Postcard #8: Sonya in Quebec City
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Sonya in Quebec City. Here's what it's all about.
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Et Cetera
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Life
Unsolicited Advice
When people ask for advice about something, I've learned to be careful about being too honest. Sometimes I'll say first:
“Before I answer, do you want to hear 'that sounds great!' Or do you want to hear what I really think?”
This is because when we ask for advice, sometimes we're really looking for affirmation. We want to hear, Yes! I love it! Proceed! Because we're already married to the idea we want advice on, we'd be disappointed to hear anything less than an enthusiastic endorsement.
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Travel
The Latest In Travel Hacking, “Volcanic Ash Karma” Edition
I lived in Seattle from 2006-2008 without a car, which worked well about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, I spent a lot of time waiting on street corners for the bus to arrive. It was frequently late, but once in a while, I'd get to the bus stop right when the bus was pulling up. My friends and I called this “good bus karma” which we ascribed to previous 40-minute waits when we had just missed it.
Last month during the British Airways strike, I walked around a deserted Heathrow airport terminal with departure signs reading CANCELLED. Meanwhile, my flight went out as planned, albeit on a chartered “EuroAtlantic” flight where the meal consisted of a paper bag filled with bananas (seriously) and half a bottle of one-euro red wine. I was grateful for the bananas, but mostly for the flight.
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Work
The Partner Launch, The Plan, and Stuck in Vancouver
Greetings from Vancouver, British Columbia—a place I'm starting to enjoy more and more every time I pass through. I'm just here in transit again, but it's nice to be back regardless.
This is the Sunday Store Update. If you're new here, I use this time to share some brief news about the business side of AONC.
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Et Cetera
Postcard #7: Benjamin in Grand Haven
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Benjamin in Grand Haven, Michigan. Here's what it's all about.
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Profiles
The Quest for 1 Million Photos: Interview with Thomas Hawk
A quest combines a passion for something meaningful with a measurable goal. For example—visiting every country in the world. Running a marathon in all 50 states. And so on. Once in a while I discover someone else on a quest that deserves broad attention, and I'm always fascinated by the back story. Enter Thomas Hawk, the San Francisco photographer on track to producing 1,000,000 finished, processed photos. He does this while working a full-time job and raising four young kids.
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Life
Your Backup Plan Is Your Plan
My favorite part of reading case studies and interviewing entrepreneurs over the past couple of months has been hearing a number of stories with a recurring theme. In dozens of variations, the stories usually sound like this:
“I was down to my last $400 and simply had to make it work...”
“I gave up the option to take a reduced role at my job and just went full-tilt...”
“I didn't know what I was doing, but I finally overcame everything I was stalling on and just started ...”
Refusing the backup plan is a key theme of many successful entrepreneurs and other heroes. A good backup plan creates safety, security and a fall-back option—things you don't want when you're trying to change the world.
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Et Cetera
Postcard #6: Tana in Lisbon
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Tana in Lisbon, Portugal. Here's what it's all about.
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Life
Breathing Just a Little and Calling It a Life
Yesterday I rode my bike down to Laughing Planet on Belmont Avenue for a $4.85 burrito. The sun was out and all was well. On the ride down I replayed the classic “time/money/no object” game in my head. You know, the one where you ask: “If time and money were no object, what would I do today?” This is a fun game to play, and it's even better when you realize that you wouldn't change much about your plan. In my case, I had about $60 in my wallet—but the only thing I wanted to eat for lunch was the $4.85 burrito. I could have had a million dollars in my laptop bag, and I still would have taken my $35 "Craigslist special" bike down to the burrito place.
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Life
Rest and Recovery
Back home in Portland, I went to my first yoga class in several weeks and immediately noticed that something was different. This class is kicking my ass! I thought—but then I looked around, and everyone else was doing just fine. The same thing happened during my 40-minute run the night before: 20 minutes in, I was ready to give up.
My most recent epic journey was fairly intense. Among other challenges, I slept in a different bed every night for 10 nights in a row. I hadn't planned it that way—I was in Cyprus for three nights, but I changed rooms one night and hotels the other night. Because of the complex itinerary, I had a lot of transit stops—one night in Munich, one in Miami, one in Heathrow, and so on. Living out of a suitcase can work for a while, but it does wear you down over time.
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Work
EBK Day 4, Part II: Live from Amtrak’s “Bloggers’ Lounge”
A few notes on our very busy day here:
1. If you're traveling on Amtrak at some point, I recommend the blueberry pancakes for breakfast.
2. Thanks for all the birthday congratulations. You guys are great.
3. A reader told me about the Bottomless Cup coffee shop in Havre, Montana. We have 25 minutes in Havre this afternoon and I'm going to try to make a mad latte dash. If I don't make it back in time, J.D.'s in charge!
4. Oh, and the Empire Building Kit has been flying off the shelves! Holy cow.
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Postcard #5: 160 Miles in Minnesota
This week's featured postcard comes to us from 160 Miles in Bemidji, Minnestoa. Here's what it's all about.
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Work
Luciano Pavarotti’s Secret for Online Success
What, you didn't know that Luciano Pavarotti was huge on Twitter? Oh yes. Or at least, he could have been. See, every day I talk with various people about their projects. Inevitably, I hear a lot of questions that are rooted in this premise:
"How can people give me their attention?"
In other words: “How can I get more for myself?” The more in question varies: interest, customers, website traffic, subscribers, money, whatever—but it always relates to an increase in focus on the individual.
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Et Cetera
Postcard #4: Mary in Kentucky
This week's featured postcard comes to us from Mary in Louisville, Kentucky. Here's what it's all about.
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Travel
The Journey
Part of what I like about adventures is the challenge for the sake of the challenge. I like the logistics. I like trying to figure out flight schedules to Papua New Guinea. I don't always like getting stuck in random places, but I like finding my way out. Those of you out there with big goals of your own—think about the journey. If you know you can enjoy it for what it is, without any other reward, you know you're on the right track.
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