Hi, My Name is Sean.

Hi, My Name is Sean Ogle. I’ve been blogging here for the last 9 years.

But if you’re new to the site, you might not have realized that.

To recap, I’ve been a bit MIA. Both physically and mentally.

I’ve only been writing once a month or so, and the rest of the posts have been from our fantastic Community Director Liz Froment or outside guest posts.

So I figured for day 3 of my month of daily blogging, I’d re-introduce myself.

After all, when it comes down to it, this is a personal blog. We’re not Mashable or Inc. We don’t have legions of professional writers. You’ve got me, Liz, and occasionally a few friends.

And if I can’t play up that one unique thing that I’ve got over all those other sites? Then we’re going to die a quick death over here.

In this post, you’ll learn things about me that most don’t know. You’ll also get a bit of the backstory of this site and how it came to be. I’m hoping you’ll also see my personality for what it really is, and be intrigued enough to stick around and let me help you grow a lifestyle business.

That cool with you?

Sweet, let’s jump in.

1) I can ride a six foot tall unicycle.

When I was in elementary school, there was a unicycle program for people that wanted to show up half an hour early and learn how to ride. I learned I can still do it when someone randomly showed up with one at a party a few years ago.

2) I can do #1 while juggling.

Despite what you may be thinking, I’ve never dressed up like a clown.

3) I got second place in a spelling bee a few months back

For every correct answer, you got a beer. My third word was onychoschizia – and I spelled it right.

Then when we were down to the last two, I lost on the word knowledgeable. It pains me to this day.

4) My karaoke song is Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer

I hardly ever do karaoke. In fact, it terrifies me. But somewhere after the 4th beer, it hits me, and this 80s gem comes out.

5) I joke that I’m a 70 year old in a 33 year old’s body

Let’s face it, I like nice things. Golf, nice watches, scotch, high end travel.

I’ve embraced this about myself, but I never do anything above my means.

6) I love the thrill of Hacking the High Life

Inside Location Rebel Academy, I have a course called Hacking the High Life. While I love fancy things, a big part of the enjoyment is finding ways into places I clearly don’t belong, or getting them for far less money than most people pay.

Here’s me at Winged Foot a couple weeks ago, this is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the entire world. How I ever managed to get here is beyond me.

My friend Dan and I at Winged Foot.

Another example is this Suites Class flight that retailed for $10,455. I paid $300.

7) The very first post published on this site was my bucket list

Chris Guillebeau inspired me to start it as a way to hold myself accountable for all the things I’ve wanted to do in my life.

It worked.

It also is in dire need of a big update and overhaul.

8) I’ve played the guitar since I was 10, but I’m not nearly as good as I should be.

My dad taught me how to play, and it’s one of the greatest gifts he’s ever given me. For my birthday in 2010, I was living in Thailand, and missed playing – so I decided to go buy a guitar.

I got teargassed in the process.

9) Last week I played course #49 on my quest to play the Top 100 golf courses in America

It’s called National Golf Links of America, and while you undoubtedly have never heard of it, it’s basically the St. Andrews of the United States.

National Golf Links of America Hole 17

It’s even harder to get access to than the aforementioned Winged Foot, and I’m still in shock that I had the good fortune of playing it.

10) I also went to #38 on my quest to visit the Top 100 bars in the world.

I truly believe everyone should have a “thing” when they travel. I’ll be writing about this in more depth later this week.

My 38th of the Top 100 Bars in the World: Blacktail in NYC.

11) I’m great at building businesses that get to the $250k/year point. Growing beyond has been a challenge.

I’ve gotten really good at building businesses that can get to the $100-2ook threshold. But the skills for going from 100k to 1m, are very different – and despite often thinking I know what to do, I have yet to prove that.

12) I’ve always said I don’t want to grow a business with a larger team, but I think that’s really just because I don’t know how.

File this under limiting beliefs:

A bigger team will be more work…

It will take away my freedom and flexibility…

It will be too expensive…

All of these are things I tell myself, but I think there’s a part of me that’s just afraid of failing. Pretty ironic for a guy that created a course on overcoming fear…

13) I’m notoriously cheap when it comes to investing in my business

This is one thing about a lifestyle business that most people don’t talk about it.

Because your business and personal accounts are so closely intertwined, each time you pay for something it can feel like it’s coming from your own pocket, as opposed to that of the business.

So when it comes time to make significant investments, it can be difficult to pull the trigger.

I should take advice from my previous self.

I also just recently rediscovered this post on frugal travel. Man, I was even worse than I remember…

14) I’ve never felt like I have a core group of friends, and sometimes I wish I did.

I’ve always known a lot of people and had a lot of friends.

However, in part due to my varying interests and unconventional career choice, I’ve never found my core group of people.

I have my high school and college friends…

I have my entrepreneurial friends…

I have my golf friends…

But in each of those cliques, there’s a group of people that are best friends, hang out all the time, and do everything together.

While I’ll spend time with each of these groups frequently, I still feel like I’m just on the outside of the inner circle – and at times it can be tough not to have that core group.

15) The secret to my success is consistency over a long time.

Nearly every day for the last 10 years I’ve put in some form of effort on this business. Maybe it’s just answering a few emails or responding to a forum post in the Academy, but I put in some kind of effort just about every day.

Then, of course, there are the 12 hour benders, where you plow through projects.

I don’t know anyone who has consistently put considerable effort into a business over two years and hasn’t had some element of success.

So why don’t more people do it? Consistency is hard. In fact…

16) Consistency is also one of my biggest fears.

For as consistent as I’ve been with little actions with the business, the idea of doing a bigger more public facing endeavor that requires consistency is terrifying to me. That’s why I’ve never started a podcast, or done a daily blog until now.

I did a daily vlog a couple years back just to prove to myself that I could be consistent – and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

17) I’ve always thought I have ADD, I struggle with symptoms every day, but haven’t done anything about it

I’ve written about 1500 words in this post and I’ve stopped and become distracted and done other things about a dozen times in the process. This is how everything is. I struggle to focus enough to start, and then it’s even harder to keep going without getting distracted.

It could very well just be a symptom of the overstimulated, instant gratification culture we live in, but it’s hands down been one of my biggest struggles over course of my life. It’s even tougher when you’re working from home, which is why these days I do nearly all of my work from coffee shops or other “offices.”

18) I lived in Thailand for 7 months

In a lot of ways, I feel like this is when my life really started. It was the first time I went out on a limb and did something truly unique (or at least it felt unique at the time).

It was crucial to the early success of my blog, I met dozens of incredible people, and it allowed me to put into perspective what I really wanted in life.

Working at the Bhu Nga Thani on Railay Beach, Thailand

19) I lived in Bali for 2 months.

When your friend has a big house with a bunch of other entrepreneurs, and says come live rent free for as a long as you want?

You go.

There are times I long for the simplicity of the lifestyle. Street food for lunch. A 5 minute motorbike ride to the beach. Unbelievable views. And constant conversations about life and business.

Check out some of the posts from my time there.

20) Our two month sabbatical trip is the longest period of time I’ve been consistently “traveling”

I’ve lived those other places mentioned above, but for the most part, I had a home base. Last year, my wife Tate and I spent two months traveling the world.

We went to NYC, Germany for Oktoberfest, hiking in the Italian Dolomites, and even went to a panda reserve in the mountains of China.

Tate at the Wolong Panda Reserve outside Chengdu, China

It’s one of the most memorable things I’ve ever done.

21) I am not a handy person

As much as I wish I were, I simply am not a handy person. And because of this, it makes me wonder if buying a house built in 1929 was the best decision…

22) I won a geography competition for 6-8th graders when I was in 5th grade

It was a presentation on the ruins of Pompeii. I still haven’t had the chance to visit in person though.

23) I used to play competitive tennis. I got third place at state when I was in high school

Tennis was my life through high school. I played Club in college, and have only played a handful of times in the last 10 years.

I’m excited to get back into it soon.

24) I once backpacked through Europe, with no backpack

I took a 3 week backpacking trip through Europe after graduating college with three of my best friends. The airline lost my backpack, and despite numerous assurances, it would reach me in Europe, it returned to my home in Eugene 2 days before I did…

It was also the fodder for one of my first blog posts.

25) I’m probably the most nostalgic person you’ll ever meet

If there’s one word to describe me, I think nostalgic would be a good one. Even writing this post, and thinking back about the various stages of my life, has left me longing to experience some of them again.

26) I have a collection of Islay Scotches

My favorite flavor is smoke (but I don’t smoke). So naturally, I was drawn to the peaty, campfire-y flavors of Islay Scotch.

I have close to two dozen bottles of Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and more.

The nicest bottle is a Laphroaig 25, which was a wedding gift from close friends.

But my favorite is the Hand Filled Bowmore 13 year that my friend Matt and I bottled in Scotland.

27) I’ve been to 28 countries

USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Bermuda, Macau, Singapore, Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Maldives, Jordan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Spain, Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Vatican City

Usually, I have an idea of which one will be next, and right now I’m not sure what my next new country will be.

28) Right now my biggest struggle is energy management

I’ll probably write more on this later this month. But daily energy management is my biggest struggle with productivity. I feel great for a few hours in the morning, but usually, by early to mid afternoon, my energy and willpower feel zapped,  and it’s a huge uphill battle to get anything done.

29) Seeing people be successful with Location Rebel Academy is the most fulfilling thing I do

Building a lifestyle business is hard, but it’s not difficult. 

The steps are extremely clear, but having the patience, trust, motivation, and willpower to focus long enough to see success can be a challenge.

Helping people overcome that and seeing their successes will never get old.

30) I’m really good at product launches.

There’s a lot of things with businesses I’m not so good at. But when it comes to doing shorter product launches, I’m pretty good.

I have one freelance client that I do launches for, in doing two launches to a small list of people, we generated nearly half a million dollars.

31) My favorite movies are The Rock, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Wedding Crashers, and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

And because I’m so nostalgic, these are my favorites as much for the times they represented in my life as the movies themselves.

32) I have twin sisters

They’re tall, blonde, and 3 years younger than I am. You can imagine how fun that was for me when I was a senior in high school and they were freshman.

Katie and Courtney

33) I’ve never been one of the “cool kids” – and I still struggle with that.

I’ve never been cool. I’ve never been on the inner circle of “cool kids” in any of the areas of my life. Whether it’s school, business, golf etc.

In nearly every case I’ve always been right on the outskirts of that group, which I’ve found can be an awkward place to be.

34) I’m fascinated by luxury hotels

I almost went to school for hotel management, until I realized working 18 hours days for little respect and reward wasn’t my jam.

To this day, I still enjoy visiting and seeing 5 star hotels in the cities I travel as much as any of the traditional tourist destinations. I’ve considered starting a niche site around this for years – and probably will one day.

35) The three people that had the most direct impact on my business success were Chris Guillebeau, Dan Andrews, and Ryan Martin.

Chris was the inspiration to start this blog, and he offered me work the day I quit my job.

Ryan was the one who I talked to every week and held me accountable for doing the things I want to do, in part by doing the exact same thing for himself.

Dan offered me a chance to move to Asia, learn online marketing, and take my business more seriously.

Had I not met any of the three of them, my life would be in a very different place than it is right now.

So, That’s Me.

There you have it. There are 35 things about me, my life, my struggles, my triumphs that you probably didn’t know – but hopefully gives you some insight into who I am.

If you want even more, then check out this list of some of my favorite things.

Want help building a lifestyle business of your very own? Awesome, that’s what I’m here for.

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.

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