Author Archives for
Published by
I returned to Portland late last night after a great visit to the great New York City.
I've needed to go to New York for a few months now - I wanted to meet my book editor and a few other people, but I kept putting it off. Since I travel so much internationally, I try to keep my domestic trips to a minimum.
However, when I received an invitation a couple of weeks ago to visit with Seth Godin and his remarkable Alternative MBA students, I knew it was time to break out the calendar and book a ticket.
The lesson is, when you get an opportunity like this, don't hesitate. Do whatever you need to do to get wherever you need to be.
Published by
I'm definitely not the guy you want to have around as a translator. (Airport codes and frequent flyer info, yes; translation at the next U.N. meeting, no.)
Published by
Hey everyone, business has been good and I've bought a second home. You can see it here on Google Maps.
It's a shared home – my part is usually located in the arrivals side just before security. The only problem is that someone keeps sitting on my couch when I get up to get coffee. I know, I should put up a sign or something.
Published by
I spent most of last week in and around Park City, Utah on a family vacation. I usually run in Portland, Oregon, where the elevation is about 230 feet (70 meters) above sea level. In Park City, the elevation is about 7000 feet (2134 meters) above sea level.
Among other things, the altitude adjustment makes for one tired runner. I felt like I had picked up a pack-a-day smoking habit just before setting out to run a 10k.
Published by
Greetings from SLC airport in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some airports have rules about carry-ons; this airport requires passengers to bring at least five children with them for their flight. It’s been a good week, but I’ll be glad to get home.
***
Each month I look back at what’s happened with ChrisGuillebeau.com in the previous month. If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up here ...
Published by
Wherever I go, I meet a lot of interesting people, but this doesn’t usually happen the way you might assume.
More often than not, I don’t meet anyone through a careful effort to be social (I’m naturally introverted) or through any deliberate attempt at tourism. Instead, it just happens while life is underway.
Published by
It's time for the Sunday Store Update. I use this time every Sunday afternoon to tell you more about the small business I'm building to support the rest of the site.
This week I'm headed out to a family trip in Utah. All posts will continue as planned. Life is good.
Published by
Every day I get emails from all kinds of fun people who are getting started on the journey of building an online community. Some of them want advice, and I'm happy to help wherever I can.
I always say to take my $0.02 for whatever it's worth, and ignore me if something works better for you. Also, I'm focusing here on online communities, but they share many of the same characteristics as offline ones.
In the 279 Days report, I wrote about the practical aspects of community building. We looked at RSS vs. email, how to create an e-book, and so on.
This post will look more closely at the underlying philosophy of a community. First of all, what makes a community? Definitions abound, but here's mine:
A community is a group of people united through a common struggle with the same stories.
Let's look at the definition and related features in more detail.
Published by
Greetings once again from my corner of the world, also known as the hipster zip code of 97214. For everyone who's NOT an artist, thanks for your patience during the launch week for my new product. We'll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
We launched up Art and Money on Thursday morning to a great response, including several people who were chatting about it before it was even released. Check out this partial selection of feedback and buzz from the first few hours. I was really glad to see that people are excited about it.
Published by
My new product, the Unconventional Guide to Art and Money, attempts to break down the difference between successful and unsuccessful art marketing.
It's for artists of all kinds who want to support themselves with their art through new media.
It's not for non-artists (obviously), anyone who doesn't know how to use the internet, or anyone looking for the quick fix.
Published by
Let's be clear: there's no real secret. I subscribe to the 10,000 hours theory. When I wrote about it six months before Outliers came out, I called it the 14,600 hours to virtuosity.
Then Gladwell's great book arrived, everyone started talking about 10k hours, and I thought, “Awesome. Now we can all save 4,600 hours!”
Anyway, the secret connection between art and money involves working hard on the same thing for a long time.
There you go! Get to work. By the time evening rolls around, only 9,992 hours will remain.
HOWEVER...
Published by
If you read last week's post, you pretty much know how this trip came out of nowhere the week prior. Air New Zealand phoned me up, offered me a trip, and since it sounded fun, I said yes.
Was it worth it? What happened? Details here, in 1300 words + photos.
Published by
It's time for the Sunday Store Update. I use this time every Sunday afternoon to tell you more about the small business I'm building to support the rest of the site.
I have a no-hype marketing policy, and I ask that you don't buy anything from me unless you have a clear need for the product. All regular content is ad-free and freely available.
Published by
Hey everyone, I'm reporting live from Rarotonga in the South Pacific. It's a nice place! Details on Monday. But first, I have an important message from our sponsor.
(Yes, that would be me. There are no sponsors.)
Published by
I've been home from my trip to Haiti and South America for about a week now, and I didn't expect to go anywhere for a while.
Then all of a sudden, I got an email from Air New Zealand... offering to bring me along with a group of journalists going to the South Pacific for a press event. The offer came via Chris Brogan, who recommended me to Air New Zealand – big thanks to Chris for that.
