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If someone has hurt you, it doesn’t have to be magically okay. It will probably continue to hurt for a while. If you’ve hurt someone else, you should do everything you can to make it right—but you also shouldn’t expect it to be completely fixed.
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Somewhere in my journey I learned an important lesson: whatever your location, you can choose to be at peace or you can choose to be anxious. I remember shivering in a tent in Zimbabwe, feeling miserable yet still excited about the adventure. I was on my own in a new part of the world, and I felt like a conquering (though cold) warrior.
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The challenge of the amateur is to know when to stop and when to push through. I still remember what became known as the most challenging run of my life … twenty excruciating miles. It was a few weeks before a marathon I’d promised to complete, and I simply had to extend the distance of…
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“If you really want to be happy, no one can stop you.” -Anonymous As I was editing a new book manuscript, one story caught my attention. A man makes a lot of changes in his life. He adopts a new lifestyle, sells his possessions, and spends his time on intentional experiences. So far, so good.…
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The sun came out over Portland on Saturday morning in what felt like the first time in weeks. It was a beautiful fall day, and I decided to ride my bike to lunch. Except for one problem: when I walked into the garage, my bike wasn’t there. Dolt! Where had I last left it? I…
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*** “Don’t settle: Don’t finish bad books. If you don’t like the menu, leave the restaurant. If you’re not on the right path, get off it.” –Chris Brogan I used to feel obligated to finish bad books or stay in restaurants I didn’t like. Then I adopted Chris’s rule, which I’ve used for years but…
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In The Happiness Myth, Jennifer Michael Hecht defines three types of happiness: a moment of happiness, a good day, and a happy life. Hecht suggests that no further definition is needed because the difference between the three is obvious when we use or hear the word happiness in context. However, she points out that these…
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Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Often, that’s a perfectly adequate explanation. I have time to iron my sheets, I just don’t want to. But other things are harder. Try it: “I’m not going to edit your résumé, because it’s not a priority.”…
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left Norway and began a slow journey home via the Pacific. I'm writing these notes from a Cathay Pacific flight to Tokyo, where I'll transfer on to Los Angeles after staying one night.
After the end of the world in Oslo, a lot of people have been asking:
How does it feel to visit every country in the world?
How does it feel? It feels good. I'm the same person as I was last week, and I haven't been equipped with magical powers or instant sagacity—but it's fun to know that it all worked out.
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Dear friends and readers,
Last week I made it to Norway, my final country after more than a decade of going everywhere.
Such an occasion deserved to be shared, so that's just what we did. First, a group of 16 friends, family members, and readers joined Jolie and me for a two-day tour from Oslo to Bergen.
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Greetings from LHR Terminal 5, where I'm getting ready to fly to my final country.
Yeah. I know.
I'll share more about that over the weekend on Twitter, and of course next week on the blog. I've heard there's a cake and a champagne toast in Oslo on Sunday night, and a lot of fun people coming along.
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Greetings from the road to Anchorage, Alaska—or actually the sky, since it's a long drive to Anchorage for most of us.
Last week we had a real-time experiment where I invited readers to offer something for free. We received hundreds of submissions, many of them in the comments thread of the original post and many others through independent blog posts.
Today I'll share a few highlights from the original post, as well as a couple of observations on the process.
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Dear Readers and Amazing People,
Greetings from Austin, Texas. I had a fun time yesterday with many SXSW attendees and residents of this great city. Special thanks to BookPeople for hosting, to Betty Jean for coordinating a large amount of beer and cupcakes, and to everyone who showed up.
Life is good and I'll be going for some of Austin's famous breakfast tacos right after publishing this post.
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How can you help people?
What can you offer the world, or at least to someone you know?
Think about this. Think about something specific. Think about something that can actually happen soon.
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On a day like last Saturday, you might find yourself wrapping up a whirlwind series of events in a fun East Asian country. You might be feeling the effects of little sleep and the need to be extroverted as you present yourself in various new and unfamiliar events. Hosting a talk show on Buddhist TV, for example, or perhaps being pelted by questions in the form of paper airplanes at a less formal event for readers. It will all have been wonderful, no doubt, but you'll also be in need of a change ...
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