Tony Hollowell's blog

"What we do in life echoes in eternity."-Gladiator

I constantly ask the question: what do I want to do with my life? I tried many different things and had many different experiences. I did biology research in Wisconsin. I traveled around the world and went to every state in the continental US. I went to Montana via train and spent the week living in a snow cave at Glacier National Park. I started a business and wrote a book (three books actually, but only one is published). I became a blogger. I taught for five years. I coached several sports.

To some, it may seem like a random series of events. To me, it all is woven together in a single pattern, a definitive path that has lead me directly to the spot where I am at today.

Where am I at today? I am in my room, surrounded by my few remaining possessions, and tomorrow, at 2:55pm, I show up to Saint Meinrad Seminary to begin my training to become a Catholic Priest. continue reading this post

I have not blogged in two weeks because I do not have anything to say. I do not blog to build a social media empire. I do not blog to gain notoriety. I do not blog to expand my brand. I do not blog to share thoughts with others. I do not blog to keep people up to date with what I am doing.

I blog because, at times, I have something to say.

In the last two weeks, I haven’t had anything to say. I still don’t. Thus, I haven’t blogged in two weeks, and I don’t know when I will begin again.

I also blog because it helps me to clarify my thoughts. There is no better way to clarify the jumbled mess of random nueral firings and floating/fleeting thoughts than to write. Thinking is like looking at a block of stone and wondering what it could be. Writing is like taking a chisel to that stone and creating a sculpture, revealing what the stone contains.

However, sometimes I put the chisel down, and I go run around Glacier National Park for a week, I go to my brother’s wedding, I go to a friend’s wedding in Philadelphia, and I go for a multi-day bike tour, and I completely neglect the chisel. Staring at a piece of stone on a consistent basis is boring. Sometimes, I need to go out and breathe some fresh air. Instead of having things to say, I let the world say things to me.

Later.

Our lives are an unwritten book, partially begun but with an unknown amount of pages still remaining. What will I do with those unwritten pages? What great deeds of courage, what sad tales of disappointment and confusion, what grand adventure and boundless joys are going to fill these blank pages? And in this yet-unwritten book, what is going to be my masterpiece that will define my life, and when will it occur?

Of course, our whole lives, the whole “book”, is everyone’s masterpiece, but within a book, there is always a climax. There is always a peak that defines the adventure and changes it forever. So too, in our lives, there is a moment, or a series of closely related moments, that are the peak of our story, our finest work, our grandest adventure. This is our greatest masterpiece. continue reading this post

“The Liege psychologists propose that, because money allows us to enjoy the best things in life – we can stay at expensive hotels and eat exquisite sushi and buy the nicest gadgets – we actually decrease our ability to enjoy the mundane joys of everyday life. (Their list of such pleasures includes ”sunny days, cold beers, and chocolate bars”.) And since most of our joys are mundane – we can’t sleep at the Ritz every night – our ability to splurge actually backfires. We try to treat ourselves, but we end up spoiling ourselves.”

The quote above comes from an article inWired magazine, and it is about a group of scientists who are trying to understand why people who have more money and are very wealthy seem to be less happy. I was going to read the whole article, but I read that first sentence, and I immediately began to pen this blog post, because the article’s foundation is so utterly and reprehensibly wrong.

It is wrong because of it’s fundamental premise, revealed in the opening statement: “money allows us to enjoy the best things in life”. Thus, the scientists' fundamental premise is that money (LOTS of money) allows you to enjoy the best things in life. Thus, sleeping at the Ritz is a superior and more joyful experience than “mundane” joys (like cold beers) and if you have these “superior” experiences in excess, then you will no longer enjoy the “lesser” joys in life.

I wanted to punch the screen because this is a lie. continue reading this post

Listen. I get it. I like things that are on sale. I buy things that are on sale. But truth be told, I have a great distrust for things that are "on sale". This is because I spent most of my life buying things that are on sale, only to watch these items crash and burn to a fantastic death. Eventually, I realized that there is a cost to almost everything that is “on sale”.

Everybody loves a sale because everybody thinks that a sale is a deal, but everybody is wrong. continue reading this post

I promise it was an accident. It wasn’t an elaborate plan. It just started with a need. I needed a test-prep book for my students to prepare them for a state math exam. I probably put in 4-5 different searches on Google over the span of 3 months, and I could not find what I wanted. Every time I would type in the specifics of what I wanted, Google would pop up with “No results found.”

Finally, one day it just hit me: why don’t I make what I want? Why don’t I just write this book myself? I had already conducted extensive research into the exam, I had spent 5 years in a classroom teaching remediation classes, and I have an irreversible tendency to do things before realizing how hard they will be. I was sitting in a rocking chair on a Saturday morning, and for five hours, I stared out the window and thought about what this book would look like and whether or not I would make the commitment. Suddenly, I made a decision: I decided to write the book. I arose from the rocking chair, went to my computer, bought the domain name for the business, and then I opened a Microsoft Word document and started writing.

It is important to note that I had never started a business and I had never written a book. I have no business background. I studied environmental science and theology in college, which means that I memorized the periodic table, played in streams, and studied ancient texts. This is not your standard foundation for business. I was just a crazy math teacher.

As it turns out, being “crazy” helped immensely. Starting a business is crazy. I am crazy. It was a good match. continue reading this post

I have been working away in my laboratory for the last few weeks, cooking up a new book about what I have learned in my short tenure as an entrepreneur. As is the case with almost everything I start, I just woke up one morning and thought to myself, "I think I want to write a book about running a business like a Ninja." This book is the culmination of that thought.

I am stoked about the book for three reasons:

A. It meets my first Fundamental Law of Literature: keep it short.

2. I was able to provide illustrations throughout the book. I am sure you will be amazed at how much my artistic hand has developed since 4th grade.

D. When it was finished, I read through it, and I smiled at my work. If it makes me smile, then it has a chance of making you smile.

I hope you enjoy it!

Yesterday, while getting the results of my psychological evaluation (I had to have a psych exam for an application), I was told a piece of news that I have known for a long time: I am not normal. As a culmination of hours of multiple choice tests, the Minnessota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (a 380 question survey), Rorschach testing, and an hour of consultation, it has been scientifically confirmed that I am not normal (it must be comforting to all of my family, friends, former students, former teachers, co-workers, and employers to have this confirmed in such an empirical way.) Actually, to put it the way the Psychologist described it, “You have elevated levels of PD.”

“What is PD?” I asked.

“Psychopathic Deviate.”

Yes, I have elevated levels of psychopathic deviant behavior.

I am quite shocked that it took such an extensive battery of tests to reach that conclusion. When driving into the clinic, I was sitting at a stoplight waiting to turn left. The sign said, “Turn on green arrow only.” The light was green in the lanes next to me, but I didn't have a green arrow. It was still red, but I turned anyways. Always have. Always will. As long as it is safe. I think this observation could have saved 4 hours of testing and a slightly boring interview. Oh well. continue reading this post

We live in a culture that is excessively focused on the body. We try to find ways to manipulate the body, to make it strong and “healthy”, and we are told that if we have a strong and healthy body, we can do almost anything.

This is stupid. I have seen weak minds and unhealthy bodies do amazing things that no full-time gym member could ever accomplish. They conquered their challenges, not with a perfect body, but by having a strong heart. continue reading this post

My roommate in college was named Tom Fisher. He was tall, an "uber nerd" (his words, not mine), and annoying. He also became one of my best friends.

He was annoying because of the following reasons:

1. He cheered for the Denver Broncos.
2. He studied philosophy.
3. He talked about philosophy when all I wanted to do was play Super Mario Brothers 3.
4. He wore Transformers T-Shirts BEFORE they were cool.
5. He used a Mac.

I ridiculed my roommate for all of these characteristics, as any good friend would do. Today, however, I am making an official apology to Tom Fisher for one of those criteria. I publicly apologize to Tom Fisher for ridiculing his use of a Mac. continue reading this post