23 Blogging Heroes That Have Influenced Toad’s Life In An Extraordinary Way

I have dozens of heroes. Twenty-three of them are bloggers. They aren’t mine but they have all made a huge impact on my life. They all deserve to be talked about which is what this blog post is all about.

If it weren’t for my heroes then I would not be planning my walk across all 50 states of America.

Are you ready?

1. Mark Sisson @ MarksDailyApple.com

Mark’s Daily Apple is where it all began. Where my life changed forever. Where I found my calling, passion, motivation, healing and the greatest community in the world.

I’ve been interested in health and wellness for my entire life thanks to my wonderful parents. However, just about everything I thought I knew about health and wellness was wrong. Reading Mark’s site forced me to challenge my beliefs. I thought it was all a load of poop during my first few visits but the more I read the more it resonated with me.

The main thing I have learned from Mark is to eat real food without stressing about it. And don’t forget about everything else in life. You are what you eat but without play, sleep, sunlight, socializing, exercising, relaxing and flat our enjoying life then what you eat virtually means nothing. It all counts. It just starts with food.

I was fortunate enough to meet Mark in person at Primal Con 2011 (join me at Primal Con 2013!). At the age of nearly 60, he is a class act who is literally changing the world more than anyone could ever imagine. His vibrancy is infectious.

2. Steve Kamb @ NerdFitness.com

How would YOU like to travel around the world for $418? Not just one flight. Fifteen flights that have you enjoying yourself immensely in 4 continents, 9 countries and 15 cities.

Steve Kamb did exactly this.

It’s crazy but awesome. Steve Kamb is a true hero who is beyond passionate about what he does. He is a nerd himself and many of his readers are nerds as well. Aren’t we all nerdy? Yes. Believe it.

His adventure that lasted virtually all of 2012 has been a ginormous inspiration behind my decision to walk across all 50 states of America. He has an epic quest of awesome list which I’ll soon be creating myself (I’ve started and will publish on this blog soon). His life is a game. And now my life is a game. Is your life a game?

And he created one of my favorite youtube videos of all time: Exercising Around the World.

I will be doing something like this while walking across all 50 states of America. If you have any specific ideas then I’d love to read them! Just leave a comment below. Thank you!

3. Tracy McCollough @ TheLoveVitamin.com

When I first started blogging it was on acne. I loved helping others but my blog never went anywhere because it was a challenge for me to talk about specifically acne. Thus, I started PrimalToad.com on April 24, 2010 after having been Primal for about 3 weeks.

Tracy has been blogging for about 2 years as far as I know. She blogs mostly about issues related to the skin which includes acne. She first found my blog, then later discovered this one. We have communicated quite a bit via email and I most definitely call her a friend even though we have never met.

She is passionate about what she does, and is doing anything she can to help others improve their overall health and well-being. She many times wanted to give up (don’t we all go through this?) just like I have but I told her to continue on. She listened! And we are both incredibly grateful for it. Her dedication, persistence and patience will forever inspire me into bigger and better things.

Patience is a virtue folks!

4. Matt Madeiro @ MattMadeiro.com

I’m a minimalist. I thank Matt Madeiro more than anyone else for this. I’m damn proud of it because minimalism has given me more freedom, more joy, more love, passion, adventure, more things to be grateful for, more time to read and learn, to grow, and time to discover a new hobbie…

Less is more. I have less material things and now more time. More of what matters to me. I didn’t know much at all about this concept until I found Matt’s old blog, Three New Leaves, 2 years ago. He is a dude who eats Paleo and lives a simple life. A life with joy. At just 2 years older than me and a writing style that I fell in love with, I really connected with him.

So I did what he was doing and I’ll never look back.

Thanks Matt. You are definitely a friend who I have yet to meet. Continue on your journey. Your new blog, Make Every Day Count, has literally forced me to make every day count. Who knew?!

5. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nichodermus @ TheMinimalists.com

While Matt started me on the minimalist path, The Minimalists influenced me to take it to a whole new level. The fact that they used to have so much but now have so little. They lead a completely different life which they both now enjoy much more than they ever could have imagined. This inspired me to unbelievable heights.

Reading their blog has forced me to think twice about everything I now used to own. Taking action on the things that they write about has made my walk across all 50 states of America adventure possible. They have taught me to take life slow. To grow.

I have no idea where I would be without Joshua and Ryan. I’ve needed every single one of their thoughts as they seem to all make an impact on my life no matter how big or small.

Awesome Dudes: You are joining me on my walk for at least a few miles when I am in Ohio!

6. Jessie Spielvogel @ JessieSpielvogel.com

Jessie! Jessie is the most enthusiastic blogger I have ever come across! For realz! If you are feeling down about yourself for any reason then head on over to JessieSpeilvogel.com and read a blog post or 2. There is a good chance that your mindset will shift and the result will be amazing. Try it!

Seriously. This girl is not only good looking but her personality shines through the sky just like the stars. It’s infectious too. People tell me constantly how I bring enthusiasm to what I call the most important movement in the history of mankind. Well we can all thank Jessie who is there to bring out the most from me!

Jessie and I have yet to meet but I’m promising to her right now that we will this year. I won’t let this slide!

She is now traveling around the country in a vehicle. Believe it or not, her decision to buy a car after going months without one was an important influencer in my decision to walk across all 50 states of America. After I learned she did this I thought I would do the same! This soon evolved into getting a Class B motorhome which is now officially walking across all 50 states of America.

Thanks Jessie. You may not have known it up until this moment but it’s true. Keep doing what you do friend!!

7. Colin Wright @ ExileLifestyle.com

Colin is also a minimalist. He was the first one who inspired The Minimalists to dive into minimalism. Small world, eh?

I also really enjoy Colins style of writing. He’s calm, relaxed and is on an adventure of a lifetime. Colin moves to a different country every 4 months. His fans vote for which country he will live in next. This very fact is what inspired me to have YOU vote on what state I should walk across first.

He also has a travelogue that he calls “Exiles” which is based on his adventures. This made me consider doing something similar for my walk. I emailed him with some questions and he replied back almost immediately with very well thought out responses. At this moment I have yet to reply but will soon.

Colins style of minimalism has had an influence on my own approach. As of March 2012 he owns 51 things. I’m not sure how many things I own but I’m pretty certain it’s less than 100. I’ll be counting before I walk across my first state!

Based on what Colin is doing and what I am starting in September I feel an amazing relationship forming real soon. While I am not walking (I’m taking it one state at a time) I plan on spending a lot of time overseas and will most definitely fly into a country that Colin is living in real soon. I’m thinking 2013.

That’s only 7 out of 23

What you just read is only 7 out of my top 23 blogging heroes. The original plan was to do one blog post on all 23 but that just is not going to happen. As you have discovered, my heroes are truly my heroes! They have all had a major impact on my life and I consistently feel like the most blessed human on this planet.

Thank you all. I’ll be discussing 7 to 10 more of my blogging heroes next week. The rest of the 23 are as follows:

• Chris Kresser @ ChrisKresser.com
• Stephen Guyenet @ WholeHealthSource.Blogspot.com
• Jeff Goins @ GoinsWriter.com
• Julien Smith @ InOverYourHead.net
• Nina Yau @ CastlesInTheAir.com
• Denise Minger @ RawFoodSOS.com
• Robb Wolf @ RobbWolf.com
• Diane Sanfilippo @ BalancedBites.com
• Liz Wolfe @ CaveGirlEats.com
• Joel Runyon @ ImpossibleHQ.com
• Chris Guillebeau @ ChrisGuillebeau.com
• Leo Babauta @ ZenHabits.net
• Stefanie Ruper @ PaleoForWomen.com
• Brian Carr @ PaleoLifestyleMagazine.com
• Peggy Emch @ ThePrimalParent.com

Who are your biggest blogging heroes? Please let the world know by discussing below with a comment. Blogging is very hard work but also enables you to reach a wide range of audience around the world. It’s a platform that I am using to change the world!

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