A Comparison...

We shop at a market, a farmers' market in Blackburn, Lancashire, and we typically only shop at a supermarket when we cannot find what we want at the farmers' market or it's closed. Why? The food at the farmers' market is better, the shopping is faster, and it's cheaper.

For me, supermarkets are too big, with too many choices and too crowded - and (especially important for a foodie) the food isn't as good. For the past several years, we've comparison shopped and taste tested, and the food simply isn't as tasty. And I think it's because supermarket food is designed to last on the shelf.

Here's an example:

Two pieces of brie cheese, one bought from a supermarket and one bought from the farmers market. The supermarket cheese is a sharp edged well shaped wedge of brie, it keeps its look and shape both in the fridge and out - you can whack it on the table and it retains its shape - it tastes like eating cheese-flavoured paste. The farmers' market cheese doesn't hold its shape at all once removed from the fridge and 'melts' into a brie puddle - and it tastes divine.

My trips to the market are enjoyable. I'm not battling my way through crowded isles searching to find the things I need (supermarkets are organised so that we spend longer in them otherwise the bread, eggs and milk would be located together at the front of the store). At the market, I see stall keepers who know me and I know them, they know what they're selling and how to prepare it (without having to call for a manager). The food is fresh, not laden with preservatives and in the main cheaper. Overall it is cheaper simply because there is less choice, I can't buy the extras that I used to toss into the basket - fancy sauces, the interesting gadgets, the 37 different versions of something - because they simply aren't there, which makes for a significantly cheaper long-term food bill.

Headwinds and Tailwinds

One of the things we learned a lot about this past winter while living on the sailboat was the impact of headwinds and tailwinds. On a boat if you head into wind, say at 20 knots (mph), it's really difficult to get anywhere. You have 20 knots of wind pushing back against you, you pound into the waves - it's really hard work for very little progress.

We experienced the same 'headwind effect' while on the tandem this past week. Pedaling uphill with a strong wind pushing against us left us gasping, having to stop because we were too tired to go any further and pushing the bike on foot. We made progress, but it was slow and painful.

Compare this to the tailwind experience, sailing with 25 knots of wind pushing you along - easy, comfortable with the elements aligned to move you along or bicycling with the wind at your back, at times you don't even have to pedal!

How often do we take advantage of or ignore the impact of headwinds and tailwinds in the rest of our lives? There are economic headwinds (recessions) and tailwinds (business booms), financial and career headwinds / tailwinds. Have you ever experienced a financial tailwind? Where everything is on a roll and the money is just rolling in? How about a career tailwind where you're the 'chosen one', in with the boss, making great progress, can do no wrong?

Recognising and taking advantage of those tailwinds is a key to maximising your progress and the speed at which goals are attained. Recognising that the winds change is also essential! As many have found, economic 'winds' change - just because the money is rolling in today doesn't mean that the wind will be blowing in the same direction tomorrow. As humans, I think we believe that just because things are one way, they will stay one way - and they don't! One of our key learnings from sailing (which we're applying in the rest of our life) is that when the wind is blowing in the direction we want to go, a tailwind, we sail - because tomorrow it might not be.

The other thing we've learned is that if we're battling a headwind, perhaps we should change direction and go someplace else! If it's going to be a battle with little to no progress, why not change direction and do something entirely different? Tough economic market, nobody's buying? Rather than bashing one's head against the wall, use the time to develop new skills, business or personal. Design a website, a new line of business, become an expert (only takes about a year to develop deep expertise in an area).

If business or the economy are absolutely rubbish, why not do some of those personal things that we always put off because we're too busy? Rent out the house and go backpacking through America, Europe or New Zealand. Those things we put off also don't have to cost a lot of money. How long have we been putting off getting fit (exploring our world by foot or bike costs nothing) or not made the time for our important relationships because we're too busy? How about that novel you've always wanted to write or starting a blog if you've got something to share? Why not take some of that time (that we ordinarily don't have) and share it with those we don't typically have a lot of time for - our children, our siblings, our aging or more distant relatives?

Rather than battling into a business headwind, why not turn it into a personal tailwind?

Who to Impress

"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." - Will Smith

This quote really makes me think about the reasons for buying stuff, do we do it because that's what we want to do or is it for some other (unconscious perhaps?) reason? If we buy stuff we don't need that we then have to use up a significant number of those precious 750,000 Hours working to pay for, is that really what we want to be doing? Then why do we do it?

Who are we impressing?

In Praise of the Picnic

Very often while traveling, we'll stop for something to eat. After finishing, we'll comment on how bad the food was and how expensive it was. But that's your option when traveling, right, rubbishy roadside food?

I noticed something different when traveling through Europe, people pulled off in laybys / rest areas and having a picnic. My family used to have picnics when I was a child (probably driven by the cost efficiencies necessary with five kids!) and they were great fun! The blanket spread out on the grass on a summer's day, the cold lemonade, hearty sandwiches and some fruit for dessert. A relaxing rest, a meal in a beautiful spot, a bit of a rest and then we were back on our way - delightful!

Compare that to battling your way to the counter at the typical road side fast food option to get a meal which seldom resembles anything good for you, never mind delightful. If you can get away with spending less than $20, you're pretty lucky (or feeding just one).

After seeing all the picnics along the way and being in thrifty mode, Steve and I decided to try them again and found them to be both gourmet and cheap, two words not commonly found together! On a day trip in the car, we replicate my mom's approach and pack big sandwiches, fruit and a flask of tea. On a walk, we'll pack crusty bread, some lovely French cheese, an Italian sausage, sometimes a flask of tea or if we're being really naughty a bottle of cold white wine.

Total outlay for such a lavish spread? Usually less than $5, with a bottle of wine less than $10. And it's certainly a bit more enjoyable than a burger, fries and a coke!

Motto to Live By (Mostly)

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming, "WHOO HOO, what a ride!"

Anonymous

I love this quote and actively work to practice what it preaches...but (there's always a 'but', isn't there?!) I want to make sure that my body holds out so that I can have that fantastic ride, rather than a not so fantastic ride in a wheelchair in a nursing home. If I'm going to make the most of the time I'm here, I need to have a body that will stand up to the rigours I'm going to put it to. This is something that I largely ignored over the past 20 years or so while climbing the corporate ladder, but if I don't pay attention now at 46 I might reach the point of no return that so many folks do - it gets too hard and painful to get back in shape, or illnesses / medications interfere. Then one moves into a slow, quiet decline doing less and less each year until the scope of one's world is the walls of a room in a nursing home as the medications keep you alive, but you no longer have a life - I want to fight that off!

And actually I'm discovering that a big part of that, "WHOO HOO, what a ride!" can be about building a body that will serve you well during your 750,000 Hours. Unlike so much of media's / society's common focus on fitness, I'm focusing on experiences that keep me active rather than getting in shape - a subtle difference, but for me an important one. There's a big thrill in screaming down a hill on a tandem bike (they're heavier and therefore faster than a regular bike when going downhill!), sailing in a 20 knot wind, hiking to the top of a hill and seeing the world spread out before you. How about swimming in a turquoise sea while diving for conch or lobsters? When was the last time you went ice skating?

I find the whole fitness, work out in a gym thing INCREDIBLY boring. Some folks love it, but the idea of endless hours on a treadmill walking or running to nowhere, 'follow-the-leader' exercise classes, or having a personal trainer egg me on to just one more sit up makes me want to gag. I've tried all of the above and each has proven to be a waste of time and money. Like I said, some folks love it, but it's not for me - I get bored (not surprising) and don't keep it up (also not surprising).

Besides, where's the WHOO HOO in a gym? I want things that are exciting (and by the way, they give me a fitter body at the same time)! I want to be out enjoying this world that we live in, not shut in another room with no windows after spending all day in a room with no windows (the office). There are lots of ways to keep active (fit) that are interesting, fun and exciting.

Hiking in gorgeous hills, bicycling (try a tandem!) through the beautiful countryside, downhill or cross country skiing, dance (try completing a complicated spin turn, a tango and see if there isn't a big WHOO HOO in there!), a team sport you used to love when you were younger, swimming (and not just laps, zzzzzz!), volleyball on the beach, pulling the ropes on a sailboat as it crashes through the waves. That's my 'starter for ten' - what are your thoughts on exciting activities that keep you active, and fit?

Play in Your Own Back Yard

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny Sunday morning, too nice to sit inside! We took the tandem out for an early morning loop through our 'back yard'. There are some wonderful leafy lanes in the Northwest of England, back roads called B roads. Sometimes not even wide enough for two cars to pass, they meander all over the countryside past farms, sheep and hidden old country houses.

The terrain is quite hilly, but the scenery is so beautiful it distracts you from how hard you're pedalling. Shady lanes with the sun filtering through, hedgerows lining the sides with breaks here and there where you glimpse a field, a pasture, the view across a valley. The flowers are out everywhere and the gardens are lush. The rhododendron trees (yes, trees!) which grow wild in the woods here are in full bloom adding a shade of purple to all the green.

And as you pedal down the lane, it smells like summer! Do you remember when you were a kid and you played outside all day during the summer? In the woods, the field or the pasture? Remember how it smelt, hot, a hint of dust, a whiff of flowers and new mown grass? For me, that's the smell of summer.

After the leafy lanes, we circled past Hoghton Tower and we passed the Hoghton Church as they rang the bells for the 10:00 service. The church bells in England sound just like the ones at the end of the movie Scrooge, that very old Englandy sound, very distinct from other places. Beautiful to listen to and very oldy worldy.

One of the things I think we forget as we rush about in our busy lives is what's in our own back yard and how great some of those things are. You probably feel that you live in a pretty nice place, don't you? (Or you wouldn't live there, right?) There are lots of things to do, some beautiful (perhaps gorgeous) bits, pieces of interesting history. Perhaps when you think about it it's quite a fascinating place. How much time do you spend enjoying it? When was the last time you took a drive, ride or walk through some of the nice places close to where you live? Do you get out and enjoy where you are or are the only places you get to the house, the car, the office, the mall?

What are all the things that you could do, see, experience that are close by your home? Close by - in your neighborhood, your town / city, your state or the next state? Have you done them all or are they sitting there largely ignored as we race by rushing from one thing to the next? Chances are, because we're all so busy making a living, we're not 'living a living' while we're doing it - and there's so much living that can be done by walking out your back door.

Tomorrow we're heading out to explore the 'state' next to us, Ireland. It's just a short ferry ride away and neither of us has ever been. We're going on the motorbike and going all the way around the outside. We'll stay in reasonably priced B&B's and actually get to talk to people who live there. Easy to get to, not too expensive, gorgeous and in our 'back yard' - something we've ignored because we were just too busy!

Enjoying one's 750,000 Hours isn't just about when work stops and you can do whatever you want all day, it's also (perhaps more so) about enjoying every hour - the journey, not just the destination. Chances are the journey will take far longer than the destination so how can we make the journey be just as great as the destination?

Perhaps by enjoying what there is along the way...

Civilisation - Pah!

Started the first leg of our trip back to Europe Friday with a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston - or what we thought was going to be a flight to Boston...

Now both Steve and I have traveled for work and pleasure a great deal. We know that traveling has its challenges and that when travelling (particularly by plane), it makes sense to enter 'travel mode' as soon as you walk in the door of the airport. This is a zen-like state where you let the minor (and major) irritations of travel just wash right off you. You're prepared with books, laptops, food and drink so delays and other 'snafus' aren't such a problem because you have other things to do.

We have also been really lucky with travel. Even when flying several times a week over the course of years, the most difficult situation was sitting on the runway at Heathrow for about 90 minutes. Friday's US Airways experience made that seem like a mere niggle in comparison.

Problem with the plane, a broken air conditioning something or other so we got off the plane as soon as we loaded, but no problem the air conditioning in the airport was working just fine. As the hours passed, more and more passengers were rerouted to different destinations. We waited patiently. Our flight was at 11:30, at 4:00 we reboarded - yippee (or so we thought). We took off to Charlotte and after a quick load of more passengers we were supposed to take off again for Boston.

At the gate in Charlotte, the flight attendants told everyone to get off the plane and that the gate agent would inform us as to when we could reboard. (We should have listened for the plane door to slam behind us.) The gate agent didn't have a clue as to what the flight attendants were talking about and placed a call while we milled about. No, the plane was not going on to Boston and all of the people on the plane were going to be rerouted to other flights - go to Special Services please. Turns out there were only 23 people left on the plane and some bright spark decided to cancel the flight (for monetary reasons perhaps?).

At Special Services, Christopher G. pulled up our record and informed us we had been put on the 10:00 p.m. flight to Boston (we had arrived at the airport at 10:00 a.m.). He then mentioned it was too bad we couldn't go to Providence, because there were seats available on the 7:55 - "We can go to Providence!" So he moved us to that flight, wait listed us for First and gave us a travel voucher for a taxi to take us to where we were going. He was polite and kind and reasonable - a shining example of what customer service could be at US Air.

Nice flight to Providence and no sign of our luggage when we got there, for some strange reason it never left Charlotte!

The dictionary definition of civilised is:

"civilised - having a high state of culture and development both social and technological

Unfortunately our experience didn't have a high state of culture in either the social or technological fashion.

But, that is the state of travel today (you thought I was just having a travel rant, didn't you?!) and if your ideal lifestyle involves travel, situations like the above will be encountered - the travel experience is not a civilised one. You can become frustrated and angry by it (as many of Friday's passengers were) and let it spoil your trip. Or you can realise that travel often is uncivilised and prepare for it. If you were heading off into uncivilised and uncharted lands, you wouldn't head out unprepared, right? Consider an airport in the same category, uncivilised in its social and technological capabilities, uncharted in that your experience is anything but well mapped out and predictable.

I once read that happiness occurs when your expectations are lower than your experience: 'Happiness = Expectations <>

Mortons for $9, Plus Wine

We're currently in Fort Lauderdale, putting the boat away for the summer and running around town getting things done. We're also in celebratory mode, having finished this year's cruise (Keys and Cays 2008/2009). We happened to drive by Mortons Steak House and thought, 'Oooohhhh, wouldn't that be nice?!'

Mortons is well known for having very nice steak and seafood. They also have yummy tomatoes with blue cheese. And, of course, an excellent selection of wines.

When we were in consultancy-work mode and before we moved into this lifestyle, we would have made the reservation and thought little of the rather large price tag associated with what is a very nice meal, we would have been 'treating ourselves'. But we're no longer interested in paying $200 for just one meal. Eating out is expensive. However, we did really have a craving for Mortons style meal!

One of the great things about living this lifestyle is the surroundings are often gorgeous and that's what we have now with where the boat is. Nestled right on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a stone's throw from the Performing Arts Center. We can sit in our cockpit and watch the yachts cruise by and the lights of the city come on. Sounds like the view from a really nice steak and seafood house, doesn't it?

I have noticed with a lot of the restaurant food that we tend to order that it is really easy to make (this does not apply to Chinese food, however, we're still working on that). At Mortons or at similar steak / seafood houses, we would have a big hunk of grilled beef or fish, a lettuce wedge or the lovely tomatoes with blue cheese, and a bottle of nice wine. Well, wait a minute, there's a really nice thick snapper fillet from the fish that Steve caught (bet it's fresher than you'll get at many an expensive restaurant) and we found some bright red tomatoes along with some blue cheese at Publix. After a bit of a hunt in our provisions, we found a nice bottle of wine. Sounds pretty much like what we would have ordered at Mortons, doesn't it? A little blackened seasoning, some homemade blue cheese dressing, a bit of time watching the world go by on the back of the boat while barbequeing and voila! One 'Mortons cockpit dinner' for two!

I tend to spend a bit of time on this cooking thing, but if I can have an equivalent or better meal to Mortons for $9 (plus wine), that means I can have 20 'Mortons' dinners. The key words in that sentence - 'equivalent or better meal' for 1/20th the price. Now not all restaurant meals are Morton's priced, but $100 for dinner for two isn't that unusual and $50 certainly isn't, so the numbers may be 1/10th or 1/5th - still a significant savings. And not everyone has snapper fillets lying around, but you can always find a great hunk of meat or fish on sale if you watch for it. The point is still the same, expensive restaurant quality at a radically lower price. It's a way of making this lifestyle even more enjoyable and sustainable. You can 'treat' yourself without it blowing a hole in your ready cash.

Overall, it's a simple way to increase the pace of getting to one's ideal lifestyle, to really enjoy the journey while you're on your way and ensure that once you get there, you can stay!

Play with Your Toys!

Do you have a house or garage full of toys? Things that you just had to have, things that you used for a while and now they are sitting unused and untouched. We spend a great deal of time acquiring our toys, but quickly put them down and head out in pursuit of the next toy. We spent many years eagerly pursuing the next toy and the next and the next, but somehow the satisfaction that came with acquiring the toy lasted for shorter and shorter periods of time. In today's economy, the common advice is to sell your toys and make money off them (to pay bills or to buy other toys). I would like to suggest the opposite, keep your toys and play with them.

Part of the 750,000 Hours philosophy is to have fun now and to have fun along the way. Life is not all nose to the grindstone, work, work, work. And while achieving your dreams is important, if that's your only focus, you miss out on a whole lot of fun on the journey. So how do you build in that fun while you're working towards and saving for your dream lifestyle? Why not pull out some of those toys that you worked so hard to acquire (and loved so much at one time) and play with them?

Bikes in the garage? Take a ride with someone you love, bring a picnic (and your Red Book?!). Roller blades, skates, skis, balls, rackets, the list of outdoor entertainment toys goes on and on. What about indoor entertainment? We've rediscovered games. You know, games, where you spend an evening competing with live people perhaps over a nice glass of wine? Live somewhere beautiful and have the gear to get out and enjoy it (sneakers, hiking boots)? How many 'learn a language' CDs do you have hanging around? What other skills have you really wanted to learn, an instrument, a craft, an art? Are the 'toys' for doing those things sitting right in your house?

We've made a conscious effort to avoid buying new toys and to play with what we have. We loved the things we bought when we bought them so where did that enthusiasm go and how could we bring it back? What we found is if we removed the distraction and pursuit of the next toy, often that love and enthusiasm for what we have comes rushing right back! The result, Steve and I are both learning to play music, the sax and the guitar, and we listen to the music we have. In the evenings, we, our family and our friends talk, laugh and vigourously compete to win at games which have been sitting on the shelf for years. I've made both practical and nice things for us to use on the boat. We love having our family and friends over for 'themed' dinners - Italian, American, French. We're swimming and snorkling, and the Italian lessons will be underway any minute. We've learned how to sail, how to live on a boat, and tons about weather and nature.

It's funny, but we often buy our toys because they're part of our dreams - how many of those dreams do you already have?

Wishing Away the Present

This isn't just about waiting to go sailing, it's about really enjoying what we're doing when we're doing it. Over the next year, we'll get ready to go and do a lot of planning and preparation for the sailing trip - but we'll do a lot of other good things too! We need to capture and enjoy the present, as well as looking forward to the future.

Weekend Recap – Thursday night in London with Steve, we went to the Cross Keys for dinner, ate in the restaurant rather than the pub, but had a really nice meal.

Friday Steve was up early to go to Newport and I took the 9:46 to Preston. The train was cancelled at Warrington due to a gas leak, but David was kind enough to come down and get me there rather than at Preston. Made it up to Highcroft in time for my conference call and there were chicken wings there! Steve made it up at around 8:30 and after the restaurant / eat in debate, we had a lovely leftover chicken cacciatore in the dining room.

Saturday we had breakfast at the market and then did the shopping. Went much smaller on the cheese so we wouldn't feel so bad about throwing it away. And finally found something that the market didn’t have, onion powder – although I think if we’d gone off our usual track we would have found some! Wrangled a trip to Clitheroe out of Steve to visit the great wine shop there and pick up a bottle of J. Lohr and a ‘spring case’. Steve headed off for a latte and I had a rummage around Dawsons, a house ‘stuff’ shop. Loads to look at and lots of things that don’t require power (very good for the boat). Found a yogurt maker so will be giving that a try next weekend before we cart it over to the US. Then back to the house for Steve’s nap while I tested out a new bread recipe (note to self, do not put lots of honey in a sweet roll, it boils over and makes a huge mess of the oven!).

While we were in Florence, we had the most amazing meal. Bissteccia ala Florentine is a t-bone steak, extra thick, for two – very tender and very tasty. I found a recipe online and we gave it a try. It was delicious and has definitely made the list!

On Sunday, after a wait for it to warm up a bit, we went for a motorbike ride. Over to Hurst Green, through Waddington and on up to Settle for a bite. Steve had a monstrous Cumberland sausage sandwich and although they weren’t serving breakfast, they were serving bacon and egg sandwiches! Nice leisurely ride back (more new roads), a bath and a nap for Steve. I worked on the Mom and Dad trip reservations, placed the Tesco order for next weekend, ordered a book, and surfed the sailing blogs. Steve made a wonderful red snapper with tomatoes, onions, peppers with mayo (who knew?) and creole seasoning cooked in tin foil for dinner. Enjoyed with a bottle of J. Lohr and lots of sailing talk.

Up at 4:30 Monday for my trip north to Glasgow and Steve’s trip south to London...