Talking With Marshall Jones

life…just saying: Hi Marshall. Nice to have you join me today. Can you tell us a little about your life.

Marshall: Careful, I’d like to write a memoir sometime, so this response could easily get out of hand. 🙂 Let’s see if I can condense it into a snapshot bio…
When I was three years old, my parents packed everything they owned into a Chevy Sprint and moved from the sunny shores of southern California to the bluegrass of Kentucky to start a church. So I like to say my dad’s a pastor, but I’m a Christian anyway.
I graduated from high school when I was 16, but I never “went” to school. I was homeschooled, and my mom actually thought I’d finish when I was 12. I got lazy. Anyway, after that, I did the whole college thing, finishing two degrees two days before I turned 20.
Now I’m that super successful, filthy rich, young entrepreneur you keep hearing about on TV. Just joshin’. 🙂 I run a small business that helps churches make friends online (because they’re really bad at it, not because I’m that good). And I write. A lot.

life…just saying: Wow! Your school story sounds incredible. We may need to visit again just to chat about that. I think you have a couple of blogs. Can you tell us a little about your blogs and the reason you started blogging in the first place?

Marshall: Yeah, I’ve started a bunch of blogs, some are still up and current while others are just dying out there in the wilderness. The two you’re probably talking about, though, are my personal blog and my Christian blog.

My Christian blog, bondChristian.com, is all about serving others, once again, because Christians are pretty bad at it (including me). It was my first blog actually, although it went dormant for a few months in 2009 after it was hacked, in a “crash and burn” kind of way. Tip for fellow bloggers: keep backups and updates current.

My personal blog, MarshallJonesJr.com, is all about… well, me. That usually means thoughts on life experiments and observations. I started the site on a whim while house sitting for a friend. I knew I would eventually build an online “home base,” but I hadn’t planned when to start. So I just did, setting a goal to post once a day for a week straight. I guess I liked it because I’ve continued with a post a day since 2009.

While I actually try to promote my other stuff, especially bondChristian, my personal site is just for people who find it on their own through knowing me or googling me. Fans of the Christian stuff don’t necessarily care about my life, and vice versa. That’s why I’ve kept them separate.

I first got into blogging after reading Steve Pavlina’s daily log on polyphasic sleep. For about five months, he took a 20-30 minute nap every four hours around the clock instead of sleeping at night. That works out to only 2-3 hours of total sleep per day. Ironically, I think I spent about 2-3 hours just reading through his site the first day I found it.

Steve inspired me, and after that I was hooked. I soon discovering a ton of other free content that I loved and began connecting with other people online. From there, it was only a matter of time until I started sharing my own content, which is also ironic since I hated writing in high school and was scared to let anyone see it. But that’s another story.

life…just saying: I know you have a move planned in the near future. Can you tell us a little about that?

Marshall: Sure, I’d love to. I’m moving to Seoul, South Korea. My visa application says I’m going to teach English, which is true, but I also want to continue my business, write, and explore.

Seoul is the second largest metropolitan area in the world. Close to 50% of South Korea’s total population lives there. And Koreans love education, particularly English as a second language.

So to to entice impressionable, young, college grads to teach at their schools, they offer free housing, free round-trip plane tickets, and free immersion in a totally foreign culture.

And it works, at least for me and like 20,000 others.

It’s taken me a lot longer than I anticipated to move. I wanted to leave mid-January, but that was pushed out to mid-March, now April, because of paperwork. I still don’t have a date to leave. I started the process seriously in November, so it’s been five months now.

We’ll see. I’m super excited about it. If you’re interested in learning more about the initial planning (like if anyone you know wants to join me), check my FAQ post.

life…just saying: Why? There must be a reason that has led to your decision to move to South Korea.

Marshall: Because I think every one’s unbelievably blessed, but most are too scared to live like it. And I don’t want to live like that. I want to be the guy who encourages his friends, the one who literally puts courage in them and inspires them to live amazing lives. And – you know – at this point in my life, moving to South Korea seemed like my next opportunity to do that.

Thanks for being my guest today, Marshall. I admire you for your decision to live life without fear. I hope you check in regularly while you are living in South Korea. I pray God’s blessings on you and your family during this exciting time of your life.