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Every year since 2006, I've set aside an entire week in December to review the year that has almost passed and look ahead to the next one..
I certainly don't think I've got everything figured out in my life, but I can honestly say that this practice has been the most helpful exercise in all that has happened since then ...
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Dreams. Because it all starts with a dream or an idea. Recapture your lost dreams, create new ones, and find a way to make them real. Living. Because as Bob Dylan said, “He not busy being born is busy dying." If you're not sure what to live for, try peak moments and big adventures. Influences. Because none of us lives in a vacuum. Who has helped you become who you are now? (And have you thanked them lately?)
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Dear Friends,
I got up at 5am in Anchorage last Monday to publish this post, all about a business offer I was partnering with to donate my proceeds to our Ethiopia project.
At the moment I pressed the publish button, I knew it was a good promotion and I trusted Karol and Adam—but I wasn't entirely sure how readers would respond. We had no pre-launch to let people know this was coming, it was a busy time of the year, and I was just wrapping up our own only-once-a-year sale at UnconventionalGuides.com ...
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I recently read two books about the choices people make when faced with the knowledge of their forthcoming death. The first book is called Last Acts, and was written by a doctor who worked predominantly with hospice patients. Throughout the book, people make different choices—some seek to create closure with their loved ones and prepare as much as possible to say farewell to life as we know it. Others refuse to accept the reality of their forthcoming death and try to fight as long as possible ...
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If you don't live in the U.S., you may wonder why the internet is so quiet today. Everyone else around the world, this is the day you get the internet to yourselves. Use it well, friends, because America will be back online and shopping tomorrow.
I do have a sale going on at UnconventionalGuides.com until Monday if you're interested (use discount code "PUMPKIN"). It's pretty much the only sale of the year over there, so it doesn't need much hype.
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Most of the time, the obvious way around an obstacle isn't the only way. Looking for another option is called the unconventional strategy—when you have the same goal as anyone else, but you find a different way to achieve it. It works in education, career, personal finance, social causes, politics, relationships, etc. Oh, and it can even work in sports and contests too.
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If you are confident, they will say you are arrogant.
If you are deliberate, they will say you are too sure of yourself.
If you have a sense of purpose, they will say you are self-absorbed.
If you know who you are, they will ask, “Who are you, anyway?”
If you believe in kindness and compassion, they will say you are naïve.
If you are a dreamer, they will say “join the real world.”
If you are a rebel, they will try to shut you down.
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Here's a fun exercise: take 60 seconds and write down the peak moments of your life. A peak moment is a fixed point in time that has strong, positive memories. You summited the mountain! You achieved something monumental! Things will be different now. The obvious ones are things like weddings, births, graduations, and so on. But pay attention to the others as well. When you look back on how far you've come thus far (whether you're 15 years old, 80 years old, or somewhere in between), what stands out?
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I like thinking about hypothetical questions, and this one is a good start. Most of us have some kind of dream trapped within us that has somehow become stifled by the fear of failure. So, yes, it's good to think about this question and bring your answer to the surface. The problem, though, is that most things that are worth doing involve a real possibility of failure. Marriages fail, other relationships falter, businesses close their doors all the time. A big goal, like the ones we looked at recently, always involves a certain degree of risk.
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I stepped outside my hotel room and put my headphones in. Taking the elevator down to the lobby, I looked out at blue sky and sunshine—much nicer than the previous day of cold rain.
Then on the way outside, I did something that brought on instant embarrassment, pain, and déjà vu: I walked directly into a glass door that I didn't know existed. I thought the door was open, but sadly, it was not ...
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I started writing the Agenda series in Algeria two months ago, in preparation for the book launch and a week of guest blogging at Powells.com. There are a few points I left out of the series, most of which I decided were irrelevant to the message. For example, I'm very passionate about travel and entrepreneurship, but I didn't write much about them in the series, because these are two expressions (not the only ones) of the non-conformist life. Not everyone wants to travel or own a business, and while I'll continue to do much of my work for those who do, I also understand that there is more than one way to create your own independence.
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Welcome to Part IV of The Agenda. Here is Part I (Ask Why), here is Part II (The Individual as Hero), and here is Part III (The Need for Contribution).
Visiting every country in the world is getting difficult. I've almost completely ran out of “easy” countries. These days I spend as much time arranging visas as I do planning the actual trip. It takes time, energy, and money: even with my best travel hacking strategies, I expect the overall cost to increase in the final two years of the project.
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Welcome to Part III of The Agenda. Here is Part I (Ask Why) and here is Part II (The Individual as Hero) ...
I was depressed like everyone else after 9/11. Having just been in NYC the week before made it especially poignant—I remembered walking around a lower Manhattan that would never be the same after that Tuesday. I spent that fall thinking about the big questions of life—what am I really here for? Since it's obvious there is evil in the world, where can I find the good?
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Welcome to Part II of The Agenda. Part I is here. I don't follow professional or amateur sports, but every two years, I love watching the Olympics. I enjoy the stories, the years of training without reward, all in pursuit of a big dream. To give it all in pursuit of such a dream—I think this is a good thing. If people are dreaming and striving hard to achieve their dream, brushing off the criticism they receive and overcoming the obstacles they encounter, the quest becomes life-affirming to themselves and inspiring to the spectators around them.
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