Adsman,

I'm not sure whether or not I'm happy I read this.

It was entertaining, enthralling and full of important substance... but it the advice you give seems too practical. It seems that it would lead to a better, more interesting life. Unfortunately, my life isn't going in that direction.

Just makes me want more in my life than a 9-5 after I graduate (either undergrad or Law School).

Either way, thank you for sharing.

Would you mind plugging the company your work for -- whether in the post or PMs.

Thanks,

-d

Here's a link to the rafting company.

http://www.raftingcenter.it/

Thanks for all the replies. As soon as we make a bit more progress on the club I'm going to start a thread on how we get it up and running. And this forum will be the first to know when I finally get the book out.

ads.

Adsman, thank you.

I read and loved every bit of it!

nice thread

Fantastic read, great excuse to avoid playing poker all night.

A+ sir.

I've actually been close to Trentino. Went skiing in Fai della Paganalla. Beautiful countryside.

I'm glad I stumbled on this thread yesterday. I got to finish reading the entire thing in 2 days. I ended up talking to my roommate last night about traveling the world after reading half of this. We were both psyched up big time. So I just wanted to say thank you for taking your time writing it all out. And I have to say, it's a rather big inspiration.

I've been getting quite a few PM's about the English version of the rafting website. If you click on the link that I posted earlier, in the top right corner is an English flag which gives you the English translation.

ads.

One of 2+2s all time top threads. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Fantastic read, adsman. Thank you!

great read, thanks

This thread was one of the best things I've ever read in my life.

I'm 18, I live in Brisbane, I play poker for an income, I've recently split with a girl and I have little to no idea of what to do with my life. This thread has made me want to buy a one-way ticket to a foreign country and.. and well who knows. I'm going to sell most of what I own and set out on my own adventure.

Thanks a lot, Adsman. If I'm ever in Italy (and you're still there) I'd love to buy you a beer.

Roy

Any updates on the book front?

Yeah, I just wanted to add that reading this thread helped inspire me to go to Australia for four months this fall (winter/spring there.) Thanks for the read, adsman.

Working on it. Trying to sort out the dross from the gold, keep it interesting, fresh and relevant. My editors helping me out a lot though. It's also tough that I'm trying to open a club at the same time. I left out heaps of stuff in the thread, (for instance I just breezed over Canada), so the book will probably end up being four times as long.

Thanks for the interest though,

ads.

I read this whole thing today at work. Superb. Makes me want to go out and live life.

You could say the same thing about this thread in general. You start off with on post about change and asking others to share parts their life. And you end up sharing your interesting and inspiring story of your life with us. Now you are writing a book about it.

A+++ would read again, let us know when you publish your book.

Thanks sharing this with us.

Like others I just stumbled across this today. Fantastic thread, so well written. I loved a couple of things from one of the posts:

Had a huge grin reading that, almost emotional .

And:

Much of this stuff speaks volumes for the kind of person you are.

Best thread on twoplustwo IMO. Thank you very much.

I went to the library right when I woke up with itent to study for my final exams but I have finally finished reading this and the sky is getting dark

Ads,
This is quite possibly the most interesting and ispirational things I have ever read. I grew up skiing and have always rolled around the idea doing some crap job during the day (dishwasher?), and bombing back-country lines when I could. My parents always asked "What the hell would you do in the Summer?" to which I responded "Run rivers as a rafting guide." I have absolutely no idea about guiding rivers, but I've been a punter on my fair share of trips while in Whistler, BC. The guides always seemed like they were having an awesome time EVERY time.

I'm now kind of stuck in college, not that I particularly mind that, however if ever the opportunity presents itself I may take it solely because of this thread.

A few questions: Was your housing all employee housing for the most part, and what was the general consensus of the living conditions that your peers encountered in other parts of the world? Also, what do you plan on doing when you get older? I realize thinking about something like that isn't necessarily your style, but have you considered what you'll do when you can no longer guide rivers? For retirement?

A lot of the time it was, particularly in the third world areas. In Uganda we lived in white colonial luxury. In Canada we lived in a shed above the storage area.

When I get older. Well, I suppose I have to say that I'm getting a bit older now. I'm opening a lounge bar here this summer, and I have other interests that bring the money in. I'm not looking to get a traditional job to support me into my retirement years if that's what you're asking. But I'm winding down the guiding now. It's a great job when you're in your twenties and early thirties. It's an even better job when you get out of it succesfully after that time.

A quick warning on becoming a guide in BC. A lot of companies there run "rafting courses". These normally last about a week. These can be useful but there is no way you can learn to guide in a week. The best way to learn is to identify a good company and present yourself as someone willing to do whatever it takes to get river time and experience.

Good luck with it,

ads.