Although my dreams of becoming a child television star have dwindled over the years, I can momentarily live vicariously through an iPhone app I’ve developed. It recently starred in it’s very own news spot, which can be viewed here, and broke the iTunes top 10 for paid reference apps. Another recent review can be found here.
For the last 7 years I’ve been working 48 weeks a year so that I could spend the remaining 4 on my passion: experiencing the world. That’s a 12:1 work to passion ratio. I think I can do better. This summer will be my first attempt at balancing that ratio out a little bit.
On April 29th I’ll be on a flight to Oakland, CA, to start training as a Chief Experience Officer for G Adventures/Windigo. That’s right, I’ll be a CEO… or a tour leader, depending on who I’m trying to impress and if I’m wearing a suit. ”But Dan”, you may ask “you are a trained professional computer geek with hacking skills and cubicle skills and nunchuck skills… are you sure this is the right move?”. And you would be an excellent asker of questions by doing so. The answer, honestly, is that I don’t know. Nobody can know the future without a flux capacitor. But I’ll tell you what I do know: This will be a chance to do what I love, share that with people, and by doing so make a difference in the lives of others. I’ve heard it said that you regret the things you don’t do more than you regret the things you do. This is a thing I refuse to regret not doing.
So what exactly will I be doing? I’ll be helping travelers from all parts of the world experience North America, primarily the Western United States. You can find examples of the tours I’ll be leading here. At this point I have no idea which, where, or when.
And how long do I plan on doing it? The North American tours are seasonal, and run Spring through Fall. After Fall? I’ll see where life takes me.
Can you have my stuff? No… Maybe.
Why G Adventures/Windigo? Because I’ve traveled with them to Peru and Costa Rica, loved the tours and the people I met, and admired the CEO’s. Also because I share their approach to traveling and their core values: 1. We love changing people’s lives. 2. Lead with service. 3. Do the right thing. 4. Embrace the bizarre. 5. Create happiness and community.
Wondering where I am or what I’m doing? Follow this blog, friend me on facebook, and/or follow me on twitter (@DaysOldBread).
Can i think of any other questions that people might care about? Not at the moment, but feel free to ask them if I’ve forgotten any.
Much thanks to everyone that has helped me along the journey of pursuing this path and making the decision, especially those that took the hard stance of the “why nots” in the face of my onslaught of excitement and optimism.
To my wonderful friends and family in Minnesota, I say not “goodbye”, but “until next we meet”.
Not long ago Adam Meyer and I launched our first iPhone app: Pet Poison Help (built for our client Pet Poison Helpline). Several hundred downloads later, the initial response has been very positive, both on iTunes and this review on About.com. It’s good to hear that the app is helping people to keep their pets healthy and safe!
Swipe Jester began, as many good things do, with a passionate discourse with my good friend Adam Meyer about work, life, and technology, fueled by the exactly right amount of tasty microbrew.
Less than a year later, after countless more discussions and beverages, we find ourselves releasing our first iPhone app. It was built for a wonderful client, Pet Poison Helpline, and offers information about what is poisonous to our domestic furry friends/family, as well as providing 1 touch calling to Pet Poison Helpline in the event that fast professional help is needed.
You can find the app on iTunes here. A screenshot is included below. Also check out the traditional and mobile websites we’ve built for them at http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/
