tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79151191455715542662009-03-02T04:51:42.212-06:00Online journal of practicing lifestyle designer, Ron Merrill. Ron will share highlights of his transition from routine to robust, from slave to master, from action free to action packed. Will include adventure, business, travel, philosophy and hopefully some good advice you can use to step out of your comfort zone and into all life has to offer.Ron Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04415534118375045549noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915119145571554266.post-43467236866727345762008-05-24T16:10:00.003-05:002008-05-26T09:44:51.544-05:00One of the main tenants of Lifestyle Design is reclaiming lost and stolen time. It is amazing how much time we waste on routine and trivial chores. Tasks like arranging doctor appointment, researching what new camera to buy, making dinner reservations and even paying bills online can eat up huge amounts of time.<br />This last week I have been experimenting with <a href="http://www.asksunday.com">AskSunday.com</a>, an online virtual assistant outsourcing firm based in New York. Ask Sunday has a $50 per month plan in which they will perform 30 tasks taking up to 20 minutes each. So far I have had Ask Sunday arrange an appointment with my hairdresser, set up a ½ day Kite Surfing lesson for my wife and I, schedule time with my trike instructor, purchase Madonna tickets, arrange for dinner reservations on two occasions and set up my annual physical with my doctor. All of this was coordinated in 4 e-mails to Ask Sunday. Each task was performed to my satisfaction and the fun part is that I had my Ask Sunday assistant identify himself as my personal valet as he made each connection.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7915119145571554266-4346723686672734576?l=ronmerrill.blogspot.com'/></div>Ron Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04415534118375045549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915119145571554266.post-86609436987738065542008-05-14T18:35:00.000-05:002008-05-14T18:56:31.149-05:00It's 10 minutes 'till dawn. In less than an hour I'll be taking my virgin flight, soaring high above the clouds, finally freed from the surley bonds of earth. I have to admit I am more than a little nervous. I have never flown a trike before. What, you ask, is a trike? A trike is basically a lawn chair strapped to a wing with a snowblower motor on the back. It is actually a little more complicated than that. Trikes are really very safe and it takes a fair amount of training to get licenced to fly solo.<br /><br />As I prepare to make my way to the airstrip, I can't help but think about all that has led up to this day. You see, after 8 years of owning and operating a relativly successful moving and storage company in Houston, I spent the last 18 months working <strong>on the business</strong> instead of working <strong>in the business</strong>. Today is a milestone day. Today marks the day that my business no longer depends on me. I now can live more like a shareholder and less like an employee. Several months ago I decided to celebrate this day by physically doing what I had been doing mentally for the last year and an half - getting my head above the clouds, establishing a view from 10,000 feet, seeing the bigger picture.<br /><br />I'm off to soar with the eagles, I'll report back soon from the mountain top.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7915119145571554266-8660943698773806554?l=ronmerrill.blogspot.com'/></div>Ron Merrillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04415534118375045549noreply@blogger.com1