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Travel

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Range of Motion: Getting to Tajikistan

After a product launch and a few frantic days copyediting a book manuscript, I got on a plane and left to see the world. It began with a 4:30am alarm and a taxi to the airport. I hopped the early Alaska Air flight down to LAX, took an afternoon American Airlines departure to Kennedy, and another late-night AA flight to Barcelona. Non-stop travel with a lot of stops. In BCN I wandered the empty concourse at 5:45am. Boarding to Madrid was an hour later, but I had to switch to the Euro zone flight area, which means going through immigration and getting an entry stamp.

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Work

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Behind the Scenes of the “Unconventional Guide to Publishing” Launch

I woke up before 6am on Tuesday morning, eager for a big day. A product launch is always filled with lots of emotions, especially in the first few critical hours. What would happen? Dun dun dun ...

At 7:30 there was a knock on my door. It's Nicky Hajal! Our genius developer (AKA “kid wonder”) had arrived from New York the previous day. Nicky was in town along with Wes and Tera, our media team, for a tour of venues for this year's World Domination Summit ...

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Life

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Everyday Decisions: Should You Take the Train?

Here's the scenario: you arrive very late at an airport you haven't been to before. Security takes forever, but the flight is on time—which means you're even more rushed.

You walk into the terminal and look for your gate: A70. Damn ... you're currently at A18. Above you is an "Express Train" that runs between A1 and A75 with an unknown number of intermediate stops.

You know if you take the escalator up to the train and catch a ride it could be faster—but remember, you're unfamiliar with this airport.

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Travel

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The Latest in Travel Hacking: Earn Free Airfare in 2012

Happy New Year!

On Sunday's long run, I pushed it to 12 miles in honor of 2012. I then tried to eat 12 pieces of nutella pie as a reward, but that plan fell through after piece #2.

As you're thinking about a new year, here's a free tip: forget resolutions; think about living intentionally instead.

What matters to you this year? Do that.

What do you hope to build in 2012? Work on that.

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Travel

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Adventures in Somaliland

On my last trip, I made it to a country I'd been wondering about ever since beginning my quest more than five years ago: Somalia. Technically, I went to Somaliland, also known as the safe part of Somalia. Somalia itself is a mess, arguably the world's most dangerous country, and with hardly a functioning government of any kind. (One of its recent prime ministers now works at the New York State Department of Transportation.)

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Travel

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2011 Annual Review: Travel Roundup

As part of the Annual Review series, I look back at everywhere I went in 2011. As usual, it’s a long list! Despite a lull when I spent several months at home writing a book and preparing for WDS, I still made it to a decent amount of places. All told, I made it to at least thirty countries, including twenty that were new to me. Highlights included a visit to a gorilla reserve in the Eastern Congo and running a half-marathon in Cuba, my final country in the Americas. I also traveled to every province in Canada for the conclusion of my first book tour, and lots of U.S. cities for various meetings, talks, transit stops, and adventures.

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Life

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2011 Annual Review: The Beginning

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 haven't got everything in my life figured out, but I can honestly say that this exercise has been the most helpful exercise in all that has happened in the past six years.

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Life

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Life In the Tower, Somaliland Edition

Many thanks to everyone who has been reading or supporting the launch of The Tower, my new manifesto. If you missed it on Tuesday, you can pick up your free copy in a range of formats. I also want to thank my long-time friend and colleague Reese Spykerman, specialist in branding and magic, for her great work on the design. Reese truly raised her game on this one as we worked on telling a story through words and images.

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Life

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“There’s plenty of time.” (But what if there’s not?)

I've been working on a new, non-profit writing project that I'll share tomorrow. Here's a preview of the concept—for more on the project itself, see the note at the end or check back tomorrow.

A specter is haunting the internet. Everywhere you go, you hear about how you should slow down. First it was slow food (a good thing). Then there was slow living (not so good) and the rejection of striving and effort (even worse). The central part of this message is: “There's plenty of time. Stop hurrying and take it easy. Bake cakes, play in the forest, do what you want.”

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