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The mission: turn a button into a bus

“You get kind of addicted to the journey, to living this life,” said Ryan Lancaster.
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Ryan Lancaster has a goal of trading this button into a bus. - Image Credit: Facebook/Scale My Life

While turning a button into a bus may seem ludicrous to some, one Kelowna man is determined to show you how it’s done.

On the heels of his Scale My Life year-long adventure to challenge himself to something new each month, Ryan Lancaster has launched Scale My Life 2.0.

“After the year I had, making small micro-challenges that make massive changes in your life, I was wondering what to do next,” explained Lancaster.

“I wanted to not only continue along the journey, but take things up a notch. Really show Canada and the World that if you take action in your life you can, not only have an incredible life, but have a purposeful, meaningful, fulfilling direction in your life that makes life worth living.”

The 2.0 mission: trade a worthless button into a liveable bus he will use to travel across Canada.

“Essentially take nothing and turn it into something that I can use as a vehicle to go on a journey across the country and take on big life challenges along the way. Connect with amazing Canadians and connect with their communities, while working with them to make an impact.”

After he put his first video online explaining the challenge, the Mayor of Kelowna stepped in to provide his first trade.

“The Mayor calls me after seeing my post and he said that if I was going to be heading across Canada he wanted to be a part of it, he wants Kelowna to be a part of it,” explained Lancaster. “He not only traded with me, but he gave me this amazing traditional tea set that he got on his trip to Kasugai, Japan. It was really, really amazing.”

With the tea set in hand, worth far more than the button, Lancaster looked for his next trade but, he hit a snag.

“After getting this amazing tea set, and all this great publicity, I found it very difficult to trade up from there,” said Lancaster. “Finding someone that would really appreciate the tea set. It has such incredible cultural significance, I didn’t want to just trade it to anyone.”

During his visit to Chaibaba Tea, he met a woman in Kelowna who showed a true passion and interest in the tea set, but she did not feel she had anything worthy to trade.

Once again, a plea on social media provided the answer.

One of the owners of Pinstripe Productions, Harvey Bremner, reached out and offered a way to help with the next trade and support Lancaster getting to the bus.

Bremner offered to provide a Canon digital SLR camera for the next trade with the plan that he would then donate the tea set to the woman who really wanted it, instead of keeping it for himself.

“It was so awesome,” said Lancaster.

From there, the camera was traded for a scooter and then a Sea-Doo and then, Lancaster hit another snag.

The Sea-Doo had starter problems and would require $200 to fix – money that was not in the budget.

However, social media came to the rescue again. $100 was crowd-funded and the Sea-Doo’s original owner provided the other $100. Now, the Sea-Doo is up and running and ready to trade.

“If I find a bus, overhaul the bus with the help of sponsors, I hope to get out on the road by mid-April to early May,” said Lancaster.

“Crazy loves company and I think people will want to be a part of this journey. I feel the bus is not that far out of reach.”

In 2016 Lancaster tried something new each day, lived on $250, was vegan, learned a new language, swam across the lake and quit his job, as part of his monthly challenges, and he wants to keep going.

Despite that exhausting list he is now on the button challenge and says there is no slowing down.

“You get kind of addicted to the journey, to living this life,” said Lancaster.

“I spent most of my life sitting, most of my life living with distractions and indulgence and then I discovered this more meaningful, purposeful-filled life.

“It is not an easier life by any means, but as they say, the hard times are easier if you’re doing something you love and are passionate about – that is exactly where I am right now.”

The exciting news: a possible bus trade is already in the works.