We are thrilled to share this guest post from our friend Brady Paron. Brady has long been a rockstar member of the Holstee community and we have been super excited to see him traveling and living the dream in South Korea. He wrote to us last week that the Manifesto had been on his mind through his travels and put together this post to share with us. Thanks Brady!

Travel often; Getting lost will help you find yourself... For the past one and a half years, I’ve been living on a volcanic island called Jeju-do, which is off the Southern coast of the Korean peninsula. Before I came here, I was working at home in Canada (shout out!) but wanted a change. I didn’t know what my next career choice would be, but I was ready for something new and I also wanted to travel.

I made the decision to move to South Korea to teach English and to travel. When I made this decision, I had been dating my girlfriend for only a few months, and we decided to go to South Korea together.  Because of both of these decisions, I faced some resistance from people close to me, who only wanted the best for me but didn’t understand why I was making these decisions. I also got a lot of support from friends, family, and even strangers who I met while working.

Now that I’ve been here for 18 months, I can confidently tell you that living abroad has been the most educational and life-changing experience I’ve ever had. My adventure has taught me many things as I’ve dealt with the many challenges that you face while you are in a country other than your own. But I’m not writing this to tell you about my own learnings. There have been many, but that’s not the point.

Just as the inspiring quote on the Holstee manifesto suggests, travelling will push you to your edge and allow you to grow in such a way that you feel clearer about your values and more confident with your interests and passions. It has a profound effect on you, if you let it.

Here’s the catch, though: you need to be ready to take it on. Just like everything in life, when you commit fully to something, you learn from it. You need to be open, and accepting, and adventurous, and bold, and shy, and scared all at once. The beauty of the experience is the ups and downs. Usually the things that make you think “If only this wasn’t happening right now...” are actually the things that teach you the most. If you let them.

Challenge yourself to step outside of your comfort zone. If you want to travel, do it now. Be unreasonable with yourself and make it happen. In fact, make it happen often. I promise. If you are ready and you are open...you will learn much more about yourself and the world than you ever expected. And isn’t that just the best?

photo of fields and Halla Mountain on Jeju Island by Britt Neufer

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” This was his answer.

"You are unrepeatable. There is a magic about you that is all your own." -D.M. Dellinger.

Still today, over 13 million people are in emergency need in the Horn of Africa due to drought, conflict, and famine. Hundreds of people are dying every day, majority of which are children. See World Vision's quick guide to the crisis and see how you can make a difference (DC Entertainment is matching donations 100%).

I've been running sales the last several months and I'm thrilled to say Holstee is now available in over 30 independent shops from Portland, Oregon to Oslo, Norway :)

After spending most of the summer and early fall planting many seeds, it's all starting to pay off and the road ahead is bright. As we make our way across the US and beyond, I'd love to hear what shops you think Holstee would best fit in. 

Some cities on our radar are: Berkeley, Austin, Chicago, Boulder, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans and Baltimore. But there's plenty more places we'd love to establish a home away from home, so please reach out if you know a good fit for Holstee, regardless of where you live (email below).

I also want to announce that our wholesale page is looking real fresh these days by way of our superman developer team Thomas + Dave. Props to you guys for the painless facelift. 

2011 was a remarkable year for Holstee and my mind runs wild when I think of the possibilities for 2012 as we have one of the most amazingly strong and supportive communities one could ask for. 

Thanks for all the love + encouragement from all our shops, customers, fans, supporters, co-creators and producers. 

Cheers to setting the human soul on fire. 

MIKEY@holstee.com 

It is not every day that you see a preview for a film that brings chills to your spine like this one does. If there is one thing we love, it is the combination of beautiful filmmaking and the cultures (and people) of the world. Life in a Day is a collaborative documentary that is the result of over 80,000 submissions of 4,500 hours of footage from people in 192 countries all shot on July 24, 2010. Kevin Macdonald has taken this footage to create a film that serves as an absolutely beautiful insight on what it means to be human and the wonderful similarities that exist between us all. This documentary is a must-see, indeed.

A good reminder of how connected the world is these days :-)

Thirst Becomes War:

A fifth of the worlds population does not have access to clean water.

Soon enough, water will be the first important ressource of mankind to be in scarcity. And that is how thirst becomes war. -Thierry Blancpain

Although we are a day behind (mistakingly thought it was today), we wanted to recognize that International World Water Day is held every year on March 22 to recognize the importance of clean and safe water and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources for all citizens of the world. 

The focus of World Water Day 2011 is on the estimated 828 m i l l i o n people living in slums scattered around the world’s cities, where the population grows by 2 people every second (referrenced here) and the uncertainties of climate change and natural disasters complicate future water solutions. 

To help spread the good word, we are featuring the poweful work of Thierry Blancpain above. He's an incredible designer, visionary and all-around solid guy who we are super proud to collaborate with. If you're experiencing chills (as I did when I first saw this image), please leave a comment to show your support for WWD+Thierry either here, on Facebook or Twitter. 

The urban poor pay up to 50 times more for a litre of water than their richer neighbours, since they often have to buy their water from private vendor. 

For more info on how to make clean water a right for all people, click here. 

For more of Thierry's work, please visit his website or follow him @blancpain.