I am currently: Level 9 (20% towards Level 10)

Most Recent Mission: Be a Guest Lecturer at Facebook (completed 1/25/12)

Welcome to my Epic Quest of Awesome!

I’m traveling all over the world, going on crazy adventures, and helping other people level up THEIR lives along the way.

Every time I cross something off of my bucket list, I will gain 20% experience towards my next “level.” Thanks to some lucrative credit card deals and frequent flyer offers (all learned from Chris Guillebeau’s Frequent Flyer Master), I have over 325,000 airline miles (not an exaggeration) and I’m using them to see the world.  I’ll be meeting up with Nerd Fitness readers and using any travel-hacking skills I’ve acquired to accomplish this quest without breaking the bank. I’m currently flying 35,000 miles for $418 all around the world.

Steve’s Epic Quest of Awesome

Here are the things I hope to accomplish over the next few years – it’s a work in progress and subject to change based on future circumstances. Nerd Fitness is a community, and I want to help others do cool things too. If I’m coming to your neck of the woods and you want to meet up or join me on an adventure, please email me at steve@nerdfitness.com so we can meet up!

Completed Quests

Level 9

• Run a 6-figure business (Completed 12/30/11)

LEVEL 8 – MASTER QUEST – worth 100% exp

• Be a Guest Speaker at Facebook (completed 1/25/12)

LEVEL 7

• See the big 5 on an African Safari (completed 12/15/11)
  
• Visit Cape of Good Hope (completed 12/10/11)
  
• Climb Table Mountain in South Africa (completed 12/9/11)
• Have 10,000 subscribers on NF (completed 11/20/11)
  
• Have my own clothing line (completed 9/24/11)

LEVEL 6 – MASTER QUEST – worth 100% exp

• Live like James Bond in Monte Carlo - (completed 9/10/11)

LEVEL 5

• Visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain (completed 9/17/11)
  
• Climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France (completed 9/6/11)
  
• Exercise in front of the Palace of Versailles in France (completed 9/4/11)
  
• Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in France (completed 9/3/11)
  
• Go through the Louvre in Paris, France (completed 9/3/11)

LEVEL 4

• Kiss the Blarney Stone (completed 8/29/11).
  
• Visit Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland (Completed 8/9/11)
• Visit the Great Wall of China (Completed 5/20/11)
• Rock climb the cliffs of Thailand (Completed 5/6/11)
• Visit Angkor Wat (Completed 4/29/11)

LEVEL 3 MASTER QUEST (worth 100% exp)

• Be a guest speaker at Google (Completed 6/1/11)
  

LEVEL 2

• Visit Uluru – Ayer’s Rock (Completed 4/13/11)
• Find Nemo while scuba-diving the Great Barrier Reef (Completed 3/29/11)
• Skydive over New Zealand (Completed 3/12/11)
• Bungee Jump in Queenstown (Completed 3/13/11)
• Pilot an airplane (Completed 2/26/11)

LEVEL 1

• Have a 5-figure per year online business (Completed 12/9/10)
• Visit Machu Picchu in Peru (Completed 11/10/10)
• Start my own company (Completed 6/15/10)
• Perform on stage in front of at least 1,000 people (Completed 1/10/10) I’m the one playing piano on the left.
• Drive cross-country – (Completed 08/06/06) Cape Cod, MA to San Diego, CA

North America (The Starting Zone)

• Swim in the Atlantic and Pacific in the same day
• Go Whitewater Rafting in the Grand Canyon
• Surf on my own handmade board in Hawaii
• Visit Mount Rushmore in South Dakota
• Go to the Statue of Liberty in New York
• Ride a bull in Texas
• Be an extra in a Hollywood movie
• Be in a commercial
• Fix up an old boat and take it out on the ocean (like Andy in the Shawshank Redemption)
• Play in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, NV
• See the Northern Lights while in Canada
• Go fishing in Newfoundland

Central/South America (The Jungle/Forest Level)

• Exercise in front of the statues on Easter Island
• Visit the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador
• Participate in a Capoeira roda in Brazil
• Go to Carnival in Brazil
• Visit Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• Dance the tango in Argentina
• Visit Tikal in Guatemala
• Visit Chichen Itza in Mexico
• Visit Teotihuacan in Mexio
• Go through the Panama Canal
• Visit the Salar de Uyuni Saltflats in Bolivia
• Visit Machu Picchu in Peru

Europe (The Ancient City Level)

• Kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland
• Visit Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland
• Visit Loch Ness in Scotland (maybe find the monster?)
• Take a bagpipe lesson in Scotland
• Play golf at St. Andrews in Scotland
• Attend an English Premiere League match, singing cheers and drinking with the hooligans
• Visit Stonehenge in England
• Spend a night in a castle
• Visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain
• Dance all night on the island of Ibiza, Spain
• Attend Tomatina in Spain
• Climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
  
• Visit Mont St. Michel in France
• Visit the Louvre in France
• Exercise in front of the Palace of Versailles in France
• Visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in France
• Go to Oktoberfest in Germany
• Visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria
• Visit the Coliseum, Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilisca, in Rome, Italy
• Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy
• Visit the Duomo in Florence, Italy
• Visit the Parthenon in Greece
• Visit the Blue Domed Church of Santorini, Greece
• Exercise in Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia (which reminds me of The opening zone of Metroid: Prime)
• Exercise in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia
• Research my ancestry in Sweden, Norway, and Finland

Africa (the Desert Level)

• Visit the Pyramids in Egypt
• Go on an African Safari
• Dive with sharks in South Africa
• Ride an Ostrich in South Africa
• Climb Table Mountain in South Africa
• Go to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa
• Visit Madagascar
• Dubai – something ridiculous (is this part of Africa technically? I’ll say yes)
• Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
• Ride a camel through the Sahara Desert
• Visit Petra, Jordan (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ftw!)

Far East (the Hidden Temple Level)

• Attempt the Ninja Warrior course in Japan
• Study Ninjitsu in Japan
• Study Kung Fu in Shaolin, China
• Visit the Great Wall of China
• Visit Potala Palace in Tibet
• See the Taj Mahal in India
• Go to the Holi Festival or Dwali Festival in India
• Ride the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Russia
• Visit the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey
• Visit the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
• Ride a horse in Mongolia
• Visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia
• Spend a week or more studying Muay Thai Boxing in Thailand
• Rock climb on the cliffs of Thailand

South Pacific (the Water/Beach level)

• Skydive over New Zealand
• Bungee Jump in Queenstown
• Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef
• Visit Ayer’s Rock
• Snowboard and surf in the same day
• Visit Borobudur Temple in Java, Indonesia
• Visit the Palace of Brunei

Antarctica (the Snow Level)

• Set foot on land
• High-five a penguin!

Personal Level Up Goals

• Pilot an Airplane
• Perform on stage in front of at least 1,000 people
• Start My Own Company
• Be a guest speaker at Google
• Do 10 consecutive windmills in a breakdance circle
• Visit all 7 continents (5/7 complete)
• Fly completely around the world (in one direction)
• Pay off all of my student loans and become debt free – $11,300 to go
• Write and record a song
• Shoot even par on 9 holes on a full size golf course
• Shoot even par on 18 holes on a full size golf course
• Shoot under par on 18 holes on a full size golf course
• Get a hole in one on a regulation golf hole

Business Goals

• Have a 5-Figure per year Online Business
• Have a 6-Figure per year Online Business
• Have a 7-Figure per year Online Business
• Become a published author
• Start a charity that raises at least $1,00,0000
• Create a video on YouTube that has 1,000,000 views
• Have my own clothing line
• Have 10,000 subscribers on NF
• Have 20,000 subscribers on NF
• Have 50,000 subscribers on NF
• Have 100,000 subscribers on NF
• Get a million visits to the site in one month

Jason Bourne/James Bond Goals

• Become conversational in a third language (currently conversational in English and Spanish)
• Become conversational in a fourth language
• Obtain dual citizenship
• Create and keep a WTSHTF bag ready (google the phrase)
• Take a Krav Maga course and become proficient
• Pass a civilian firearms training course
• Pass a SWAT class

Body Weight Training Goals

• Do 10 handstand push ups against the wall
• Do 10 handstand push ups freestanding
• Do 10 pistol squats with each leg
• Do 5 one-arm chin ups with each arm
• Do 10 one-arm push ups with each arm
• Do 5 planche push ups
• Hold a front lever for 20 seconds

Weight Training Goals

• Bench press 225 pounds at least 10 times
• Do 10 pull ups with 45 pounds hanging on me
• Squat 300 pounds
• Deadlift 400 pounds

Master Quests

These are all worth 100% experience or more due to their complexity or difficulty

• Buy an island (yes I’m serious)
• Play golf at Augusta National in Georgia
• Get photographed walking down the red carpet at some epic event
• Be a guest on a prime time talk show 
• Go into outer space
• Get in the Guinness Book of World Records for something
• Live like James Bond in Monaco
• Be a guest lecturer at Google HQ
• Be a guest lecturer at Facebook HQ

So, what am I missing? What are some of the places I need to see or things I need to do that aren’t on this list?  If you live in a place I plan on visiting and you want to meet up, please let me know.  Don’t worry, you’ll be able to read all about where I’m at and where I’m headed here on NF. I’ll leave you with a quote from the Shawshank Redemption that expresses how I feel:

I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.

I can’t wait to hear your suggestions on what to add to the Epic Quest. (Just don’t get me killed, okay?  My mom would be PISSED). -Steve ###