Quote from Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild, shared with me by Artic Fox Ann from the Slabs, 01-02-11.

Over the past few months I have come across two wonderful articles that do a great job of explaining our journey. The New York Times says our generation is delaying adulthood, while Matt Kepnes, from Huffington Post, welcomes the accusation that his life choices must mean he is running away from something, typically seen negative, Kepnes spins it to be positive. Ever since I can remember I have always questioned the status quo or reasons I’ve been given for “that’s just the way it is”. It was never good enough for me and if the reason didn’t make sense you better believe I wasn’t going to accept it. Over the last few years I have hated the world we have built for ourselves and jokingly wished that the feminist movement, putting women in the workplace, would never have happened.

It is not healthy or humanly natural to work a 9-5 and even now that gets pushed as you’re expected to do more 50 hour work weeks or worse, hold two or more jobs. I certainly respect and have no judgments for the people that do it and like it (more power to you) but I feel saddened for the millions of people that feel helpless in their life choices and think there is no other way.

One of the most pivotal realizations in my life came from reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad as a sophomore in college. I learned that life didn’t have to be a corporate 9-5 and that I did have choices and other options on how to make money. The message from the book is simple, for those who choose to embrace a new way of thinking and get out of the rat race, but actually putting it into action and creating success for yourself, that is a whole other story. We live in a new world, a new decade now, 2011. We are inundated with information everywhere we turn. The idealism of “job security” has been squashed for many people and unfortunately still remains strong in the minds of many. While it is nice to know in two weeks you will have a paycheck waiting for you there are way too many risks that could change your status in an instant.

So what does this mean for us and our 2011 plans? Well it is finally time to start backing up all this talk and our belief that there is another way and put it into action. I think one of the biggest advantages I will have with this “alternative way of thinking/living” is that I am not afraid to fail, in fact, I want to fail. To most people it sounds crazy, scary or bad to fail. We are raised in an education system that condemns failure. But the one thing they don’t teach you, for every successful story you hear, there are at least 100 failures behind that success. James Dyson is probably one of the most famous success stories of failure. It took him over 5000 prototypes to get his first success with the G-force cleaner in 1983 and even after finding a winning solution he had more roadblocks getting the product to market in the UK, with refusals that it would “disturb the valuable $500 million dollar vacuum bag market”. Nonetheless, his determination and perseverance has continued 20 years later to include new product extensions such as the Dyson Airblade (hand-dryer) and the revolutionary Dyson Air Multiplier, a bladeless fan, (which we absolutely LOVE in Stanley) and has continued to improve the vacuum pushing it to be the best-selling vacuum in Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia with over $10 billion in sales worldwide. (Additional information here and here)

So as we work our way through 2011 ACTION is key for us to continue this lifestyle we have come to love so much. Action and focus will keep us on the path to success. We certainly appreciate everyone’s support and can’t wait to be reunited with our friends and family in the coming year. Even though we love to travel and don’t want to return to the “real world”, well, Christopher McCandless said it best, a quote from Into the Wild, “Happiness is not real, unless shared”. We wish we could take you all with us on our journey and will ALWAYS have an open door and warm bed for anyone wanting to crash with us at any destination. For most of you, this is as close as we can get to sharing our happiness and we truly hope it is yours as well for a great 2011!

Anyone developing new products and new technology needs one characteristic above all else: hope. This comes down to a few elements: -having high expectations that you will succeed – despite any setbacks or frustrations -having the sense to break down an imposing task into smaller, manageable ones -believing that you are able to achieve your goals, whatever they may be. Be dogged and determined – and don’t be afraid to be different. -James Dyson

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