To Participate In The Following Field Trip On This Date Solo & Ensemble Festival: Fill & Download for Free

The worst day of my life was the one that dashed my hope of finding my dad alive in the Sierra Nevada Mountains after he'd been missing for three weeks on a solo backpacking trip.On July 22nd, 1991 a backwoods fisherman – also on a solo trip in this extremely remote area of Inyo National Forest 200 miles southeast of Yosemite – found my dad's remains in a treacherous stretch of the Kern River aptly named Hell's Hole. His adventure was cut short, too, as he tied up his kayak and hiked 12 hours to a ranger station to alert the local search and rescue team and then lead them back to the precise location.The tragedy was nearly compounded when the helicopter used to recover my dad's body almost crashed while trying to hover over the location and allow the recovery team to rappel down the cliff to the river.This was not the ending I had anticipated when my aunt and I flew from Chicago to Reno, NV and drove to Bishop, CA to find out where my dad was and why no one had heard from him since June.Topographic image of Hell's Hole in the Golden Trout Wilderness, Tulare County, CA. Between each of the dark brown lines is 400 feet of elevation change.In 1991 email was still a few years away from being commonplace, and my dad didn't have an answering machine, so when I called him on July 13th (as we had arranged in our final conversation a few weeks prior), I just assumed I had missed him. A few days later I spoke to one of my aunts and she mentioned that she hadn't spoken to him since the end of June. We agreed he must have spoken to my grandmother because he always called her before and after his major backpacking trips. My aunt called back the next day to say that no one in the family had spoken to him for three weeks.I had just graduated from UCLA on June 15th, and a few days after the ceremony at Arthur Ashe Stadium my dad, my grandmother and I took a weeklong cruise from Vancouver to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. He was really excited about the two-week "Search for 1,000 Species" trip he had planned with a group in Yosemite at the end of July. He had brought the itinerary to show us how they would bisect the park, learning about its flora and fauna. Fortunately, he had also mailed the itinerary to his sister, and it had the phone number of the organization leading the trip. Thus began three days of phone calls to California trying to track him down.My college graduation brunch at Beau Rivage in Malibu. My dad is holding a copy of Polonius' speech to his son Laertes from "Hamlet", which he read to me. Polonius is killed shortly after giving his son parting advice, including "neither a lender nor a borrower be", "to thine own self be true", and my favorite, "those friends thou hast and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel". I've violated the first two many times and suffered for it, but the last has proven my saving grace.I'm named after my dad, so when I called the backpacking company running the Yosemite trip and told them my name, the woman on the phone said, "Oh, John! Good to hear from you. We were surprised when you didn't make it to the start of the trip.""Oh, shit," I said and explained the reason for my call. The woman said that there was a second meeting place where several other participants were scheduled to join the trip in progress the next day. So maybe he'd gotten delayed and would show up there."I'm sorry," she said when I called back the next day, and she asked me to let them know he was OK when we reached him.My dad was well aware of the dangers of hiking and camping in very remote areas. A few years before this he broke his leg and spent 18 hours hobbling out to civilization, and on another trip he carried to safety a man who had a heart attack on the trail. He encountered wildlife on a regular basis and wrote a hilarious account of the time he witnessed a bear cub inadvertently run into the path of a huge black bear that wasn't happy about being surprised. My dad told me that experienced mountaineers understand that they are no match for the power and vagaries of nature, and that a freak storm has hastened the end of many an expert outdoorsman.These were risks he was clearly willing to take, and I think this quote by John Muir (one of his favorite writers) captures at least part of the reason:"Few places in this world are more dangerous than home. Fear not, therefore, to try the mountain passes. They will kill care, save you from deadly apathy, set you free, and call forth every faculty into vigorous, enthusiastic action.”My dad certainly endeavored to bring his considerable faculties into vigorous, enthusiastic action.A commodities trader in Chicago when I was a kid, Dad would take my brother and me on an annual trip to see him in action in the open-cry "pits", where dozens of intense men (as virtually all were) would yell out prices for things like pork bellies and bushels of "December wheat", make hand gestures resembling gang signs, and scribble their trades on thick cards bearing their badge letters.Three years after my parents' divorce in 1984 my dad moved to Los Angeles and quickly became an avid naturalist. Two years later he moved to Bishop, a town of 3,800 in the eastern Sierras 200 miles northwest of Las Vegas, in order to spend more time hiking and less driving.Mt. Tom, the peak nearest Bishop, CA. My dad had a view of this from his kitchen window. Not to shabby for a $400/month apartment above a garage.After learning that my dad hadn't made it to the Yosemite trip, I called the Bishop police department and they sent an officer over to his apartment to see whether anyone was home. He wasn't and his car was gone, so they asked for his license plate number to add to the missing person's filing. I just happened to have a photograph with the license plate handy. The last time I'd seen my dad we had met in Santa Monica for breakfast at our favorite diner (where the waitresses all still knew him by name and teased him about leaving them for "a bunch of rocks in Bishop"). I had a few shots left in a Kodak Star 110 whose film I wanted to get developed, so I had snapped a picture of him standing next to his red Suzuki Samurai.After 24 hours of the California Highway Patrol not turning up any leads and my having called every single ranger station in California, we knew it was time to go west and find him. The optimist that I am, I pictured myself in a search and rescue helicopter spotting him and helping evacuate him to a hospital where he'd recuperate from whatever injury had kept him from making it out. Another close call but a great story we’d all tell for years at family gatherings.How off base I was. First, we had no idea where my dad had gone on the solo trip prior to Yosemite. He took most of his trips in California – about half the time with a group and the balance alone – but also took trips to Nevada and had completed a 7-day outdoor survival skills course in Boulder, Utah. This course included taking grueling, surprise 4-hour hikes starting at 2am (which in the retelling sounded more like forced marches to me, replete with him vomiting from exhaustion but insisting on completing the exercise), eating grubs (no, not "grub" – grubs, the thick, worm-like larva of certain beetles and other insects) and learning to start a campfire with a bow fire drill, as the Iroquois did. My dad's characteristic persistence in learning this last skill earned him the nickname "5 Days", the amount of time it took him to master it.Part of the bow drill my dad made. I always thought that he spun the stick between his palms, but a quick search today turned up the link below that shows how it really works – and explains the piece of rope I found with it.But never mind the roughly 360,000 square-mile tri-state area he'd been known to frequent. Even once we got into his apartment and found a line at the bottom of his exercise schedule that read "June 29 - to Blackrock" and narrowed it down from several possibilities to the Blackrock Trailhead in the Golden Trout Wilderness in Inyo, it could have taken weeks of searching to find him in just the few square miles he might have hiked through. (I'm leaving out a lot of frustrating details to focus on the highlights. For example, getting into my dad's apartment to look for clues to his destination wasn't easy, as between the time I called from Chicago and when we arrived in Bishop, his landlord had a change of heart regarding protecting my dad's privacy.)The sheriff hadn't taken the time to explain the realties of a search effort when we first met with him. Or perhaps he was just trying to be encouraging to a son and sister of someone he knew from experience was most likely long gone and might never be found. He said, "As soon as we have an idea where he is I'll mobilize the search and rescue team." But my mind was not receptive to anything other than the outcome I'd envisioned. When the sheriff then asked whether we had access to any of my dad's dental records, my aunt said she'd call and get copies of his x-rays. The need for this went completely over my head.The reality is that had the fisherman not stopped where he did when he did, we never would have found my dad and that would have been immeasurably worse. I am very grateful for knowing, but I’ve also wrestled for years with my dad’s need to take such risks. But that is a topic for another day.Aerial view of the Kern River at Hell's HoleSo when we found that note indicating where my dad had gone, I said to the sheriff, "OK, let's go find him." He replied that he couldn't send a team out in the dark and said the best thing to do was to get some sleep and head down to that area first thing in the morning. It took me hours to fall asleep because I kept picturing my dad stranded somewhere in the wilderness, wondering whether anyone would ever find him.We got up at 6am and drove about 3 hours down to Inyo National Forest. We didn't have a cell phone back then, and I put several hundred dollars on a calling card that week calling from pay phones to update our family back in Chicago and trying to coordinate with my younger brother, who was in LA looking to find a bus to meet up with us. I called the sheriff in Bishop to check in and he reported the second major break in the case: my dad's car had been located, and it was in fact at the trailhead we had deduced from the note. He gave us the name of a forest ranger station to go to for more information.Back into the car and another few hours of driving. Mountain switchbacks in the Sierras offer breathtaking views of beautiful scenery, but they get tiresome when you're on a mission like this.As we pulled into the ranger station I had a deep sense of foreboding. I had been thinking about how injured he must have been to not be able to make it out. Was he not able to walk at all? Had he suffered a fall? My dad was decidedly not one to climb peaks ("I collect memories, not patches," he said), instead preferring long hikes and overnight camping in really remote areas with beautiful scenery and opportunities to practice his aboriginal tool making, animal tracking and wildflower identification skills. However, I'd had a dream a few weeks before that he had jumped off a cliff and committed suicide, so I think that was starting to seep into my awareness, even though I had dismissed it at the time as akin to other fanciful dreams.Kennedy Meadows. My dad began his last hike about a mile from here, and I took this photo in 2006 on the 15th anniversary of his accident. Notice the wildflowers in the foreground. My dad loved to catalog them, and the sheriff who led the recovery said that the flowers in the area where he was hiking when he fell were reputed to be amazing (not many people made it back there, for obvious reasons). The location where they found him was right in the middle of two trail ends along the Kern River. They end because the canyon walls are so steep. We assume my dad had climbed up to cross over from one to the other. How and why he fell remains a mystery.When we walked into the ranger station I saw a female park ranger at the desk and it was clear that she'd been crying. This was not a good sign, and I felt my chest constricting. Thus, too, began a phenomenon I was to experience a lot in the coming months: first accessing my tragedy through other people's expressions of how it affected them. Clearly, it was too overwhelming to truly and fully feel it myself at the time, and even 22 years later I'm still working through it (which is my primary reason for writing this; the other being the potential to help someone else make some sense of their own grief).This vicarious processing was most cathartic when friends and family told me how they missed my dad and the ways his death touched them personally. Of course my dad's family was devastated, and we spent a lot of time bonding over this. My dad's youngest sister was the one with me on the search mission, his middle sister went with me to pack up his apartment after the funeral, and his oldest sister accompanied me on an ill-fated and semi-dangerous but ultimately very funny attempt to retrace some of my dad's last hike (also a story for another day).But seeing my mom's parents – who had known my dad since he was 17, thrown a shotgun wedding at their house three years later (they were old school: not pleased yet highly pragmatic), watched him struggle to support our family and try to measure up to both his father's and father-in-law's stellar (and very public) career successes, and indeed still loved him like a son in spite of my parents' divorce – seeing their grief at my dad's death was incredibly moving and, in this odd way, comforting.Two of my heroes: my grandfather and my dad in the '70sThe ranger had been anticipating our arrival and told me that the local sheriff asked that I call him when we arrived. She got him on the phone and he told me that a fisherman coming down the Kern River had reported finding a body."What do you mean, 'a body'?" I asked. He said that it appeared to be the remains of a hiker with a large backpack, but the fisherman was leading the search and rescue team back to the site so they could extract the person and bring him to the coroner's office for identification. He asked us to drive to Porterville (a town on the western side of the mountain range, about 50 miles north of Bakersfield) and hopefully they'd have more information by the time we got there.I remember staring up at the beams in the ceiling of the ranger station and thinking, "This can't be Dad he's talking about; it must be someone else." I'd read about tragedies like this, and my family had been through some rough times, but this just wasn't the kind of thing that happened to me.Needless to say, it was a long drive to Porterville, and my aunt and I tried to keep each other's spirits up by reasoning that there were probably hundreds of hikers in this area and it could very well be someone else. We agreed later that neither of us would have made it through that day alone, and we're forever bonded by the searing experience.Still, odd thoughts kept popping into my head, such as: if my dad is in fact dead, am I supposed to drop the suffix from my name and use his? My brother later reported being compelled to get some new socks while he was waiting to hear the outcome, because the last time he'd seen him Dad had said his socks were ratty. (Which brings up another aspect to all this that I won't go into here: the immediate aftermath of my dad's death and the long-term ramifications, including my consciously but unsuccessfully trying to avoid taking my dad's place in caring for my brother, who around this time began exhibiting behavior that many years later was finally diagnosed as schizophrenia and treated.)The other aspect looming in the background for my family during these awful few days was that this was not the first tragic loss of a young man – my dad was 43, younger than I am today – our family suffered to the mountains of California.My dad's oldest brother was 21 when the Marine helicopter he was riding in hit a power wire apparently not shown on the map the crew was using and crashed. I first learned who JFK was when I was about six, from reading a framed letter that hung on the wall in my grandfather's study: the President offering condolences to my grandparents on their loss and thanking them for their son's service to his country.Portrait of my dad's brother Joel in his Marine dress uniform.Joel was a larger-than-life figure in our family, a legend whom my cousins and I grew up knowing only through tales of his many and varied exploits, such as his gymnastics championships and ability to walk up a flight of stairs on his hands, his piloting of fighter jets on the West Coast, and his charms with the ladies (as one example, he went to high school with the actress Ann-Margaret and dated her as she began her Hollywood career).Joel's death was evidently felt beyond our family, as well. My cousin recently ran into Brian Doyle-Murray at a golf club, and having heard family stories of our dads growing up with Brian and Bill in Kenilworth, IL, introduced himself. (The inspiration for the movie "Caddyshack" was Indian Hill Country Club, where the Murray brothers, Harold Ramis and my dad and his brothers caddied as teenagers.) Nearly fifty years later, Brian was still moved by my uncle's tragedy and told my cousin that he had named his son after Joel.My dad was 15 when Joel was killed, and a cadet at Culver Military Academy, a boarding school in Indiana. Whenever he spoke about his brother it was in reverential tones; clearly this was a devastating loss for him and for the family.But Joel's untimely death wasn't the first either. It followed by about two years a cousin, Barry, being killed in a Navy plane crash – also in the mountains. Just before leaving on our trip to Alaska that June, my dad, my grandmother and I had lunch with Barry's widow, whom my grandmother had kept in touch with through the years. She spoke about her husband as if he'd only been gone a few months, and it was an incredibly poignant meeting.I love the Golden State and the Sierra Nevadas are incredibly beautiful, but they clearly appear to have it in for Packels who take the road less traveled.It was about 10pm by the time my aunt and I got to Porterville. When we called the coroner's office they said the team had recovered the body but were still in transit. We checked into a motel then went to a diner and tried to eat but couldn't. Back at the motel, the phone rang at 11:45 and I answered a call from the coroner.He said he was sorry to inform me that a backpack was strapped to the hiker's remains and it had my dad's name in it.I fell to my knees and my gut seized up as the tears began to pour.Me looking down toward Hell's Hole at the end of a 3-day trip in 2006 to retrace my dad's last steps. It was my third attempt to do so and I learned from the previous aborted trips to do it right by hiring an experienced guide this time.Related links:The search & rescue team that recovered my dad. In lieu of flowers at his funeral we asked for donations and raised $15,000, which we split between this SAR and the Yosemite Fund. (But we got a lot of flowers, too.)Tulare County Sheriff's Department Search & RescueBlackrock Trailhead, where he parked his car and started his final hikeInyo National ForestBlackrock topo mapPage on TrailsFlora & Fauna | Yosemite | Oh, Ranger!Fire starting with a Fire DrillA course similar to the one of the many my dad took7-Day Field Course | Boulder Outdoor Survival School | BOSSI'm not positive, but this looks a lot like the road along 9 Mile Creek that you drive from CA 395 to get up to Blackrock.Driving in the Eastern Sierras

25 Most Beautiful Places in the World (source:www.travelbhai.co.in)Most beautiful places in the world include international destinations like Greece, Croatia, Chile and Italy, as well as U.S. places such as Colorado, Washington, South Carolina and many other states. Visitors get to choose among spectacular mountain ranges, sparkling emerald lakes, thundering waterfalls, dreamy ancient towns perched on high cliffs, and parks that attract millions of people from all over the world. Photo: Andrey Armyagov/Fotolia» Maroon Bells, USALocated only about 10 miles from Aspen, Colorado, the Maroon Bellsare two 14,000-foot peaks in the Elk Mountains that are reflected in crystal-clear Maroon Lake, snuggled in a glacial valley. They are the crown jewels of the Rocky Mountains and by far one of the most photographed scenes in the country.It is difficult to say when the timeless beauty of these two sentinels mirrored in the lake is more striking: In the summer, when every hiking trail takes you through fields of wild flowers, in the fall, when tall aspen trees dazzle with a rainbow of fall colors, or in the winter, when snow and ice silence the world. The best photo opportunities are from one of the many hiking trails – access by motor vehicles is limited. The lake is popular among fly-fishermen – even if they don’t catch anything, the beauty all around them is enough. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: nature guy/Fotolia» Grand Canyon, USAThe Grand Canyon is a steep, 1-mile-deep, and up to 18-mile-wide gash in the fabric of the world, an immense gorge carved by the Colorado River over the last 5,000 years. Its sheer size is breathtaking and although you can see only a small portion of it even from the best vantage point, its geology and its age fire the imagination. The layers of colorful rock show the passage of time and some of the rocks at the bottom are 1,8 billion years old.There is a lot of life growing on the canyon’s steep sides – you can see more of it hiking the trails of the northern rim, where it is also less crowded. Most people limit their visit to the breathtaking views from the southern rim. Some of the most popular viewpoints are Yavapai Observation Station, Mary Colter’s Lookout Studio, and Mather Point.25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Bon/Fotolia» Blue Ridge Mountains, USALocated in the eastern United States and part of the massive Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Mountains stretch from their southernmost end in Georgia all the way northward to Pennsylvania. Between the Blue Ridge and the rest of the Appalachians lies the Great Appalachian Valley. When seen from a distance, the Blue Ridge Mountains appear blue – the trees that release a gas called isoprene are responsible for the bluish color and thus the mountains’ name.Within the Blue Ridge Mountains are two large national parks: The Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains. The best way to enjoy and get to know Blue Ridge is by taking the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile-long beautiful scenic highway that runs along the ridge together with the renowned Appalachian Trail and which connects the two parks. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Phils Photography/Fotolia» Beautiful Places: Oia, Santorini, GreeceLocated on top of a cliff with a spectacular view of the Palea volcano, Nea Kameni, and the island of Thirassia, Oia is the most popular and arguably the most beautiful of all the picturesque villages of the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. Only about 11 km from Fira, on the north of the island, Oia will charm you with its traditional stone houses lining the narrow streets, breathtaking blue-domed churches, and sunbaked verandas.While the village has its share of taverns, souvenir shops, and cafes, Oia is more quiet and laid-back than busy Fira and most people enjoy its quaint beauty by slowly exploring its narrow streets. Stroll through the village’s small port of Ammoudi by descending 300 steps down the cliff, or enjoy colorful galleries showcasing art from the many artists who fell in love with the village and made it their home. Oia, Santorini is considered by many one of the prettiest places in the world. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Photocreo Bednarek/FotoliaYou are reading "25 Most Beautiful Places in the World Today" Back to Top or Closest Weekend Vacations with Kids, Trip finder, Getaways near me & Scenic places near me» Most beautiful places on Earth: Plitvice Lakes, CroatiaLocated about halfway between the Croatian capital Zagreb and Zadar on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, Plitvice Lakes are a magical world of living, moving water surrounded by ancient forests, 16 lakes linked by waterfalls, bridges natural and man-made, and 300 square kilometers of wild beauty full of bears, wolves, boars, and birds.The difference in altitude between 1,280 meters at the highest point and 280 meters at the lowest creates a seemingly endless number of falls, big and small, that permanently fill the air with spray and fog. Wooden and natural walkways and hiking trails spin around and across the lake and a ferry on Lake Kozjak shuttles people between the upper and lower lakes. The lakes are beautiful all year round, but especially when mirroring magical fall colors or the lacy frozen branches of the surrounding trees. Next read: Croatia Attractions 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: twin designer/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or More Famous Landmarks, Restaurants, Bars, Cafes, Food near me, Activities, Fall Honeymoon, Downtown Wedding Venues»Interesting Places to Visit: Salar de Uyuni, BoliviaSalar de Uyuni, located high up in the Andes in southwest Bolivia at an altitude of 11,995 feet, is the largest salt flat in the world, covering over 4,086 square miles. It was once a prehistoric lake that dried up, leaving behind 11,000 square kilometers of otherworldly desert-like landscape made up of sparkling bright white salt, bizarre rock formations, and strange cacti-covered islands. The best spot to observe this surreal landscape is central Incahuasi Island.There is not much wildlife in this fairly barren ecosystem, except for about 80 species of birds and the thousands of pink flamingos that come in November. The salt crust, between 7 and 66 feet deep, covers a sea of brine. The salt is very rich in lithium, accounting for up to 70 percent of the world’s reserves of the mineral. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Karol Kozlowski/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World Cool Points of Interest" Back to Top or Best Towns and Historic Cities for Travel, Popular day trip ideas, Farmers Markets, Places to eat near me, Living & Vacation DealsWeekend Getaways, Attractions, Beaches and Free things to do near me:Tennessee Vacations, Weekend Getaways in California, DC, getaways from Seattle, San Diego, Nashville»Sossusvlei, NamibiaLocated in the Namibian Namib-Naukluft National Park in the southern part of the vast Namib Desert, Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by immense red dunes. Sossusvlei, loosely translated as “dead-end marsh” and about 60 km from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, is where the dunes stop the water of the Tsauchab River from flowing any further; if there were any waters that is, something which happens very rarely.Most of the time the pan, just like the rest of the Namib Desert, is bone dry for years. But in those years when the rains are exceptionally rich and the pan is filled with water, there is reason for celebration and photographers from all over the world come to see this magnificent spectacle: The immense red dunes, among the largest in the world, are reflected in a lake that lasts for no more than a year. While many plants and animals have adapted to the harsh conditions of Sossusvlei all year round, when the waters come thousands of birds flock to the marshy coast. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: tiagofernandez/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or More Family Weekend Trips, Excursions, Nearby Restaurants, Cool Vacation Spots & Fall Destination FactsRomantic Getaway, Places to Visit, things to do with kids near me & beaches near me: From Boston, UT, Texas places, WV, MS, PA Must See, WI, CT, ME»Torres del Paine National Park, ChileAt the southern tip of the Andes in Chile’s Patagonia lies Torres del Paine National Park, a place with more than its fair share of nature’s majesty: It has soaring mountains, cold blue icebergs cleaving from ancient glaciers, bottomless lakes, spectacular geological formations, narrow fjords, deep rivers, ancient forests, and endless golden pampas covered with wild flowers and providing home to such rare wildlife as pumas and the llama-like guanacos.The best way to see Torres del Paine is on foot following one of many famous tracks, but if you have to limit yourself to just a few iconic sites, visit the three majestic granite towers, or torres del paine, Los Cuernos, Grey Glacier, and French Valley.25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: brizardh/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World this Weekend with Friends" Back to Top or Romantic Places to live, September Last Minute Travel, Beach Vacations, Photos and Map of Conference & Wedding Destinations near my locationFun Romantic Weekend Getaways, Beach Resorts, Wedding Venues & Free things to do near me: romantic VA, OR, Couples, ME, getaways from Houston, Cleveland, Pink Sand, CO, Houston»Exciting Places to Visit: Victoria Falls, Zambia/ZimbabweVictoria Falls, aptly named Mosi-oa-Tunya – the Smoke that Thunders – by locals is a breathtaking spectacle of incomparable beauty and majesty. The largest water curtain in the world, this enormous waterfall on the Zambezi River on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe can be heard from 40 kilometers away, as the waters of the normally placid Zambezi river plummet over the edge of the wide basalt cliff into the magnificent gorge 100 meters below.The spray of the water can be seen from 50 km away as it rises 400 meters in the air, creating permanent clouds and endless rainbows. Across the falls is a basalt wall of the same height covered with dense jungle, offering magnificent views of the main falls and the number of continuous falls as the water zigzags through the series of gorges. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: ziggy/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World & Things to Do near Me Today" Back to Top or Best Restaurants near me, Images of Hotels, Discounts, Boutique Hotels, Inn & Bed and BreakfastsFamily vacation Spots near me, weather, Fun places near me & How far is: Palm Springs, St Augustine, Galena, Boise, Retreats, KY, FL, NY, NJ» Most Beautiful Places in the World: Moraine Lake, CanadaLocated in the remote Valley of the Ten Peaks in the Canadian Rockies, Moraine Lake is an emerald beauty, a small, cold glacier-fed jewel surrounded by towering mountains, immense waterfalls, and ancient rock piles, so beautiful it takes breath away. As the glaciers melt, the water in the lake rises and changes its color.It might take away some of its magic to know that the color is affected by the sediment brought by the glacial waters. The whole area is crossed by scenic hiking trails that offer different perspectives of the lake depending on your elevation or location. You can also enjoy its beauty from a kayak or canoe, or just by sitting on a rock at its bank. Take it all in, no photograph will ever give it justice. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Dan Breckwoldt/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World & Destinations this Weekend" Back to Topor Free Beaches near Me, Dog Friendly & Known for Attractions this month» Awesome Places to Visit: Lake Bled, SloveniaIf you glimpse Lake Bled in Slovenia from one of the distant mountaintops, you will be convinced that you are seeing some magical, lost fantasy world of dragons and knights: A vivid emerald green lake with a tiny island in the middle with a church perched on its cliff and an ancient medieval castle clinging to its slopes, hugged on all sides by enormous mountains, snow-topped and covered with dark, green, ancient forests.Lake Bled is just as beautiful as you get closer and is a popular Slovenian tourist destination that attracts those seeking romance on Bled Island, visitors enjoying a leisurely hike around the lake or rowing its placid waters, and young adventurers exploring the steep hiking trails of the surrounding Julian Alps and the Karavanke Mountains. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Kavita/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Romantic Wedding Ideas, Honeymoon, Anniversary Ideas, Getting Married & Romantic PlacesFun things to do near me now with friends, weather, beaches, cheap weekend Getaways: Australia, Key West, Maine lighthouses, Florida»Beautiful Places: Mauna Kea Beach, Hawaii, USAMauna Kea Beach is stunningly beautiful golden sand beach, one of the most beautiful of all the great beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii. Long and wide, the beach is fabulous for long walks but is even better for swimming as the sand slowly slopes out into the water, so entering it is easy even for children or beginners.You can keep wading for quite a while until you reach waist-deep water. Snorkeling is also popular, but only at the two extreme beach ends where the beach is guarded by natural rock promontories. Because the beach is connected to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, it is never crowded, although parking is limited. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: yuru photo/FotoliaVacations for Couples, Packages, Offers, Tours, Date Night Ideas around me, Pictures of Romantic Hotels, Fall vacations for seniors, Free things to do in February & Beaches near me: Best Romantic Getaways» Best places to visit in the world: Niagara FallsNiagara Falls are three massive waterfalls that form the border between Canada and the United States. The falls are located on the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The falls were formed at the end of the last ice age when the water from the Great Lakes broke through the Niagara Escarpment on the way to the Atlantic Ocean.The falls are a hugely popular tourist destination and have attracted honeymooners, families, and daredevils of all kinds, from those who went down the falls in a barrel to those who stretched a wire over the falls and walked across it. The falls have inspired hundreds of artists to create wonderful art and are still inspiring the millions of people who come to admire the majesty of nature as well as its power and its magnificent beauty. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: CPQ/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Places to Eat, Excursions, Bucket list, Fun & Cheap Weekend Getaways, What's near me» Famous Places to Visit: Yellowstone National Park, USAYellowstone National Park is the oldest national park in the world, consisting of 3,500 square miles of wild, untamed beauty left aside for the enjoyment of humankind, but also for its own protection. It is a recreation area that is spread across several states, from Wyoming to Idaho and Montana, featuring spectacular and diverse natural features – fast alpine rivers, a simmering volcano displaying its power in gushing geysers and hot springs, deep canyons, dense ancient forests, snow-covered mountaintops, breathtaking vistas, and magnificent trails.And among all that beauty there is a whole world that calls it home – bears, elk, wolves, bison, and antelopes. The park is much more than a place to come and have fun, it is a precious national treasure. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Brad Pict/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World for Seniors, Locals & Tourists - Essential Restaurants, Favorite Wedding Venues & Hotels" Back to Top or Beautiful places near me, Travel guide & More Pictures of Fun Vacation Spots»Most Beautiful Places in the World: Arches National Park, USAAt an altitude of over 5,000 feet in the high desert of eastern Utah is Arches National Park, a magical place of red rocks and blue skies. It is what we imagine the surface of Mars to look like, with more than 2,000 rocks in vivid reds and muted buffs precariously piled up on top of each other to form delicate bridges, pinnacles, and arches. The park stretches over 76,679 acres across the Colorado Plateau, with the Colorado River bordering it to the southeast.The strange landscape is mostly the result of the salt composition of the underlying soil, the effects of pressure from the sediments, and the relentless work of wind and water. The best way to see the park is by following one of the many trails, which range from really difficult hikes to easy ones suitable for families. There is a ranger program that offers guided tours, imparting riches of information about the geology, history, and flora and fauna of this magnificent world.Next read: Mount Roraima, Lake Hillier, High Line 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Zack Frank/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Essential Conference Venues & Places to Get Married, Where is the Closest Great Place to Elope» Famous Places to Visit: Amalfi Coast, ItalyThe Amalfi Coast is an extravagantly beautiful stretch of rugged coast in Campania, Italy, at the edge of the Sorrentine Peninsula. For about 50 kilometers, the coast looks like something a romantic artist might have conjured – sheer cliffs plunging into the azure sea, tiny golden beaches hidden in secluded coves, pastel sun-washed villages hugging the steep slopes of Mount Ravello, and fragrant orange groves competing for attention with ancient vineyards.You can take a typical Mediterranean coastal road between the port of Salerno, famous Positano and Amalfi, and lovely Sorrento perched on the clifftop to enjoy the landscape in all its majesty, or you can take one of the many hiking trails that will take you past old villages, offer spectacular views, and introduce you to some fantastic quaint local restaurants and tavernas. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: dudlajzov/FotoliaYou are reading "25 Most Beautiful Places in the World with Kids" Back to Top or Closest places near me, Threeday weekend, Solo travel, National parks, Day trip, Travel inspiration»Places to Visit with Kids: Apenzell, SwitzerlandApenzell is the most traditional of all the Swiss regions, a rural world where time has stopped, where culture and tradition are celebrated, and where the charming landscape of rolling green hills full of plump cows is guarded by the 8,200-foot Mount Säntis.The village of Apenzell is the Switzerland of our imagination and in the fairytales of our childhood, with its lavishly carved chalets, carriages drawn by horses in full feathered headdresses, a busy village square where all the village business is conducted, richly painted emblems and panels on all of Appenzell’s buildings, and gnomes competing for space with flower boxes dripping with vivid red geraniums. There is always a festival going on, or a concert, wedding, or celebration in which everyone participates, and there are seemingly endless hiking trails that turn into magical cross-country trails when the winter throws its white blanket over everything. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: buehli9/FotoliaFun places to visit, events, facts, tours, all inclusive & photos of fun things to do near me last minute: Great Attractions near my location & Free Activities»Best places to visit in the world: Blue Lagoon, IcelandThe Blue Lagoon is a rare geothermal spa in Iceland located between Reykjavik and Keflavik International Airport in the heart of a lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Even for Iceland, which is famous for its strange and curious landscapes, the Blue Lagoon, with its milky-white quiet waters, is a bizarre sight. The lagoon is man-made and fed by water from the Svartsengi, a nearby geothermal power plant.Actually, the water that comes to the spa has a few jobs to do before being used for beauty and relaxation: superheated water is channeled from underground near a lava flow and is then used to run turbines and generate electricity. After passing through the turbines, the hot water and steam pass through a heat exchanger and provide hot water for a city water heating system. Only then is the water fed into the lagoon for medicinal and recreational purposes. The warm waters in the lagoon are rich in silica, sulfur, and other minerals and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is considered beneficial for certain skin conditions. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: planet johnson/FotoliaYou are reading "25 Most Beautiful Places in the World this Weekend" Back to Top or More Unique Family Vacations, Pet-friendly, Interesting Excursions, Food near me, Road trips & Cool places to visitPlaces to go with kids, Cheap places to Visit, Attractions near me & mini vacations: WI, LV, West Palm Beach, Savannah, Oakland» Bora Bora, French PolynesiaFar, far away in the vast South Pacific lies a dreamlike island with a dormant volcano at its heart, covered by thick jungle, surrounded by an emerald necklace of tiny sand-fringed islands that form a turquoise lagoon hiding rich coral reefs and thousands of colorful fish. As you spot this magical place while landing in a small plane from nearby Tahiti, you become aware that you are reaching one of the most beautiful islands in the world, where luxury resorts compete with lavish nature to fulfill your every wish.Many people come to Bora Boraon their honeymoon to snuggle in one of the many thatch-roofed romantic villas perched over water, where room service is delivered by canoe. There is no place more romantic and more extravagantly beautiful than Bora Bora. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Martin Valigursky/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Traveler trip finder, Air travel, Guide App channel, Live music, Art institutes»Fiordland National Park, New ZealandAccording to Maori legends, the 14 fjords that form Fiordland National Park were created by a giant stonemason named Tu Te Rakiwhanoa, who cut out the deep valleys with his enormous adzes, which is as good an explanation as any for one of the most spectacular corners of the world, occupying over 1.2 million hectares at the southwestern end of the South Island of New Zealand.The fjords could also be the product of relentless carving by glaciers over some 100,000 years, which the sea then filled as far as it could reach. On all sides, these canyon-like fjords are covered by waterfalls that tumble endlessly and thunderously, taking huge quantities of rainwater towards the sea. Huge granite mountains are dotted with emerald lakes, dense rainforests, and animals that do not exist anywhere else. Walking through Fiordland, it is easy to imagine the world as it looked thousands of years ago. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: http://Rawpixel.com/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Contemporary art, Spa Treatment, Watch live, Trip ideas, Beach vacations, Weekend getaways»Most Beautiful Places in the World: Geiranger Fjord, NorwayIn the land of hundreds of magnificent fjords, Geiranger is considered Norway’s most beautiful: A spectacular creation by glaciers, this fjord is about 15 km long and 1.5 km wide at its widest part. With almost vertical mountain sides and no habitable coast, the occasional abandoned mountain farms bear witness to the relentless efforts of humankind to conquer nature and gain a foothold. The most popular way of seeing the fjord is by ferry, but kayaking is as much fun.You will pass by spectacular waterfalls that thunder down the steep mountain cliffs, creating a permanent veil of fog and endless rainbows. Another way of seeing the fjord is by taking the famous Trollstigen road, built in 1936 in an amazing feat of engineering, which snakes up steep mountain sides; narrow, occasionally protected by stone railings, and passing by massive waterfalls, it is nerve-wracking yet absolutely fascinating. The whole area is a dreamland for daredevils and adrenaline junkies, who find the steep cliffs a supreme challenge for climbing, rappelling, and ziplining. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Andrey Armyagov/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Fun places to go, Travel inspiration, Insider's guide & Vacation spots near meFree Vacation Ideas, Destinations & Romantic getaways near me: SC, Charlottesville, OK, Wisconsin Dells, caves in Iowa, PA lakes» Best places to visit in the world: Garden of the Gods, Colorado, USAA short drive from Colorado SpringsGarden of the Gods is a public city park that does not need any attractions – nature took care of that. Hundreds of immense red sandstone spires, bridges, and other precariously balanced rock formations are intersected by 15 miles of well-managed trails. As expected in a park with so many interesting rocks, rock climbing is very popular.The park formations were formed out of bedded sandstone, limestone, and conglomerates by the forces that built nearby Pikes Peak massif, tilting it into a vertical position. It is easy to spot the remnants of marine fossils and even the fossils of dinosaurs. The largest rock formation is the 320-feet-tall Gateway Rock. Many animals have made the park their home – it is easy to see bighorn sheep, mule deer, and foxes as well as more than 130 species of birds. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: indy greek/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World for Couples" Back to Top or More ideas: malls near me, nightlife, water park, shopping center, nightclubs, breakfastFree vacation ideas, family getaways: St. George, attractions, Denpasar, Northern California beaches, Chandler»Famous Places to Visit: Great Barrier Reef, AustraliaThe only living thing on Earth that can be seen from space, the Great Barrier Reef is immense. Located in northeastern Australia off the coast of Queensland, this 2,300-km-long complex ecosystem comprises more than 3,000 individual reef systems, coral cays, and hundreds of islands, big and small, with sparkling white sandy beaches.While immensely beautiful on the surface, the true beauty of the reef is underwater, where there is a living world composed of more than 600 types of soft and hard coral, creating a colorful and mesmerizing home to endless numbers of species of tropical fish, sea stars, mollusks, turtles, sharks, and dolphins. This divers’ paradise can also be enjoyed snorkeling, in a glass-bottomed boat, sailing, from semi-submersibles, and just by plain swimming. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: Anh Ngo/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World" Back to Top or Travel tips, Hiking trails, Beach vacations, Golf courses, Arts center, Travel guide, Amusement parksFun places to go near me & affordable weekend getaways near me: Santa Rosa, Wellington, Birmingham, Amarillo, Queens, Spas, getaways from Louisville» Beautiful Places: Joshua Tree National Park, USAWhere the two distinct desert ecosystems of Southern California, the high and low deserts of the Mojave and the Colorado, come together, they create a world totally its own. Protected as Joshua Tree National Park, this unique world features plants and animals whose lives are shaped by frequent drought, strong winds, and rare torrential rains.Combined with fascinating geological features and a rich history, Joshua Tree National Park is a very special place that attracts wanderers and explorers. The Colorado Desert, part of the Sonoran Desert, is mostly covered by the abundant creosote bush and small stands of cholla cactus and spidery ocotillo. The higher, wetter, and cooler Mojave Desert is home to weirdly twisted and misshapen Joshua trees. The unique plant life is interspersed with equally unique geological formations. Mountains of exposed granite monoliths and twisted rocks, arroyos, alluvial fans, playas, bajadas, pediments, granites, aplite, and gneiss all weave a giant mosaic of rare beauty. 25 Most Beautiful Places in the World - Photo: patsetubal/Fotolia"25 Most Beautiful Places in the World for Couples" Back to Top or Travel destinations, Family Travel, Summer Getaways, Travel Tips, More Unique Elopement Ideas & SightsMore places to see: Kirkland, Hollywood, More fun stuff to do near me»Best places to visit in the world: Krabi, ThailandKrabi is a lively resort town on the Andaman coast in southern Thailand. This very old settlement, now overtaken by tourism, has been shaped by limestone karsts jutting out of the dense mangrove forest and surrounded by vast sandy beaches. One of the city’s most popular destinations is Tiger Cave Temple, a Buddhist temple perched on a hilltop that can be reached by climbing a lot of stairs, but the views are worth the effort.Rising out the water are Khao Kanab Nam, two slanting hills that form a popular local landmark. Busy and noisy, Krabi is best known as the gateway to the magnificent Andaman Sea islands and national parks that can be reached by ferries and boats.

A. THEY SET GOALS FAR BIGGER FROM THE PRESENT CAPABILITIES“When you affirm big believe big and pray big, big things happen.” ― Norman Vincent PealeI’m sure you’ve heard that if you want to achieve a goal, you need to write it down. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but it does work.But after writing the goal down you need to visualise in your mind.According to science, people who describe their goals by writing are more likely to accomplish their goals if their goals are measurable, definable, visualisable.Past: Your past does not affect you to achieve your future goals.Present: Current capabilities, current skills, current earning, current relations will help you to achieve present goals.Future: Big goals, better capabilities, better possibilities.Ultra achievers set goals bigger than their present capabilities. They know it’s important that daily tiny milestones will fuel more momentum, to achieve their goals.The truth behind all ultra achievers ― they started with a COMMITMENT to THEMSELVES.They are COMMITTED to focus on one major bigger goal (personal, professional)They are COMMITTED to making more money.They are COMMITTED to taking care of their family.They are COMMITTED to taking care of their team.They are COMMITTED to bulletproof their mindset.They are COMMITTED to wake up at 5 am.They are COMMITTED to sleep early.They are COMMITTED to eat less, hydrate more (water), EXERCISE daily.What is your commitment?B. THEY HAVE SUBCONSCIOUS ENHANCING EXPERIENCES“When you develop yourself to the point where your belief in yourself is so strong that you know that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, your future will be unlimited.” ― Brian TracyMy mentor, and a friend, went through a very painful divorce couple of years ago. He failed in many relationships. He failed to launch startups, now a successful Entrepreneur. “Experiencing a strong emotional experience in an enriched environment — you will always grow as a giant,” he told me.“Your subconscious mind is “30,000 times” more powerful than your conscious mind.” — UnknownYou have gone through a breakup.You have gone through a failed diet plan.You have gone through a fight with your friend.You have gone through a damaged relationship.You have gone through a fight with your business partner.You have gone through a failed startup/business.You have gone through a divorce.You have gone through a mental breakdown.You have gone through a bankruptcy.Even though you have taken hard hits, you have taken the knock but still, keep on going with greater conviction than ever before.These experiences are meant to be for you, not to you.After 6 years, and 35 attempts Charles made $180 million.Imagine this, a month ago he was set to close his business. This week, he sold it for $180 million.After six years of trying to figure out how to make games on the iPhone, Charles Forman was about to give up, with his company, Omgpop, set to run out of money by May 2012.He said in an interview with the New York Times published on March 25, 2012 “I had $1,700 in my bank account yesterday, and now I have a whole lot more.”So what changed? After 35 attempts at making games that would be successful, the Omgpop team finally found a hit at the beginning of February 2012. The game, called “Draw Something” is like a Pictionary for the iPhone. Since it launched on Feb 6th, 2012, it has been downloaded 35 million times. It caught the attention of Zynga, the game company behind Farmville and other Facebook game hits. A month after the game launched, Zynga just bought Omgpop from Charles for $180 million.Do you have the perseverance to try to create success after 35 failures?Is it worth the six years of trying and failing to reach the runaway success?This is another example of having subconsciously enhancing experiences that come from getting yourself out there again and again in enriched experiences.You can build your mental muscle by having a daily subconscious enriched environment.a. Gratitude Journal: Keeping a daily gratitude journal not only changes your life but saves your life. Science shows gratitude improves your life. It boosts mental focus, increases self-confidence, elevates your mental attitude, and increases the levels of happiness that you feel.Here is some gratitude prompts:The best thing about today was…Today would have been a lot harder without…My life is better because…I always enjoy being around…I love the way…Life is good because…You can even write a gratitude email.Research shows gratitude helps your brain, well-being, and business. My friend Joshua Spodek, podcast host, wrote about his experience of sending 70 gratitude emails, to have an experience that helped develop gratitude, like a skill. “The exercise was free, rewarding, and improved his relationships.” You might want to try it.Also, journalising or writing on paper organises thinking for better clarity. It freezes thoughts. It foster’s hope. The best part of what ultra achievers know is that it processes their low energy emotions.b. Physical Exercise: Exercise is an insurance policy you have to take for your health. It fuels you, and your mental toughness. It can be pushups, yoga, running, jumping jacks, or burpees. I am inspired by Joshua Spodek, author of Leadership Step by Step, — famously known for his daily burpees routine. He says, “self-imposed daily challenging healthy activities” (SIDCHA) will give you mental freedom. He has done burpees every day since December 21, 2011, and now nearly 10 years and 150,000 burpees after, his total expenditures on them are still $0.00, including equipment, trainer, travel, etc.“When I find something I value, I systematise it into my daily habits. Then I live by my values freely and effortlessly.” — Joshua Spodekc. Meditation: After journaling, and physical exercise, having a mindful moment will increase your mental freedom. Meditation isn’t about changing the mind. It’s about being at ease with whatever comes up. Doing meditation is like being kind to yourself.Sometimes, uncertainty and self-doubt can fog our brains and affect everything in our lives, from how we react to stress and change, to the choices we make about our future and how we respond when we feel called to take action.Meditation helps your body thrive, experience everyday joy, and change the relationship with fear + anxiety.A secret weapon of top-performers in business, elite athletes, and individuals creating breakthrough results in their lives is “meditation.” They make better choices by being more focused. By seeing things more clearly — they spot opportunities quicker.d. Morning Pages: Julia Cameron, one of my favourite authors, and the author of the classic book, “The Artist’s Way” is widely popular for the Morning pages technique.“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, a stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages — they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind — and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritise, and synchronise the day at hand. Do not overthink Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page, and then do three more pages tomorrow.”There’s a science behind why we loose sight of who we are. And the science behind how to get it back.Writing down how you feel helps you relieve emotional pain, and remove the emotions from your past traumas — which is a subconscious enhancing experience.“Meditation vs. morning pages. Meditation makes people feel like they don’t have to do anything about their problems. Morning pages make you say, “I better do something about this. They move you into action.””To quote Julia Cameron, “We have a fear of commitment. And the fear of commitment stands between us and accomplishment” and morning pages train you to pay attention to your mind.e. Reading booksUltra achievers are devoted readers. Reading a book is nothing more than having a conversation with the author.“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” — George R.R. Martin“Books provide comfort, safety, and identity. Become hungry for learning. Always curious. And keep raising the bar.”How many subconscious enhancing experiences do you have daily?When was the last time you did a physical workout?When was the last time you said thank you to someone?C. THEY FOCUS ON THE CHOICES TO MAKE EASIER DECISIONS“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” — SocratesWhat is Choice?Let’s start with the basics. What is a choice, exactly? In its simplest form, the choice is the ability to make a decision when you have two or more possibilities. But the theories and mental models about choice go further than that. Here are two of the most common theories on choice:What is the choice theory?Choice theory is the study of how decisions get made. The term was coined in a book of the same name by William Glasser, who argued that all choices are made to satisfy five basic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun.What is the rational choice theory?Rational choice theory is a framework used to model social and economic behaviour. According to rational choice theory, individual actors choose whichever option will maximise their interests and provide them with the greatest utility, or benefit.“I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing, because I have too many other decisions to make.” — Barack Obama, on why he only wears grey or blue suits.Obama isn’t the only ultra achiever who follows this logic. Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs wore the same outfits every day as well.It’s not because the three men have poor fashion sense — it’s because they understood that making decisions causes mental fatigue.But “You can’t make decisions and choices if you don’t know they exist. Your ability to make choices is limited by your context and knowledge,” Dr. Benjamin Hardy, explains in his book Personality Isn’t Permanent, ”When you expand that context, you expand your options.”You have to increase the knowledge around your choices so you can make the decisions easier. The more you filter the choices, the easier the decisions to make. Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of how you react to it.D. THEY VALUE SHORT-TERM EXPERIMENTS TO HAVE LONG TERM RESULTS“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ― Albert EinsteinIn the book “The Art of Learning,” Josh Waitzkin said:“Short-term goals can be useful developmental tools if they are balanced within a nurturing long-term philosophy. Too much sheltering from results can be stunning.”Short-term goals are how you build progress. Working toward a timeline is crucial for productivity. Focusing on only a few key milestones every 7 days, 15 days, 30 days, and 90 days is how you build momentum.Every 7 days, 15 days, 30 days, and 90 days, when you look back on the previous days, you want a system for tracking your learning and progress. You want to get out of your routine environment and take a recovery break.Julia Cameron, advises following the Artist Dates. “Artist Dates are assigned play,” she describes.“The Artist Date is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic” — think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. Since art is about the play of ideas, they feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. When choosing an Artist Date, it is good to ask yourself, “what sounds fun?” — and then allow yourself to try it.”Joel Runyon is a javelin-throwing, traveler, triathlete, spoke years ago, “how cold showers changed his entire life” in his TedX Talk. He sets on doing impossible things to tell a great story with his life. He started with a very short experiment and now he does it daily.A few years ago, Joel was an unemployed college grad who decided he no longer wanted to live a boring life. He made a list of all the things he used to think were impossible and then set out to do them. And now Joel works to live a life of adventure and meaning which started with one single experiment of cold showering and followed by long term results of adventure and meaning.Here are some short terms experiments:Waking up at 5 am. for 30 days straight.Brushing your teeth with your left hand (if you are right hander, otherwise vice versa) for 30 days straight.Writing for 30 days straight.Awesome Observant for 30 days straight.Be Creative for 30 days straight.Be helpful for 30 days straight.Give Give Give….. believe in giving for 30 days straight.Start managing time for 30 days straight.Planning (Short term/Long term) for 30 days straight.Do what you fear. (Be fearless) for 30 days straight.Do meditation for 30 days straight.Do exercise for 30 days straight.Ask yourself:What worked well?What were your key wins?What did you learn?What didn’t work. Where do you need to pivot?Given what you’ve done and what you’ve learned, what do you want to do in the next 90–120 days?E. THEY TRAIN THEIR FUTURE DESIRES BY LEAVING THEIR CURRENT DESIRESRay Lewis, the former professional football player has an excellent story about how his stretching allowed him to become an ultra achiever.“For Ray, his initial stretching came in the form of pushing through pain. Stretching himself through pain in his childhood led him to become the physical behemoth that would dominate on a professional football field for 17 years.”“Ray’s stretching also came from pushing past the pain of a torn tricep injury, to help lead his team to victory in Super bowl XLVII. When most people would back off from the pain and discomfort caused by such an injury, Ray Lewis, stretched himself to get through it, and conquered the situation by applying extra effort to make up for the physical handicap.”“The most noticeable Titan traits that Ray Lewis exhibited can be easily seen when watching his performance on the field. What you’ll notice about Ray, was his commitment to training himself, to becoming the greatest linebacker in history. Ray would translate that future desire into an almost superhuman effort on the field.”Another prime example is self-made billionaire Elon Musk.“He’s the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla, which is aiming to accelerate the transition away from coal-based energy. He’s trying to make it possible for humans to live on Mars with his space exploration company SpaceX. He’s the co-founder and chairman of artificial intelligence research non-profit OpenAI, and in the last year, he started Neuralink to merge humans with machine interfaces. He’s even taking on the mundane with The Boring Company to dig tunnels that will reduce the amount of time stuck in traffic.”But according to Musk, it’s not money or bragging rights that motivates him.“The thing that drives me is that I want to be able to think about the future and feel good about that,” says Musk, speaking to a group of governors gathered in July 2017.“We are doing what we can to have the future be as good as possible, to be inspired by what is likely to happen, and to look forward to the next day.”That kind of thinking — believing deeply in achieving an ambitious goal — is exactly what makes an individual become an ultra achiever.F. THEY DON’T AVOID EXPERIENCES THAT WILL SHAPE AND TRANSFORM THEM“Don’t let your life revolve around whatever you’re trying not to do or feel. Live to experience, not to avoid.” ― Martha N. Beck“Theodore Roosevelt was one of the greatest U.S. Presidents ever. There is no debating it. What many forget, is how much Theodore Roosevelt had to overcome to rise to his greatness.”“When he was just a kid, he was told by his doctors that he was too weak, sickly, and asthmatic, to live a normal life like his peers.”“He was instructed by his doctors to avoid participation in any physical activity, as they feared it would worsen his condition; potentially leading to his death.”“But, he did the opposite.”“Instead, in just about every capacity, he pushed his physical limits. He did so as an explorer, a hunter, a cowboy, an author, a soldier, a judoka (practitioner of judo), and as a politician. Even in his presidency, he pushed the envelope. He gave maximum effort in all he did.”Roosevelt seized his potential, by not avoiding the experiences that shape, transform him and as a result, he has become a modern-day ultra achiever, we should all aspire to learn from.What experiences are you avoiding that can shape you for the betterment of your life?G. THEY CONSTANTLY EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO NEW THINGS“When you walk up to the opportunity’s door, don’t knock on it. Kick that bitch in, smile, and introduce yourself.” ― Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson“We all have mental models: the lens through which we see the world that drives our responses to everything we experience. Being aware of your mental models is key to being objective.” — Elizabeth ThorntonBut with great power comes great responsibility. Mental models are complex and rooted in human nature (from upbringing, parenting). They affect how we see problems, and how we see people. Depending on how you use mental models can be incredibly constructive or destructive.There is a model in psychology → Mere-exposure effect: a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.What types of things you are exposing yourself to so you can be familiar with them?Exposing yourself to:A new idea.A new article.A new skill.Reading.Meeting new people from different experiences.“Surround yourself with only the people who are going to lift you higher.” ― UnknownA new form of exercise.A new lifestyle.A new adventure trip.A new decision.A new project in the company.A new habit to develop.Ultra achievers are not cut from a different cloth, they constantly expose themselves to new things.ORIGINALLY WRITTEN HERE: Want To Become An Ultra-Achiever? Do These 12 Things Immediately