To all of the naysayers, critics and haters:

Piss off.

Seriously. I don't know Tynan, but I like to think I've come to learn some things about him from this blog. He's never claimed to be the most interesting person in the world. He's never claimed to be a professional poker player. He used to be a professional gambler--defined by the success he had. I'd say his past results speak for themselves.

If you don't like Tynan, or his blog, or his comments, or his fascination with poker, then stop reading it. You're not wanted here. I read the comments to see positivity, motivation, and the collaborative musings of other creative people; not your negative garbage.

Tynan: Keep up the good work. Your writing reflects your genuine passions and interests, even if they don't jive with some of your more mentally-challenged readers.

Man I'm happy I found this post. This is exactly how I'm thinking nowadays (with the small exception of the value of an item coming from how useful it is. Ex. how compact and useful is your razor, or how waterproof and well organized your bag).

Good program that I enjoy listening to. I hope to enjoy more and more interesting programs in the future.

@Grace -

Your heart is in the right place, but it doesn't have to be an "either/or" decision. You can still help people without "sacrificing the easier/freer lifestyle". It could be argued that you can help more rather than less when you have more time and control of your life.

One other thing: In the past 6 months, half of the "nomads" I've come across have been from less-than-wealthy countries. India, Korea, Peru and Guatemala among others. The Internet is a real game changer... as are the political and economic hurricanes happening across the globe. The world is changing FAST. Mindset, creativity, attitude and work ethic are much bigger factors now.

And since most Westerners don't have much work ethic, I'd even paint us at a disadvantage. Posts like this help with the attitude and mindset part. As far as creativity... strangely, the most creative people I know are those that try a lot of stuff (read: worth ethic). Go figure.

@Grace Focusing on the idea of "if everyone took my advice, who would clean our toilets" is a mistake, I think. Mainly because everyone won't take my advice. It's sort of like saying that no one should withdraw all of their money from the bank, because if we all did, the economy would collapse.

I think that the way to make the biggest difference is to focus on what you're emotionally attracted to. I have really strong feelings on escaping the 9-5 prison and doing what you want in life, so that's what I focus on.

Tynan

Very good comment Grace. I also write about similar things (breaking out of the box, living life to the fullest) on my own blog but I also think about the things you have said.

First, I know many A-list bloggers, some who rant about the Non 9-5 and others who dont bring it up. I can definitely say that any of the people I know who make a good living online still work 9-5 or 10-8 or whatever but they work long hours usually.

Sometimes it changes but overall, whether they are commenting, posting, creating, or networking, its still work. So most of the "4-hour" work week is blown out of per-portion.

With mine, Although I dont like the 9-5 and also chose this as a lifestyle, I dont rant to people to quit jobs. I just want to wake them up to explore possibilities whether it be new work or just adventures outside of work or maybe volunteering like you said.

I have tremendous respect for those that "give up" years of life to volunteer and hope to do a long volunteer project of my own some time soon. Maybe we can team up hah.

So I agree with you in some ways. Not everyone can do this and not everyone will. Lots of people don't have the entrepreneurial traits. Some have a passion for health care.

Thats the main thing. finding your passion and working with it. If its helping third-world countries, thats awesome!

I dont wanna write a book here but if you'd like to continue a chat, please visit my blog and send me an email. Would love to hear fro you.

I enjoy your blog Tynan but there's just something I cannot fully understand about your view on life. I'm not here to bring you down or be malicious because I appreciate your interesting posts and I'm a big follower of your blog. I'd like to share my thoughts however and see what you think.

I guess I think your view on life is completely unrealistic. You berate the 9-5 lifestyle and seem to think that unless you are having adventures, doing whatever you want, hanging out with friends every day etc then life is worth less and you are a total sucker who has been warped into a society trap just like all the other 'normal' people, as you put it. This would be fine, except for the fact that you fully participate in and NEED so many services in society that RELY on the 9-5, full time career lifestyle. You say that people should be able to think about whatever we want all day, not have anything we 'have to do' so we can write in a journal a little, play around, philosophise etc. However, if everybody did this, we wouldn't have doctors. We wouldn't have a fully functioning health system that you will rely on at some point in your life. We wouldn't have a security system and police force that ensures your safety. You also wouldn't have a huge opportunity to travel and have 'adventures' if it weren't for the people working 9-5 jobs at airports. I mean there is no way a doctor can sit down and work whenever he/she feels like it like you can. Basically, there are other people out there supporting YOUR 'ideal' lifestyle by working regular jobs... whilst you sit back and berate regular jobs. As well as this, your perspective just seems off. This lifestyle is completely unrealistic and unattainable for most people in the world who don't happen to live in a wealthy country. Doesn't this bother you?

I'm 22 years old at the moment and at a point where I am seriously thinking about what I want to do with my life and I am trying to look critically at all my options. There are so many paths one can follow in life and I appreciate that you have given so many interesting perspectives on this.
I admire the fact that you carved out your own niche in life in order to do what you want by writing books and creating a blog with your stories. To me however, the choice between creating entertaining/interesting books or blogs to help middle class to wealthy people who are already extremely lucky in life have an even better life, compared with something like working in the health field so I can later volunteer in a third world country and dramatically change people's lives, is just a no brainer. To me, morals are something I heavily consider for all my choices in life. I would prefer to study for a long time in college and then work a 9-5 job, sacrificing an easier/more free lifestyle, so I can have the opportunity to help and support people who may not even have basic human needs let alone the ability to do whatever they want all day.

I am certain you would have impacted many people's lives in a very positive way with your books and blog about living life to the fullest. But to me it is not worth as much as many 9-5 lifestyles out there that keep people safe, healthy, fed, etc., so it bothers me that you are so critical. Most people will never have the chance to create an 'ideal' and unrestricted life purely because of bad luck. Even if they did, the world just wouldn't function and there would be no healthcare/readily available food/products/services/charity work for third world countries, the list goes on.

I guess this is my problem with you setting yourself apart from 'normal' people who work 9-5 jobs when really you couldn't get by without them. What are your thoughts on this?

Ps. Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading if you made it this far

Great stuff yet again. One day I hope there's more people like you and me someday. Until then check out my latest upstart, Lifestyles365.com

Cheers

I have been living this similar life, with this type of philosophy for 20 Years now, my biggest challenge is finding someone else who also has time and flexibility like me, who is not also Unemployed and on welfare..

I am an Aussie who has just moved to LA as a base having racked up 477 days in hotel rooms last 2 years, weird to be so "settled", but hope to meet more folks this way with my type of freedom..

Thx for the POst mate

Cheers

What about retirement? Do you have a 401K or put a certain amount of money aside for retirement one day?

@jbimmer

That's hyperbole.

That's like saying we can't enjoy food without starving children in Africa.

Idiots dropping in and berating Tynan for posting about his lifestyle on a lifestyle blog is not conflict, it's just idiocy.