Having a car is such an annoying pain in the ass, isn’t it? I grew up in the burbs, where getting a car when you get your license at 16 or 17 is the norm, and I never imagined I could live a life without a car. This is part of the reason why I put up with engine failures, overpriced oil changes, and over-heating episodes several times too frequently. But not having access to a car means you’re going to miss out on things… important things… right? A Car-Free Lifestyle; Not Missing Out I’m happy to say I’ve rid myself of the burden of car ownership, but I’m still able to make the important events in my life and family because of carsharing. When I went away to Europe for a while, I decided I could use the money that my pre-owned Honda Civic symbolized, so I sold it and added to my travel fund. When I returned home about a year later, I was so used to living in the most central parts of the cities that I visited that I naturally decided to move right downtown in Vancouver. I had anticipated purchasing a car once I got my feet on the ground, but by the time my feet were on the ground, I had realized I didn’t actually need a car anymore. And, even if I did, I’d have nowhere to put it. Carsharing: How did that happen? One of the funniest parts of my “car story” is that I am now tied to car sharing much more intrinsically than just being a member. I’ve actually done a lot of work in the carsharing industry, having been introduced to it by my first carsharing client (movmi) who started with us a couple of years ago, and I’ve learned everything there is to know throughout the process. Through movmi, I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to create content for various carsharing programs, too. And knowing the good that the carshare industry is doing for our planet, it’s really hard for me to ever justify car ownership again. What’s great about carsharing, though, is that you can ensure you are available and present for the most precious moments in life – like driving up to Ashcroft to be present for your dad’s 65th birthday. Why I love Zipcar I’m a member of almost all of the station-based and freefloating carshare programs in Vancouver,…

Everybody loves music, even the greatest psychopaths among us, but… why? It’s obvious that scientific studies show that music – particularly classical – helps to improve mood and feelings of well-being and happiness, but what always intrigues me is learning about the psychology behind music and hacking my own lifestyle to leverage the most in music. Here are a few tips I’ve tried and that work AMAZING! 5 Ways to Let Music Enhance Your Life Use music to get into a “flow” state. Flow is a psychological state when you are completely focused on a single task. Time disappears, and not surprisingly, this is when most people feel their happiest, most connected, and most productive. Certain music can help you achieve flow, particularly those with hypnotic or ambient sounds like violin or piano. I always find listening to music on a low level helps me to concentrate on the task at hand and reach flow. Use music to anchor memories. We all have a certain songs that bring back a flood of memories, and you can use this to your advantage. Whenever I go on a trip now, I create a brand new playlist before I’m about to leave, with songs that I haven’t heard more than once or twice. During the trip I listen to ONLY this playlist, and then for perhaps the rest of time, I can access a flood of memories from the trip by replaying the playlist. The key is to use new songs, and not listen to them too much before and only selectively after the trip. Listen to new music for a boost. The reason why a new song you love feels so good is because it releases dopamine. When your brain can accurately predict the next beat of a song, it rewards you by releasing dopamine. This is the happy, feel-good, or reward chemical in the brain. But when a song gets old, it no longer feels good anymore. The dopamine stops coming. For this reason, you can give yourself a boost of happiness by listening to new songs. When learning, play Baroque classic music in the background. Studying for an exam or just trying to learn something new via Youtube? Consider playing some Baroque classic music in the background. This type of music is scientifically proven to lower anxiety levels and change brainwaves, putting you into an alpha state that allows you to learn much easier…

Who, what, where, when, why. These are the 5 W’s to problem solving, the essential unknowns to conquer, or the pieces of knowledge to gain clarity on before moving towards any sense of progress in both schoolwork and, in well, lifework too. The 5 W’s may have been introduced to you early on in grade school, perhaps even with an additional H tacked onto the end, but I’ve found they are also the most essentials points to cover when determining what to do with your life and when trying to understand your purpose. I always love to have these conversations with people, not because I necessarily deem myself esteemed enough to be a life/business coach nor knowledgable enough to be a therapist, but because I have been through the trenches and I have found my purpose in life. Before you read forward, however, you have an important decision to make: why should you listen to me? This is an important question you should always ask yourself before you take any sort of life advice from anyone. The lesson I once learned is concrete and solid: you should only listen to people who have what you want. Otherwise, how are you ever supposed to get what you want?   So here’s a quick preview of who I am and what I currently have achieved in my life: I am 27. I dropped out of University in my 3rd year, during which I had decided I wanted to become a writer. At this time, I started a personal blog and entertained a freelance writing job where I got paid $12 per 500 world article. It was pennies, but I put my head down, wrote 10 articles a day to get by, and went travelling for about a year, more or less all on my own in Europe for half of that time. This is where I found myself. Today, I run a successful digital marketing agency where 10K months (albeit top line, that’s an important disclosure to make) are now the standard. I say this not to gloat, but to let everyone else out there know that you too can do what you love and be successful at it. On the side, I do this: my passion, my hobby, my blog – whatever you want to call it – and most months I pull in extra revenue (sometimes a sizeable amount), sponsored trips, and plenty of wonderful gifts. I work hard,…