Category Archives: Dreaming Big

Unlikely Olympians: 4 Athletes Who Beat the Odds

By Roadmonkey | Published August 10, 2012

by Cecee McDaniel Olympic athletes are, in a phrase, amazing people. Their displays of strength, endurance and mental toughness are the reason we watch the human drama that is the Olympic Games. Here’s four Olympians who forged unconventional paths to the London Games: John Orozco, 19, is an American gymnast and the 2012 national [...]

Also posted in Smart Risks | Tagged 2012 Olympics, against the odds, ambition, American dream, athletes, career, conditioning, endurance, exploring, Haley Nemra, John Orozco, Lauren Perdue, London Games, Melanie Roach, mental toughness, mindfulness, Olympic athletes, Olympic Games, perseverance, Roadmonkey | Leave a comment

The Hong Kong Of My Youth

By Roadmonkey | Published July 28, 2012

by Dominic Ching Nam Wong Hong Kong is the city where I grew up. I spent my first 17 years there and I would say that I had a happy childhood. It is true that Hong Kong is a prime example of Darwinist principles. Survival of the fittest. You see this everywhere: in schools, at [...]

Also posted in Adventure Philanthropy | Tagged adventure philanthropy, Dominic Ching Nam Wong, hometown, Hong Kong, nostalgia, youth | Leave a comment

Was Bruce Lee a Roadmonkey?

By Roadmonkey | Published April 24, 2012

The legendary Bruce Lee, a martial artist and student of philosophy, lived his life as if it were a series of opportunities, challenges and celebrations. In that regard, you could argue that he was living la vida Roadmonkey in his own, Bruce Lee way. (This is what happens when you stay up too late watching [...]

Also posted in Kickass Exploring, Mindful Living, Smart Risks | Tagged "Bruce Lee", action adventure, adventure, enter the dragon, explorers, fists of fury, gung fu, Hong Kong, iconoclast, jeet kune do, kung fu, return of the dragon, Roadmonkey, salsa danging, wing chun | 2 Comments

Why I Left The New York Times

By Roadmonkey | Published April 19, 2012

People have asked me to explain why I left a successful career as a New York Times staff writer. Other people wondered about the genesis of Roadmonkey. They’re two sides of the same coin, really. Here’s the story: I’ll start with a sentence I wrote, in 2010, for MindFood, an Australian monthly that asked me [...]

Also posted in Adventure Philanthropy, Smart Risks | Tagged ambition, American dream, career, corporate, creativity, journalism, New York City, New York Times, paul von zielbauer, professional goals, quiet desperation, Roadmonkey, self realization | 1 Comment

“One thing you dream of doing before you die….”

By Roadmonkey | Published April 1, 2012

ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO a Columbia University student, Jenny Lam, created an intimate portrait of New York dreams and aspirations by allowing hundreds of city residents to anonymously write down one thing they want to do before they leave this Earth. Ms. Lam placed pre-stamped postcards all over Manhattan. Each bore a return address to [...]

Also posted in Mindful Living, Smart Risks | Tagged "bucket list", "New York", art, dreams, manhattan, neuroses, nyc, Postcards, public art | 2 Comments