fun : The Art of Non-Conformity

Et Cetera

There’s Always a New Trick to Learn

"The great thing about a world record is that it gives meaning to a mundane task.
I don’t worry too much about people emulating me because people who have the get-up-and-go to do something like this usually have the common sense to know when something's going wrong.! It's a good time to be an inventor. If people want to learn to do something, they can easily get the information where before it was quite hard.
There’s always a new trick to learn. There’s always something you can do bigger and better."

Work

Take the “Born for This” Free Quiz: What Kind of Work Style Suits You Best?

Link: Take the “Born for This” Free Quiz

Hey, everyone!

My new book, Born for This, goes out into the world in less than 70 days. I’m very excited about sharing the message of “how to find the work you were meant to do” with lots of people all over the world.

You can now take a FREE quiz to learn more about what kind of work style suits you best.

I developed this quiz with my star editor, Talia Krohn, and we worked with our great team of ninjas to put it together.

The process is pretty simple: you’ll answer just 14 easy questions about your preferences. Questions range from what kind of collaboration you prefer, as well as what kind of people drive you crazy in the office.

Et Cetera

Our Team Is Growing! Join Us to Help Make Fun Stuff

Greetings, readers! Our small-but-mighty team is growing and we're looking for at least one person (maybe two) to join us.

This is a part-time, paid administrative position. The weekly commitment will range from 5-20 hours a week, with a guaranteed minimum number of hours each week. We believe in fair wages and FREE ICE CREAM as often as possible.

Action: If you'd like to be considered, please fill out this short form before Friday, December 18th.

Profiles

A Quest to Write and Share 1,000 Poems Using a Manual Typewriter

Scott James is from Austin, Texas and is on a quest to write and share 1,000 poems before the end of 2015.

Check out his Instagram to follow along on the poem quest. If you tag him with a word or photo, you might even get your own poem!

Et Cetera

52-Week Art Project Creates Illustrative Postcards About Life

Who doesn't like getting hand-written postcards?

Designers Giorgia Lupi + Stefanie Posavec were living parallel lives as expats in London and Brooklyn when they decided to start a year-long postcard project.

Each week, they sent each other a postcard—but not just any postcards. As artists who work with data, each postcard illustrates a particular type of data about their lives.

After all 52 weeks, the project recently ended. You can see a few of the postcards below, or more on their site.

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLVII

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

Courage, Happiness, and Gratitude -- What if you took the stage with no idea of what to say?
Jordan from the Air -- An aerial tour of one of my favorite countries
The Modern Nuns -- From a Star Trek enthusiast to a former trade union worker, women share their stories about why they chose the religious life
Amazon Publishing -- Interview with a newly published author
All Our Sons -- A real-time map of sunrises and sunsets built from Instagram posts
How Small Could You Go -- Awesome photos of a hidden, tiny Japanese hotel

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLVI

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

Quiet Revolution -- an inspiring new community for introverts, made by our good friend Susan Cain
The Man Who Loved Only Marbles -- Video of a man who's been spending several hours a day with marbles for more than 60 years
Saving $150 in Airfare by Searching Better -- When connecting in a hub city, sometimes it's best to search for each segment one-by-one
Graffiti Just Like Grandma Used to Make -- Because seniors like to tag, too
Elevator Training -- Why Germany now requires people to be trained before using some elevators
The Fabricant Way -- A new webcast series featuring stories of artisans and creative entrepreneurs

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLV

I. Around the World

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

Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling -- Emilie’s new TEDx talk on becoming a multipotentialite
The Forgotten Houseboat Hotels of Kashmir -- Photographs from the lost golden era of tourism in Kashmir
Historical Photos of New York City from the Public Library -- Click on an interesting vintage photo, and the site shows you where it was taken on a map of New York
You Don’t Have to Be Excited to Stay Committed -- "Things that bring you the greatest joy are often not that fun while you’re doing them."
Smart Ideas for Instagram Photos -- How to improve your on-the-go snaps and shared experiences
The Age-Old Cynicism Surrounding the Dream of Book Writing -- "Younger people aren’t interested in passive consumption-they want to engage, respond, create"

Travel

“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 5 Recap (Upgrade Your Dream Trip)

Every day for six weeks, we’re teaching people how to “Make Their Dream Trip a Reality.” You can watch each lesson for free on the day it’s broadcast, or you can purchase the whole course and have access anytime.

This was our fifth week (already?!) with the in-studio audience and the thousands of people who participated online. We've come so far! And we’ll be back again after the weekend for our last week where we'll bring it all together.

For the five daily lessons this week, we focused on helping people strategically use the miles they earned. Here's what we covered:

The Best Hidden Redemptions
The Secret World of Airline Lounges
Airline Status and Upgrades
On the Ground
More Ways to Use Your Points and Miles

Travel

“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 4 Recap (Book Your Hotel)

This was our fourth week with the in-studio audience and the thousands of people who participated online.

Everyone made lots of progress, and we’ll be back again after the weekend with much more.

Travel

“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 3 Recap (Book Your Flight)

This was our third week with the in-studio audience and the thousands of people who participated online.

Everyone made lots of progress, and we’ll be back again after the weekend with much more.

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLIV

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

Cat Cinema? It's a Thing -- Can you think of anything better than going to a movie with your feline friend?
Memorable Ways People Have Quit Their Jobs -- Thinking of quitting your job? Here are some fun ideas
Conquer Your Daily Tasks -- An app that turns your To-Do list into a game
Self-Esteem Might Be the Wrong Answer -- There might be an even better option
Looking for a Literary Agent for Your Book? -- See also: The Unconventional Guide to Publishing
Did You Double Check that Address? -- Ten stories of packages being delivered to the wrong address

Et Cetera

Make History by Eating Breakfast: Join Us for an All-New World Record

Link: Eat Waffles, Set a World Record (YES!)

When was the last time you broke a world record by eating breakfast?

Never, that's when. But fortunately for you, that's all about to change.

This summer, whether you're attending WDS or not, if you can make it to Portland on Friday, July 10, you can become a world record holder—and this time, the task required couldn't be easier.

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XLIII

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

Virtual Tour of New SAS Business Class Cabin -- The Scandinavian carrier updates its seats and shows them off in this fun "street view" tour
The Ultimate European Road-Trip -- Using open-source Google Maps data, you can customize this trip to suit your own style
Base Jumping off the World's Second Tallest Tower -- Watch crazy people jump off a building in Dubai
One Bike One Year -- One woman’s solo journey by bike to collect stories about water and climate change
9 Ways to Live Life on Offense -- Including #4: "Say yes to the scariest stuff"
Cost Obsessions Around the World -- Interesting Google searches by country

Travel

“Make Your Dream Trip a Reality”: Week 2 Recap (Earning Points & Miles)

This was our second week with our in-studio audience and the thousands of people who participated online.

Everyone made lots of progress, and we’ll be back again after the weekend with much more.

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