I’m flying to Tokyo for the weekend, which I’d say is a long story but it’s actually a short one. I have a meeting with my local publisher and I need miles to requalify for American Airlines elite status—so I’m heading out for a super-quick Japan adventure. On my connecting flight to LAX this afternoon…
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From Robert Genn’s recent letter to artists: Choreographer Twyla Tharp’s Creative Habit, describes her morning routine of rising early and going through the same morning rituals; same coffee, same bun. She puts on the same leotards, goes down the same elevator to the same street corner, puts her arm up in the air and gets…
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1. I want you to think about something. Maybe you’re like me: coasting along, doing okay, not lacking for anything material. You have a good life. What else is there? Oh, that’s right: everything. At a certain point you have you ask yourself, am I playing a small game or a big one? Am I…
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I wrote in the original Brief Guide to World Domination manifesto:
We overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, but underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.Read More
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In The Happiness Myth, Jennifer Michael Hecht defines three types of happiness: a moment of happiness, a good day, and a happy life. Hecht suggests that no further definition is needed because the difference between the three is obvious when we use or hear the word happiness in context. However, she points out that these…
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Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Often, that’s a perfectly adequate explanation. I have time to iron my sheets, I just don’t want to. But other things are harder. Try it: “I’m not going to edit your résumé, because it’s not a priority.”…
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Greetings, fellow introverts. (Is that not you? Then you can safely skip this post. Everyone else, keep reading.) At every meetup I host, and most of the events I’m invited to speak at, I always mention that I’m a natural introvert. I know that there are likely many other shy, quiet, or introverted people in…
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In thinking through how to make some changes in my business, I’ve been thinking about identity in general. One of the strongest drivers of our behavior is to comply with the person we believe ourselves to be. If you want to do something different, you have to adopt the identity of the kind of person…
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What if learning wasn’t confined to a rigid program in a university? What if you could begin learning now, without going back to school?
The One-Year, Alternative Graduate School Program was one of the more popular parts of the original AONC book, in the same chapter where I compared the value of my graduate school degree to my career as an independent writer. I’ve since heard from a number of “students” of all ages who implemented this practice in a variety of forms. The point isn’t to disparage traditional education, but to provide an alternative for different kinds of learning. You never have to put off learning, and higher education isn’t the only option. Read More
It's a holiday in the U.S. today. If you're not working, this is a great day to catch up.
The chance to build something for yourself is greater than any holiday you could ever have. Are you building something? Are you making regular progress? A few things happening over here: Read More
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When you were a kid and wanted to do something your parents or teachers didn’t like, you may have heard the question, “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?”
The idea is that it’s not good to do something stupid, even if everyone else does it. The logic is think for yourself instead of following the crowd. It’s not bad advice, even if it’s sometimes used to exert control more than to support independent thinking. Then, you grow up and suddenly the tables are turned. People start expecting you to behave exactly as they do. If you don’t conform to their expectations, some of them get confused or even irritated. It’s almost as if they are asking: “Hey, everyone else is jumping off the bridge. Why aren’t you?” The irony of this is lost on everyone who is busy lining up to take the leap. The logic shifts from independent thinking to groupthink. If everyone else is doing it, it must be right. Read More
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When I'm not roaming the world, I live in Portland, Oregon, land of strong coffee and tall bikes.
Portland is a fun little place, and it also happens to be one of the most progressive cities in America. You can buy marijuana at a food cart beginning at approximately age twelve. When George Bush (the first one) visited Portland, so many people turned out to protest that he dubbed the city “Little Beirut.” Walking down the street on any given day, you'll be accosted by people who want you to save the rain forest or support homeless anarchists. For the most part, it feels like home. Read More
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Dear friends and readers,
Last week I made it to Norway, my final country after more than a decade of going everywhere.
Such an occasion deserved to be shared, so that's just what we did. First, a group of 16 friends, family members, and readers joined Jolie and me for a two-day tour from Oslo to Bergen.
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Greetings from LHR Terminal 5, where I'm getting ready to fly to my final country.
Yeah. I know.
I'll share more about that over the weekend on Twitter, and of course next week on the blog. I've heard there's a cake and a champagne toast in Oslo on Sunday night, and a lot of fun people coming along.
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Greetings from the road to Anchorage, Alaska—or actually the sky, since it's a long drive to Anchorage for most of us.
Last week we had a real-time experiment where I invited readers to offer something for free. We received hundreds of submissions, many of them in the comments thread of the original post and many others through independent blog posts.
Today I'll share a few highlights from the original post, as well as a couple of observations on the process.
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