discoveries : The Art of Non-Conformity

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Since You Can Live Anywhere, Where Should It Be?

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Oh wait... most of us can live just about anywhere.

Sure, you might not be able to pack up and leave tomorrow (or maybe you could), but with enough resourcefulness, with the right passport it’s not that hard to leave your home country and establish a new life elsewhere. Many readers have done it.

A new free site called The Earth Awaits offers to help you kick the planning into another gear. You tell it which factors are important to you, and it gives you customized recommendations.

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLII

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

10 Travel Hacks The Tourism Industry Doesn't Want You To Know -- Featuring comments from me and several other experts
Be a More Productive Writer While Also Achieving Balance -- Lots of contrarian advice here. I still like my to-do lists, but I appreciate this perspective
Traveling to Cuba? Book one of the 1,000 listings available on Airbnb -- While you’re waiting for the Park Hyatt Havana to open, here are some alternatives
How to Be Funnier -- A new film from FiveThirtyEight
"Live free, die hoppy" -- One man’s quest to visit every craft brewery in the U.S.
Winston Churchill’s Guide to Life-Work Balance -- Including a morning whiskey in the bath and a daily uniform of pink silk pyjamas

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLI

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Momentum -- A new community from longtime friend Jenny Blake
Traveling Is Exhausting -- Alyssa’s notes on adventuring through Europe
27 Sites with Royalty-Free Stock Images -- Tons of photos for your blog posts or social media
My Creative Burnout -- The author of “How to Survive Creative Burnout” navigates a setback
When Is Cheryl’s Birthday? -- A math problem from Singapore (aaaah! so difficult)
The Secret to Never Being Frustrated Again -- “You don’t get frustrated because of events. You get frustrated because of your beliefs.”

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XL

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

5 Secrets of a Successful Ted Talk — Hint: Being a famous person has little to do with giving a popular talk
Hacking Weight Loss — What Jeff learned from losing 30 pounds
10 Places to Go Before They’re Gone -- Don’t miss Madagascar! I once stopped off in every domestic airport on the island/li>
Changing Perceptions of Time While Dying (Video) -- A Stanford neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with lung cancer in his mid-30s reflects on the experience
The Most Aspirational Miles Award -- Use your Virgin miles (a lot of them…) to book travel on Richard Branson’s Necker Island
Gifts for Highly Productive People -- My choice would be: more iPhone cables. I leave them everywhere!

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXIX

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

The Most Advantageous Places to Visit with American Dollars -- An updated report highlighting Mexico, Argentina, and some of Europe
The Economics of Busking -- Notes on best practices and how much money you can expect to make
How to Tell the Difference Between Planes — Do you know that there are only two double-decker aircraft? This infographic will teach you how to spot all the major aircraft types
“Disco Dog”: The smartphone-controlled LED dog vest -- Take your dog for a walk and a dance with this fun Kickstarter project
A Man and His Van -- "Adventure is freedom"
Living in an Internet Cafe in Japan -- Depression and Japan's big unemployment challenge

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXVIII

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

A Master Comedian’s Advice for Becoming Famous — Steve Martin’s unconventional perspective
Birds That Bring Gifts — Maybe your most generous friends are in your backyard
How to Become a Brunch Buffet Ninja — Learn how to win gold in the buffet game
The Himalayas from 24,000 Feet — Live from Kathmandu, here’s the first ultra HD footage of the Himalayas shot from above 20,000 ft
A tour of the most expensive Airbnb rental in San Francisco — The 10-bedroom mansion will cost you $7,010 a night
How to Cry on Command — Actors use this trick to generate real tears over and over

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXVII

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Crashing the Ivy League -- What one man learned by crashing elite colleges for 4 years
Oddly Priced Routes when Using Miles — Some interesting redemption opportunities for all those miles & points you’ve been earning
Amazing Tea-Pouring Video — Finding talent in unusual places
A Glimpse Into the Lives of Golbi Desert Nomads -- A photo tour of eight Mongolian families living strong on the empty terrain
Cargo Delivery Drivers Get Free Waffles from Waffle House -- File under: I wish I was a cargo delivery driver
Surviving a Tsunami in Indonesia — "It was like the hand of death had come out and tickled us"

Life

Visiting the Hidden Speakeasy in Downtown Sydney, Australia

Searching for a great cocktail in Australia is a quest of its own. For most Australians, a cocktail means "gin and tonic" or "margarita"—they have great wines in this part of the world, but legit mixed drinks are hard to come by.

That just means you have to look harder, of course.

I found a modern-day speakeasy hidden away in the Central Business District of Sydney. Finding the general area wasn’t difficult, but there was a trick to finding the speakeasy itself: you had to avoid an imposter bar located right outside. The imposter bar looked fine—just a normal pub with the typical overpriced drinks of Sydney.

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6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXVI

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

I’ll Just Put This Here, Where No One Will Read It -- On allowing people to make mistakes (or even to fail)
Buy a Monopoly Set and Get Real Money -- Everyone's childhood dream coming true
If It Doesn’t Serve a Purpose, Get Rid of It -- Advice for industrial design and life
28 (Better) Things No One Tells You About Publishing -- My favorites are #15 and #17. I disagree with #13
Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s Flight Suit Found in Toronto Thrift Store -- How it got there remains a mystery
How Too Many Products Can Hurt Your Business -- A counterintuitive lesson from the precocious Nathan Barry

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXV

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Don’t Waste Those 30-Minute Gaps Between Meetings — How to take advantage of little pockets of time
Quintessence -- An essential part of maturing is learning to avoid discontent
Etihad Offering Free Status Matches -- May be limited in quantity; don’t wait! (hat tip: Gary)
Don’t Throw a Life Raft Into the Kiddie Pool -- On running marathons and raising children
Why Travel Makes You Smarter -- “Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you’ve traveled.” - Mohamed
Discouragement Is a Natural Part of Achieving Goals -- A lesson in “living with open hands”

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXIV

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

The Journal of Brief Ideas -- A new outlet for short, scholarly ideas of 200 words or less
The Most Advantageous Places to Visit with American Dollars -- An updated report highlighting Mexico, Argentina, and some of Europe
Nude Portraits Where the Photographer Himself Is Unclothed -- A change of perspective on the usual photography project
The FBI’s Top Hostage Negotiator Tells You How To Save Money on Your Phone Bill -- A lesson in asking
Adventure of a Lifetime -- A detailed guide to visiting Iceland
JetBlue's CEO Battles to Appease Passengers and Wall Street — He stays up until 3am responding to angry emails

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXIII

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Invasive Species -- Photos of South African cell-phone towers disguised as trees
I Wanted to Be a Millionaire — What it’s like to lose a small fortune in 20 seconds
How to Charter a Yacht — The beginner’s guide
The King of Cactuses — When your cactus gets sick, who are you going to call? This guy.
The Uber Driver Who Makes $250,000 a Year — Tip: Most of his income doesn’t come from the actual driving
Champagne Bottle Chair Art — An unconventional competition with creative results

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXII

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Vietnam: A Road Story -- A fun look at trains, rain, and a few of the millions of motorbikes that are used as primary transport in Vietnam

Today is Not Tomorrow -- A grandmother's lesson from a weekend phone call

Stop Telling Women to Smile -- An interactive documentary on street harassment in Mexico City

What nobody told me about small farming: I can’t make a living -- "People say we're 'rich in other ways,' but most farms are unsustainable

The Making of Black Messiah -- Behind the scenes of an album 14 years in the waiting

New York Man Finds Himself Alone on Delta Flight -- He even received a personal safety briefing

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXXI

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Travel Blogger Hits the Reset Button After 5 Years of Writing - Adventurous Kate reevaluates and sets new goals for her next 5 years of adventures

Meet the Dad Who Wears Tattoos of His Son’s Doodles - Every year, he takes a design by his son and has it tattooed on his own right arm

This Video Game Only Allows One Move a Day - Need some help battling instant gratification?

How to Quit Being a Perfectionist - Because perfectionism KILLS progress

Can you name these cities just by looking at their transit grids? - I scored 9/10... but I’ll admit the clues helped

How Many Grapes Make One Bottle of Wine? - As you might suspect, not all grapes are created equal

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXX

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Flying Turnips in Spain -- An odd and oddly beautiful tradition in Spain

That Time Queen Elizabeth Drove King Abdullah Around in Her LandRover -- “His nervousness only increased as the Queen, an Army driver in wartime, accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads”

What to Say to Get Your Way -- How to talk to anyone (anyone? yep—it seems that way)

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class “Planeview” -- A fun tour of Virgin’s comfy seats (although in my opinion, the Clubhouses on the ground are the best part of flying Virgin)

Inside Philadelphia’s Neglected Row Houses -- A photographic tour of a forgotten place

I’m Much More than a Mother -- Kristy writes on what she describes as the impossibility of being both a good mom and an entrepreneur

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