I never open email forwards but my mom sent this to me and when I noticed the word tax in the subject line, I opened and read….
Tax Poem
Be sure to read all the way to the end!
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Sometimes I forget I still have a blog. I guess that’s because a lot my thoughts are now going on Twitter. No need to write a whole blog post when I can just say it in 140 characters or less.
My Twitter handle is @factive, so follow me there if you still care about my thoughts.
I will still be posting here about as infrequently as I ever have… 
Whenever I have deeper thoughts that I want to expand on.
There are a couple products I’ve received lately that I want to show my appreciation for…
New Laptop Battery
I’ve had my MacBook Pro for a few years now. So it was no surprise that a few months ago my battery went to complete crap. It was basically at the point where if the power cord got disconnected, the laptop powered off. Apparently I’m lucky that I even got the few years out of it that I did. From my understanding, it’s completely normal for laptop batteries to start going bad after roughly 300 cycles. Well, lucky for me, I have a client who sells replacement batteries so it was easy for me to just call him and up and ask for a replacement. It wasn’t something he had to do for me though and when he sent me a new one, he didn’t ask for anything out of it. And to my pleasant surprise, the replacement battery for my MacBook Pro actually works better than my original Apple battery ever did… and that’s pretty cool.
Surf Art
I was pretty stoked the other day when the UPS guy showed up with a package at my door and I opened it up to find this….
It’s a killer painting from Hawaiian Surf Artist, Clark Takashima. Perfect, I’ve been needing some nice surf art. And again, something that was sent to me with no expectations. Clark is someone I’ve developed a friendship with over email in the last year. Never in a million years was I expecting him to send me one of his paitings. I love it though and it will look perfect in my office. Thanks Clark!!
I’m heading to Las Vegas in the morning for Webmaster World’s Pubcon Conference for the week. I’m speaking on social media on Tuesday morning, my session is about understanding the complex social media playing field. I hope that you can all come see my presentation. For the time ever, I’m actually preparing it in advance. Normally, I procrastinate and end up finishing at 3AM morning of. Needless to say this results in a presentation that isn’t as good as it could be. Not this time, I want to knock this one out of the park.
I’ll be in Vegas all week and I hope to meet everyone of you that will be there. Please come say hi to me, if you mention this post and there’s a bar nearby, rounds are on me. Looking forward to seeing you all there.
While sipping guzzling my morning coffee and reading through my feeds, I came across a great post from Sugarrae titled How to Find a Pair of Balls. Her post is more or less about; if you’re wanting something out of life you need to reach out and grab it. It’s not going to be handed to you.
The only difference between my success and someone else’s lack of it is that I refused to accept, and still do refuse to accept, anything less than what I want for myself in life. I don’t give myself excuses. I don’t wait for shit to be handed to me, I go in search of what I want.
I love reading posts like this because I can relate to them on so many levels and Rae inspired me to write a post about my experience. I struggled for years to get to the point where I’m at now and to be honest I still have at least a few more good years of struggling left in me. Otherwise, I’d be retired on a beach somewhere, surfing epic waves all day. And until I’m there you can bet your ass I’m still busting my ass and making sacrifices every day. I’m now starting what will be the third business I’m currently running. I work hard, even if it doesn’t always seem like it.
Most people don’t realize the amount of work that I’ve put in over the years to get where I am. Like Rae, I wasn’t handed an audience or a reputable name in my industry, I had to work hard for those like anyone else. My family and I sacrificed years of our lives for the hope there would be a payoff (better quality of life) at the end of the rainbow. We’ve gone through many times where we literally didn’t have a dollar to our name and we’d stay up all night wondering how we would come up with a few bucks just to eat the next day. Luckily for family or we’d have starved to death. But I also want to point that family only helped in times of emergency… the only unfair advantage I’ve ever had is my burning desire for a life that doesn’t consist of a dead-end job. I instead desire a life where I have as much free time to spend with my family and surf as I want.
I have friends and family (you know who you are) coming up to me all time asking if I can teach them to do what I do. The problem is that they’re expecting quick success because they chose to look the other way all those years I busted my ass with nothing just to get where I am today. All they see now is what looks like a pretty glamorous life from the outside (I can assure you though, it’s not always glamorous, far from). I am in no way trying to disrespect these people because I love them, but to be quite frank, none of them have been willing to do what it takes to become successful online.
Even though it may sound like it, I’m not trying to toot my own horn here. That’s not at all what this post is about. I’m just trying to point out that if you want to be successful in life you need to get off your lazy ass and do something about it. It will not be handed to you. It all comes to down to how bad you really want something. I’ve had every excuse and reason in the book on why I shouldn’t be successful but I refuse to accept that there’s nothing I can’t do or have.
I definitely recommend you check out Rae’s post.
Is there such a place where time ceases to exist? Where the land is so beautiful that you could swear you just saw the most mind blowing scenery that’s ever graced your eyes, only to turn the corner to a view that out-does the last? Where the people, who have no money or material possessions, are happier, friendlier, and more greatful than any other people you’ve ever met? A place so tranquil and relaxing that all your troubles literally slip your mind?
Such a place does exist and I am fortunate I was able to find my own little paradise in Nicaragua.
A couple months ago I wrote a post expressing my desire to not only travel to Nicaragua but also someday own a home there. Last month I had the pleasure of fulfilling half that dream as I was able to spend a few weeks in what is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places on this earth. And after spending some time in Nica, it has only made my (now burning) desire of buying a home there that much stronger.
Nicaragua is not only beautiful in the sense of the breathtaking landscape… it’s a combination of everything; the people, the food, the culture, the surf, the experience, the wildlife… everything.
My trip began with a series of fortunate events… From getting bumped up to first class, to oversized luggage (think surfboard bags) fees being waived, to scoring a ride with a local surf guide from the airport in Managua to our destination in San Juan Del Sur… it was definitely a sign of good things to come.
Once arriving in San Juan Del Sur, my good friend Shaun and I quickly looked for the nearest taxi (and by taxi I mean an old Toyota 4×4 pickup with a bench in the bed) we could find to haul us to the nearest surf break, Playa Maderas. One of the very few annoyances I found in Nicaragua is that the surf is not easily accessible, it’s mostly by boat or muddy “highways” that will push any 4WD to the limits. However, riding in the back of a truck through the jungle is certainly an exciting experience in itself.
San Juan Del Sur is a beautiful little town that sits right on a picturesque bay in the Pacific. It served as a hub for most of our time spent in Nica. All the amenities you need can be found in SJDS; hotels, restaurants, bars, markets, taxis, friends, and more are found here. Here is a couple of pictures of the view from one of the restaurants…
We also spent a few days up near a surf break called Popoyo, where we stayed in a B&B that was literally right on the sand. It was the coolest beach house ever with the most amazing decks where I spent many-a-afternoons lounging around in the hammocks. There was a couple of pretty good surf breaks right out in front, so it was a nice change from the boats and 4WDs. Its nice just to grab your board and walk 10 steps to the surf. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of this place but that’s ok because they could never do it justice anyways. I do however have this wonderful picture of a whole pig that we roasted on the beach one night…
The one thing I can’t stress enough is how good the actual surf in Nicaragua is. In the few weeks I was there, the infamous offshore winds blew every day but one and the swell was consistently at a minimum of chest-high with most days going head-high or overhead. For you non surfers, that means it was really good.
All-in-all my trip to Nicaragua was a wonderful one filled with more great experiences than I can remember. I could turn this post into a book but I feel like it’s already getting too long. I can hardly wait until my next trip back. Some things that really stand out in my mind are….
The greeness. It’s their wet season right now which means that whole country is literally all green right now. So beautiful.
The people. I met so many wonderful people and made many life long friends. That’s pretty impressive for only being somewhere for a few weeks. I was also very impressed on how most of the local people there have no money or “things” yet they are so happy and nice.
The cost. Everything is so cheap… most meals, which I found to be excellent, where about $5 US. My last night there I splurged and went for a Filet Mignon, it was as good as anything I’ve had here in the states (thanks Nick!) and I think was only about $13 US.
The underdeveloped land. Surfing at beaches with no homes or people is amazing. You don’t get to experience that here in the US. Everything is so crowded. I was so blown away when we cruised the coast line in boats at just how empty the land is.
Here a couple fishing pics to leave you guys with…
A nice Blackfin Tuna…
Notice the colors of this Mahi-Mahi, they call them Dorado in Nica…
I want to give some shout-outs to the friends I made, if I forgot your name I apologize and it doesn’t mean I love you any less…
Alan, Codo, Nicaraguan Superman, Heather, Sandra, Sonya, Caleb, Oscar, Marlys, AJ & Molli, Nick, Josue, Cliff aka “killing it”, Jeffrey, Brandon, Ashley, Dan, Jesse, Gustaaf, Aaron & Rena, Kevin & Betsy, Mike, Victoria, Tona, and last but not least my good friend Flor de Cana… All truly wonderful people.
Next time you see me, ask me to tell you some stories about Nicaragua, trust me, I have lots of them I’d love to share ‘em all.
I have my sights on moving to Nicaragua right now. I’m trying to figure out the logistics so I can spend 2 out of the 3 months there this coming summer. Go down, check the place out, scope some real estate, surf my brains out, etc.
Consistent year-round swells, offshore winds 300+ days a year, low crowds, white sands, crystal-clear water, low cost of living…. sounds like the dream to me. I certainly can’t think of any good reasons not to move there. Seeing as all I need is an internet connection to make my living, work certainly wont be stopping me. At the very least I’ll probably be buying a second home there where I can spend 6 months a year.
Cameron Olthuis is the Founder of Factive Media, an action sports media network. Follow his storyline and adventures of building an Internet empire here. Find out more about Cameron...