Looks like the dip came early :) your first few posts in this project were shit, but they've been increasing in quality since. I love that you're posting every day. Keep it up!

I agree, I've enjoyed your posts the last week. However, less writing about writing.

I would've enjoyed this post much more without the first sentence.

ima agree with tim, but im definately enjoying the daily stories, iv been really enjoying the fact that every day i can check for something new and theres something there

A lot of people didn't like the first installment of the story.. You have a few more days to write everyday... When in doubt... Who else have you gotten fired. I personally got 2 fired...but I'm also a pain to work with.

Which probably explains why my tires got popped when I saw old coworkers at the bowling alley.

1. I'd do that for free!
2. I'll substitute UK into that one and respond with yes...I'm not that interested in travelling.
3. I agree that this would be boring; I'd rather have unsteady payments that I'd properly worked for than a permanent fixed salary that didn't necessarily require much effort on my part.
4. You sort of missed the question out here. From your answer, I'm guessing it's something along the lines of "What's the maximum you'd be willing to give?", and in answer to that - none. If a friend needed money, I'd be happy to help out, but if they were to just magically receive £10k, I'd imagine that would cause them more stress than being a bit short on cash.

Tim makes a good point.

It's a little like saying "So I haven't played this in a long time, go easy on me if I mess it up" at open mic or "Hey, sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if maybe you might want to" when talking to a girl.

No apologies, no softening!

What were you creating during those 4 hours? You never said...

The times I feel most engaged are on big programming projects, which is really geeky but true. Actually, it varies...sometimes I'm in a perfect state where tons of progress is being made and everything is working perfectly, and sometimes I can't get the simplest thing to work right. But that's life. Once I'm in that state though it's very worthwhile not to break it...eliminating interruptions really helps with this.

Thanks!
Brian

Tynan,

Really loving the daily posting! Keep it up!!

Interesting point about the value of time spent in hedonistic pursuits versus invested in creative endeavors. Of course, people need both in their lives. Any thoughts on striking a balance between the two?

I remember the indian cashier, we used to call him Speedy.

Very engaging post, Tynan.
I love it.

I love the title by the way, I was shocked thinking that you are actually 'getting engaged'.

The contents of your article speak the truth and yes, it is this kind of approach in writing that makes you beyond engaging in your story telling.

i had the same sort of experience with one of those scaffolding type things for washing windows. we washed all the windows on the building. quality times. and i definitely agree with wanting to be places you cant/shouldnt.

Great post Tynan!

Thanks for the recommendations. Getting Real is the only one I'm familiar with so I may have some new books on my wishlist.

Are you limited any by your ebook reader? Can you read it anywhere? I usually read pdf's on my glossy screen macbook, the glare is terrible. I just wouldn't mind reading outside, in the dark and generally anywhere.

Im glad to hear you are still enjoying your Sony reader. I am still considering purchasing either that or the Kindle, I just haven't decided if I am willing to spend the money yet

How long did it take you read all of those books?

Sudhir Venkatesh’s first book (i believe), "Off The Books", is really good too. Opened my eyes to a lot of things, especially because i live in a ghetto part of philly that operates similarly to the ghetto sudhir talks about. Read it for a sociology course about 'money.'

i'd recommend Muhamad Yunis' Banker to the poor too, excellent book about social entrepreneurship...and life in general.

[...] Gangs, Programming, Marketing, Sony [...]

Whenever I read your site I find myself spending more and more money. O well, here goes another $784.

Thanks for this, I was actually going to request a post about these, as I remember you mentioning them before and they do sound awesome

Now i want one...

Tynan,

What do you do with the skateboard when you're running errands and reach the store? Isn't it 50+ pounds? Do you bring it with you inside or lock it up outside?

I like the standard non powered sector 9 long board. They are way easier to ride than a standard skateboard because of the larger wheels, the better bearings and the ease or maneuvering.

They are only around $150

I rode Tynan's board around quite a lot while he was here in KY, and he's not kidding about the fun factor. I used to skateboard to all my classes, I wakeboard, snowboard, surf, etc. and I can honestly say that this is very reminiscent to all these things, minus any physical strain (i.e. covering long distances, showing up for class sweaty and breathing hard).

Besides the battery, however, these things (or at least Tynan's) are heavy as hell (50 lbs or so) and no easy to move around (i.e. no handle, grip, etc.)

Also, he's not kidding around about the better wheels being worth the extra money. I didn't ride on the cheaper wheels, but from my experienc with skateboards and regular longboard wheels, the smoothness of the ride is like night and day.

which does not seem to be writing quality blog posts.

@ Gant. I agree. I also commend Tynan for writing frequently but the frequency of the writing has only lessened the quality of the posts. I'm happy either way. It just feels like you are obligated to post as a result of your two week goal. It's possible to write everyday but feeling like you have to only justify not wanting to.

So instead of writing everyday, write everyday in the perspective that it is the only post you are able to do in a week. I would personally prefer 1 really good post over 7 mediocre ones.

i assume this exercise will result in higher quality writing as he continues. it's only natural that he would get better at picking and crafting posts once he it becomes a habit. keep going tynan

Tynan I quite agree. If I am happy and well motivated I can work and work and work and it won't even seem like I have done any labour at all.

I also agree that the quality of the last few posts is low but expect that is because you are not used to posting everyday and in time things will pick up again.

It's funny that everyone is saying that this post is sub-par and the last few have been the same. I love'em all-because you're swinging the bat, trying something new and constantly tweaking your methods.

Man, I love the fact that you, Seth, and Derek Sivers are posting every day. The latter two guys I discovered from your links to their sites.

This post is relevant as hell (to me at least) because it's true and anyone who has ever managed people know that a motivated employee or team member doesn't need to have their hand held. They will work for their own reasons.

@Gant .. if you're going to criticise then at least give some opinion on how he could improve or what you perceive to be a quality post.

While these posts have been shorter than the previous stories of great adventure - I find its still valuable to gain insight to how Tynan thinks and lives his life daily. By far Tynan lives a more exciting and fulfilling life than most people I know.

Just bought the 505 as well from the Borders $200 promotion. It's nice! Now need to spare some time to read on it :)

Looks like the new Kindle DX has native PDF support.

Where do you find all your PDF eBooks?

What has kept me from purchasing an eBook reader is I'm not a fan of DRM, but a library of PDF eBooks would change that. I buy music from AmazonMP3 and Amiestreet.com instead of iTunes for the simple fact that they're normal MP3s, with no proprietary technology.

The PRS-700 screen is foggy! Glad we didn't get that then. I still can't believe the battery life- I have not charged mine since Morocco.

Funnily enough I also did a review comparing the PRS-505 and the Amazon Kindle just the other day (link in my sig). The PRS-505 totally eclipses the Kindle 2 in my book.

BTW did you ever figure out the collections thing?

[...] to my Sony ebook reader I’ve been reading a lot lately. I’ve been fortunate to have been recommended great [...]

I have a lot of ebooks which i downloaded from the internet for free but the problem is that most of them are text books with diagrams e.g electronic text books.I am about to buy a sony ebook reader and i need to make sure i can get these books on the ebook reader with all the diagrams displayed correctly. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

@darren: try putting them on an SD card and going to a Borders, pop in the SD card and see if you can open the files. I just got a PRS-505 and haven't bothered with the SD card yet, but it's worth a try.

You are right, about stats but it doesn't mean that we should not stop the spread of swine flu. Some basic hygiene practices can help slowing down spread of swine flu. Yes panicking will not make general public any safer, but drug companies need to make vaccine before flu season. And public needs to be informed that this flu season, young and healthy should get flu shots too.

I don't care about the swine flu, thus I know nothing about it. It really isn't worth the trouble. The point of this post is to not worry about it. It might be a problem but it's not worth stressing over. Recently a recruit died in basic training in the air force from a flu. Not related to the swine flu, it's actually 'adenovirus 14'.

Adenovirus are common during military bootcamp, should I be scared? No. The ratio is probably near the same as the swine flu. It's just not worth worrying about. The chances of catching it isn't worth the stress so simply put "It's not that big of a deal"

So swine flu is good because it stops people from eating meat??? That kind of holier-than-thou posturing is why people, rightly or wrongly, hold such a negative opinion of vegans.

How many people have died from regular flu in the last month or more?? I guarantee you its more than 100. I am glad that the hysteria has at least died down a little over the past few weeks...

Swine flu is definitely effect people more than the normal hyped up pandemic. I had swine flu; it sucked. I don't think that I've ever had normal flu before, so swine flu was a pretty different experience.

Weak post that is prompting even weaker discussion. Writing every day and upping your hits is just a vanity metric.

I'd rather read one of your old posts again than constantly have to sift through this new drivel. Check out this article on falling victim to the "new" craze:

http://www.philalawyer.net/archives/the_fierce_idio.phtml

Right on. I look forward to reading. I've been trying to do the same on my blog. A lot of the greatest writers set daily word quotas for themselves:
Hemingway- 500 words daily (pretty small for a novelist).
Jack London- 1,000 words daily
I think Stephen King writes several thousand words daily. So there's something to be said for discipline in writing.

Sivers.org is one of my favorite blogs. Even though it's focused towards musicians most of the lessons can be applied by anyone.

i think this is absolutely a great plan. thanks for writing about it. i had noticed you were posting much more frequently and was both pleased and inspired by it. am i on the whitelist now?

Hmmm... :S

It's true that writing every day can be educational, but are you sure you want to share what you write every day?

Be short if you've got nothing to write about, see Twitter :)

Great idea, please keep it up!!

yay,
I will be reading all your posts everyday! :)
Keep it up Tynan

Nice post. I've noticed that in my country a lot of people use karaoke for confidence boosting. Karaoke is extremely popular here and you get to hear it in every other bar, like it or not. I'd wish more people would get your points. Pick songs people like to hear and practise. BTW, we're especially fond of heavy metal karaoke!

Now I can be good at karaoke when Im out with my friends...Next thing to think of is what song do I need to practise..Hmmm.
Thanks Tynan..Its a great post!

This article, along with 'Karaoke Survival Guide: 5 Essential Tips' at http://lounge.thekaraokechannel.com/karaoke-survival-guide/ is all I need to become a pro at karaoke !!

I like to practice the songs at home on karaoke website. Recently I've been using www.online.thekaraokechannel.com. It's pretty sweet.
Thanks for those guidelines though, will make sure to remember that next time I am about to embarrass myself

Tynan!
I didn't know you knew george harrison

[...] grows when you stretch yourself. One of the best ways to really stretch yourself is to do karaoke. Even if you completely bomb (<– rap lyrics show up too slowly on screen so I was always [...]

Thanks for the honesty. As a fairly new reader I was unaware with some of these things that you have been struggling with, but it is never easy for anyone to admit to their faults, especially in such a public forum. Good for you

Becoming more focused is a good personal goal.

But as a reader, it seems that a lot of your coolest posts are the result of major course-changing decisions you've made, which almost always require "giving up" on other things: professional gambling, pick-up... all of this crazy/cool stuff that may not have happened if you were entirely focused and committed to one thing.

So keep at it, but realize that your tendency to spread your interest and "not follow through" at times has created some kick-ass opportunities for you in the past, as it probably will in the future.

Just read The Dip based upon your recommendation, and I think it fails to take into account the benefits that devoting effort to things other than your chosen "dip" can have on said "dip."

For example, my "dip" would be getting a record deal and supporting myself based off of that income alone. My chosen area of music is pop music, but studying jazz guitar and classical composition helps expand my musical palette in ways that benefit my pop songwriting.

Also, I spend a lot of time and effort working out/researching nutrition/generally improving my athletic performance. In order to improve my olympic lifts, I dedicated myself to increasing shoulder flexibility. I've found that stretching and massaging my neck and shoulders has significantly improved my singing.

Very Good Post. I think having the ambitious attitude that you have with attacking things is more important than always sticking to things regardless of their effectiveness.

There's nothing wrong with revising a plan, or abondoning it all together in favour of something better providing you can legitimately justify the abandonment to yourself.

Thanks for sharing Tynan, I often feel exactlly the same.
It is far to easy fo yourself and others to beat you up about what you have not achived yet.
Your setting big goals and they are not easy to reach. However by taking a step back you can see that you have come a long way. You may not have millions in the bank, but you have more than many. You may not be an internatonally recognized brand yet, but you are more famous than most.

I also agree with Arun, we all change plans and alter our priorities.

I think if your passion is there it could deffinetlly be possible to turn LN into a business instead of just a job. Look at how Lonley Planet has become a business for Tony and Maureen Wheeler (check out the book Unlikely Destinations).

http://ittybiz.com/pie-making-201-how-the-e-myth-is-screwing-your-business/

The e-myth is overrated. If there's something you love to do, and you can get paid to do it, for gods-sake DO IT.

Don't worry about how efficient it is, or whether you're working in-or-on the business. Do what you want to do. Use the money you make to support doing what you want to do. Count your lucky stars you're able to make money doing what you want to do, rather than those who work day jobs to support night passions.