Hey everyone, the SIDE HUSTLE book is out!
A man in San Francisco jumps or falls on the subway tracks. As the train approaches, the passengers all around him unite to warn the train's conductor, who’s able to slow down and prevent disaster.
The man’s life is saved—maybe not forever, but at least for a day. I recently saw this video of CCTV footage from the incident being passed around, showing exactly what happened. There's no audio, but you can perceive the commotion and urgency of passengers frantically waving for the train to stop.
Imagine revisiting a place you’d been long ago during a hard time in your life. Maybe that time was long, long ago, and the place far, far away. Or maybe it was last week, and the place is the coffee shop down the street.
Whatever the story, you walk in and experience an unpleasant flashback. You remember what happened when you received bad news, that thing that someone said, or whatever the hard time was about. But it’s not just about the memories. You can feel it. The anxiety tightens, and maybe you’re short of breath. There's no doubt about it: that thing was hard! Not just a little hard, but hard in a life-changing way. Back then, during the time of the hard thing, you had no idea how you'd recover. You couldn't fathom ever being "okay" or normal again. But maybe there’s also something good about this experience, the one that feels so unpleasant at first. Read More
I have one or two drinks with dinner, rarely any more.
Before bed I make a cup of herbal tea and take magnesium. Sometimes I have a square of dark chocolate. I sit with my thoughts and my calendar. I look at my tasks. I do this in digital and analogue form. There is pen and paper and phone and MacBook Air. I determine the priorities for the next day, with the knowledge that there can only be so many. There may be thirty things to do, but only two to three are truly critical. In fact, it’s hard to do three. Often it’s just a maximum of two. Choosing more is a recipe for procrastination, if not outright failure. Read More
"We'll have to repent in this generation not merely for hateful words and actions of bad people, but for appalling silence of good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr.I’ve been traveling this week but also seeing the news from home. I’m not sure I have much of substance to what’s already been said. I just want to affirm the obvious: perhaps America has received the leader we deserved, not the one who was competent, but that doesn’t mean the good people of our country should go down without a fight. I don’t support this administration and I wish I'd done more to stop it. To those like me with all the privilege in the world, try to consider how you’d feel without it. And if it’s impossible to have that kind of empathy, at least acknowledge your privilege. It's a start. Read More
Over the past ten years, I’ve thought a lot about building a legacy. In particular, I’ve thought about it as it relates to a body of work that you produce and share over the years. This model has kept me going for a long time.
One of the most attractive qualities of writing the blog, starting in 2008 and continuing until now (albeit in several distinct forms), was the idea that I was building a portfolio of sorts. I could write something today, and it would still be around tomorrow, next week, next year, and so on. It would, as I’ve said more than once, “go on to live a life of its own.” But is that really true? Read More
Last week I hosted WDS 2017, our seventh annual gathering of awesome people in Portland, Oregon. This year we focused on the theme of “Building a Better World.” The intention is to encourage and empower everyone to take action that helps others. We can’t solve every problem in the world, but that doesn’t mean we should hold back from helping.
The event unfolds in a few different settings:
Link: Perennial Seller
"What if I'm not good at making ideas happen? I just like to have ideas!" Ever since I started Side Hustle School on January 1, I've heard this question a surprising number of times. And believe me, I know it would be nice if you could just have ideas and then someone else does things. That's not how it works for most of us, though—even those who are successful writers, entrepreneurs, or artists of all kinds. Ideas gain value not through brainstorming but through the getting-it-done phase that all good work needs. Read More
One time I went to Dubai for my honeymoon, except it wasn’t really my honeymoon. I was traveling with Stephanie, my longtime friend, travel hacking colleague, and frequent travel companion. Even though she is basically a member of my family, Stephanie and I aren’t partners in the romantic sense—which occasionally leads to humorous encounters when we travel.
For some reason, our hotel in Dubai had gotten the idea that it was our honeymoon. When they assigned us a luxury three-bedroom apartment as our room, we may have failed to correct their impression. We did, however, express our gratitude for the free champagne they also gave us. Read More
On September 19th, my new book, Side Hustle, will launch—and I can't wait to share it with you!
After much debate, here's the cover, as selected by a panel of readers who had a lot of strong opinions. 😃
The book builds on the lessons of my daily podcast, Side Hustle School, and presents a step-by-step, 27-day plan to help you create a new source of income without quitting your day job.
Read More
A while back I wrote about the idea of your life as a movie, with you as the director. When you go through your archives in post-production, you might stumble on a scene that feels particularly surreal.
In those times, you may want to ask yourself, “Why did I put this scene in my movie?" With the benefit of perspective, I realize that some of the scenes in my movie are a little surreal. Looking back on those scenes, it's easy to wonder, “Did that really happen?” Read More
Arnold Schwarzenegger on being a self-made man:
“I always tell people that you can call me anything that you want, but don’t ever, ever call me a self-made man. It gives the wrong impression, that we can do it alone. None of us can. The whole concept of the self-made man or woman is a myth. I would have never made it in my life without the help. I want you to understand this because as soon as you know you are here because of a lot of help, then you also understand that now it’s time to help others. That’s what this is all about.”Read More
As mentioned a few days ago, WDS 2017 is sold out, but you can still register for Academies. These are half-day workshops on a variety of topics, ranging from productivity to wellness and everything in between.
We've noticed that Academies are one of the most popular parts of the WDS experience. You'll learn new skills and make new friends. Oh, and if you're traveling in just for Academies, you won't be the only one—every year there are a lot of folks who make the trek. --> Check out the lineup and join us in Portland next month! Whether you're part of WDS or not, here are two other events you should consider attending. Read More
Do you have a cluttered and crowded to-do list? Do you try to get everything accomplished, only to burn out and end up feeling further behind? If so, you're not alone.
While reading The New Rules of Work, a new book by co-founders of The Muse, I stumbled on an alternative to-do list strategy that I thought was worth sharing:On any given day, assume that you can only accomplish one big thing, three medium things, and five small things, and narrow down your to-do list to those nine items.Read More
In January of this year, I heard from Emily Rudow in Toronto. Emily had just finished running 10k (6.1 miles) every day for 31 consecutive days. I thought that was pretty cool!
But it turns out she was just getting started. Emily is now undertaking a much bigger quest: to set a Guinness World Record by running a half-marathon for more consecutive days than anyone else. Read More