Story Signals

Inspiring interviews and lessons learned on living with purpose, clarity, and meaning

Story Signals Episode 2: An Interview with Brendan Leonard of Semi-Rad

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Brendan Leonard is a writer and outdoorsman who has been living the type of flexible, work-from-anywhere life many of us dream of. For the better part of the last year, Brendan has been living in an Astro van, exploring and experiencing many of the beautiful and wild places of America. In fact, right after this interview, Brendan spent three weeks rafting the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, a life list worthy trip.

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Image credit: Patitucci Photo

So how did he find himself willingly living in van, when he has an income level that could certainly pay the rent on a regular basis? Brendan isn’t your normal dirtbag, with a masters in journalism and writing, a popular blog at Semi-Rad, and his new book, The New American Road Trip Mixtape. But when it came to the conventional path of writers, Brendan didn’t conform to the mold.

Listen to his story:

Memorable quotes from the interview:

“You’re not sitting at the coffee shop, writing beautiful things, and someone walks in and says ‘Hey, how ‘bout we give you $80,000 a year to write about whatever you want!’ It doesn’t work that way“.

We’re a nation of watchers now, waiting to be entertained. We’re losing our exploratory gene. What about ____? Where does ____ lead? What’s at the top/bottom of ____?

I don’t remember getting a little behind on bills, or having to scrap around for a few months following the trip. I remember cycling across America with Tony!

Brendan’s Favorite Quote:

Get busy living or get busy dying

– Red (played by Morgan Freeman), in The Shawshank Redemption

Where to Connect with Brendan:

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Want to help Story Signals hit the front page of iTunes podcasts? Here are 2 quick ways to help, and they all point to the same place.

  1. If you think Story Signals is deserving, leave a 5 star rating on iTunes. Click here, and click “View in iTunes” – “Reviews & Ratings” – “Write a Review” (see the screenshots)
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