NOTE: This entry is part of a series in which I fly over 40,000 miles in two years. Read the introduction here. I took the bus on this particular journey so there are no airmiles.
If you’re looking for the big city experience look no further than New York City. This 8-million strong sprawling metropolis truly never sleeps. Using the bus to get there (a 10-hour journey) and back was a much better experience than I had expected it to be.
Trip summary
- Routing: YYZ-NYC-YYZ
- Mileage and Cost: 1060 miles for $84 equals 7.92 cents per mile (target: less than 5 cpm). It’s often cheaper to fly somewhere than to use a bus!
- Remaining: 26403 miles (no change) in 1 year and 217 days
- Goofs: (1) Forgetting to take a bottle of hand sanitizer. Rubbing body wash on your legs and shoes to keep them from smelling doesn’t work as well (I think I made it worse). (2) Stepping into a pile of horseshit at Central Park is not pleasant.
- Soundtrack: Indian fusion
- The great: Times square, The Met museum, Brooklyn bridge, Central Park, the Staten Island Ferry and almost everything in downtown Manhattan.
- The good: Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site was moving but there’s not much happening after eight-and-a-half years.
- The bad: The United Nations buildings were literally crumbling and many neighborhoods in Brooklyn were quite creepy.
New York City is one of the most incredible places on the planet. Three days was barely enough to scratch its surface. What’s next? One of my goals this year is to fly to somewhere on another continent.
Published on
February 5, 2010 in
truth.
Tags: #befearless, #findsatisfaction, #pursuingtruth, dream, excited, fearless, habits, how to, mind-mapping, question, truth.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about life and living. After moping for a while I realized something simple and profound. It hit me like a bright light shining in my face: you have to be excited about your life. Perhaps I can help you with getting there.
1. Answer a question
Start with this question you’ve likely heard many times before: “What would you do if you woke up with a million dollars?”. Don’t laugh it off. It could be the most important thing you will do. Take as much time as you need to think about yourself while answering. In my case, I don’t care about living long but I while I’m here I would like to fly and make music (among other things). Don’t forget to dream big. What you say will determine what you will be able to accomplish. If you don’t dream big for yourself do you think that someone else will do it for you?
What do you really want to do? Who do you really want to be?
2. Write down your answers
Grab a piece of paper and jot down your initial 
goals. Then expand on all possible avenues you can use to get there. To put my thoughts down I use a free mind-mapping program called Freemind but a pen and paper will do. Make sure you don’t throw away what you write! You and your dreams might change over time so don’t forget to keep reviewing and modifying your plans as you need to.
Where there is a will there is a way.
3. Learn to become fearless
You must become fearless in order to face two obstacles: yourself and the people around you. If your plans for life don’t intimidate you at all then you’re not dreaming big enough. After fighting my fears for the last six months I have begun to reap its rewards. To learn more about how I started read this entry.
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Get started and keep going
Even though you have big dreams make sure you start small. This is essential to build up your confidence and experience. As you inch towards your goals you may have to work hard and face failure but if you are excited about where you are headed you will be able to endure. If your dream does not excite you then don’t waste your time pursuing it!
Don’t forget to continually track yourself. Write down what went wrong and how you can improve. For goals that involve developing a daily habit keep a journal or use a tool such as Joe’s goals. Benjamin Franklin is famous for using charts to track his virtues. Finally, when you hit a milestone don’t forget to note what you have accomplished. This will help encourage you when you are feeling down.
Reach for the stars. Even if you fail you’ll land on the moon.
What are you waiting for?
Update: You can view a mind-map that I’m using on this page.
