This post is for anyone who has thought about picking up the guitar but hasn’t yet. For those of you who aren’t musicians, becoming one is both more fun and easier than you imagine. I’m writing this post in the hopes that I can convince 1 or 2 of you to pick up a guitar and start making your own music. Below I describe a basic theory and method for getting started with the guitar that I’ve taught in real life to many friends with success.

Many of you who know me or who have read the blog for a while know that I’m always keen to talk packing and gear. If you haven’t yet, you can check out my written digital nomad packing list that I made up last year. I absolutely loved all the comments, emails, and shared links I got from having written that post. Since that time, I’ve made some small changes that have improved my kit a bunch (and will no doubt put 99.99% of you to sleep).

It only occurred to me 4 years ago that it was possible for me to be an entrepreneur. When I realized I could do something in the world that wasn’t handed to me or “delivered” by some mysterious process I didn’t yet understand, my life got a lot slower.

Over the past 4 weeks, I’ve been on the phone for 10+ hours with entrepreneur, photographer, and 3+ year Bali resident Tommy Schultz. We’ve been discussing every detail of his life in Bali.

I encourage people to do an exercise that Ferriss advocates in the book: sit down and write out in precise detail exactly what you want in life. Do not write down what is realistic.

This week has been so much fun. Last night I saw @sgblank give a talk to the San Diego lean start-up group and he totally pumped me up. I recommend his blog.

In that moment it occurred to me that people don’t read blogs only to get the best information on a topic, or the most sound arguments. They show up to be a part of the conversation. To engage others who are talking about the same ideas.

December was incredible: I spent tons of quality time lounging around with my family in Pennsylvania, I spent a week hanging out with my best friends in New York City, and at the very last minute, I booked a flight to San Diego to hang out with my business partner @AnythingIan.

After spinning around Manila and the surroundings for a few weeks, I packed up my stuff and moved to an island. I’ve got another 7 weeks in the Philippines before I take a spin to the USA and then back to South East Asia for an internet marketing meet-up in Thailand.

The original purpose of the Tropical MBA was to be a magic bullet– a final push out the door to the “jet set” nomadic lifestyle. It’s not all the time glamorous or baller baller (we aren’t paying much) and I’m not posting videos of all the days I’ve spent holed up in offices or crappy hotel rooms trying to get some business done.

I’ve got a small feeling of despair today. I just finished a great book. A book that will sit with me for years. I’m sorry that I can’t continue along its journey. I’m sad its over. I’m a book reader.

In the past three years, the longest I’ve been one place is 5 1/2 months. I’ve set up some kind of residence in 4 countries, set up offices and hired employees in 3, and have been fortunate enough to find the time to visit over 10 new countries. I’ve done my share of travel adventures, but I’m not really a traveler.

Ever wonder about people who step foot in some exotic destination and never come back? It happens all the time– the SCUBA instructors, the yachties, the bar owners, the beer drinkers, the criminals, the naturalists, the internet marketers, the retirees.

I got a ton of emails after podcasting and writing about Bali. Perhaps people could feel our passion about the place, or maybe a lot of people remembering their own good memories.

I set out to make a ratio. How much more valuable is location independent money than “job” money? My gut told me that if I could generate 20K in income from working on projects I had equity in from anywhere on the planet that would be equivalent to 100K made at my job.

Many of you reading this have much more informed opinions on this issue. That’s part of the reason I’m writing it. I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

The two Tropical Sean’s and myself got together this past week to brainstorm ways to run the next semester of our program and to review the applications in detail. We read every word of every application, and let me just say– the applications were incredible.

You can live on a Tropical island for next to nothing. We will pay for room and board. Travel, gadgets, nights out on the town, and local transport are on you. How much you spend per month will depend on your budget and goals.

There's a lot of important factors that go in to owning a business that makes 10K a day, but the most important one is mindset.