Last year on our vacation to Kauai, we really enjoyed our stay at the Westin Princeville. This year, we decided to celebrate our 7th anniversary with dinner at Nanea, the restaurant at the Westin. The entrance to the Westin Princeville is as you might expect: beautiful landscape and valet portico. No building on the island [...]
Are You Eating Fear Soup?
Life is made of fear. Some people eat fear soup three times a day. Some ...
Your Job: Why You Can’t Bring Yourself to Quit
Written and sent while we were recently traveling in Hawaii (I know, I know! and ...
You Need a Plan B
Compelling Economic Reasons Why Playing It Safe Isn’t Working in Today’s Economy The economy – ...
Making Money Online: Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare
It’s easy to get caught up in the “make money online” frenzy. False claims are ...
Declaring Economic Independence
We spent the last half of August reconnecting – traveling and visiting relatives throughout the ...
The Consequences of Perpetual Indecision and Uncertainty
The most common reaction when Pete and I communicated our decision to go location independent ...

If More is Better, How Much is Really Enough?
Have you seen the following ad (click here if you’re in a reader) where the children are asked, “Who thinks more is better than less”? The little girl’s incoherent answer is perfect. We know more is better than less, even if we can’t exactly explain why! Let’s absorb that for a bit and keep going. [...]

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes
Our office window looks across the river valley. Beyond the jungle, we see the mountains against the sky. When we open the office door to go downstairs, we see the beautiful green mountain behind us. It always makes me think of “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills…” We always hear the river [...]
Kefalonia: More than a Pretty Face
The Greek islands are well known for their beauty, as well as their sun-and-sand appeal and abundance of cheap holidays. One place in particular that’s widely held as one of the most breathtaking islands is Kefalonia, and it’s not hard to see why. This glorious island was immortalised in the book, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and [...]

Our Water Garden on Kauai
As you might expect, gardening is big on Kauai. What we didn’t anticipate, however, was how popular water gardens are! It seems as though every lanai or common space is graced with a miniature version of a garden pond, in a beautiful composition that includes an artistic container, and perhaps a lovely statue or other [...]
Cardiff Meets Moscow: The Circus Comes to Wales
This is a guest post from Catherine Lavinia. Cardiff was ranked sixth in the National Geographic alternative Tourist destinations attracting over eighteen million visitors a year. As the commercial centre for Wales, it is a city in which there is always something going. No two trips to Cardiff will ever be the same, with so [...]

Downsizing My Closet for Our Move to Hawaii
Some people don’t even think of downsizing when they move to Hawaii. They have all their mainland stuff packed up and shipped. This is expensive. Then you see their Craigslist ads; the very same people are trying to get rid of their stuff after they’ve brought it all out here. We decided we weren’t going [...]

Life Changes: We Couldn’t Be Happier – Or Could We?
How life changes contribute to higher Gross National Happiness We’ve recently made big life changes and we couldn’t be happier. Moving to Hawaii has been a big geographical shift, but also has brought more everyday happiness, as we imagined it would. In conversation with others here on Kauai, a recurring theme comes up: “If I [...]
Welcome! We’re Glad You’re Here!
We're entrepreneurs who believe the keys to happiness are travel, simplicity and freedom. Our online businesses have enabled us to relocate from Minnesota to the Garden Island of Kauai in Hawaii. We're here to show you what we've learned. Instead of living to work, let's work to live!
How We Do It
- Game Plan: Minimize Regret
- Conventional Wisdom: Ignore It
- Work Life Balance - Forget It: Focus on Work Life Integration
- What Our Move to Location Independence Is Not
- What We Learned in Our First Month of Location Independence
- Keeping Your Options Open Will Cost You
- New E-Book: How to Get Started on Zazzle
- Zazzle Online Money-Making E-Book: More Products, Less Time








