As most of you know, one of our favorite interview questions that we ask here is “If you could have dinner with anyone dead, alive, (or fictional, that’s a new addition) who would it be and why? You can probably guess the ones we hear most often: George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Elon Musk, Oprah etc. etc. Recently, this struck up a conversation about celebrity idolization, and why people fawn over certain celebrities or people of influence, without knowing too many actual details about them. This can be a dangerous concept, because a lot of times major character flaws or otherwise heinous acts are completely disregarded (or even worse, justified) in the eyes of the people who admire said person. It’s a crazy concept that’s summed up pretty well in this excerpt from an article on the topic:

“Richard Branson epitomizes this. His charisma is so potent it could derail a train. He amassed a fortune in the music industry (cool) and airlines (fun) and was prescient enough to name both companies ‘Virgin’ which reminds us of sex. When a photo once surfaced of Branson windsurfing with a topless model, our collective reaction was ‘What a fun dude!’

Had Mark Zuckerberg done that we would have said: ‘What a jerk! Here we are hard at work while that plutocrat cavorts with models.’ This is because we believe Mark Zuckerberg to be a dork, whereas Richard Branson is an Aryan shampoo ad come to life.”

Now, whether you love or hate any of these people, it’s important to see each of your role models for everything they are, instead of just the perception built up around them.

Bringing this around to SlideBelts relevance, let’s remember that as we grow and become more and more prominent in the market and the community, to earn every bit of the respect and reverence that we encounter, and to never solely rely on the perception that may come of us. Constant improvement people!

What is your first thought when it comes to thrift stores? For some of you, it might be the image of old, outdated, looks-like-it-has-been-worn-50-times musty clothes. For others, it might be the image of rundown, hardly works, broken, miscellaneous house items. 

Now, if you were to ask me, "What is your first thought when it comes to thrift stores?" I would tell you it's the image of my father. He is the reason I occasionally visit my local thrift store. As a kid, my father would take my little sister and me to our local thrift store almost every other weekend. There, my father would purchase anything he felt we needed or anything he knew he could easily restore...my father enjoyed the craft of making something new again and still very much enjoys it till this day. I've come to realize that it's my inner dad in me that keeps me coming back. 

And fortunate for me, today's thrift stores are much different from what they use to be. Today's thrift stores carry dozens of hardly been used items, making my restoration projects that much easier to find. For instance, not too long ago, in an effort to spice up my bedroom, I found three comic paintings that were each equal in dimension, each with only minor worn out corner areas. While examining them, I knew instantly that I could easily paint over them and make my own three-parted painting. And that's exactly what I did! And it only cost me $4.47 to do (minus the cost of spray paint, which I already had). That same day, I purchased a 2 pack of Silicone Ice Sphere Molds that were still in their original package and that were the fraction of the retail price!

Overall, I like to think there's something for everyone in a thrift store. Even if you simply need a bit of a laugh, thrift stores have some pretty funky items — granted, most of them are more of an enigma than anything else (just look at the picture of the book I found below) — but nonetheless, they still have plenty to offer. Oh and if you're not in the shopping mood, you can always donate clothing or items you no longer utilize!

Happy shopping/donating everyone!  

While in Tahoe last week on our annual family vacation hike, I spent a decent amount of time wondering what the difference between hiking and walking really is? 

Is hiking just aggressive walking? Is it walking in nature? Wandering amongst the places of the earth that are still wild, having not yet been turned into apartment complexes or strip malls?

Walking is our most basic form of movement. From the time we are toddlers and take our first steps, walking becomes the foundation for everything - the motion from which all else flows. So if walking is the bedrock of our being, why do we need another name for the activity we do when we wander amongst the lakes and the valleys and the mountains and the deserts, the earthly masterpieces that have been around for millions of years. 

In this age of immediate convenience, have we become so accustomed to staying in our comfortable suburban bubbles that we need a specific name for the times that we get outside and live again in nature?

Anyways, these are the things that go through my mind on family hikes (strenuous walks in nature?). If you have any thoughts or insight onto this internal hike vs. walk debate, I'd love to hear it!

Editor's note: I had another version that was written much better and far more eloquently, but Shopify kicked me off when I went to insert the picture and I lost it all [insert the angriest emoji face here]. 

A picture from my camera roll of my favorite place in nature - Oregon's Columbia River Gorge.