How I gave up smoking for FREE

How I gave up smoking - a little at first, delaying the first cigarette of each day but this eventually lead to a great end result. I now haven't smoked a cigarette for over 10 years.

What brought this memory back was reading 'The Power of Less: Changing Behavior with Leo Babauta' on the 'Four Hour Working Week' blog.

This suggests concentrating on changing one habit at a time, over a period of a month. The article says changing more than one habit at a time is counter productive. It also said that starting small and gradually make the challenge bigger leads to more success as you get many more successes behind you this way.

This rang true with how I quit smoking

I was in Thailand, with about a month's money left before I needed to returned to the UK. I was smoking between 10 and 15 cigarettes a day, more if I went out drinking. It was my first time to spend many months travelling and I loved it very much. Which got me thinking, how to save the money to go traveling again? Quitting was a good option as cigarettes were about 5 pounds a packet back at home, ten times the price they were in Thailand. This made me feel that smoking was daylight robbery in the UK.

I guess that how I started, with a strong vision.... I'll go travelling again, something which I really wanted to do. I also felt passionate about it as I didn't want to give my money away to the UK government.

But despite this strong vision I didn't stop straight away

Here's how I did it;

• I created a powerful reason for giving up. Also that reason was an award.
• I smoked my first cigarette of the day at a later time each day. If I did this then the day was a success. The amount of time didn't matter, so as long as it was later.
• I also couldn't smoke any more cigarettes then the day before. Even if I smoked the same number of cigarettes as the day before but smoked the first cigarette later; the day was still a success.
• I did this over a period of about two to three weeks until I run out of time and 'number' of cigarettes to smoke.

I haven't smoked since.

I think the good thing about this approach is that I won in my battle against smoking everyday for 2-3 weeks before I actually stopped smoking. With this success behind me, I was able to continue despite being in a country where cigarettes were cheap and there were plenty of opportunities to go out and party. And I did.

By the time I got back to the UK, I had already stopped for more than 7 days and was able to resist starting again.

Here's the link to Leo's article on how to change habits.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/

I'll have to use this method to change some other bad habits that I have and to start some good habits.

I would love to hear from you.

How did you give up? Or are you giving up or want to give up smoking?

The images are ones I took, if you're interested in using them, please leave a comment and a contact email.

2009 Goals



The overall goal is to break free from work forever. By the end of the year, I want to be in a position where if I go travelling and I'm breaking even. I plan to do this by raising my passive income, though making videos and through travel writing. I will also investigate some income generating ideas from 'The Four Hour Working Week'. Also, I want more power over how I spend my time, I want to exercise at least three times a week and have the time to develop new skills.

Goals 2009

• Increase my passive income to cover at least 30% of travel costs
• Increase income from mircostocks to $150 per month
• To get + $100 from videos per month
• To earn as I travel through spotting opportunites and exploiting them
• To earn from 'Teaching English' in different ways, i.e. ways that generate passive income
• To exercise at least 3 times a week
• To speak Chinese to a conversational level, by this I mean talking with a stranger for 10 minutes without the need to resort to drawing pictures or finding someone who speaks English.
• To be a travel writer, and this will cover the remaining costs of travel
• To develop 'own' business.

Passive Income


Microstock photography - although this is not real passive income (as it involves a lot of input at the start) I've included it in this category. Last Month I earned $35 from this source and this month will be similar. I want this to increase to $150 by the end of the year.



Other photography - Investigate other sources of income from photography



Video - to be earning income from this by September and for this to generate income of $100 plus per month by the end of the year.

Also to use video as a source of income on the road - shoting for hotels and activities centres in return for income or goods.

Travel Writing - When I'm travelling, to dedicate two hours a day to this activity.

To use my main occupation, teaching English, as a passive source of income.

Intro - Why I'm writing this blog

Perhaps it's a middle age crisis, the big FOUR OH is coming very soon, in fact too soon. This time next year I'll be there.

Perhaps, I haven't grown up and there's still some rebel left in me. I don't want my life and work to be a job that's 'OK'. I want more travel; I want to meet people doing radical things, who have new ideas and are working them; I want my own radical ideas to work and I want some of that entrepreneurial spirit -- like in 'the Dead Poet's Society' I want that 'cease the day mentality.

Am I too old for all this stuff, definitely not! Am I scared, definitely!

So I want to start living my life as I want it to be. I want freedom from work, which doesn't mean I don't want to work but I want to be doing my own work, something I can put my heart into.

I want to increase my passive income, which at present is vertically zero ($35 per month) to a point where I can travel or learn something new and not worry about money.

I want each day to be the most important day for me. At the moment, my mind drifts from fantasies to worries and is largely unproductive.

I've had always wanted this freedom but I haven't done much about it. Now I feel is the time to make changes. To do, instead of think and dream about it.

As this crisis sweeps my mind, I've turned to books and the internet for help.

So far I have read;

The Four Hour Working Week Tim Ferriss -- initial view, very attractive and some parts are very practical. I have stopped reading the news and this small change has saved me a lot of time. I haven't got my head about the 'muses' (businesses that generate cash but become fully automated) yet but it is something I would like to try. Outsourcing life, seems very radical to me, I didn't realise the extent this has gone, until I read FHWW.

I have partly read

E Myth Mastery - Michael E. Gerber

This book combines the Story of Sarah with the principles of Entrepreneurial ship. You have to read a bit to find out the practical tips. The story of Sarah adds an emotional dimension to the advice I guess.

Useful bits so far

Get use to being a leader - say it to yourself and notice how you feel. He gives this advice, as many people feel pompous or silly calling themselves 'leaders'.

Stopping - as the name suggests, this is literally stopping yourself when you're busy doing something and observing your thoughts. I found exercise this very interesting and insight. I'm not sure at the moment what to do with the observations.

Get your 'vision' sorted out first before starting a business plan.

Interesting website

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/07/the-power-of-less-leo-babauta-zen-habits/

This is not Tim Ferriss but it's on his website. An interesting approach to changing habits

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/04/30-days-to-success/

A bit about me.

I'm 39, male and working as an English Teacher in the Far East. I have dreams of being a photographer, travel writer and entrepreneur. I live with my girlfriend and we currently don't plan to have children.