From time-to-time we veer off the subject of volunteering to announce something special. Today I wanted to announce to you some great news. One of our special friends, long-time supporters and consultants to Tropical Adventures has just published his first book, Triple A’s for the Soul - Your Pathway to Personal Freedom.

Trent Blanchard, of Palm Springs, California assists people in removing the obstacles that get in the way of living a life of fulfillment, joy and peace. He does this through individual Life Coaching, writing, workshop facilitation and public speaking engagements.

Trent's new book, Triple A’s for the Soul - Your Pathway to Personal Freedom, practically assists the reader in removing the obstacles in his/her life that prohibit them from having a joyful experience. Trent shares the stories of his own life with the intention of assisting the reader in healing theirs The book is broken down into twelve chapters, each containing an Article, an Affirmation and Action steps. Trent suggests if you follow this path, you will surely find freedom from self-imposed limitations.

Trent received his undergraduate degree in Human Resource Management and spent over a decade in New York City in various Human Resource functions for major corporations. Trent holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology and is a certified addiction specialist. He is also an ordained Interfaith Minister.

In his private practice, Trent works with clients mainly in Palm Springs and Los Angeles. However, as a result of his popular workshops, Trent works with individuals all over the country and regularly with at-risk youth.

You can visit Trent's website by clicking here and read more about Trent's new book by clicking here. Congratulations Trent from all of us here at Tropical Adventures!

There were several books in the house already when we bought it. I'm slowly making my way through the piles. Last night I just finsihed another great one by Dan Brown, "Deception Point." It was another page-turner. I love those kind of books that are hard to put down.

This one had lots of surprises. Just when I thought I'd figured out "whodunnit," there were more twists to throw me off. Also very interesting about the book is that it's filled with crazy technology I didn't know existed. But Brown in his notes say that all the technology used in the book is real and used by the government today. You'll love it!

Isaac, Jimmy (neighbor) and I went to see the movie yesterday. We lucked out and got into the first showing here in Costa Rica. Actually, the VIP section is way nicer than any movie theater I've seen anywhere in the world. The seats recline, they have foot rests, waiters come by to see if you need sushi, burgers, beer, wine, popcorn. Not such a bad deal for only seven dollars ($3.50 on Wednesdays)!

So back to the movie. I had heard the reviews weren't all that great. But we all loved the movie. Yeah, of course it wasn't 100% true to the book. Maybe 95%. But since I read the book 2 years ago, it seemed perfect to me. This is one I would certainly recommend. And if you haven't read the book yet...shame on you! Click on the link below and get it.

My mom always told me that "nothing in life is free." But it's not 100% true. For instance, I just downloaded a free book from Lulu.com. It's a digital photography project that was put together by Escondido Charter High School. Some of the pictures are pretty nice, like this one by Ryan Miller (page 25) of a lake.

There are also books for cheap, not free, such as "The Little Book of Man" by R.A.M., which is a collection of personal quotes, poems and essays on the subject of tolerance and acceptance of self, and human nature. It's available for download (here) for just $2.00.

Lulu is a print-on-demand self-publisher. What that means is that you can publish your own book, CD, photos, software, video and calendars for FREE with this company. And they will print and distribute your sales as they come in. You also get a free website to showcase your items.

Sound too good to be true? I decided to try them out this past December and published a book based upon a school project called "History of Loving." I called my book "Seasons of Love." It's a collection of letters written by me to the people in my life with whom I've had a loving relationship. There are also letters in the book from some of those people to me about their experience in loving me.

It's a 40-page, full-color, soft-cover book that cost me under $11 to print for each copy and nothing in publishing costs. You can download a copy for free here. Lulu lets you create a project and does not care if even one copy is sold!

Why I'm telling you this is two-fold. There are many people who provide their work for free if you download it. And there are some pretty cool things there! Secondly, you may have thought about writing a book before. Well, with this system there is nothing to stop you! You own the full rights to your project and can change companies at any time.

If you have time, I'd suggest you check them out here. You'll be glad you did!

Continue reading "Free Stuff" »

I was reading an e-book today by Joe Vitale called “The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History!” Basically it was about letting go of the fear you won’t have enough money and to really enjoy giving money away. It’s a pretty amazing thing if you can learn to trust the Universe that abundance will be provided for you – just for the asking.

Joe was telling a story about a friend who owed him money for a long time, but had not been paying him back. It made me think about several people who have owed me a lot of money for years. I have certainly vacillated between being sick about it and being okay with it.

In reality I know that I live in an abundant world and I’m always taken care of. But there is that “human” part of me whose ego gets in the way. “It’s not fair” is a statement I used to hear myself saying over and over again. I remember my mother telling me, “The world is not fair” and “nobody ever promised you a rose garden.”

Continue reading "In this moment..." »