52-Week Art Project Creates Illustrative Postcards About Life
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Who doesn't like getting hand-written postcards?
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Pioneer Nation Arrives in 23 Days: What’s Your Biggest Business Challenge?
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At the welcome reception for the inaugural Pioneer Nation, we asked our attendees to write their biggest business challenge on a post-it note and stick it to the wall, then say it out loud in front of their peers. Here’s what they came up with: We’re very excited to kick off Pioneer Nation again ... in just 23 days!
What to Do When You Have No Idea What to Do
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What's it like to quit your job with no backup plan—and not just any job, but a nationally-known, prestigious position as the host for NPR's Marketplace show
That's what Tess Vigeland did recently, and her brand-new book Leap tells the whole story.
I really like this book, and it was fun to learn that several people in our community were part of its development. It's partly a memoir, but more importantly it puts forward a message on how success can be measured by happiness and fulfillment, not by how far you travel on a traditional career path.
If you want to leave your job—whether you love it, hate it, or are somewhere in between—this book should be at the top of your reading list.
How to Change When Change Is Hard: Lessons from a Timid Mouse
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I was coming back from a run up and down Mount Tabor in Southeast Portland. I know the route well. It’s about a 5-6 mile loop from my house, depending on which path I take. More often than not, when I’m home for a while I run it at least once a week.
As I neared my neighborhood toward the end of the run, I noticed a cat in a driveway. Being a cat person, I often say hi to felines when I see them out and about on my run. Cats being cats, sometimes they follow me for blocks, intent on being my friend for life, and other times they can’t be bothered to acknowledge my presence.
This cat, I noticed, was different. He was sitting on his hind legs in the driveway, staring intently at something. Maybe it’s because he was so intent on the object of his fascination, or maybe I was just tired toward the end of the run—but for whatever reason I decided to slow down and walk over to the driveway.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I said to the cat. (Yeah, I talk to cats the same way I talk to people. If you’ve ever had a cat, you understand.)
The cat gave no response. He was fully immersed in something, and as I got closer, I could see what it was. There was a mouse! A tiny one, shivering in an isolated section of grass near the driveway—and just a paw’s swipe away from the cat.
100 Days Without Fear: A Daily Video Experiment
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A few months ago, Michelle Poler moved from Venezuela to New York to pursue a Master's Degree. While she was there, she started a project called 100 Days Without Fear to systematically combat the things that she was afraid of.
Surfing the Entire West Coast of the Americas: A Quest of Love and Discovery
Leave your thoughtsConscious traveling, a quest to surf the entire west coast of all the Americas, a van, and a dog: Jade Heilmann's experiences on the road were too good not to share.
I'm Jade. Together with my better half (aka Gabriel), our Westfalia (aka BigBlu), and our pup (aka Phi), we make up the We Travel and Blog team. Currently, we’re on a mission to surf the whole west coast of the Americas, from Tofino to Tierra de Fuego. As an added challenge, we’ve pledged to make it to creating zero waste by the time we reach the tip of Chile. Gabriel and I see all water as holy; surf is our baptism. That’s where the zero waste pledge comes in. We’re tired of seeing trash rolling in the waves with us.
Going Back to Kindergarten at Age 28: Melia Dicker’s Quest
Leave your thoughtsThis is a quest case study. (Read others or nominate yourself.)
Have you ever wanted to go back to part of your school days knowing what you know now? In her part-Billy Madison style, part-personal development quest, Melia Dicker did just that.
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a kid, I loved to write stories and draw, but as I got older, I began to focus on school at the expense of everything else. I put immense pressure on myself to get perfect grades and test scores. I operated under the assumption that doing well in school would lead to a life as a happy, self-assured, and financially stable adult. But six years out of college, I realized that I was none of those things. The habits that had made me an excellent student were the very habits that made me terrible at being an autonomous adult.
6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLVI
Comments Off on 6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLVIThings I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.
- Quiet Revolution -- an inspiring new community for introverts, made by our good friend Susan Cain
- The Man Who Loved Only Marbles -- Video of a man who's been spending several hours a day with marbles for more than 60 years
- Saving $150 in Airfare by Searching Better -- When connecting in a hub city, sometimes it's best to search for each segment one-by-one
- Graffiti Just Like Grandma Used to Make -- Because seniors like to tag, too
- Elevator Training -- Why Germany now requires people to be trained before using some elevators
- The Fabricant Way -- A new webcast series featuring stories of artisans and creative entrepreneurs
“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Live Wrap-Up Tomorrow at 9am
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Hey everyone! After nearly thirty lessons in our #DreamTrip course, we're going back to Seattle tomorrow for a live finale and our final lesson. You can join Stephanie Zito, myself, and a few audience members live at 9am PDT Friday morning and ask questions or tell us about your own Dream Trip. This has been quite the journey with many of you. And if you haven't seen any of the course before now, don't worry—we'll be recapping key points and telling you how to catch up.
A Traveler Who Loves Coming Home: On the Road with Megan Cain
Leave your thoughtsThis is a traveler case study. (Read others or nominate yourself.)
I love finding people who are able to incorporate travel into their lives without making it their whole life. Here's how Megan Cain has done just that.
After college, I lived in San Francisco before packing up and moving to a rural, 100-person town in Missouri to live at an eco-village and learn how to garden. I felt a pull towards growing my own food. My move was a leap of faith that changed my life forever. I lived in a 90-square-foot cabin, met my future husband, and started the basis of a career in sustainable living. Mark and I are now have jobs, enjoy owning a home and being rooted in Madison, Wisconsin, while incorporating longer travel adventures into our lives.
“I am capable of more than I imagined”: On the Road with Elizabeth Glanzer
Leave your thoughtsAfter experiencing many travel misadventures around the world, I love hearing other people's "silver linings" stories. This one (and other stories, too) comes from Elizabeth Glanzer in Los Angeles.
I'm a therapist and work with teens and young adults who feel misunderstood and out of place. I study psychoanalysis and neuroscience every chance I get. Traveling is one of my favorite things to do. For me, it pulls everything together and shatters blind spots. People, culture, art, and "normal" is all relative when I go abroad, and I appreciate the ability to see how someone else lives and thinks.
“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 4 Recap (Book Your Hotel)
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Every day for six weeks, we’re teaching people how to “Make Their Dream Trip a Reality.” You can watch each lesson for free on the day it’s broadcast, or you can purchase the whole course and have access anytime.
Creative Street Posters Show Another Side to Youth Homelessness
Leave your thoughtsI liked this project that highlights the stereotypes many of us have about homeless youth. If you look at the poster from only one side, you see one message.
But if you stand from a different angle and see the other side of the corner, the message becomes something very different.
Writing 150 Musical Compositions Before Turning 50: Stephen P. Brown’s Quest
Leave your thoughtsRejection didn't dampen Stephen P. Brown's inner fire. Instead, being turned down from achieving something he wanted flamed his desire to grow and change. Here's his quest.
As a conductor of orchestras, bands, choirs and musicals, it has been my privilege to see thousands of people laugh, cry and directly connect with live music, whatever language they speak. My life journey has taken me from a small village in the English countryside to the sunny shores of Florida via Europe, Africa, South America, and much of the USA and Canada. Through all my travels I occasionally needed to compose music specifically for the ensembles I worked with, and I dabbled in some formal composition training here and there, but I never considered myself a 'composer.'
“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 3 Recap (Book Your Flight)
Comments Off on “Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 3 Recap (Book Your Flight)Every day for six weeks, we’re teaching people how to “Make Their Dream Trip a Reality.” You can watch each lesson for free on the day it’s broadcast, or you can purchase the whole course and have access anytime.
This was our third week with the in-studio audience and the thousands of people who participated online. Everyone made lots of progress, and we’ll be back again after the weekend with much more.