I have always recycled pizza boxes - better to recycle more than less, right? Wrong.  Food contamination ruins millions and millions of dollars of recycled paper every year.  Other culprits: adhesives - that includes Post-Its.  I had never considered that recycling my sticky notes could ruin recycled paper, but they do!

I blew through 700 subscribers this weekend and am well over 800 today.  This is really amazing! I made more money on YouTube on Friday than I have on any other day in my YouTube Partner Channel history! Which is wonderful, because it is going to allow me to be more independent and have some revenue from creating things that I want to create.

It is also wonderful because my platform and reach is increasing and more people are exposed to great travel videos! I have had some amazing comments on my channel this past week, with people from all over the world saying how inspired they are from the videos and how happy they are to have found my channel.  That really makes my heart grow and my smile widen, because when I set out to make travel videos in 2006, inspiring others to get out into the world was my primary motivation. It’s wonderful to see it all coming to fruition!

###

In the coming weeks, I am going to have to write a short tutorial on how to increase viewership and gain subscribers on YouTube.  It is pretty easy to do if you have a good niche with an active community, as the community usually likes to support itself.  If you are just trying to make a random corporate video go viral, it’s a very different story.

Another week, another personal growth goal, from GratitudeLog:

I recently came across this powerful value statement
that really resonated with me.

What is it?

* Aim for a 1% improvement every single day

That’s it!  I think all of us could agree that a 1%
improvement is something we are capable of.

Well, the power of this is that if you do this every single day,
then you will completely transform yourself and your
life in less than 1 year.

In fact, if you will be 3,700 times better by the end
of this year.  This is also why Einstein used to say
that “the power of compounding is one of the most powerful
forces in the world.”

Now, please don’t take this example literally.  Why?
Because a 3,700 % improvement is impossible!  If I could
do that, perhaps I could fly.  :-)  The key idea that
I am trying to communicate is this:

* Aim to be better today than you were yesterday

I think gratitude is one of these laws that helps you
easily and effortlessly achieve that goal.  I think that
by being grateful, you are instantly 1% better off every
single day than if you forget to express gratitude and
the effect after one year will be just as massive.

So, if you have not yet taken a chance to be grateful
today, do so now.

http://www.GratitudeLog.com/worldli

I like you and I am grateful to have the opportunity
to serve you.

Mike

This website is bombtastic - because it will help you defuse your gut bomb with information about what you eat…

Last night I attending the third Ignite:Seattle, which was super cool because Ignite was started in Seattle by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis in 2006.  I had never heard of Ignite before, even though they do them quarterly.  This time around, Ignite has exploded into the world, with over 60 different locations around the world hosting Ignite talks this week.  They called it Global Ignite Week, and it adds an element of coolness when you consider that 10,000+ other people around the world attended Ignite talks this week.

The best part is that no two talks, anywhere in the world, were the same.  These were talks created by the community, for the community. Or, as Brady put it during his introduction, “it allows normal people to become rockstars in the their community.”  And it’s true, because you get an enormous amount of diversity in topics due the the limitations: 5-minutes to speak, with each slide auto-advancing every 15 seconds. No control, just lots of pressure and creativity.

I loved it. There were fun talks about arguing, geeky talks about technology, serious talks about breast cancer and hilarious talks about ball point pen salesmen.  Every five minutes, you are brought into a whole other subject - and you are taken there by a passionate believer. It is like crack for smart people.  No long winded-ness, just fascinating-ness.

They recently launched a video site, where you can see videos from Global Ignite Week, at www.igniteshow.com, and are really poised to make a big splash!

My assault on the YouTube travel community continues!  As I mentioned last week, I have decided to stop fluffing around on YouTube and get serious.  I have been neglecting my Partner channel there for years, and I have been missing out on a great opportunity to become involved in a very active community. It is no longer just a place where I serve my videos - I am getting involved and starting to make friends. Who knew?

I am heading towards my goal for 1,000 subscribers by the end of this month. It is an ambitious goal, seeing as I was just able to add 100 subs in 9 days.  However, I will put a little elbow grease into it - and get ‘er done!

Subscribe to me if you haven’t already, because it will make us both smile - I get a sub and you get some quality travel videos!

“Hi Nick,

Did you know that there is an effective and
an ineffective way to express gratitude?

Unfortunately, the ineffective way is far more common.
It is sort of the default form of gratitude that most
people fall into.  I was stuck here for a really long
time until I found a far more powerful way to practice
gratitude, one that moved me into perfect alignment
with abundance and greatly accelerated the Law of
Attraction.

First, let me talk about the ineffective way to express
gratitude.  This is gratitude that you express that is
related to what is happening in your life right now.

It is closely related to the gratitude and appreciation
we learn to express as children (i.e. to say thanks) and
that is probably why it is often the default and why
so many people get stuck here.

Ineffective gratitude includes things such as:
* your health
* your relationships
* your material posessions
* your friends and family
* a nice vacation

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this
form of gratitude.  All I am saying is that it is not
nearly as powerful as what I am about to show you.

Often the problem with the above form of gratitude is
that it comes from a place of lack.  If you have ever
expressed gratitude while thinking “at least… I am
healthy, or at least I have a great family” then you
know what I mean.

This form of gratitude is extremely week because it is
based on the present circumstances.  In other words,
this form of gratitude is conditional.  It makes it
sound that you are grateful “only if you have good
health, a great relationship, etc.”

Unfortunately, conditional gratitude fails to activate
the law of attraction.  The universe does not respond
to conditional requests.

The second form of gratitude is complete in that it is
a celebration of life itself, for all the experiences
you are having. One other key difference is this.
Effective gratitude comes from an underlying attitude
vs. a temporary focus on one item or thing to be
grateful for.

With practice, this holistic form of gratitude can
become second nature.  When it does, the law of
attraction will flow far more easily into your life.

The more powerful form of gratitude includes items
such as:

* your life
* this awesome planet
* for being who you are
* for future events
* for problems, challenges, and hardships
* for your mistakes
* for your mind
* for your freedom

In other words, you become grateful for this amazing
journey of your life regardless of what happens and
where it takes you because you know that it is just
right for you and that everything is happening for a
reason.

When you are expressing effective gratitude, fear and
loss disappear. There is no focus on any lack and when
you reach this state, that is when abundance can truly
start flowing into your life.

Being grateful for what you have in your life (your
health, relationships, etc.) has its place.  But when
you start feeling truly grateful for everything that is
happening in your life and open your heart, you will be
amazed at how quickly the universe will start to answer.

So, start creating these feelings now, even in the most
unlikely or unpleasant circumstances and notice how you
begin to attract whatever you focus on into your life.

With love and passion,

Mike”

USA is Better: Hockey Fans at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

**APPARENTLY VOTING CLOSED EARLY, SO THANKS FOR ALL THE VOTES**

February 28th is the last day to vote in the 2010 Trippy Awards at TripFilms!  I am nominated for Host of the Year: Best On-Camera Personality.  Thanks to all who have voted so far - and extra thanks to those who are going to TripFilms to vote right now!

What the $%^& is Curling?!?! Exploring a National Pasttime

I have always been intrigued about the sport of curling. I have always been inclined to call it the “sport” of curling, partially because I didn’t understand it and mostly because it seems very silly. And girly?  I hate to call things “girly,” as if masculinity is the most desirable thing in the world.   But is the ridicule of curling justified?

This will change the way you boil eggs. And perhaps even the way you watch YouTube…in a unique and inventive way.

Olympic Tent Village: Behind the Scenes at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Walking around the 2010 Winter Olympics, it is hard to miss the frenzy of consumption surrounding the entire event. Hour-long lines to spend hundreds of dollars on official Olympic gear, drunk people everywhere, trash and Starbucks cups piling up along the streets. People are in Vancouver from all over the world, and are spending a lot of money.

You can imagine my shock when I discovered the Olympic Tent Village on the Eastside of Vancouver, at Abbot and Hastings St. Here, the people had a different take on the Olympics. After spending 8 billion dollars on Olympics infrastructure, there was no net increase in low-income housing - as promised in the Olympics bid. Homelessness has actually TRIPLED since the Olympics bid. Condos are spreading like wildfire, and the homeless are being displaced without anywhere else to go. Rather than providing solutions, the government in British Columbia seem to be ignoring and exacerbating the problem.

And with the Olympics in town, the stark contrast between the haves and have-nots becomes even more visible. Drunk people walk by the camp yelling “get a job.” A sign hanging from a condo nearby reads “Build resumes, not tents.” People in Tent City have little; everyone around them seem to have plenty.

Tent City is organized by nearly 100 local organizations. It has three demands:

1.END HOMELESSNESS
2.STOP GENTRIFICATION
3.STOP THE CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY

This is a look into their story. It is by no means comprehensive, as the issue is far more complex than a 3-minute film can address. However, it is eye-opening. It is a different perspective, something that you do not hear covered in mainstream media. The Olympics is not always as noble as their branding/marketing suggests, and I think its important to keep the OOC honest about the impact the Games have on host cities. Walking around Vancouver, I was not convinced that this was a good thing for Canada - or its people.

herenotthere:

Yeap. Want.

My latest video, “Reasons Why Canada is Better than America,” shot at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

I was not expecting there to be so many Canadians there! I figured there would be an international crowd, given that it is an international event…but it was mostly Canucks. So this video is pretty darn funny!

Our entry to be Samsung Mobile Explorers at the Vancouver Winter Games…alas we did not make it, and that is why I am typing this from Seattle! But had a good time working with Duzer and making the video, so all was not lost!