Things I Love on the Internet

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Tommy

Just a Millennial living in the real world...

So if you know me or have been reading the blog, then you may know that I am very old school. Heck I am a Millennial, but I act more like a Boomer. I am very good with technology since I am a Millennial and I grew up with it, but I only try to limit myself to things that help me become more productive like Microsoft Excel or some basic apps on my phone. I rarely play games on my phone, my average usage on Instagram is only about 30 minutes daily, and I really only use my phone for the essentials. 

About a year ago, I watched the Netflix Documentary, The Social Dilemma, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It scared the sh** out of me as it taught me how the algorithms work. And I found out how much data, they have on me. I slightly knew about this as Westworld Season 3 also scared the sh** out of me. So I downloaded my data to my computer and deleted my Facebook account, which I had since high school. Yes, I do realize that Instagram is owned by Meta, but I think the users/content is way more positive and it’s not as big of a cesspool. 

Don’t get me wrong. The internet is one of the greatest inventions of all time as it makes us more productive and we can learn a lot of things. Even though I think the internet has evolved into a monster and parts of it is a cesspool and slippery slope, I am still able to find great content all over the internet. And that is what I wanted to post on this page. 

I am very big into self-help as my Dad taught me that you should always be learning something new and grow. So below are some people that I use/follow on the internet as I think their content is great! Sharing is caring. 

Mark Manson

Mark Manson is a self-help guru and a NYT bestseller. His book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck was pretty life-changing for me and I re-read it whenever I am going through a rut. His self-help advice is straight-forward and no BS so that is what I love. 

His follow up book, Everything Is F*cked was very good as well! One of my biggest take aways in this book was the true story of Wiltold Pilecki, a Polish intelligence officer early in WWII. 

Give him a follow over on Instagram as the content is glorious! 

Nate O'Brien

No I am not a fan just because we share the same last name… Haha. I found Nate O’Brien’s YouTube channel when I was searching for investing tips. His channel on YouTube specializes in personal finance, productivity, and minimalism.

The video that got me hooked to Nate’s channel was “How I Became Confident” shown below. I watched this video when I was not in a very good state of mind due to the pandemic and I was a little depressed with how divided we are as a nation politically. It really helped me release some stress and anger that I had at the time and it really improved my mental health. The thing that I took away from it is he discusses what his thought process is when trying to figure out if something is worth spending energy on it or not. It was so powerful to me that I wrote it down in my “Rules of life” note. You can check it out in the video below and it starts at the 4:05 time mark. 

Another thing that Nate specializes in is minimalism. I found out about minimalism about 3 years ago when I was watching a Madden YouTuber that I am subscribed to and he endorsed the Kisetsu wallets on one of his videos. At the time, I was in the market for a new wallet and I saw it was being sold as a minimalist wallet so I wanted to give minimalism a try. And I haven’t looked back since! The wallet is great as it’s more comfortable in my pocket due to the smaller size. It’s super cheap at about $25 as it’s made in Singapore and it can hold about 8 cards and a few bills of cash. The cons about the wallet are it is sometimes a pain when I try to find lesser used cards as they are deeper in the wallet where I have to take out all of the cards in my wallet to find it. And the other con is that since it’s made in Singapore, shipping took a good 4-6 weeks.  

I have embraced the minimalist lifestyle as I hate clutter and cleaning, but it certainly isn’t for everyone. Clutter gives me anxiety and I am too lazy to clean. I actually moved into my first studio in Chicago in 2021 and I love it! I lived in a really small studio back in 2012 when I studied abroad in London and that was literally the smallest thing I have ever lived in so I figured I could manage it.  

Below are my top 3 favorite videos by Nate O’Brien and I think he is a great resource!

Ask Sebby

I found Ask Sebby while looking for tips in the Points Game. He is more meticulous and into the math of credit card points so it’s definitely a different perspective. But I am also very meticulous and I like how he takes the time to explain things. Also, he is straight to the point with minimal fluff.  Unfortunately as of now, I don’t have the manpower or the time to keep up to date with all of the credit card news, as it’s ever-changing, so that is why I follow other credit card blogs like Ask Sebby. 

Flying the Nest

Flying the Nest is a couple from Austrailia who runs a travel vlog on YouTube. They have been to many countries around the world and I think they are one of the cutest couples I have ever seen. Jess is very bubbly and Stephen is like the nicest dude ever.

I found their channel when I was doing research for my Iceland Trip in 2020. I based a lot of my trip from their recommendations and pretty much copied the Helsinki leg. Yes, I also swam in the Baltic Sea when it was absolutely freezing in February, which was incredible! Check out the video below time marked at 2:55 to see why it was so special. 

Half Baked Harvest

So one of my friends, who I met while living at Great Lakes Naval Station back in the early 2000s, invited me over one night for dinner. Yes, we still stay in touch on Instagram and that is what makes social media great! She introduced me to Half Baked Harvest as the lasagna she made was a recipe of Tieghan’s. Her recipes are so amazing that I even ordered her cookbook for my Mom as a Christmas gift last year. Tieghan tries to make simple recipes, which are also delciious! A lot of them aren’t the healthiest, but her new cookbook is focusing on that, but who cares and it’s ok to splurge sometimes! Here’s the link to her website for the recipes. I’ll let her pictures do the talking. 

MadFit

Fitness and living a healthy lifestyle is one of my top priorities. I grew up playing sports and played throughout high school and I still play intramurals today. In college, I didn’t gain the freshman 15, I ended up gaining about 60 lbs and I weighed about 250 lbs throughout college. I ate a ton of food, drank a ton of alcohol, didn’t get much sleep, and didn’t work out as much as I should have as I was a college student. I actually did a lot of weight lifting in college, just not very much cardio and I ate like crap. Me and my fraternity brothers did insanity (#digdeeper), P90x, the Daniel Craig, Dark Knight, and Spartacus workouts, and I even benched 305 lbs once one time.

After college in 2013, my fraternity brother who I worked out with back in college and I signed up for the Men’s Health Chicago Urbanathlon, which was a 10 mile obstacle course through Chicago, and that got me into long distance running. After that we ran 3 Tough Mudders together and the next step for me was a half-marathon. And 7 half-marathons, 5 marathons, and 1 ultramarathon (50K) later, the rest was history. 

During the pandemic, I was looking for something so I could become more flexible and I stumbled upon MadFit and her beginner flexibility routine. She has 6+ million subscribers and her content is amazing! The music in her videos is quite good as well! I actually added some of her songs to my playlists on Spotify. But definitely check her out! 

Yoga with Adriene

During the pandemic, I ended up doing more yoga to de-stress as we could only work out at home. Yoga really helps me relax and it helps my mental health. Also, her dog Benji is a pretty cool dog! I’m pretty sure that Yoga with Adriene has the most subscribers on YouTube with 10+ million so enough said.

Golfholics

I am a huge golfer, but I am only slightly better than average. I shoot in the mid 90s, looking to break 90 consistently eventually. I think it’s definitely the toughest sport in the world to master and it’s a very mental game. But I also think golf is the greatest sport in the world because it teaches you about life skills such as hard work, integrity, patience, and many more. It’s definitely frustrating, but like anything in life you have to work hard to become better. Luckily, I have mostly learned how to let go of that frustration and I actually find golf very peaceful due to the beauty of the golf courses and nature. 

Golfholics is a YouTube channel vlog where they play some of the best public golf courses in the US. They are a lot of fun to watch because they have great personalities and they are good, but not elite at golf. What I mean by this is that they are just everyday golfers and like you and me. They are not pros, they show it like it is, and their footage is amazing! 

America's Parks

Hiking became a hobby of mine after I visited Zion National Park in 2019 and it’s one of my more recent loves. At the time, Zion was the 3rd national park that I have been to as I went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Grand Canyon National Park when I was a kid. But I wasn’t old enough at the time to appreciate the beauty of those experiences. The national parks are absolutely stunning and very peaceful to me as long as you avoid the crowds. It’s amazing to get away from the city, lose cell service, and breathe in fresh air. It’s very relaxing and it definitely helps with my mental health.

America’s Parks is a vlog and his goal is to visit all of the national parks in the US and I think he is very close. He gives great tips on things to do and the footage is incredible! His footage really captures the beauty of the national parks. Below is a video of Acadia National Park and I basically based my experience at Acadia off of his video. 

It's Bourbon Night

Bourbon is another thing that I love. I got into whiskey because my Dad bought me a handle of Jameson Irish Whiskey for St. Patrick’s Day after college. Since it was a handle and I didn’t want to do shots, I ended up drinking it on the rocks and eventually neat. I’m not a huge fan of Jameson, but I like some of their higher tier stuff. So I thought I would give bourbon a try and I fell in love. Bourbon is mass produced so pretty easy to find and each bourbon’s flavor is pretty distinguished because of the mash bills and aging process.

It’s Bourbon Night is a YouTube channel where they review Bourbon & Rye whiskies. I found them by just searching bourbon on YouTube and they have given me some great bourbon suggestions. I love their channel so much that I actually bought some of their Drink More Bourbon glasses, which I love!  

Drink More Bourbon!

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