From my own 193-country journey to the stories of many other people who were kindly willing to share, The Happiness of Pursuit attempts to extract and convey the lessons of modern-day quests. This series explores some of these lessons. Lesson: Everyone has a calling. Follow your (own) passion. Pay attention to the things that excite…
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When I check into a hotel room (something I do 100+ times a year), I immediately put the do-not-disturb sign on the door. I don’t want to be bothered while working or napping, and unless it’s a really nice hotel, I don’t care about turndown service. Over the years I’ve tried to follow a routine…
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“To the discontented man no chair is easy.” -Benjamin Franklin From my own 193-country journey to the stories of many other people who were kindly willing to share, The Happiness of Pursuit attempts to extract and convey the lessons of modern-day quests. This series explores some of these lessons. Lesson: Unhappiness can lead to new…
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A lot of personal development writers use the phrase “a life that matters,” as in “Here’s how you live a life that matters.” But this phrase is problematic, because everyone’s life has value and “matters” regardless of what they do with it. A better way to think of it is how to live a life…
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James Golding sets out to break a world record of cycling 1748 miles in 7 days: “If you start thinking about fear, you become trapped by it. To get prepared for a challenge of this magnitude is not a short process. It’s something I’ve been building on for a long time.” Sometimes to bounce…
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The day has come!
Live from New York City, I'm somewhat happy incredibly thrilled to publish my new book, The Happiness of Pursuit. This book represents the culmination of a ten-year odyssey to every country in the world—but it doesn't end there. As I approached the end of the journey, I spent two additional years researching and interviewing other people who have undertaken a quest.
Buster Benson created the fabulous 750words.com, which encourages users to cultivate a writing streak. He also makes other side projects, including a photo of himself every day at 8:36pm that he’s taken and published for the past 2,000 days and counting. On his website he lists a few rules to live by: You must have…
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What’s the worst thing that can happen? What’s the best thing that can happen? How do I feel about this choice? What doors will close if I pursue this choice? Why am I hesitant or indecisive over making this choice? If I don’t make this choice, will I always regret it? *** A few other…
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The nomadic way of life is not just for the young. Or to be precise, it’s for the young of all ages. For years I’ve been meeting retired folks who are embracing a more active lifestyle than their parents’ generation may have done. I also often receive emails from people in this demographic, along with…
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I eat at restaurants by myself all over the world. Most of the time it doesn’t bother me—in fact, I often enjoy it. A few tips: Bring something to do. I usually have my Tom Bihn laptop bag, so I have plenty of choices: actual laptop, New Yorker or Economist magazine, my paper notebook, reference…
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Update: New post, two years later *** On any given day I’m anxious about any number of things. I don’t relax very well. I feel tense and unsettled at least a couple of times throughout the day. And I worry, because generally I think worry is good. Of course, not all worry is good, and…
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I liked Seth Miller’s post about flying JetBlue on his birthday for no particular reason other than the fact that it made him happy. He boarded a plane, flew for an hour, and then turned around and went back. “It was a cheap flight. My round-trip fare was about $60 plus $10 for the MTA…
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Approximately 3% of the adult population has seriously attempted to end their lives, but most of those who do never speak of it. “The nation’s oldest suicide prevention organization, the American Association of Suicidology, decided in a vote by its board last week to recognize a vast but historically invisible portion of its membership: people…
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*** Update: You can now order the book! *** Order from Amazon Order from BN.com Order from iBooks Order from a Local Bookstore Greetings, all! Big news today. I’d like to officially unveil my new book, The Happiness of Pursuit. In this post you can learn more about it, read a FREE excerpt, sign up…
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Two years ago at WDS we gave everyone $100 and sent them off with a charge to do something fun and meaningful. Throughout the next year we heard a lot of great stories about what happened with the money. We shared many of those stories at the following year’s event. Also that year, we…
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