Hello from somewhere in the sky between Acapulco, Mexico City, Phoenix or Vancouver,
Why so vague? Well, I am writing this en route to Vancouver from Acapulco, with stops in Mexico City and Phoenix and by the time it gets sent out that is about as certain as I can be about my exact location! If I had to hazard a guess, I am probably in a backroom at the Phoenix or Vancouver airport being quizzed about my intentions.
In any case, if I survive getting through two customs areas of two different countries, I pondered today about the spontaneity of my life. I've told you before how I don't like to book any sort of flights or itinerary much more than a few days before the actual date and again I did that. Things change too fast and too many opportunities are missed if you lock yourself into pre-ordained arrangements much further in advance than that. And, again, this has proven to be true for me.
I am scheduled to speak tomorrow (Sunday) in Vancouver at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference and only advised the conference of the flights I desired a few days ago. And, that's because I was waiting to hear from the Wired writer who will be shadowing me for the next few days – and who we had a great night in Acapulco last night – doing a potential cover-story expose on my way of life and involvement in bitcoin and other ventures. He finally confirmed he'd be coming to Acapulco just a few days ago so I was waiting on that… and also cancelled my Honduras and Guatemala trip for the same reason.
The Vancouver Resource conference people asked me where I'd like to be flown to after the conference and I told them I just need to be in Las Vegas on January 22nd to speak at the Passport to Freedom conference, run by former Anarchast guest, Andrew Henderson, where I'll be talking about the importance of having more than one passport and TDV Passports services.
"After that?" she asked… assuming that maybe they'd fly me "home" to Acapulco.
"Hell, I don't know," I responded. "Just get me to Las Vegas for my next appearance and I'll figure things out from there," I said.
I actually had semi-plans to go to Miami after Las Vegas to meet with two people… one, a person interested in starting up a medical tourism idea to take-in all those orphaned from Obamacare and to meet with our Venezuelan passport partner who spends a lot of time in Miami. And, yesterday, when I mentioned that a TDVer had invited me to come to the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami next weekend I thought it all made sense and said I would go for the second day of that conference in the TDV blog yesterday.
An hour after writing that, the Miami bitcoin conference wrote me and asked if I would speak there next weekend… everything seemed to be organically, spontaneously, falling into place so I accepted and now will be speaking at three different conferences a total of about seven times in the next week from Vancouver to Las Vegas to Miami. Not to mention thereafter stopping by Acapulco to see my family (wife, two kids, five dogs) for a day or two, freshening up and then heading straight to Panama with my wife for our first ever conference, the TDV Wealth Management Crisis Conference.
Phew.
I have always wondered how those rock bands do it. Bands like Motley Crue, Iron Maiden and Rush still tour in a different city almost every day. I used to think they were crazy. How… and why would they want to keep going so hard (travel like that is not easy), staying in a different hotel room every other night, singing the same songs over and over.
Then I realized I am doing basically the same thing. While my songs change somewhat over time as things progress I am basically saying the same things in a different city or country every few days. Why do I do it? Well, I know why I do it. Because I am passionate about what I am talking about and I also feed off of the energy of the people in different places who are also passionate about these topics. Countless people I meet inspire me just as much as they say that I have inspired them.
It's a wild ride and I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do more at this moment in time.
IN OTHER MUNDANE NEWS
I've been talking all week about how dire the western world's financial, monetary and police-state systems are getting so I won't bore you anymore with that.
Here's some family-related events that you may find interesting for a change of topic.
I must first confess that I am somewhat ashamed to say that both my seven year old daughter and nine year old son are actually in school. I am a massive proponent of unschooling and yet both my kids actually go to private school in Acapulco. I've tried talking my wife out of it… and she does understand what I am saying but she told me that she'd like to see them stay in school until they are really good at reading and writing (which is almost done now… more on that below).
But, as also an ardent proponent of peaceful parenting I could never force my kids to do anything they don't want… and they both love… love school. They love it. They can't wait to go. Part of that is that they go to the best private school in Acapulco (costs about $300/month each) and I have been there. I wish I had gone to a school like that if I had to go to school. The teachers are caring and very good at what they do. I go there once or twice per year and watch my kids run up to their teachers and jump into their arms… they love them. And you can tell the teachers love them too. It is really quite nice.
But then this week something I totally didn't expect of a place full of millionaire and billionaire´s kids happened.
My wife told me that two big kids had picked on my son who is very small for his age (as was I… late bloomer) and picked a fight with him.
I was quite surprised as everyone there seems so happy every time I go. You are more likely to get randomly hugged than randomy assaulted.
"What happened?" I asked my wife.
"He didn't take even one punch and beat them both up until they ran away," she said.
I was still quite shocked when my son walked into the room. He was quite calm and said, in Spanish – his second language after German – "Papa, have you heard what happened?"
I told him that yes I had heard some of it but asked him to explain more.
"These two big kids picked a fight with me," he said, "I didn't do anything. But they started punching me. But, I remember what you always told me, we never initiate violence against others but if others aggress against us, we finish it," he said, non-chalatantly as though it was no big deal.
"So, what happened next," I asked.
"Well," he said, "something strange happened. It was like I was like spiderman, I saw their punches coming and I avoided all of them."
I laughed, to myself, because I knew how that happened (read more below).
"Then?" I asked.
"I countered their punches and hit them both and they ran off," he said… almost emotionless…. like it was no big deal.
"Anyway," he continued, "It's not a big deal but I just thought you would want to know," he said and he wandered off into his room.
I have to admit, I felt a bit of that fatherly pride at that moment. He handled it just as I had hoped he would if a situation like that ever arose… and it often does in life.
As a bit of back story, about two years ago I told both my kids that I think self-defense is very important and would regularly bring a kung-fu/kick-boxing instructor by the house. I think self-defence is a cornerstone of any free-minded individual (and note that it is something the government never teaches kids in their public indoctrination camps for that very reason). When I was younger and very small for my age I faced similar challenges and I decided to embark on things like karate, kung-fu and amateur boxing… somewhat under the prompting from my own father.
I still remember the day, at around 14 years old I was riding my bike when a kid my age but nearly twice my size hauled me off my bike as I was riding and very quickly rattled off five straight shots to my face. I was stunned. But, through my amateur boxing training, had felt before and was not shocked.
After five straight shots to my face I still stood stunned… because I couldn't believe this was happening… but was calm. He stopped punching at that point, somewhat in disbelief that I wasn't running, hiding or crying. And I still remember the look on his face as I gathered my senses to what had just happened, looked at him straight in the eyes and delivered a left hook squarely on the jaw, tumbling him to the ground where he then ran off crying.
No one ever bothered me in that town after that moment.
Getting back to my kids, my daughter always loved the regular kung-fu/kickboxing training… and in fact, she had defended my son a year ago at a playground against a bully and sent him running away in tears. And she was six years old! But, my son never really liked martial arts training much.
He asked me once, "I don't like this, why should I keep doing it?"
I replied, "You can quit if you want. You can choose whatever you want but if you trust me then believe me that I think this will help you in life."
He acquiesced but for a few weeks I could see his heart was not in it. Once, during a training session he buckled over and wanted to quit. I could see that he didn't understand the purpose of it and so I decided to take a break from my busy business life and I said, "You know what, today I am going to train with you."
He seemed fairly shocked as I am usually so busy as to ever do much with either of my children.
I then asked the instructor to hold up the mitts and I pummelled them like an ex-boxer would.
Once I was done I turned around and I could see the glimmer in my son's eyes. He had never seen his father do anything like that.
From that point on he has continuously tried to improve and has gotten very good.
And so, after the latest fighting escapade, I went to my sons room a few hours after he had told me what happened and I sat down and made chit-chat. He was ensconced in his usual game of Minecraft and I mentioned, "Do you know why you felt like spiderman today and they couldn't hit you?" I asked.
"No," he shrugged.
"It was from all that training you have been doing in martial arts," I said, "It trains your mind to react in situations like that… it's not spidey-senses, that is the result of your prior commitment to training. Do you understand now why I suggested you keep it up rather than quitting?" I asked.
He was silent for a few moments, processing what I was saying and then he stood, chest out and said, "Uh huh, yes."
I left him to ponder on that and do delve further into Minecraft and headed down to my home office to do some work when I got a message, on Facebook, from my seven year old daughter.
"I didn't know you knew how to get on Facebook and read and write," I asked in Spanish, confused.
"Of course," she said.
Getting a message on Facebook from your daughter for the first time is also an amazing moment. That little girl who used to be so tiny is now messaging you on Facebook. And on the same day that your son who so valiantly fought off assailants and though it was no big deal…
My daughter continued to message me talking in spanish colloquialisms that I didn't really understand and I told her, "Sorry, I don't understand?"
She replied, "Don't worry papa, we know your Spanish isn't very good, we will learn English next."
Two kids, so smart, vibrant and full of life. Anarkids I call them.
Makes a father proud.
My next proudest moment might be in a year or two when they tell me they want to drop out of school and start a business. On the day they tell me that I will host a great party grander than any college graduation celebration.
TDV GERMANY
Sprechen ze deusche? If you do speak German, check out the latest addition to the worldwide TDV family, TDV Germany. That now makes for three international sites outside of our flagship site in the US, including TDV Spain and TDV Latin America.
We are still looking for a Mandarin speaker, writer and entrepreneur to start up TDV China. If you are or know anybody who is interested please have them contact us. We believe TDV China could easily pass TDV USA in terms of traffic and revenue.
THE TDV WEALTH MANAGEMENT CRISIS CONFERENCE
Everything has been falling very nicely into place for our first ever conference in just a few weeks in Panama. It has been a really rewarding experience for me already and we haven't even had the conference yet. But just to meet and hear from so many interesting people who are generally on the same bandwidth as myself who aren't aware of how they can protect themselves from The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI) and to be able to help them is a tremendous feeling.
Most conference participants, and even some of the speakers, like Jim Karger, are bringing their wives/husbands and so I was happy to ask my wife today if she'd like to also join us… on the beach, in Buenavista, Panama, at the 5 star Marriot and she accepted my offer. I am really looking forward to an amazing experience with everyone gravitating to this event and enjoying ourselves amongst friends and family as well.
We won't take all the dogs and kids though… it'd be quite the entourage… but I will look forward to seeing those of you who are coming down from February 6-9 (with an evening cocktail reception on February 5th). There are still 2 available openings if you'd like to join. You can check it out at www.tdvwealthmanagement.com/crisisconference.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK FROM LAS VEGAS OR MIAMI
Have a great week and thanks for being a part of our experience.
