Ray Jardine revolutionized both climbing and long-distance backpacking—but neither would have happened if he kept his job as an aerospace engineer.

Reading Ray's book "Beyond Backpacking" in 2002 was a revelation, turning me onto ultralight backpacking and the general philosophy of "take less, do more."

I'm sure glad he chose to live dirtbag rich.

(My new book, Dirtbag Rich: High Freedom, Low Income, Deep Purpose, comes out March 28th! Available for pre-order now.)