Capilano Suspension Bridge

First on my list in recommended things to do would be to get out into nature. I’d much rather look at the tall pines than other people. Guess I’m just weird like that. Aside from being weird, I’m also a little bit of a thrill seeker, so the Capilano Suspension Bridge would be one of my first picks. Suspended 450 feet over the Capilano river which sits 230 feet below the bridge, it’s a great place to experience the beauty of Vancouver with just a 15 minute drive from downtown.

Grouse Mountain

Continuing on the trend of being out in nature, Grouse Mountain is another attraction at the top of my list of things to do in Vancouver. With something to do all year round, from skiing to zip lines to dining, Grouse Mountain is a great way to get out of the city, experience some amazing views and enjoy your day in the outdoors.

Stanley Park

Every great city should have an amazing park at its heart, or, in this case, on an island. Stanley park is one of those places where all the fun activities happen. From horse drawn carriages, beaches and exercise to visiting the aquarium, you will not be disappointed after visiting this beautiful park. And since I mentioned the aquarium, it is currently Canada’s largest aquarium being the home to more than 70,000 animals. It’s almost a city in itself in regards to the animal kingdom.

If you’re a cyclist or a long distance runner, enjoy some amazing scenery including beaches, historical sites and breathtaking views of the harbor along the 8.8 km seawall pathway.

Dream Bigger – Get Rid of that Small Thinking

It’s funny how sometimes we can get so fixated on one thing that we put on the blinders that keep us from seeing the bigger things right next to us. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing I guess. It just means that we’re being super focused. But what if that one thing that we’re focused on is keeping us from getting something much, much larger?

It’s like taking a chicken leg from the chicken because all you’ve been thinking about eating for the past week was chicken legs, when we all know that there’s a heck of a lot more meat on the rest of the chicken.

Anyway, to get to what inspired me…..I stumbled across a slideshow of a $40 million mansion in Hawaii, and it made my jaw drop. It expanded my vision for myself and helped me realize that I have been trapping myself with my small thinking.

I think it’s a healthy practice, to dream big, more often than not. So, in your busy schedules today, whether you’re on the job or working from home, like myself, take time to watch, look at, visit or read something that expands your vision of all that’s possible.

This mansion did that for me today. The image you see doesn’t even include the golf green or the Olympic swimming pool and diving platform. If you click on the image, it will enlarge for a little better view.

Many of you may know of my track history in the home business industry, and many of you may not. The last home based business I gave my heart and soul to created some amazing results for my family and I. Making up to $55,000 monthly with that business created an amazing lifestyle for us and was the beginning of my career as a “work from home Dad.”

Here’s a glimpse of the lifestyle we created…

As you probably already know, yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day, and because of it, my kids were given the day off from school. So, as a work from home Dad, one of the most difficult things for me to do is to work while my kids are off from school. And you might think that it’s because they’re running around the house like a bunch of monkeys while I’m trying to record a YouTube video or write up a blog post, and that might be part of the reason. But the main reason is that I want to get out and do something fun with them while they have a free day.

So, instead of working, I decided to take the day off!

Our plan was simple….take a drive out to Bonita Creek, have a picnic and do some hiking. After our picnic, we skipped some rocks, explored the area and in the end, finished the trip off sword fighting with cattails!

It was a perfect, seventy degrees outside. We were down in a canyon near a stream, and the cattails were ready to explode. Our kids don’t see cattails very often out here in the Arizona desert, so this started out as Mom and Dad simply showing them how cool it was to whack the cattails against a rock to see them explode.

It then turned into a cattails mess and will probably be one of my families most memorable moments. Because of my decision to work from home, I don’t have an employer that dictates when I do or do not work. I’m not tied down to a storefront or traditional business which requires my time every day of the week.

The home business lifestyle is undeniably the choice for me.

Enjoy the video!

Sword Fighting with Cattails – Fun Activities for Kids

Today, I attended my daughters Christmas program. After dropping our kids off at school, just as we do every morning, we decided to drive over the the auditorium in order to get a good seat. We had about 35 minutes to kill before the show started, and so the funnest thing to do, of course, is to check out all the interesting people pouring in. As they do, I start noticing how many ladies there were in the room.

Not that I was trying to scope out a date or anything, just wondering why more couples weren’t showing up together.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised right? I mean, most men work a day job for a living and end up working right through these types of events. You know…the important ones. The ones that kids will remember in the future, and whether or not you were there. (If that’s you, just giving you a hard time!)

In these sorts of public settings, during normal working hours, I’ve always felt like others were always staring at me, as if they were annoyed that I was there. It became pretty awkward at times, which made me feel a bit out of place. And for the longest time, I thought it was just me, or that I was just being paranoid.

But as I thought about it a bit more, I realized that all the ladies are envious. And no, not envious of my wife for having such a handsome, good lookin’ man, such as myself, (Daily ego boost successfully executed) but envious of the fact that I was there….and that I’m always there, when their husbands can’t be. They’re simply staring because deep inside, that’s what they want. They want the Father of their children to be able to be present. So they stare in envy, not in annoyance.

All the Ladies are Envious

Since that epiphany, I no longer feel like the most hated person in the room. Instead, I feel more like the most valuable player and do what every MVP would do when people stare…. just stare back and smile! ( And hopefully they don’t get the wrong idea, about the smile. Happily married!)

I can’t tell you, in spite of all the trials that come with it, how grateful I am for the decision I made nearly a decade ago, to become a home based business entrepreneur. It has made all the difference in my life, and hopefully in the lives of my children.

Sometimes I feel like a kid, fighting the sandman until the very last second, afraid to blink out of fear that I’ll miss something amazing. Family life is a wonderful thing, especially when you’ve got the time to enjoy it!

Just one more thing, if you are one of those parents who had to miss your son or daughters Christmas program this year, or any other program in which they deserve to have you present at, please do something about that. Because most likely, your child will grow up to be just like you, absent. Set the example of what’s possible. Don’t allow society to dictate what you should, or should not be doing. That’s up to you and you alone to decide. Do whatever it takes to change your circumstance, if that’s what you truly desire. I wanted that, I have that and I want that for you.