aonc : The Art of Non-Conformity

Life

If Everyone Becomes a Non-Conformist, Won’t We All Be Conforming?

I used to get this question a lot, sometimes framed in skepticism but other times just curiosity. The simple answer is that not everyone wants to become a non-conformist, or any other particular means of self-identification. Plenty of people are happy with the way things are, which is the definition of conformity. It’s not always a bad thing.

It’s also like asking, what if everyone wanted world peace? It would be wonderful If everyone wanted world peace, but not everyone does. People generally operate in their own interests, and some people benefit from conflict and strife. It’s no surprise that the world is full of constant conflict.

Being a non-conformist, or just a rebel in general, isn’t about fighting for the sake of fighting. Nor is it usually about rejecting an orthodoxy or culture. When it is about those things, the rebellion is usually superficial and short-lasting.

Et Cetera

Welcome, New Readers! (And old readers too …)

We've had a lot of new readers join recently, so I wanted to say hello (hi, everyone!) and explain more of what it's about.

This blog (AONC) started in 2008 along with my goal to visit every country in the world by my 35th birthday earlier this year.

Throughout the past five years it's grown to much more than a travelogue. Our core mission is to support and encourage non-conformity or unconventional thinking, as defined by this mission statement:

You don't have to live your life the way others expect. You can do good things for yourself and for others.

Travel

The $100 Startup Goes to India

Greetings from Hong Kong. I made it in from Vancouver last night and will be flying on to Mumbai shortly to begin the first leg of an extended tour in India. I'm very excited about this trip. I haven't been to India in many years—in fact, the last time I was there was right after I started writing this blog way back in 2008. This is also my first experience in presenting the ideas and stories from The $100 Startup to a crowd that is primarily cross-cultural. I don't expect that everything from the U.S. or “the western world” applies elsewhere, and I try to position myself as a learner. At the same time, however, I also believe that the ability to start a successful microbusiness and earn a good living on your own is increasingly becoming universal.

Et Cetera

Welcome, New Readers (What AONC Is All About)

Awesome people of The $100 Startup event: San Francisco, Tuesday, May 29th

Greetings from Santa Cruz, California—soon heading down to Los Angeles for a ~~book reading~~ party at Vroman's bookstore tonight.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. The $100 Startup launched as an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. We've sold 30,000 copies in the first three weeks and plan to reach many more people over the next few months with the message of freedom and value.

Work

Report from the Road

Greetings, friends and readers. I've been on the road for 10 days, meeting people in 7 cities and counting so far.

We kicked things off in New York City with a great crowd.

The next day I rode Amtrak up to Boston for a return visit to the Harvard Coop, where I was 18 months ago for The Art of Non-Conformity tour.

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Work

Announcing The $100 Startup (Also: Where should we go on book tour?)

Greetings Friends, Readers, and Awesome People of AONC: today I'm excited to announce the upcoming launch of my new book, THE $100 STARTUP. This has been a labor of love for a long time, and I'm looking forward to having it out in the world starting May 8, 2012.

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Profiles

AONC Readers in the AONC Book

Greetings from the Atlanta airport, where I’m preparing this post before heading home after a 13-stop leg of the Unconventional Book Tour. In writing the AONC book, I wanted to highlight the stories of other people who have forged their own unconventional lives. Everyone mentioned below was included in the book, already in its fourth…

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Life

The Agenda: Wrap-Up

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.

Travel

Notes from AA 476

Greetings from the early-early flight (6:05am departure) to DFW, where I'll transfer to an American Eagle jet up to Des Moines, Iowa. Over the next 14 days I'll be in 13 cities, taking the message of AONC on the road through the midwest and the Great Lakes, meeting readers, and trying to keep the plates in the air.

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Work

I Have a Book! (And I Need Some Help)

The day before leaving on my final international trip of the year, the FedEx guy showed up at my door. Unfortunately, he did not have a package with my passport from Washington, D.C., which led to my just-barely-made-it excursion to Algeria. Too bad—but it all worked out in the end, as it usually does. Instead of a passport, I received a small package from Penguin Books. I get review books all the time, so I assumed that's what this one was. But then I opened up the package and saw my name. At first I thought it was an impostor, but no impostor would choose the name Guillebeau to write a book. (He would probably choose a name like Godin or Grisham instead.)

Life

Site Update: June-July 2010

Greetings once again from the homeland, also known as Portland, Oregon.

I haven't been running as much as I'd like lately, but this morning I made it out to the Springwater Corridor for a fun 10 miles in great summer weather. All is well with the world once again.

~~Each month~~ once in a while I look back at what’s happened with AONC in the previous ~~month~~ two months. If you’ve missed some articles, you can catch up here ...

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Life

Announcing the Unconventional Book Tour!

Seventy-five days from today, my first print book hits the stands all across North America. As promised, I'll be traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada to meet readers and raise money for our Ethiopia project. --> Read the details and sign up to come out here

Travel

Extreme Gratitude, Austin Edition

Greetings from the capital of the Internet this week, also known as Austin, Texas. It's a fun place with fun people. In case you're not familiar with this annual event, once a year everyone on the Internet moves down to Austin for an annual pilgrimage. Big companies give away free drinks at various parties. People talk on stages and bands play in what appears to be an unlimited number of bars ...

Travel

Site Update: March 2010

Greetings from home base in the great Portland, Oregon. I've just returned from my first trip to Asia of 2010. The February trip was quite intense. First, I went to two faraway island groups: Papua New Guinea and the Maldives. I'm glad I made it, because they are both fairly time-consuming to get to. However, it's also true that flying to islands can sometimes present challenges ...

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Work

Overnight Success, Year Three

Now that the birthday is over, we're officially heading into Year Three of World Domination. A few people said they were surprised that everything has happened so quickly. I regularly receive notes that say “I've been reading your blog for years.” It feels like several years to me too—but we've only just now crossed the second year point ...

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