Forever Young: Lessons From a Surfer Dude

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Rob

I believe it was Rod Stewart who made the term “Forever Young” famous. Even if it wasn’t it certainly applied to him. Dude looks incredible for his age. No?

So what is it that creates a forever young lifestyle? I have lots of thoughts on this subject. Last week I was in Del Mar California. Kim and I went to Southern California in search of a place to potentially live.

We stayed at a great hotel called the L’Auberge. Every morning we had breakfast at the Americana restaurant. We really connected with our waiter James.

Imagine a super cool 30 year old suffer dude. I was asking him about cool places to live in the Southern Cal area. He told me that his favorite spots in San Diego were between Del Mar and Encinitas.

I asked him if he liked living in the area. He said that he loved it mostly because it was “Forever Young”. The moment he said it I got it. But, I asked him to explain it anyway.

In a nutshell, he explained that here in Southern California it’s really hard to tell the difference between a 60 year old or a 16 year old. The both wear hoodies, surf and hang at the beach. He explained that he couldn’t afford to live the beach life for a few months but his heart kept pulling him back to the ocean. So much so that he was willing to sleep in his van and shower at 24 hour fitness until he could. No judgment here. Here’s the question for you. Would you do that? I wouldn’t either. But, hats off to him. Dude, knows what he wants and is willing to find a way to live his dream.

Here’s the way I see this. Each day that I move closer to 46 I have choice. To get all old and crotchety or to reverse the clock. I’ve decided to make better choices. Younger choices. For me, I’ve taken up clubbing, wearing hoodies and will slowly be moving into living at the beach and surfing. What’s your Benjamin Button gonna be?

If your feeling like you just can’t get your body where it needs to be. Check out our Jet Set Body program. Have a look at a few of my before and after pics to show you what’s possible.

If your feeling like you just can’t seem to create the income to live the lifestyle you’re after check out our Jet Set Money program.

How Listening To These Podcasts Can Make You More Well Rounded

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Rob

Who knew that radio would die a slow death and podcasts would skyrocket? Ummm…I guess Steve Jobs did. He’s a smart f***r. I think he’s going to go places some day :)

Lately, I have become quite the podcast listener. For me, it’s that sweet spot of passively listening during certain activities. Rarely, am I doing nothing and just focused on listening. I’m usually in the car or on the treadmill. I’ve turned into that guy who drives down the road with his ear buds in. Is that legal? I’m not sure.

I digress….

I decided to give you my top picks for the podcasts I listen to. So, in no particular order here we go.

BEST INTERNET/BUSINESS/ENTREPRENEUR PODCASTS

1. The Rise To The Top – This dude, David Siteman Garland, is frickin’ phenomenal. He is the best friend, that I have never actually met. He has a very Larry King interview style. He has you laughing your a** off while your learning medipreneurship (his word).

2. The Smart Passive Income Podcast – This one is hosted by a guy named Pat Flynn. Pat and I were in a program together called Internet business mastery a few years back. He has since created one of the BEST podcast hands down on Internet marketing. He’s kind, smart, honest and ethical.

3. Internet Business Mastery – I started listening to these guys before I created my first website. Their names are Sterling and Jay. They do a solid job explaining the world of online marketing to beginners.

4. The Lifestyle Business Podcast – Dan Andrews does this podcast from wherever he happens to be in the world. Last time I checked he was in Bali. The podcast is essentially about how to run an online business and live the lifestyle design that you read about in The Four Hour Work Week.

5. Mixergy – This is Andrew Warner’s podcast. He has a bit of a reputation of being a bit of a hard news guy. I never actually found him to be that way. The guy absa-frikkin-lutely does his homework though. It’s an interview style podcast with the movers and shakers of the world.

6. 37 Signals – This is a podcast from the people that created Base Camp, Camp Fire and Back Pack. The are super smart people that will teach you how to distill your business down to what works and eliminate what doesn’t.

Another way to be well rounded is to have some fun! If you haven’t tried Party Poker you should! These guys take poker to a whole new level!

BEST FUNNY/INTELLIGENT/PODCASTS

1. Adam Carolla – You may know Adam from Loveline on MTV with Dr. Drew. Adam is a super smart and very quick-witted guy that will keep you laughing AND thinking. He actually holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the highest amount podcast downloads ever.

2. Girl on Guy with Aisha Taylor – This is a very funny chick with a potty mouth. She has been the host of talk soup and been on the TV series 24. She’s extremely versatile and super funny.

3. The Joe Rogan Experience – Joe was the former host of Fear Factor and is a touring comedian. He is very deep, very real and really dark. He has a lot to say about a lot of things.

4. Mohr Stories – Jay Mohr is a comic/actor. Probably best known for either playing an agent in the Jerry Maguire movie or for marrying super hot Nikki Cox (of the TV show Las Vegas). He is really, really funny and gets GREAT guests.

5. The Nerdist – I don’t really know that much about this guy. His name is Chris Anderson and he’s a comedian. I don’t even really know why he calls the podcast “The Nerdist”. I do know that he has great guests and really interesting conversation.

BEST DJ PODCASTS

1. Tiesto’s Club Life – I am a crazy fan of Mr Tiesto. Went to see him live in Greece this year. It was fantastic. He does a weekly podcast where he samples his music and other top DJ’s. It’s my favorite for sure.

2. Above and Beyond – I’m not sure if this is one DJ or two. But, they have an awesome weekly radio show if you like house-music. It’s great background music to write to.

3. Matt Darey Nocturnal Podcast – Matt Darey is a Top 100 DJ who tours the world and does the podcast from wherever he happens to be. He features many different types of club music. I love his style of club music.

4. Sander Van Doorn – Sander is a world class DJ. He’s probably in the top 3 in the world. Love this podcast. Great music and very little talk. Just great beats.

So there you have it. My podcast favorites.

An In Depth Interview With Jet Set DJ Mike B [Video]

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Rob

I have a secret confession to make. I am completely fascinated by DJ’s. Specifically, the kind of DJ’s that clubs pay $10,000 for someone to spin and bring a crowd. I have never understood how they do what they do. How do they take a ballad and turn it into a dance song? How they move us in a hypnotic trance at the flick of a button? How do they bring us up or down at will?

To answer these questions, I convinced that hottest DJ in Atlanta, DJ Mike B, to sit down with me. DJ Mike is the real deal. He’s been at this a long time and is VERY well respected in this world.

Rather then writing a long blog post, I decided to let DJ Mike B do the talking. This is a long- ish video that covers every thing you ever wanted to know about being a DJ. At the very end of the video, DJ Mike takes me in to his inner sanctum, the DJ Booth, and shows me how it’s done.

To get in touch with DJ Mike B:
Facebook
Twitter
Music (Sound Cloud)

##########

On a different note…Kim and I are trying to decide between Punta del Este Uruguay or Buzios for Xmas week vacation. Which would you choose and why?

How To Take A Month Off- The Choice Effect Plus: A Gift

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Rob

I hit a point where I just got tired of running into people who were taking a month off at a time. It seemed the further I got out of the U.S. the more I ran into these people. How were these people doing it? The answer is actually fairly short, (as most truths in life are) they DECIDED to!

I know what you’re thinking, “you don’t know my situation”, or, “I have a wife, kids and more importantly a job that would never let me do it”, I know I had that, too. “Oh yah, and…and…. I have a mortgage, a car payment and private school payment…..”, I know, I had those too…..and…and…. “what about my credit card payment and and….ya know the economy is in the toilet”. I know, I live in the same world as you do.

Any of that sound familiar? We all have (or have had) that kind of crap to deal with in our lives. But, the truth is that will NEVER change, unless we DECIDE to change it. In other words, make a choice, draw a line in the sand, get pissed if you need to, but do something to change it.

Kim and I made a list of every expense and decided what was worth keeping in our life and what wasn’t. We ruthlessly assigned a happiness index to each dollar we were spending. Before long, we came up with an overhead that was over 50% less! There was so much crap. We had no idea where it all came from. Don’t get me wrong. We still live pretty large. We just eliminated the things that weren’t serving us any longer.

Let’s put things in perspective here. We’ve got roughly 80 years to live on this planet. How much joy are you really getting out of paying 100 bucks a week for the gardener or the pool maintenance guy (insert your own low happiness index expense here). If you’re over the top in love with what a particular expense adds to your life- just keep it, but if you’re not, cut it out like a cancer. Your life is just too damn important.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Start with a goal of taking two weeks off to travel. But, have a plan, (an intention) to be taking 1 month off to travel within in 3-5 years and NOT when you retire. Striking that balance between working hard now so that you can live a bigger life later, is not always so easy- I’ll readily admit that, but it is critical.

Kim and I have been blessed to lead this amazing life of world travel. And, yes, we’ve also been blessed (and probably lucky) to have the income to do it. But, don’t kid yourself, we worked hard to make it happen.

Here’s some real actionable tips that you can use to start your journey to taking a month off.

1. Look at every expense that doesn’t give you a happiness index of 10 or higher and cut it out.

2. Make a list of everything that you want to put in your dream life and decide how much it costs per month. Let’s say it will costs you $30,000 per month to live the fantasy. It probably won’t, but let’s think big. Calculate how much per day that would cost.

3. Create and sell an information product online to pay for your dream life. Using the above example of a dream life that costs $30,000 per month. If you work the math backwards, that means that you would have to sell an average of one $1,000 product per day to achieve that dream life. If you don’t believe you could ever do that, you’re probably right. But if you do believe that, you could do that- you’re probably right as well:). There are people, every single day, achieving that goal and more. I know because I’ve interviewed half of them for Jet Set Money.

This is all within your reach and totally possible. All you have to do is make the choice. Make a decision. The word decision comes from the Latin word incision (which means to cut off from). Cut yourself off from all options and make it happen!

In fact, if you’ve made it this far, it shows me that you’re serious. I want to acknowledge and reward you for that. As my gift, I’m going to let you try the first module of Jet Set Money for a buck. Here’s the link

#########

If anyone is going to be in Cartagena, Columbia during the holidays and want to ring in the New Year with us– just shoot us an email to heyjetset at gmail dot com.

If You Want To Be A Jet Set Insider Now Is The Time? Plus, Headed to Party on the Aeolian Islands

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Rob

I realized recently that it’s really my rolodex of contacts that gets me dialed-in when I travel. If I know someone cool that knows a location well, it’s likely they’ll hook me up with under the radar stuff — that I would NEVER find on the internet. It really IS about WHO you know.

I get emails from people who are trying to connect with me for the same reason. Asking where to go when they are in such and such a place. But, to be honest, I really don’t respond to all of them. At times it’s just too much. I also get asked to create some kind of newsletter to help them decide where to go next. The truth is, I just have too much on my plate!

But, Kim convinced me to do it. She said, “stop whining and just create one”, so, I did. It came out great, too (if I do say so myself)! Here’s how I broke it down:

Every month you’ll receive a brand new Jet Set Secret Destination, along with our secret hidden spots to check out that we don’t tell anyone. This is going to be very cool! Now, you’ll know what Kim and I know. Nothing held back. From the relaxed comfort of your iPhone/iPad/ or regular old computer — you’ll have a growing collection of the hottest spots on the planet and know exactly where to go and what to do when you get there.

Just for funzies, we’re going to offer something completely new and different. We’re going to record us planning our next trip. Before Kim and I take a trip we find the ‘go to’ Jet Setter that knows the destination we’re going to like the back of his hand. An ‘insider’, if you will. Then, rake him over the coals and beat him into total submission, until he reveals the secret hidden spots that he doesn’t want to get out.

We then put it pretty for you. We package the Jet Set Insider Monthly Newsletter and Jet Set Insider MP3 recording and put it all on a silver platter for you. I’ve even gotten permission for you to contact the Jet Set Insiders we interview personally (as long as you’re cool with them and don’t abuse it). These are VERY connected insiders. This is the fastest way I know of for you to create your own Jet Set circle.

The idea is pretty simple. Over a 12 month period we take you inside our world and let you know all of our Secret Spots. So, how much should we charge? I said A LOT! Kim said, “don’t be an a** hole, make it fair”. We’re still debating on the price. I don’t know how much I’m going to charge yet.

Here’s what I do know. I’m going to offer to readers of this blog a special price and on a first come first served basis ONLY. So, if you even think you might be into it, enter your email in the early list below and I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.

#################

Headed to Aeolian Islands tomorrow (off the coast of Sicily) in search of more cool spots! If anyone is going to be in that area just drop whistle and maybe we can hook up:)

To Find All Rob and Kim’s Secret Hidden Jet Set Spots –

Just Click The Banner Below!

Helping Bobby Find His Muse So He Can Live a Jet Set Life

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Rob

What If I Don’t Have Anything I’m Super Passionate About?

Great question! I speak a lot about doing what you love and monetizing it. But, what if you just dont’t have anything that you are ‘over the top nuts’ about? Here’s what I would do. There is a great guy named Adam Short who runs a site called Niche Profit Classroom. The reason why I’m recommending this for you is because his system is entirely neutral as far as whether or not you love a particular niche. It’s entirely based on math. The math is very clear and very easy. I interviewed him for Jet Set Money and was super impressed. His program has over 150 videos (there short and amazing). If you didn’t want to sign up for his program you could start by getting on his email list and he’ll send you a bunch of free videos that are of very high quality and content. After I did my interview with him I created a niche site based on his system- My Positano Weddding.

Full Disclosure: This is my affiliate link if you sign up I get paid- Niche Profit Classroom

Here’s Another Option:

John Jonas has a site called Replace Myself. John is a HUGE Four Hour Work Week guy. He uses many of the same principals that Adam uses in the Niche Profit Classroom but has one major twist. His program is solely designed for your outsourcers to run everything. John is the really deal and a totally cool honest, ethical guy. I currently have my two outsourcers taking his training and have had great results and a bunch of free time.

Full Disclosure: This is my affiliate link if you sign up i get paid- Replace Myself

One More Option:

There’s this great guy named Robert Murgatroyd who owns a website called Jet Set Life….that was fun! Lat year I got really frustrated listening to all these people bragging about how much money they were making on line and decided to do something about. I decided to interview the leaders in online business (interviewing is how I personally learn best) and ask thm how they did it. I created a program that has 12 modules and goes right to the core to make this work (with or without having a passion for your niche0.

Full Disclosure: This is my own link if you sign up I will DEFINITELY get paid: Jet Set Money

I received a question last week (by video which I thought was very cool) and decided to answer it here in the blog. Bobby is struggling with a lot of the same issues that many people are such as how do I find that thing that’s going to make me money to live the life I want? I don’t have a bunch of time to go into great detail in this blog, because I’m literally on the way out the door to leave for Italy for Xmas and New Year (here’s where we’re going). But, I did want to answer a few points.

What If I Don’t Have Anything I’m Super Passionate About?

Great question! I speak a lot about doing what you love and monetizing it. But, what if you just don’t have anything that you are ‘over the top nuts’ about? Here’s what I would do. There is a great guy named Adam Short who runs a site called Niche Profit Classroom. The reason why I’m recommending this for you is because his system is entirely neutral as far as whether or not you love a particular niche. It’s entirely based on math. The math is very clear and very easy. I interviewed him for Jet Set Money and was super impressed. His program has over 150 videos (they’re short and amazing). If you didn’t want to sign up for his program you could start by getting on his email list and he’ll send you a bunch of free videos that are of very high quality and content. After I did my interview with him I created a niche site based on his system- My Positano Wedding.

Full Disclosure: This is my affiliate link, if you sign up I get paid- Niche Profit Classroom

Here’s Another Option:

John Jonas has a site called Replace Myself. John is a HUGE Four Hour Work Week guy. He uses many of the same principals that Adam uses in the Niche Profit Classroom, but has one major twist. His program is solely designed for your outsourcers to run everything. John is the real deal and a totally cool, honest and ethical guy. I currently have my two outsourcers taking his training and have had great results and a bunch of free time.

Full Disclosure: This is my affiliate link, if you sign up I get paid- Replace Myself

One More Option:

There’s this great guy named Robert Murgatroyd who owns a website called Jet Set Life.…that was fun! Last year I got really frustrated listening to all these people bragging about how much money they were making online and decided to do something about. I decided to interview the leaders in online business (interviewing is how I personally learn best) and ask them how they did it. I created a program that has 12 modules and goes right to the core to make this work (with or without having a passion for your niche).

Full Disclosure: This is my own link, if you sign up I will DEFINITELY get paid: Jet Set Money

Hope that helps.

#########

If anyone is in Florence, Italy over the holidays shoot me an email to connect at: heyjetset@gmail.com

Getting My Ass Handed To Me By Chris Haddad

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Rob

Getting My Ass Handed To Me By Chris Haddad

I recently got my ass handed to me in an interview I did with world famous copywriter Chris Haddad. Ok, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it did sting a bit. Chris is one of those genius guys, the kind that can write the most amazing sales copy you’ve ever read. Just for sport, and if you’re chosen, he will critique your sales letter. Chris agreed to critique mine and I agreed to allow him to record it for the world to see. This process was about as fun as a root canal. Here’s an example of the maestro in action.

One of the questions that Chris asked me (which is the crux of this entire post) was, “Who are you writing this sales letter to?” In other words, who is Jet Set Life’s target market demographic? I quickly responded that we have two market demos. The Jet Setter who buys our Secret List and the aspirational Jet Setter who joins our Muse Membership (our discussion was about the muse membership page).

Chris then asked me to describe the person as if he or she were sitting in front of me. Exactly who would he be and what would he want? I said that he we would probably be a 30 year old guy working in a cubicle that is married with two kids living in the suburbs, that hates his job and wants to live a jet set life. Sounds perfect, right? Sure, except for one thing, my wife didn’t agree. So, I began to investigate. Did you ever have one of those things that gets under your skin and you just can’t stop thinking about it? Well, this was exactly that such thing for me. I went back and reviewed a few of the emails I received from new members of Secrets of Successful Muses. I wanted to look for clues to who they were and what they were after. Eventually, after much digging, I found that I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about! I had no basis to draw those original conclusions. I just assumed them. And yes, I was wrong!

My search found a commercial airline pilot, an aerospace design engineer and a painter. Not one of them worked in a cubicle. In fact, many of them were serious professionals. What did they all have in common? They were all tired of swapping hours for dollars and wanted more. The “more” part is what they (we) all had in common.

I realized that everyone who is into having a jet set life wants the same thing. To have time and money to do what they love – travel. We can create all the videos and guidebooks of the all the jet set sexiest places on the planet, but if you don’t have those two currencies, time and money, you’re going to be watching from the sidelines.

I realized that the Jet Setters that I had been reaching out to is not who I thought they were. Woops, talk about a big mistake.

So, let me hear from you. Who are you? Step forward and identify yourself. Dramatic, I know. Reach back out to me in the comment section and tell me who you are and what you’re after so I can create what you want and need. Then, hopefully next summer, we’ll be sipping a cool glass of rosé together while gazing out at the Aegean.

#######################

On another note, we’re going to do a Jet Set Life get together in Florence, Italy on New Year’s Eve. If you want to be added to the list, add your name and email in the comment section.

Getting an Invitation to A Small World

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Rob

shh Getting an Invitation to A Small World

Rob: There’s a funny video with our encounter with David Schwimmer (Ross from friends) last week in Los Angeles, at the end of this post.

The second most asked question I get is “can you give me an invitation to A Small World” (the first is how do you make the money to Live a Jet Set Life – that question will be answered soon with our Jet Set Business Academy).

So, what’s A Small World (ASW) anyway? Well, the truth is I’m not allowed to talk about what goes on inside. It’s kind of like fight club. What happens in fight club stays in fight club. I can talk about what its founders are willing to let non-members know.

From ASW Public Pages

“Erik Wachtmeister founded ASMALLWORLD as a private online community for like-minded individuals. Most networking communities are open. Ours is only by invitation. Trusted members who have existing social networks of quality in the real world extend the invitations. A SmallWorld offers a retreat that intimately allows members to enhance their networks and to reconnect with old friends.”

” Since its inception in 2004, ASMALLWORLD has quickly expanded into a global community of trusted friends and information. Members range from entrepreneurial and business opinion makers to leaders in media, entertainment, fashion, the arts and sports.”

From Wikepedia

“A Small World is an online social networking service which is an exclusive invitation-only network with roughly 300,000 members. Founded by Erik Wachtmeister, a former investment banker and INSEAD graduate, and the son of a former Swedish ambassador to the United States. The network includes several famous names.”

What I think

What I love about ASW is the intimacy and the quality of the demographic profile that I honestly just wouldn’t have access to any other way. I can’t mention any members by name, but I can tell you that many of its members are names you would recognize. Having the luxury of being dialed in wherever I go in the world is priceless to me. I have made friendships with like-minded Jet Setters that will last a lifetime.

So, the big question – how do I get in? Well, I wish that I had a better answer for you than what’s posted on their sign in page:

“Membership to ASMALLWORLD is by invitation only, which is part of what makes this network unique, and the connections authentic. Trusted and loyal ASW members who meet certain criteria have the privilege of inviting a limited number of their friends to the network. If you know someone with this privilege, you can ask them to invite you. If not, please be patient and continue to ask around in your own personal and professional circles.”

Tough pill to swallow – I know. The truth is there just isn’t any other way to get in. It took me two years to get access to this secret society. It was frustrating and slightly embarrassing having to continually ask (beg), but my efforts finally paid off and believe me it was well worth the wait. My invitation came from the most unlikely of places. I won’t mention his name because I want to protect his privacy. Suffice it to say that it really came out of left field. My recommendation is to keep asking for an invitation and eventually you will find someone like I did who had invite privileges, thought you were a good match and was nice enough to give you a shot.

Question:

Do you have any stories about trying to get in? Have you successfully gotten in? Why do you think you should be in? Love to know your thoughts or experiences.

################

Designing A Jet Set Mini-Retirement On A Tight Budget

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Rob

Designing A Jet Set Mini Retirement On A Tight Budget

Editors note: This is a Guest Post from Derek Johanson of Liveuncomfortably.com

Rob: I recently put a tweet out asking if anyone would like to be a guest blogger for this blog. I received a bunch of great offers, but there was one guy that really stood out above all the rest. His name is Derek Johanson. He writes a blog called Live Uncomfortably. At first, I was like, who the heck wants to do that? Then, I started picking up what he was puttng down. In Derek’s own words: “living uncomfortably is doing the unaccustomed everyday to break the cycle of routine and boredom”.

His blog is an experiment in micro testing his philosophy and creating his personal lifestyle design. I like this guy and I hope you will too. He’s not just talking the talk, he’s walking the walk. He’s the real deal, just check out this year’s travel schedule. In this post Derek will show you how you can create a Jet Set trip simply by taking advantage of a few simple strategies like currency fluctuations and location. Remember, life is about doing exciting things and Derek is an amazing example of that.

Designing A Jet Set Mini-Retirement On A Tight Budget

When I first stumbled upon Jet Set Life seven months ago, I was intrigued. Hip, chic, and trendy travel is to say the least, extremely appealing. I was looking to take my first mini-retirement at the time, but quickly realized I didn’t have the cash flow to support the lavish Jet Set lifestyle.

Rob: Not always so lavish- here and here.

It wasn’t until I made my way through Central and South America that I discovered it was entirely possible to live like a king on a tight budget. If you haven’t yet reached the income level to afford luxury mini-retirements or you’re currently not able to justify the expenses during the recession, don’t fret. Just because we can’t live like Jet Set rock-stars quite yet, doesn’t mean we can’t get close. It just takes a little re-designing of our mini-retirements.

derek jet set life rob murgatroyd 300x225 Designing A Jet Set Mini Retirement On A Tight Budget

Step One: Take Mini-Retirements That Develop Marketable Skills

Mini-retirements should be about letting loose and relaxing, yes, but also, about personal development and learning new skills. When you take a mini-retirement to work on a skill-set and not just drinking margaritas at the pool, your costs will be significantly reduced. In addition, your future money-making potential will dramatically increase.

Most of the skills that you’re likely interested in learning probably won’t cost that much to attain. For example: Spanish classes or Salsa lessons are very inexpensive in nearly every Latin-speaking country. While focusing on a skill you won’t be tempted to constantly spend money on things to pass the time (like alcohol).

When you return home from a vacation you are in the same position as when you left, but with less money. When you return home from a skill based mini-retirement you come back with something marketable and maybe break even financially.

The new skill that you acquired can be channeled into a money-making opportunity which can even further fuel subsequent mini-retirements. For example, a friend of mine took his mini-retirement so that he can work on learning Spanish. He documented his progress, set up a small website to help others learn Spanish and now his site is drawing great traffic and creating affiliate sales.

Step Two: Rethink Your Destination

It’s possible to live like a rock-star outside of popular high-class tourist destinations. In a lot of countries, the costs of living have not caught up with the value of living. Meaning, you can spend half as much in South America as you would on a European vacation equivalent. Paris, France vs. Buenos Aires, Argentina is a great example of this.

Look into places like South East Asia, Central America, and South America. You’ll find countless destinations that are beautiful, safe, and best of all, cheap for what you’ll get.

Designing A Jet Set Mini Retirement On A Tight Budget

Step Three: Rethink the Tourist Off-Season

We all know hotels, airlines, and other tourist related businesses jack up their prices during the high season. You simply can’t get around it. But, there’s a perceived down season in many countries that is really not that much different from the high season. You can start taking advantage of this.

In Central America, the high season (the dry season), is from Nov-Feb. During this time you’re going to pay a lot more for accommodations. In many areas the difference between the rainy season and the dry season is only 1-2 hours of rainfall in the late afternoon which is hardly enough to ruin a trip.

A lot depends on the region. Costa Rica and Panama are so small that people think, “Well it’s the rainy season in X city, so it’s probably the rainy season in Y city”. The climate can change drastically even within a small geographic region. I enjoyed the low season rates in sunny Bocas del Toro, because I was there during the perceived rainy season in Panama: September.

These situations arise everywhere (not just Central America). Avoid the urge to travel during the expensive months and you’ll be rewarded with cheaper rates and not always perfect, but very tolerable weather.

Step Four: Get Long Term Luxury Accommodation for Huge Discounts

For the Jet Setter – having luxury accommodations is a must and with a little hard work securing it really is not that difficult. I’ve found that many smaller resorts and hotels will offer their rooms at severely discounted rates if you agree to stay a month or longer.

The best strategy for finding cheap accommodations in hotels or resorts is to hold off on booking a place until you get to your destination. In Central and South America I’ve been shocked by the quantity and quality of hotels and resorts that simply aren’t making themselves visible on the internet.

Once you’ve arrived in your desired location, spend a day or two searching for the best deals. Many hotels and resorts that you can’t find on the internet are cheaper but not necessarily lower quality. Also, you’ll be able to approach the managers and negotiate a price for a long term stay. If you book online you’re going to ‘get gringo’ prices and could get stuck in a place you’re not too happy with.

In Panama, my friend and I were able to secure a cabana at a hotel/resort in the mountain town of Boquete for $18 per night. The cabana included a full kitchen, laundry services, maid-service, WiFi, and access to organic fruit on the property. The normal prices were $80 per night, but since we agreed to stay for 2 months, we got more than a 75% discount!

You don’t have to stay in hostels and you don’t have to live like a poor backpacker to take cheap mini-retirements. It’s extremely possible to live like a Jet Set millionaire on a tight budget. You’re just going to need to re-think the- what, where, when, and why of your mini-retirement.

For more info on what Derek is up to contact him through his website Liveuncomfortably.com

#######

Kim and I are off to Los Angeles to shoot a video and create our L.A. Hit list- if you have anything that you think we should hit in L.A. please let us know through Twitter here.

Leo Babauta’s 5 Best Lifestyle Design Hacks

Posted on March 24, 2009 by Rob

By Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

Editors Note: This is a guest post from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits- you can get his new book The Power of Less here.

I’m a firm believer that we need to break free of the constraints of normal life, and begin to design our own lives — to start living the life we’ve always dreamed of.

And it’s possible. Most people tend to stick with what’s safe, what they know is possible, and don’t go beyond that, because of fear of failure — or success — or because they don’t pause to take a big-picture look at life and think about what can be changed.

Do you really need to work a 9-to-5 office job? Do you really need to be on salary? Do you really need to buy luxury items, have a big house and big car, just to look good in front of people you don’t care about — and do you really need to be a wage slave to support that empty lifestyle?

Or can you live the life that you want to live — that makes you happy, that makes a real contribution to the world, that feels authentic and exciting to you?

You can, of course — I’m just one example of that in action, and there are many more.

People like me have decided to follow their dreams, to make a living doing something they’re passionate about, to take a chance and start working for themselves instead of someone else, to live a life that’s really aligned with their values.

This is called lifestyle design by some, and today we’ll look at some of the best ways to begin to design your life. We’ll call them “hacks”, after the famous term “lifehacks”, but you could easily call them tools or tricks or just “methods that work”.

Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

1. Limit your workweek. My friend Tim Ferriss is famous for his book, 4-Hour Workweek, but you don’t need to go that extreme to get the benefits of a shrunken workweek. Start by setting a limit on your workweek, and enforcing it. If you work more than 40 hours a week, start with a 40-hour limit. If you work 40 hours, try 32 hours. How can you make this a reality? By getting vigorous about making sure you’re using your time wisely — doing the tasks that really need to get done this week, not wasting time, and quitting when you reach your limit. Sure, you won’t get everything done, but you’ll get the essential things done and the other things can wait. Use the time you save to do something you love — be it spending time with family, traveling, taking up a sport, creating something new, or what have you.

2. Be passionate about your work. This is such common advice that it might sound trite, but if you aren’t doing this now, don’t wait any longer. This is crucial. If you’re doing work you don’t enjoy, you’re just working for the paycheck, and you’re wasting at least a third of your life at work. Start to look for something you’re passionate about, if you haven’t found it yet, and when you do find it … start to look for a way to make a living at it. You might need to make a slow transition until you’re ready to quit your day job, but it’s a process that’s worth the effort. You’ll be so much happier about your life that you’ll spring out of bed, hardly able to wait to start working.

3. Dare to eliminate the non-essential. Our lives slowly fill up with things that we don’t really want to do, that we think we should do but that aren’t in line with how we want to live. You can get out of these commitments — just start to eliminate them. Say “no” to people. Tell them you just don’t have the time. This takes guts, but again it’s worth it. Tell yourself that you can’t do everything, so you’re just going to do what you really want to do. You’re going to create the life you want, and make room for it by eliminating everything that’s not in that ideal life. Let go of unimportant work and communications too — be liberal with the delete key in your email program, because if you tried to do everything that people requested of you, you’d never live the life you want.

4. Control your work environment. The problem with most people’s work environments is that they’re not set up to be focused, but rather are set up so that they have no real control over information coming at them. At any given moment, you can be interrupted by email, phones, instant messages, Twitter, your Blackberry, co-workers, or any other type of communication you might use. With an environment like this, it’s hard to maintain focus and get important work done — no amount of discipline will allow you to overcome this environment. Instead, set up an environment that’s more conducive to achieving your goals — shut down all distractions and only allow yourself to check email or make phone calls or use other communication tools at certain times of day. Look for other ways to set up your environment so you can achieve the goals you’re focused on achieving.

5. Schedule the important. What are the things you really want to do with your life but you don’t seem to have time for? Travel? Family? Exercise? Reading? Writing? Starting a new business? Outdoor recreation? Whatever these things are, make them a priority by scheduling them regularly: start with an empty calendar and reserve blocks of time for these important things before anything else. Make these appointments sacred — don’t allow anything else to violate them. This will mean you’ll have to say “no” to things, and eliminate other things from your schedule, but if these things are important, you’ll schedule them first.