Posts by Ryan Murdock
My Perfect Day
My perfect day begins when I wake up late and hit snooze. I stayed up late the night before, drinking a glass of wine or a whiskey and looking at maps, and I just don’t feel like rolling out of bed yet. When I finally do wake up, I’m a bit behind, so I grab…
Read MoreNever Take a Vacation Again
“You lucky jerk — you must go swimming all the time!” “Well, that would be nice, but…” “What do you mean? How many times did you go this year? Be honest, I won’t get too jealous.” “I think two…” “But the beach is 5 minutes from your place! What the heck is wrong with you?” I…
Read MoreTake The Path of Experience
During my time in Central America — on the trip that would become my book Vagabond Dreams — I pondered one important question: how to turn living into something more than just existing. Time is our worst enemy. Youth seldom considers time; it seems so endless. But youth is characterized by hopes and dreams, and old age…
Read MoreLifestyle Advice for Those Over 30
The source of this lifestyle information might strike you as odd. It all started when one morning while I was listening to a lecture on Natural Selection. The speaker reminded me of a quote I’d like to share with you. It’s taken from a letter that Charles Darwin — the Father of Evolution — wrote at the end…
Read MoreHow to Finish a Stalled Project (Even a Book!)
It’s funny how so many great projects are sparked by the need to impress a girl… When I was 28 I was living in Ottawa, and I had a beautiful girlfriend who I was very serious about. She was a foreign student who came to my university from Japan, and we were in the same…
Read MoreMy Greatest Lessons About Freedom Came From This Book
The belief that governments perform socially useful functions which deserve your support is a trap. The belief that you must obey a moral code created by someone else is a trap. And the belief that your rights will make you free is a trap. Whether or not you agree with these opinions, I bet they…
Read MoreHow to Find the Courage to Take that First Step
It was 9:30am on a Wednesday. And I was sitting in a bathroom stall in an office building in Ottawa writing Communist slogans on the toilet paper. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a Communist by any possible stretch of the imagination. I was doing this in an effort to stay sane. Working as a…
Read MoreHow to Travel Like a Pro
You’ve spent fifteen long years saving for that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe. You dreamed about it. You talked about it. And you finally flew over and lived it — only to be left thinking, “Was that it?” Or maybe you’re a frequent business traveler, and despite the many exotic cities you have visited, all you’ve…
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