I recently met with a guy who's trying to become a motivational speaker. He's a good guy with good things to say. But the thing is ... how should I put it ... the whole motivational speaker branding doesn't give a good first impression. It's old-school at the best of times, and just plain awkward the rest of the time ...
Greetings from Frankfurt airport... or actually the skies between Europe and Africa, as I should be southbound to Equatorial Guinea when this goes out. Let the record show I'm in the back of the Lufthansa aircraft on this trip, with a bonus “wait-on-the-plane-an-extra-two-hours” stopover in Abuja. Sometimes even travel ninjas go long-haul Economy Class, when no upgrades are available.
This is the Sunday Store Update, where I look at some brief news about the business side of AONC ...
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Jes in Hobart, Australia. Here's what it's all about.
Greetings, friends and readers. Today I'm back in Vancouver, Canada—en route to Frankfurt and beyond for my next monster trip. I tried to head out on part of this trip a few weeks ago, but got "volcanoed" along with so many other travelers around the world. The word on the street is that the volcano is still doing its thing from time to time, but all systems are go for now. Today I'll fly to Europe, and this weekend I head south to the equator for a week in Central Africa ...
Greetings from the home base in Portland, Oregon. I've got a big French press filled to the brim with Stumptown coffee, and I'm settling in for a long day in front of the MacBook.
And ... the Empire Building Kit has now returned! (Insert your preferred trumpet blast here.)
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If you're trying to figure out how you'll leave your imprint on the world, start by thinking about what bothers you.
What do you not like about the world? What is irritating? What is unfair?
Keep calm and carry on was the message for people in Britain during World War II. I like get excited and change things better.
Alix from the Netherlands writes in with a great question:
While goals are good to work towards, do you not feel like constantly pursuing things makes you run all the time and not 'enjoy the moment'? What if, for example, while you're standing in one country, and think 'Hmm, I would really like to stay here longer..' -- I mean a real feeling, not a whim?
I recorded this short video while on vacation at the Oregon coast a couple weeks ago. It's all about strategy vs. tactics -- and why changing the world is more important than which email program you use. Every day I talk with people about building something. Building a blog, a business, an empire, whatever. I've noticed that most of the questions I hear are all about logistics and tactical decisions: which shopping cart? Should I use Wordpress? How do you host the images? And so on ...
I've often recommended the Waffle Window to people visiting Portland. It's still high on my list, but now I have another recommendation: Slappy Cakes. At this crazy place, you pay to make your own pancakes on a grill built into your table. I know it sounds weird—pay money to make your own breakfast, then tip the server who brings you the batter—but it works. Check it out the next time you come to World Domination HQ.
Each month once in a while I look back at what’s happened with AONC in the previous month two months. If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up here.
A couple weeks ago I went to Powell's and heard J.D. Roth talk about taking personal responsibility over your financial life. “No one will ever care about your money as much as you do,” he said.
Very true. And you can say the same about your career, your dreams, your goals, and pretty much anything else that is personal and important. When we stop waiting for someone else to come along and make something happen for us, everything moves a lot quicker.
Beginning this month in North America and many other places around the world, students will be finishing their education and moving on. High school, secondary school, college, university, grad school -- whatever form it takes, this is a time of transition for many.
So much lies ahead! So many possibilities! And sometimes, so much uncertainty. My sister is one of this year's graduates. Congratulations, Mary! You lasted much longer in high school than I did, but you still managed to escape early. Well done.
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Sonya in Quebec City. Here's what it's all about.
When people ask for advice about something, I've learned to be careful about being too honest. Sometimes I'll say first:
“Before I answer, do you want to hear 'that sounds great!' Or do you want to hear what I really think?”
This is because when we ask for advice, sometimes we're really looking for affirmation. We want to hear, Yes! I love it! Proceed! Because we're already married to the idea we want advice on, we'd be disappointed to hear anything less than an enthusiastic endorsement.
I lived in Seattle from 2006-2008 without a car, which worked well about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, I spent a lot of time waiting on street corners for the bus to arrive. It was frequently late, but once in a while, I'd get to the bus stop right when the bus was pulling up. My friends and I called this “good bus karma” which we ascribed to previous 40-minute waits when we had just missed it.
Last month during the British Airways strike, I walked around a deserted Heathrow airport terminal with departure signs reading CANCELLED. Meanwhile, my flight went out as planned, albeit on a chartered “EuroAtlantic” flight where the meal consisted of a paper bag filled with bananas (seriously) and half a bottle of one-euro red wine. I was grateful for the bananas, but mostly for the flight.
Greetings from Vancouver, British Columbia—a place I'm starting to enjoy more and more every time I pass through. I'm just here in transit again, but it's nice to be back regardless.
This is the Sunday Store Update. If you're new here, I use this time to share some brief news about the business side of AONC.
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