From Zero to Hero-Doing The Math

Working on Ships Has Been A Real Life Saver And Life-Extension

I had an expression  "I haven't been everywhere, but it is on my list." This was the psychology of my "future self".

People  are works in progress who mistakenly think they are finished. Hint. That is not the case.

Yet the power of time transforms our values and shapes our lives and profoundly influence the people we are going to become- For example young sailors pay good money to get tattoos removed that teenagers paid good money to get. and as Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, in this TED Lecture adds, 
Middle-aged people rushed to divorce people who young adults rushed to marry. Older adults work hard to lose what middle-aged adults worked hard to gain. On and on and on. The question is, as a psychologist, that fascinates me is, why do we make decisions that our future selves so often regret? 

How inappropriate to call this planet Earth
when it is quite clearly Ocean.

"I used to think living and working on a ship was bad----so I stopped thinking! "

PINCH ME!

Faith, I'm full of it! When I started on ships as an Art Dealer, I had no idea what was ahead of me, I had Zen Mind, Beginner;s Mind . Here I am after 6 hours on my first ship, a quick study.of call:

Cultivating optimism is like plugging into the experience machine

 I am looking at some of my adventures, which were nothing more than bad planning! The ease of remembering versus the difficulty of imagining. I can remember who I was 4 years ago, but I find it hard to imagine who and where I am going to be.

The power of Now, wherever I go there I am-gets trumped by a false belief- an illusion that history, my personal history, has just come to an end, that I have  just recently become the person  that I was always meant to be and will be for the rest of my  life.  That I am STUCK on a ship.

Therefore, NOW--- the present is a magic time. It's a watershed on the timeline. It's the moment at which I  finally become my self. Nevertheless, we are all works in progress, and the person I am right now is as transient, fleeting and temporary as the person I have been. Cruising-living and working on a ship reminds me of this.

ARISTOCAT- Docked In The Venice of America-Ft Lauderdale

REAL travel writing is about leading an interesting life and having a good time. It’s less about where you go and more about  who you go with or end up meeting along the way. 

 As I connect the dots, I am reminded of some previous versions of my "selves" that I met along the way...

The Geography Of Bliss

How can I compose a story big enough, deep enough and broad enough to encompass the reality of my life? When I’m at sea, immersed in action, I am the protagonist, You can't create experiences like this, you undergo them.

The power of narrative comes forth  when I am engaged in the telling.(or selling) of these accounts. see: I Walked The Walk

Seven Cruises I Had to Go on Before I Died

These next three links, however,  are before my LEFT brain got good at telling my RIGHT brain what to do:

An I For An Island- Living Well Is The Best Revenge

I think of my job as Art Director  as leading people to those moments of awe – ecstasy that overtakes you when you encounter a new idea, or place.  After all, the definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday routine....essentially stepping into an alternative reality...

Let The Orinoco Flow- One Year @Sea

In answer to the Question, "How long has he been drifting?"Celebrating One Year at Sea this week.It started in Rome Sweet Rome, then Santorini...I haven´t been everywhere, but it´s on my list...

Tranquility Base The Ego Has Landed

Space travel sure is fun. Greetings from the user-friendly universe---The Peoples Republic of Santa Monica;Home of The Mac Store, and Apple, the forbidden fruit.

First in January, I was in the Majik Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a bit like Mars.

         Then in February, I went to The Land of Smiles, Thailand, and walked on the moon.

              Finally, in March and April, I had my head in the clouds with The Helium Report, winning and losing the American dream in Macau every night, playing high-stakes no limit- poker, on The Hong Kong Express...


“Whoever authors your story authorizes your actions.” When we tell our own story—and write our own autobiography, we truly begin to live more consciously and unfold our own myth---with  us as producer and director, going out to sea , in an infinity of hope, it's life's coming attraction, where we have final cut. There is, indeed, the uniqueness of inhabiting our own life when we follow our bliss and tell our own story. I think that the majority of people never get inside their own lives.   Read More Here

Here Are Some Of My Ships I lived and Worked On

Costa Atlantica-Who is driving the ship Capo (Schettino)
if you are here toasting champagne?Va Veni-Microsoft!

Celebrity Solstice- That's Greek To Me

Pacific Pearl P&O Australia 

Crystal Serenity- Why Pay Less?

Azamara Journey-Check Please

Golden Princess- Nature is More Cruise Ship Less

Princess Cruises-Alaska The GR8 Land

Royal Caribbean-Oasis of The Seas-
An Embarrassment of Coconuts

Disney Magic- As John DeLorean said "I'm going to Disneyland."

On The Disney Wonder looking at last years ship
that I was on, The Carnival Splendor that caught fire,

MSC Poesia- The  YOUniverse

My first extended stay In  Paradise was on America Hawaii Cruises. I just wanted a different experience, and I took the first job I could get, which was a deck hand. We sailed for seven  days and each day we had a port of call

Shoveling Sunshine

The definition of ecstasy is that you are not doing your ordinary everyday ho-hum existence. Shoveling sunshine in Hawaii beats a day at the office

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SOMEDAY is the busiest day of the week-Get Busy!