Instead of toiling away in a basement, writing boring posts that no one reads, I'm fortunate to write boring posts for a lot of great people. Last week's post on How to Travel Alone elicited a lot of opinions and stories, and I thought I'd highlight a few of them.
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Last month in Hong Kong, I went to the New Territories, a part of the region I'd never visited before. It was only half an hour from bustling Kowloon, but it felt like a totally different part of the world.
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Like many of you, I enjoyed a recent article about an iPhone photographer who made $15,000 in one day by selling his Instagram prints for $150 each on his birthday. “I’m not an entrepreneur,” he says in the article. But essentially, that’s exactly what he was—he acted on an idea and people responded! It was…
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It’s a common myth, yet at first glance it doesn’t make sense: booking plane tickets on short notice should be cheap. If there are empty seats, why wouldn’t the airline discount them as the flight approaches? But as you may have discovered if you’ve ever tried to jet off on a whim somewhere, you’re inclined…
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When it comes to money, some people have a floor and some have a ceiling. The floor is the minimum amount of money to live reasonably well. The ceiling is the magic number of what you might possibly achieve in your wildest dreams. Normally there’s nothing wrong with dreaming. But to be happier in life…
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The challenge of the amateur is to know when to stop and when to push through. I still remember what became known as the most challenging run of my life … twenty excruciating miles. It was a few weeks before a marathon I’d promised to complete, and I simply had to extend the distance of…
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A few years ago, I had a crazy idea to start a blog. As time went by it slowly turned into a community, a business, a series of books and events, a tour to 150 cities (so far…) and so much more. When people ask if I still recommend blogging, there’s an easy answer: YES!…
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“They say there’s no harm in daydreaming, but there is.” -Charlaine Harris When I run, I wish I could say I was fully focused on my surroundings. I live within running distance of a waterfront with half a dozen bridges, a beautiful (although steep) inactive volcano, and if I go a bit further, several nice…
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In 2006 I was living abroad in my final year on the hospital ship. I’d been moonlighting by building a new business, and later that year I’d move back to the U.S. and relocate to Seattle. There was a marketing conference being held in Chicago, and it caught my attention. I was all the way…
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I never was much for any kind of mechanical labor. If something breaks, I’m inclined to leave it broken. Give me a hammer and I’ll try to screw in a light bulb. One time I changed a tire and got really excited, until the spare tire nearly fell off as I drove along. Despite my…
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Hey everyone! Winners from last week’s big giveaway are Michelle S., Andy C., and Tonya L. Congratulations to them, and thanks to everyone else who entered. I always enjoy reading your comments. A few of my favorites included various creative entries: This comment is designed to win. –Chris Moseir I have goldfish crackers. I happen…
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Last week I mentioned a project that’s been in the works for more than six months: a comprehensive toolkit to help artists and designers of all kinds make more money and achieve creative freedom. We started by looking at the story of Jen & Omar, the authors of the new resource. They’ve built a fantastic…
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I’ve been self-employed for more than fifteen years, but it hasn’t always been easy. I once had the bright idea of selling a golf membership service for $1. (It was actually a very bad idea—no one told me you can’t make money on $1 per customer.) Another time I tried to launch four projects on…
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In The $100 Startup I wrote about two young art school graduates from Columbus, Ohio who had built a successful design business. Their business initially began by chance, when a map they’d made for themselves turned into a hugely popular online product, with orders coming in from all over the world. Very quickly, Jen Adrion…
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“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” –Dorothy Parker I strive to live in a sense of wonder, yet often I fail. Even on the road, where I feel most at home, I become acclimated to beauty and experiences. This champagne on my First Class flight is flat! … The…
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