists you make, the dream WILL turn out to be a nightmare, at least once. Nightmares make great stories. Live, learn, laugh it off and move on.

So how do you maximize the dream sequence and minimize the nightmares? Take a test trip

Travel tends to be the biggest wild card (and also one of the most often-cited benefits) of location independence. If you are serious about living and working abroad and you have a real career or business to maintain then nightmare scenarios can be more than inconvenient. In addition, they can be expensive and damaging to your reputation as a professional. A test trip can help prevent all of this.

What Is A Test Trip?

A test trip is not a vacation, it’s a reconnaissance mission. You’ve done your research, found a couple of prospective places to live, checked into visa requirements, internet accessibility, the availability of business centers and you’ve crunched the numbers.

Take your planning to the next level and book a cheap flight to your potential destination:

• Stay in a hostel where there will be internet for quick checks and plenty of opportunity to talk with other travelers and pick the brains of folks who’ve lived there for a while
• Book appointments to see a few of the apartments you’re considering
• Visit the office of the internet provider in person and ask the pertinent questions instead of finding out the hard way that passports must be shown and logged before your “high speed” internet can be turned on and that even then half of the sites you would need are blocked by the theocracy of your country in question
• Identify financial institutions, check out the hospitals and health centers, visit an English language bookstore and ask some questions to check out the expat scene in the area

In short, do your homework in person instead of trusting the “experts” on-line. Four days; a long weekend, that’s all it takes.

You’ll have the fun of seeing a new place, you’ll gather the information you need, you’ll feel much more comfortable with the area when you arrive and, most importantly, you’ll congratulate yourself for avoiding the nightmare when you find it.

What You May Find…

The results of our most recent test trip: an available and adequate apartment, fully furnished for $150 USD a month, an additional $20 USD for internet, which is fast enough to support video Skype conferences to Canada, a reliable laundry service, connections established with other expats in the area, and even a source for the best English roast beef dinner off the island every Sunday night at six.

Then again, we might go for the stone cottage right on the lake with a pool and guest house for $500 USD a month. “Where’s that?” you may ask? One of the less obvious villages surrounding Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala.

Outsource your online business and work from anywhere

July 21, 2010
Written By Simon Black at www.sovereignman.com

I am a frequent reader of Simon’s site and on occasion will be posting some of his articles here. He offers great advice for living an International Lifestyle especially regarding obtaining second citizenship and International investments.

Enter Simon Black:

I was on the phone with a major bank last night. As usual, I had to navigate their automated phone system hitting ‘zero’ until my finger turned blue… I was finally forwarded to an offshore call center where the representative was more keen to follow the script than to actually help me.

We’ve all been there. Sometimes it’s perfectly fine, and other times the communication barrier is just frustrating. When done right, though, it can be a seamless step for the customer while adding significantly to the bottom line.

Outsourcing is something that large corporations have been doing for decades– usually farming out work to international markets in an effort to minimize expenses. It’s still a debated practice, but I believe that it’s an important flag that any entrepreneur should consider planting abroad.

While you can outsource plenty of work to service providers in your home country, going offshore lets you take advantage of lower wage demand abroad. This can be a much more efficient use of your capital.

So where are the best places to establish an outsourcing flag?

Depending on your budget and workload, first you have to know what you’re outsourcing. For example, requirements and quality for a one-time project vs. a part-time assistant vs. a full time worker will all vary from country to country.

India is still a top destination for task-based work. There are a number of popular firms that offer on-demand help, charging by-the-hour or per-task. The advantage with hiring an outsourcing company is that you typically get access to a team of outsourcers, and the firm will outsource each of your requests to the most skilled person for the job.

Hundreds of thousands of information technology students graduate from Indian universities every year, and communications infrastructure is reliable within the country’s special IT parks. But India is now struggling to meet demand, and its currency appreciation has reduced price competitiveness.

Eastern Europe is rising to the challenge, marketing its legacy reputation as the center of Soviet technology and scientific research.

Ukraine stands out with the region’s fastest-growing software development and IT industry. Labor and infrastructure costs are still mostly buffered from the Eurozone, and Western venture capital funds have made large investments into offshore development centers there.

Eastern European contractors can deliver anything from a $500 web design to scientific equipment and microchip design. For skilled programming, information security, engineering, research & development, and sophisticated product and software development, look to Ukraine and other developing economies like Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

There are some well-rated outsourcing firms that you can find with a simple Google search, but I recommend seeking out independent contractors with oDesk, where you can easily search providers by country. oDesk gives you useful tools to manage your assistants and ensure they stay on-task, and you only pay for the time they work.

The advantage to hiring full-time outsourcers, on the other hand, is that you buy their downtime without having to worry about taxes, insurance, retirement, and other benefits.

I’ve worked with many outsourcers around the world, and in my experience if you want extremely loyal, articulate, punctual workers, especially full-time staff, you simply won’t find more value for your money than in the Philippines.

The country has a massive base of talented, college-educated professionals, and because of long ties to Spain and the U.S., the majority of young Filipinos speak English very fluently and are well-versed in Western business standards.

The Philippines is becoming the go-to destination for call center operations, as well as business process outsourcing (BPO) services. This includes things like accounting, human resources, and data analysis.

The best source of resumes is the country’s top job listing site, JobStreet, if you can get access. They typically require a business license in the Philippines, so you’ll either need to jump through their hoops or get creative and find someone who can help you. Otherwise, as above, search the oDesk marketplace for providers in the Philippines.

You can find full-time staff who can help you with finance, marketing, medical & legal transcription, web development, graphic design, and more. Rates range from $250-650 per month.

Wherever you do your hiring, enlisting others is instrumental to scaling your business. Planting one or more outsourcing flags overseas is a wise step that will likely generate a significant return for your business.

Do you have your own experiences? Let me know what you think.