Book 7: How To Disappear by Frank M. Ahearn

by Roger on February 28, 2011

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How to Disappear by Frank M. Ahearn

This is a post in my ongoing Book-a-Week challenge.

This week’s book was How to Disappear: Erase Your Digital Footprint, Leave False Trails and Vanish Without a Trace by Frank M. Ahearn. Why this book? The title intrigued me. Now I am not planning on disappearing or going “on the lam” but I thought the book might have some guidance on how to perhaps minimize my digital footprint (not easy to do these day) as well as help to protect my privacy both while online and offline.

The author was a “professional skip tracer” by trade – that is to say, someone whose job it was to find people who didn’t want to be found. His anecdotes and real-world scenarios on his successful finds were entertaining, intriguing and provided some excellent advice on what NOT to do. He has since then, changed careers and now he helps people to disappear. Why would you want to disappear? Perhaps you are being stalked or just want to start over. He covers all of these things and much more.

The chapters of the book include:

  • Meet your enemy: the skip tracer
  • Time to disappear
  • Misinformation
  • Tracks and clues in the home
  • Disinformation
  • Your reformation arsenal
  • Reformation
  • How not to disappear
  • Disappear form identity thieves
  • Disappear from social media
  • Disappear from a frog
  • Disappear from a stalker
  • Disappear from the country
  • Pseudocide

Overall, I felt the book contained a lot of valuable information. One chapter I especially liked was the one on Disinformation (destroying data about you) – how to start leaving less of a digital footprint by using false information such as a fake e-mail address, misspellings in your address and name, false employment history and more. Now the idea here is not to do this in order to engage in illegal activities, but rather to protect your privacy – to stop the spam email, telemarketing calls, junk mail and make it more difficult for people (stalkers, ex’s, etc.) to find you.

The book also paints a real life picture of what’s really involved with disappearing. Many people imagine spending their days in a tropical island paradise, being served Pina Coladas on a beach all day long by a handsome young men or women. The reality is a complicated web of multiple mail drops, prepaid credit cards, prepaid cellphones, public internet access points, as well as giving up your hobbies or interests and having good amount of cash. I personally felt the the portions of the book that pertained to the Internet and privacy were most beneficial but then again, I’m not about to go into hiding. If you are being stalked by someone or are the victim in an abusive relationship, then these other sections may be of particular interest to you. Many of the techniques Frank recommends could also be a good way to avoid – or at minimize the possibility of – identity theft.

The conversational and easy-to-understand tone of the book makes it pleasurable to read. Even if you are not yourself planning on disappearing, the book has many useful tips on guarding your privacy and reducing your digital footprint. If you are serious about disappearing, then this book in indispensable (I also would recommend J.J. Luna’s book “How to be Invisible” as well). Recommended!

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Cover of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a post in my ongoing Book-a-Week challenge.

This week’s book was Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This book has been on my list for quite some time – I believe I read a review of it a couple of years back and it intrigued me. In the book, Frankl describes his life in four different Nazi concentrations camps, including Auschwitz, from 1942 to 1945 and his subsequent theories of logotherapy that resulted from his experiences at the camps.

In the first part of the book, Frankl relates some of his own experiences at the camps. While many of his descriptions of day to day life depicted a horrifying existence, Frankl, a psychiatrist, often approached the narration from a psychological perspective. He demonstrates that even though one’s comrades were dying all around them, one could still find hope and peace amidst all the horror.

At times, his anecdotes were so vivid and so disturbing (but not gruesome), that I had to put the book down for a bit and digest what I had read. However, while there were certainly scenes of unspeakable suffering, there was also hope and inspiration, as Frankl describes how he found the emotional strength to survive the camps. In the book, he looks more at how the prisoners respond to the events rather than looking at the events themselves – how some of them coped and subsequently survived while staring death in the face on a daily basis, while others did not.

The main thrust of the book was how people strive to make meaning of their lives above all else. He also demonstrated by example how those who felt life did not have meaning, simply did not survive the camps. That above all else, one must strive to make meaning out of the suffering, to believe that life does have meaning. He recounted an excellent and moving anecdote of a fellow prisoner who had a dream that they would be freed on a certain date. He awaited the date with anticipation – the hope of being freed kept him going. When the date finally came and went, the man lost all hope. He was dead within a week.

Through his writing, Frank demonstrates the courage and strength that people are capable of when faced with a seemingly hopeless situation. It is when we surrender to nihilism and despair in dire circumstances that we lose. Even though the prisoners were stripped of their very identity and relegated to a status no higher than that cattle, many of them rose above the situation by focusing on the the deeper meaning of their life. Though they had lost everything – their freedom, their spouse, their family, their very identity – they themselves chose how to respond to the horrendous situation and by doing so gave meaning to their suffering. They believed that they existed for something – a spouse, a child, a future dream, or future plans. Frankl states in the book that the one thing that cannot be taken away from us is our attitude, the way we respond:

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

In the second part of the book, Frankl discusses his theories of logotherapy. Here, he talks about what he believes drives man to survive, even in the most grim of circumstances. This part of the book moves from the anecdotal to the psychological. The basis of logotherapy is that man’s primary motivating force is a search for meaning and this search for meaning even ranks above our pursuit of happiness. In this way, much of the depression and despair we experience is a result of a lack of meaning in our life. When we find our higher purpose for living, we will be able to overcome insurmountable obstacles and make it through nearly anything. I will say that the second part of the book is more technical than the first but is easily readable even if you do not have a scientific background.

The life lessons on the human condition contained in this small book are too numerous to identify here. This extraordinary book is moving, fascinating, powerful and inspiring – and can cause the reader to ponder the meaning in his or her own life. At the most, this book has the potential to be life-changing. Recommended!

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Is It Time To Give Up Yet?

February 14, 2011

Last week, I came across a quote by Zig Ziglar, “Don’t get discouraged; it is often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.” This has been true for me on more than one occasion. Very often, my first or even second effort would result in failure. But I kept going and eventually, [...]

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Book 5: Accidental Genius by Mark Levy

February 8, 2011

This is a post in my ongoing Book-a-Week challenge. This week’s book was Accidental Genius: Revolutionize Your Thinking Through Private Writing by Mark Levy. Through the use of what Levy calls “Private Writing”, he teaches us how to generate amazing “genius” ideas (and have fun doing it) – all while breaking us out of the [...]

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Book 4: Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins

February 1, 2011

This is a post in my ongoing Book-a-Week Challenge. This week’s book was “Walk Across America” by Peter Jenkins, which chronicles his journey across America from 1973 to 1975 with Cooper, his half Husky/Alaskan Malamute companion. As a young man of 21, Peter was bitter and disillusioned with American society. So he decided to take [...]

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Why You Should Listen to Others

January 31, 2011

I was out at dinner the other night and couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between a couple seated next to me. Each was talking, but neither was listening to the other. This is by no means the first time I have encountered this. Time and time again, I have witnessed people not listening to [...]

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The Art of Not Being Critical

January 27, 2011

I have an acquaintance who loves to criticize those who are around him. He never hesitates to say something to the effect of, “Why, you certainly have gained weight lately!” or “Who dressed you this morning, Helen Keller?” or “I can’t believe you don’t know that! Most people learned that in the sixth grade.” Most [...]

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Why I Chose Simplicity over Wealth

January 26, 2011

I was speaking with a friend awhile back about career paths and such and he said something to the effect of, “With all of your experience in computers, you should be making a ton of money at a big company. How come you’re not doing it?” I smiled to myself, knowing what this person’s life [...]

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The Freedom Account: An Indispensable Financial Tool

January 25, 2011

This is an old post from my original blog. The reason I am reposting it that my Freedom Account is one of the most essential things in my life. I can’t tell you how many times having this has saved my ass. You’re moving along just fine. Your mortgage gets paid, your car payment is [...]

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Book 3: a Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

January 25, 2011

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller was the third book in my Book-a-Week challenge (so far, I’m still on track!). This was the first book I had read by Miller so I didn’t quite know what to expect. This was another recommendation that I stumbled across on a blog that I [...]

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