September 2010
3 posts
1 tag
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
– Mary Oliver (from her poem, “The Summer Day”)
1 tag
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of...”
– Helen Keller
1 tag
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; An optimist sees the...”
– Winston Churchill
August 2010
22 posts
1 tag
“There are no ordinary moments.”
– Dan Millman
1 tag
“op·ti·mism [op-tuh-miz-uhm] –noun
1. a disposition or tendency to look on the...”
– Dictionary.com
1 tag
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”
– Albert Einstein
1 tag
“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you...”
– Robert Fritz
1 tag
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the...”
– Andre Gide
Day 102: Reflection. What I have learned in 102...
As I neared “Day 100” of my travels, and every day since, I’ve been reflecting on my trip. And yesterday’s interview with the radio station made me wonder about what I’ve learned and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
So I decided to compile a list.
It’s not a complete list, it’s simply some of the things that immediately come to mind when I...
1 tag
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
– J.R.R. Tolkein (from “All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter”, a poem in The Lord of the Rings)
Day 101 - Mistakes...
It started with my desire to change the circumstances in my life and pursue some of the things I am most passionate about… photography, travel, adventure, and connecting with people.
I wanted to go on a personal journey.
At that time, it had nothing to do with trying to find an audience and appeal to others.
I just wanted to have an “experience”. Do something different....
1 tag
“Life isn’t about what happens to you, it’s about how you handle what...”
– Nicholas Evans (from “The Smoke Jumper”)
1 tag
“I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out...”
– Jack London
1 tag
Dear Reddit, I love you. I hate you.
Last night, Thursday, August 12, my friend Ryan posted a link on Reddit “My friend Zero (real name) sold all his stuff and has been living out of his car touring the US for the last three months spending almost nothing and meeting people and taking pictures.” and then emailed me to let me know that it was [at the time] the top topic on Reddit/Frugal.
I woke up this morning (Friday...
2 tags
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us...”
– Randy Pausch (from The Last Lecture)
2 tags
“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”
– Randy Pausch (from The Last Lecture)
2 tags
Day 95 - Pop quiz hotshot. You're dying...
What do you do? What do you do?
Remember that day, south of Yellowstone National Park, when I bathed in the frigid Snake River?
I got a nose-bleed.
I don’t ever get nose-bleeds.
In fact, that may have been my first one ever (because I don’t remember the last.)
And if you never get nose-bleeds, I can almost guarantee that at least one of the thoughts that runs through your mind,...
Day 93 - The Zero Dean experience...It's a love...
…or it’s an adventure (or a “love adventure”?) Or perhaps it’s a comedy? A dramedy? An inspirational story? A tragedy?
The truth is, it could be any one (or more) of these things.
And that’s why when people ask, “How is it going?” or “When are you going to stop?”, I don’t have an answer…yet.
Because I’m somewhere in a...
“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.”
– John Maxwell
5 tags
Day 90 - Gut feelings.
I’m writing this from a Panera Bread in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not Chicago.
What?
Yeah, exactly. I’m surprised, too.
I arrived in Indianapolis (or to be more specific, a suburb north of the city) yesterday afternoon (after leaving Chicago in the morning.)
For those who have been following my google map, Indianapolis wasn’t even in my path of travel (and as of this writing,...
1 tag
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to...”
– Bill Cosby
1 tag
Day 87
Cities make me anxious.
And I’m in one.
Chicago.
I arrived here last night from Madison, Wisconsin.
I should clarify. It’s mainly cities I’m unfamiliar with that make me anxious (I don’t walk around in a perpetual state of nervousness in cities.) After a few days (sometimes weeks) of living in one, the anxiety fades and I feel more comfortable.
I should also point out,...
July 2010
45 posts
3 tags
Day 85 - Christmas in July.
So in some strange ironic twist, I find myself in Dubuque, Iowa this morning. Home of the final destination of RAGBRAI.
What is RAGBRAI?
“RAGBRAI is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. Heading into its 38th year, RAGBRAI is the oldest, largest and longest bicycle touring event in the world.”
Why is finding myself in Dubuque, Iowa, the final destination on the final...
1 tag
“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that...”
– Bruce Barton
2 tags
“MASTER THE ART OF LIVING
The person who is a master in the art of living makes...”
– From the Zen Buddhist text
3 tags
Day 83 - So I'm sitting with Nathan Fillion when...
I’m in a luxurious hotel lobby sitting on a leather couch. It’s about 5 in the morning.
And I talking to Nathan Fillion. Cool guy.
I’ve been talking to him for a few minutes, but he’s not really getting my whole “Zero Dean Experience” spiel. I was bold enough to get his attention, but he’s discovered that I’m not a part of the Hollywood machine,...
1 tag
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to...”
– Alan Cohen
7 tags
Day 82 - How my life has changed now that I'm a TV...
First, I’d like to thank the Academy… it’s the Academy, right? Or is it those Emmy people? Tony? Man, I should’ve written this down… I didn’t think I would win!
And I promised myself I wouldn’t cry… wait, Mom, is that a tear? You know if you cry it’s going to make me cry!
Deep breath… I can do this!
Anyway, things are way different now...
2 tags
Day 80 - Inspiration strikes. What does it mean?...
It’s always funny when and how inspiration strikes.
Here I am driving across the country and minding my own business… thinking my usual, “what the heck am I doing?” thoughts and the endless expanse of flat land confronts me…when suddenly I’m struck with an idea.
Actually, “Idea 2.0”. It’s really an evolution of an idea I previously had, but...
2 tags
Day 77 - Dating on the road. Can it be done?
There’s a funny thing that happened before I left on my journey… my six month membership to Match.com automatically renewed.
*Gasp!* Online dating! SHOCKER. Whatever.
If you’ve never tried it, don’t knock it. It works. And it works well. Especially for those of us (men) who have worked in careers that are 1. Male dominated (like 99%) and 2. Careers that keep you tied up...
Day 76 - Let me remind you.
Have you ever thought, “There has to be more to life than this”? or wished you had the courage to take that leap to pursue the things you’re most passionate about…even if succeeding at any one of them seemed impossible?
I have.
And if you thought those things, did you ever wonder about what you’d have to sacrifice or how far you’d be willing to go to take that...
Day 75 - "I don't feel very inspiring." said the...
I’m writing this from a Starbucks in Gillette, Wyoming. I arrived in Gillette last night around 7:30pm to an “electric” atmosphere.
No, it’s not that kind of place.
What I mean is that I arrived in the middle of a lightning storm. And I found myself perfectly content to simply sit in my car and watch the sky (I move around so much, sometimes it’s nice to sit still...
Questions about any aspect of my trip?
Ask me here & I’ll podcast the answers. http://blog.zerodean.com/ask
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
5 tags
Day 73
I’m writing this from Borders books in Billings, Montana. It’s just about 5:30pm now. I’ve been here since just after 9am. I arrived in Billings last night at around 10pm, traveling more than 500 miles to get here. (Which I think is an “adventure” record for “most miles [Zero] traveled in a single day”.) I didn’t plan it, though. So it’s been...
1 tag
“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.”
– William B. Sprague
1 tag
Day 70
I’m writing this from the campground facilities parking lot in Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park.
My plan was to stop by for a hot $2 shower, but the shower facilities are closed between 1:30 and 3:00pm, so I figured this would be as good a time as any to post another update.
My laptop is currently running on my reserve battery, so this entry is going to be a bit rushed, like the...
1 tag
“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be...”
– Samuel Johnson
Day 68
I’m writing this from within my car while parked in the lot of the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center.
After waking up in the Gravel Creek Campground (within the Caribou National Forest) in Idaho, I made my way to Freedom, Wyoming (yes, I found freedom!) where I stopped to take a few snapshots before continuing my journey north.
Without a shower in site, and as the road...
1 tag
“When the best things are not possible, the best may be made of those that are.”
– Richard Hooker
Day 66
After a nice shower at 24 Hour Fitness, I spent a couple hours at Barnes & Noble in Orem, Utah before continuing my journey north.
I drove roughly 90 miles to Ogden and visited the Eccles Dinosaur Park (which I discovered on Atlas Obscura). Had a pretty fun time wandering around the little park for an hour or so snapping creative self-portraits (such as the one below).
I had to backtrack a...
4 tags
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
4 tags
