Tim Ferriss
Timothy Ferriss, serial entrepreneur and ultravagabond, has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Maxim, and other media. He speaks six languages, runs a multinational firm from wireless locations worldwide, and has been a world-record holder in tango, a national champion in Chinese kickboxing, and an actor on a hit television series in Hong Kong. He is thirty years old. (Now 34). – book cover blurb from The 4-Hour Workweek, written by Tim Ferris.
Tim Ferriss is a lifestyle designer. He writes about lifestyle design in a book I recommend everyone read, The 4-Hour Workweek. You can also read his experiments in lifestyle design at The Blog of Tim Ferriss.
Colin Wright
“I move to a new country every 4 months. My readers vote on where I move, and I do my best to learn all I can about the place where I’m living (while also running my businesses and having a life). At the behest of my readership, I’m currently living in Reykjavik, Iceland.” (Currently in Missouri, next moving to India.)
Colin Wright is a lifestyle designer, who never left the states, until 2009. He writes about lifestyle design at Exile Lifestyle.
Cody McKibben
“It’s hard to describe what I ‘do’. In one way or another, my passion is to help others break free from the conventional template lifestyle—liberating you from traditional ways of thinking about work and life, building your own (entrepreneurial) projects, living a kick-ass remarkable life, and doing good for others …
In November 2008, I went location-independent and I moved to Thailand, setting the trend for many twentysomething lifestyle design bloggers to follow. Basing myself in Bangkok, I’ve explored all over Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Bali.”
Cody McKibben is a lifestyle designer, who has traveled to more than 22 countries. He writes about lifestyle design at Thrilling Heroics.
Cody's to the right. 
Mikko Kemppe
Born in Oulu, Finland and raised in Turku, Finland, Mikko Kemppe moved to Louisiana at 19, after receiving a college basketball scholarship. From 1999 to 2009, Mikko began to learn Salsa, received his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Louisiana, became a licensed contractor in Louisiana and started a construction company, became a real estate investor, created a local salsa dance community, received a Master’s in Business, received a Masters in Marriage and Family therapy, gained Dr. John Gray as a mentor (author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus), started a relationship counseling and coaching business, organized the first ever touring salsa dance theater show in the world: “Viva La Salsa,” and lost all of his money from it, discovered internet and social media marketing, began his Urban Mobile Lifestyle Experiment, began his relationship and dating advice coaching blog, began teaching Salsa in San Francisco and the Bay Area, ranked 4th in the San Francisco International Salsa Congress Competition with his salsa partner, Ashanti Altovese, gained Evan Margolin as a mentor (Internet Millionaire and Salsa Instructor), and moved back to Finland, Helsinki, Finland, where he created his own salsa dance school, Helsinki Salsa Academy.
Mikko Kemppe is a salsa dancer, instructor, academy founder, a relationship coach, an internet marketer, an entrepreneur, and a lifestyle designer.
I met him through an internet marketing internship I was involved in from July – September, 2010. I began to work with Mikko on his personal internet marketing projects from November, 2010 to February, 2011, as his personal internet marketing assistant. I helped him build traffic to his relationship blog, and helped rank his salsa blogs on the 1st page of Google.
Emelina Minero (ME!):)
Me and my brother this July 4, 2011. We’re pretending to be wizards in anticipation for the final Harry Potter Movie.
I’ve always followed life to my own accord, but I didn’t become aware of lifestyle design until about a year ago, after I graduated from college in May, 2010.
I Decided What I Wanted To Be – Happy
I majored in Spanish and minored in Creative Writing in college, and was big into Journalism. In my senior year, I thought I wanted to be a journalist. After I graduated from college, I realized that was far from what I wanted. There wasn’t one thing I wanted to be. I wanted to explore. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to be able to do whatever gave me joy in the moment.
I tried a handful of things that people didn’t expect with my major.
I got into internet marketing, social media managing, web design, editing (books, blog posts, newsletters, resumes, website content, college essays), and writing (blog posts, website content, online publications for Curve Magazine). Internet Marketing and Web Design surprised a lot of people, but I loved it.
Began A Freelance Life
About a month or two into coming home, I slowly started to pick up freelance work in editing and translating, and then transitioned into more web design, social media, and internet marketing freelance work. Recently my freelance work is in editing, writing, social media & online community building.
Travel Pants
Travel has also become a big part of my life. Right after graduating, I took a 3 week trip. I spent 2 weeks visiting new and old places on the East Coast, and I spent 1 week in So Cal, before heading back up to Nor Cal. Since graduation, I also made an impromptu day trip to Disneyland, (which is 8 hours away), a weekend trip to Salt Lake City with some of my West Coast best friends, close by trips to Muir Woods, San Fran, and other Bay Area destinations.
The biggest trip I made since graduating from college was my 2 month trip around the East Coast. I bought a one-way ticket to Virginia and arrived on March 28, 2011. I explored 7 states and 13 plus cities and returned to Nor Cal on May 22, 2011. I had a blast.
My Mobile Lifestyle
My East Coast trip was a test to see if I could live a lifestyle of mobility and travel and to see if I could support myself with my freelance work. I was able to pull it off, but just barely financially, and I was visiting friends from college, so I had a place to stay wherever I went.
I had a blast, and lived awesomely, but I realized that I needed to create more financial support and stability before I would be able to fully move out and support myself.
My First Glimpse Into Lifestyle Design
Mikko was my first glimpse into lifestyle design. Through him I realized that I could do whatever makes me happy, design my life however I want, and live awesomely. I went into the city one day to help Mikko with filming his online salsa product, and afterwards there was a salsa goodbye party being held at a salsa club in the city. It was Mikko’s goodbye party before he returned to Finland. That day I got to meet Evan Margolin, a legit internet millionaire, and I got to meet salsa world champions, well known salsa bands, djs, and dancers. I remember thinking, how random is this, and how cool!
Mikko helped me out in another big way, he gave me The 4-Hour Workweek for Christmas. Reading that book is what inspired me to make my 2 month East Coast excursion dream come true.
The Path To Lifestyle Design
After I returned from my East Coat trip, I began to seriously study and follow lifestyle designers online, once again, with the help from Mikko. He wrote a blog post, 7 Cool Kick Ass On-Line Entrepreneur World Traveler Bloggers, that I read after returning, and I felt quickly connected to Colin Wright’s and Cody McKibben’s blog.
It wasn’t until I came back from the East Coast that I truly understood what lifestyle design was and I realized that I wanted to live my life as a lifestyle designer.
I Made A Choice
I don’t want to have to work a 9 to 5 job. I dont’ want to have to wait until I’m really old to retire and enjoy my life. I don’t want to have to work on any job that doesn’t bring me joy, and I don’t want to have to be defined by or choose 1 job forever. I don’t want to have to be restricted by location.
And I don’t have to do any of these things. I can design my life however I want. I can travel whenever I want (granted I have some sort of consistent income). I can make money by working on projects I’m passionate about. I can live life now. I can live life happily, now. I don’t have to wait until I’m old to retire. If I’m already only doing what I love as my work, then I’m already retired.
Lifestyle Design Is Hard Work
Lifestyle design is and isn’t easy. It’s hard work, and you have to have the right mentality going into it. You have to be persistant and determined. You have to be self-motivated and passionate. It’s a lot of work to build your life how you want it, and it’s a lot of work to build stable income by only doing what you love, but if it’s hard work that you love doing, then it’s easy.
And from what I’ve seen of other lifestyle designers, once you get past that initial hump of just jumping into it, and creating that consistent cash flow, then it becomes a lot easier. It could still be a lot of work, but only if you want it to be, and only work that you love to do, and when you want to do it.
Only You Have The Power To Create Your Life
(and only you can prevent forest fires). 
You create your life. It’s whatever you want it to be. I’ve realized that, and am jumping on it as fast as I can. I want my life to be high energy, high productivity. I want my life to be joy, to be present-moment living. I want my life to be community building and forming connections. I want my life to be travel, to involve new cultures and experiences. I want my life to be full of expanding my comfort zone and helping others.
I want to do whatever makes me happy. I’ve begun to form this life for myself and I’m excited to see how it evolves and where it takes me.
At a business LGBTQ mixer in SF hosted by dot429
I’m excited to get this site going, ready to be viewable to the public, and functional. I’m excited to see the impact this site can make, and the impact you can make through this site.
I know that we’re going to transform ourselves dramatically in the process, and the world, as well.
I’m not sure to what extent, but I’m excited to find out.
And Yes! That’s me pointing at YOU! Are you getting excited? I am.
Twitter Updates
