My muse

Briefed a creative mate on Friday to come up with a logo and a visual identity for my muse. Coming together well actually - been planning it for a while but this challenge has been the catalyst for me to get of my arse and get started. We will see a logo in a week or so....I suppose I should reveal here so stay tuned. The picture is just a little hint of what the muse will be all about.

May has just been filled!

It also looks like we have a place to house sit for May/June, also in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. We are looking good til at least August now!

This frees up both time and income to devote to our muse creations and experimenting in Lifestyle Design!

A muse has been born!

Well after a relaxing Australia Day weekend down south in Gerringong (and recovering after my rather ugly bout of Gastro), we came back energised and ready to start the muse creation. As mentioned in previous posts, a muse is the tool by which you create a passive income or close enough to it. This is one of the key methods Tim Ferriss uses to work his '4 hour week', travel the world and still have an income.

To start off the muse creation process, today I (Mrs Smith) registered a domain name at http://www.crazydomains.com.au/ for $24 for 2 years, which is one of the cheapest ones I've found. I used to go through ttp://www.melbourneit.com.au but they now seem a little expensive. I have also signed up for an email package with 20 accounts for $2 a month also at CrazyDomains (again very good value for money!).

My next mission is to outsource the website and logo design. I have posted a job description on both http://www.guru.com/ and http://www.elance.com/ which are both global freelancing sites where freelancers bid for your work from web/graphic design, transcribing to report writing!

Once we have decided on the best supplier we will put together a creative brief and write some website copy. We then have to decide on a hosting package and ensure that we can easily update the website from anywhere!

Watch this space!

High drama

Well we got to day 4 of our new abode when things got a bit mental. Mrs Smith was struck down by a bout of gastro. I am praying I don't get it. Luckily we have the place to ourselves but it was pretty crappy not being in your own home when you (or your partner is sick).

After being a wake all night, pitching for new business at work, I fell into bed last night at about 8.30pm. Can only get better....

Not bad for our first place!

This is the view from our first place of residence as we begin this interesting journey of ours. We don't feel we've done too badly this time round. We have rented out the bottom floor of my sister's place for a month and are in the process of working through what are essential items and what more can go into storage!

In the meantime we have come up with an idea for an additional muse (Passive Income Generators that require little or no set up costs - 'PIGs'). Mr Smith's brother is involved in the coffee industry and we are going to work on a joint project with him and his wife. Lots of fun that could turn into an effective muse! Watch this space...

Stuck in the office on Sunday

Got the opportunity to test my new route to work today, unfortunately it is Sunday:(

The good news is though we are fully out of our house and now in a new house. Things to do:

Disconnect phone, internet, gas, electricty and cancel contents insurance - that should save a fair bit! We are gearing up now for the next phase: Development of the muse.

The muse is an online business that will generate income for us with little or no work - the ultimate goal being the 4-hour work week. In the short term it means a bit of extra pocket money!

I sat down for a couple of hours this morning with a mate to go through our plans - still much to do but it looks great!

Long day....

Well we are done (and buggered). We moved out of our house today and moved to Newport. It is funny to think our whole house fitted into a storage cage at Kenards.

It didn't help that we had too much red wine last night. We must learn some restaint in our new life :) Off to bed, more details tomorrow zzzzz

Location Independent Living

Well today I found this wicked site http://locationindependent.com/blog/ that described the ultimate lifestyle - living and travelling anywhere in the world and still earning an income. The principles are based on those found in the 4 hour work week around lifestyle design and I love it! First stop North Narrabeen Caravan Park - next stop - the world!

Here is an eBook that has been written by the author of the blog - definitely worth a read for all those wanting to begin their journey in Lifestyle Design!

Surfing up a storm

Well Mrs Smith booked us into the North Narrabeen caravan park yesterday and I can't wait. We don't move in until the end of March but I am excited. I will be living opposite one of Sydney's best waves with a goal of surfing every day possible.

I think I have tricked her but she seems ok with it! Bring it on :)

Living in a Caravan Park!

Well today me and my in-laws went and checked out North Narrabeen Caravan Park and signed up for 5 weeks! We put the word out to friends, family and acquaintences via Facebook and SMS to see who might have a caravan they could lend or rent out and found a hit. We now have a caravan for 5 weeks at $500 and a site for 5 weeks with ensuite bathroom at $1700. Thus for $2200 we have 5 weeks accommodation - not bad! The caravan has 2 double beds so we can even have guests!




Here is a pic of our future home...

Cleaning out my cupboard - 6 days until our first move

Big day today. Mrs Smith and I went through our clothes and stuff and dropped them off to St Vinnies. One suitcase full and another 2 bags, some books, a whole bunch of wedding magazines and a filing cabinet. Quite cleansing really. Then friends came over and I cooked scrambled eggs, they took some books and my beloved poker table - will be dropping in monthly to their place to use it. Ross, the recipient was very willing but I am not sure if Deb his wife was as keen to be hosting monthly poker nights for the boys :).

Next we went to Howards Storage World and got vacumn packs for our bedding and winter clothes - it is all coming together. Mrs Smith's sister came and took a DVD player, a VHS player and an old shelf stereo so there is not much left to sell on eBay. I have an old LG Flatron TV I need to sell but will get to that.

Finally, my parents arrived today from Victoria. They have arrived all gung-ho to pack up our house. They are staying until Friday. It will be great to have them here, not only for their help but also so we can drink all our good wine before it goes into storage!

Getting excited now!

Plan in place!

Well Mr Smith and I had a very nice beachside lunch over a couple of Peroni's and planned our move. As Mr Smith posted yesterday, it was done in a very orderly fashion...long term, medium term, short term and then what to sell/donate/giveaway.

We now have our list in place. Mr Smith's parents are flying in tomorrow to give us a hand packing up the house. They are intrigued by our plans and keen to help our where they can - very sweet!

Mr Smith is now ready to get his creative juices flowing to write up the Ebay ads. We have found in the past the more creative your ad, the better it sells!

After we start packing we're then off the Sydney Festival - fun.

Friday afternoon day dreaming

Its Friday at work so the mind starts to wander. Things to do tomorrow to get ready:

Plan pack up for things to go into storage in order

a) Long term - things to put at the back as we can do without them

b) Medium term - things we might need access to

c) Short term - things we will need so they must be accessible

Next what to sell on eBay - I can think of a TV, Mower and a few other things - need to be ruthless but also need Mrs Smith's permission :) It is all in the name of elimination.

See Step II in The 4-Hour Workweek

Well we have started!

This is a bit of retrospective post as we started on the weekend prior to the blog going live. One of the things The 4-Hour Work Week tells you is to eliminate. So that's what we plan to do. We are moving out of our rented house. We are currently spending a lot of money on rent ($900) per week - ouch.

We went to Kennards Storage and booked our space. We are moving our whole house into it. We are moving to Newport with Mrs Smith's sister and her bloke. We have our boxes and we start packing. We are continuing the elimination process - we are offloading all our unwanted stuff. Some to friends, some on eBay and some to the Salvos.

Getting excited and nervous at thre same time....

So, what is the 4-hour work week?

Taken from Vive Magazine Issue Oct/Nov 2008

"We're in the middle of a lifestyle revolution. Leading the charge is the New Rich (a modern derivative of nouveau riche) a group of people who have amassed independent wealth within their own generations. Most commonly, this group comprises of entrepreneurs who have found their fortunes on the internet's new frontier. With technology on their side they have effectively put lifestyle and work methodologies under the spotlight - and they are keen to spread the word. Tim Ferriss's thought provoking The 4-Hour Work Week discusses the concept of Lifestyle Design, questioning society's long held expectation that chronologically, work comes first, followed by retirement."

This is our story of bringing the 4 Hour Work Week to reality downunder!