Dear friend – yes you!

I have something really important to tell you. It’s very exciting, and very difficult for me all at once.

I’ve arrived here in La Jolla, CA where the weather is truly amazing, and I am house-sitting for the next 5-6 weeks.

On my drive here from Austin, TX I had a lot of time to think, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the best answers come from asking the right questions. My question that I chose was “How do I make the best use of house-sitting near the beach for 6 weeks?”

I came up with many ideas, but the ones that made the most sense are also the most difficult, and I’d like to share them with you.

I have completed 3.5 years of couchsurfing around the USA.  I’ve met the most incredible people that I could ever imagine.  I have had amazing adventures, where I do things I never imagined or even heard of before (like Bull Poker, or training with UFC cage fighters, or staying at an all girls’ college).  I’ve loved and fallen in love (not at the all girls’ college).  I’ve seen (and photographed) amazing sights.

The bottom line is that I have more than enough “content” to write my book.  I’ve begun writing of this book numerous times, and I generally get distracted, as I am such a social creature.

Ooooh! Someone left me a comment on Facebook!

I better respond to that tweet!

A truck that has giant chicken legs coming out of it?  I better send out a social-media update about that!

I wonder what ________ is up to…. better text/call/skype/tweet/fb/email and find out!

Yup…. as my buddy Peter Shankman says “You may have heard of ADHD, but I suffer from something much worse… it’s called ADOS — Attention Deficit… Oooh! Shiny!”

With that in mind, there are three major things I am going to work on.
1)Writing and finishing my book.
2)Releasing 100 photos a day from my travels!
3)Exercise and be healthy.

The photos will be released in a number of ways– onto Flickr/Picassa and of course blog posts.  I will also make a video of each set of 100, and tell the stories that go with them.  If a story encompasses less than 100 photos, I will tell as many stories as are encompassed in 100 photos.

In case you are wondering, I have hundreds of thousands of photos.  In 2007 alone I took 370,000 photos.

So, if I have all this content, why is this so difficult, and what am I going to do about it?

As I mentioned earlier, I am easily distractible.  So, I am going to do the impossible, and unplug.  I am going to go off the grid! Something that many people say is impossible…. but I think it is possible.  Why?  Because I finally have a sentence that gives me a hard punch in the face, nearly unhinging my jaw, and breaking my nose.

“I don’t want to be that guy that tells about how he’s going to write a book!  I want to be the guy whose book you’ve read!”

I will keep adventuring, have no doubt about that. My plans are to go international: visit my homeland of Israel, party in Thailand, play with dangerous animals in Africa, get my squirrel-suit certification in Switzerland, eat some space-cake in Amsterdam, maybe take a ride with GreenPeace and blow up some whailing ships…. who knows…. the possibilities are endless… but I don’t want to go until I’ve finished this book.

I have hired an assistant whom will check my e-mails and voicemails for me, and forward the uber-important ones to a new e-mail account that I have created (that no one else knows about.  It’s very random, so don’t bother trying to guess it (don’t forget, I own many domains)).  I’ve set up a Skype-Phone so that I can speak to those who need to get a hold of me.

To keep my sanity, I will play with Webber (Jason Moffatt’s dog, whom I am taking care of), try to improve my piano and guitar skills, run on the beach, and learn to surf (Jason was kind enough to leave me a plethora of surfboards).

I will have interaction with the Surfers that are teaching me to surf. I’ve also volunteered to do some photography for a charity event.  Other than that, I plan to be off the grid.  I’ve even informed my parents that they should not expect a daily phone call from me, and that they can start reading my blog to know what is going on — or what has gone on — in my life.

The few close friends I’ve run this by think it is a wonderful idea.  It resonates with my heart, despite striking much fear in it… a 6 week commitment!  6 weeks of not being on Facebook and Twitter!  Trusting someone else to go through my e-mails and voicemails!  Having to finish something big!

It is scary, but I know it is worth it!

I appreciate that you have visited my site.  I am saddened that I have not told you but a tiny fraction of what has gone on… as it takes time to edit videos, to blog, to process and upload photos.  So now, I will finally tell the whole story.

The book will consist of my adventures, the people I’ve met, the places I have been to, how I’ve stayed on the road without “a real job”, the lessons I’ve learned, and the things that I have come to believe as truths because of my journeys.

Please check back here daily, as I will have 100 new images, and god-knows how many stories posted.   Spread the word, leave comments, and let me know which pictures and stories are your favorite, as I will also be making a photo-book of the best images.

Wish me luck!

Ori

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P.s.  On the right hand side of this blog is a box you can put your name and e-mail if you’d like to know about my book, when it comes out, etc…