Tim Ferriss shared a post from the blog Free Pursuits.  It was simply 50 photos from around the world designed to inspire the viewer to become a Digital Nomad.  I’ve been longing to travel more with my family.  If my wife would get on board I’d pack up the whole clan and travel the world for the next year or so.  But after 7 years of wedded bliss I’ve learned to pick my battles and settled on a two week road trip around the Western United States.  We had a blast… but now I want more.

I turned the pics from the blog into a video with some music.  It’s nothing fancy, I’m not a video editor by any means, but it’s a nice way to enjoy the pictures and let your mind run free wandering about the world without that pesky interruption of having to scroll down on a web page.

Here’s my hypothetical for today’s post.

You’ve just been granted 45 days paid leave from work and you have to leave the country since the local Cheese Makers Union is about to riot the Gouda factory.  You’ve got the money to travel, so budget isn’t an issue and your passport is up to date.  What country(ies) would you visit?

I had a meeting in LA this morning and took the advice from a friend
to check out the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica for lunch.

I’m about to dig into my salmon.

And then write out some goals while enjoying California’s brutal winter.

Tyler Jorgenson

Compare these two videos:

1.

2.

And all this time I thought we were tough for chasing the Giraffe.

We had a great day up in the mountains. I had to check on a couple of things for WrightwoodCabins.com and the kids love playing with their Grandma and Grandpa J so we piled into the truck and headed up the hill.

Tanya is always wanting to get a good family pic and the kids were in good spirits. While we were posing with the little red house behind us snow from the tree fell down on us.

I love spending time with the wife and kids. Especially when my Mom and Dad provide pizza and hot cocoa. Thanks!

One of the highlights of our recent trip to New York was visiting Wall Street. Many people asked me if I found it in ruins, but it was quite alive and bustling with activity. I carved out a few minutes to answer a few questions for a news team from a major national network. Yep, here I am with the reporter from TBS. They asked me questions about the economy, current monetary policies, housing and my choice of wearing jeans to the NYSE. Yep, TBS… Tokyo Broadcasting Service. I’m huge in Japan.

I try to make an impact wherever I go. I enjoy networking, meeting new people, helping strangers, tipping cabbies, etc. Trying to make an impact in a city as impacted as New York was a fun challenge. This picture of me was up on Times Square on Dec 15, 2008 at 2:57pm. It isn’t ‘real’ in the fact that I’m not really TIME magazines person of the year, but it was really displayed just like the picture shows.

New York really touched me. I am inspired to be bigger. I am inspired to be better so that the ripples of my life’s work reach far and help many. The world has plenty of followers… I’m not one of them.

New York. The shirts are so popular for a reason, I guess.

I’ll be doing some other posts on specific experiences and lessons learned during my recent trip, but for now I just thought I’d let you know that the city was inspiring.

I am pretty excited to check out what many consider to be the financial capital of the world.

Any last minute NYC tips for me?

This past weekend my parents (the good Padres) took my wife and me down to San Diego for a belated birthday present. We went to see the Padres game at Petco Park and we treated to a full tour of the stadium before the game. While we were waiting for the tour Mr. Padres himself walked by and shook a few hands. I didn’t think he’d remember me from our meeting in 1995 so I didn’t mention anything, but we go way back. The Padres (the baseball team… aka the ‘bad’ ones) didn’t have too great of a game. The couldn’t hit the pitches the 12 year old was throwing I guess. The pitcher for the Giants was a 23 year old kid with a rocket for an arm. He shut out the Padres but it was still a great night of baseball.

The family and I are staying at Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas for a few days. This is an amazing part of the world, truly breathtaking views and spectacular beaches. We’ve stayed here before but somehow this time it’s different. It’s in my blood now… this is where we’ll end up. It’s just a matter of time, well and a lot of cash. Driving around here is like going to a fancy car convention. I hope they don’t mind my cool guy minivan. The doors are automatic… is that cool enough to fit in?

The 8 million dollar homes and $450,000 cars are nothing compared to these assets.

We discovered Crystal Cove State Beach for the first time and fell deeply in love.