"Since 2008, I’ve been working seasonal jobs, then exploring the world during the off season, using travel-hacking to get the most bang for my buck. "
Read More“To be nobody-but-yourself—in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” -ee cummings
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Travel always seemed like the ultimate expression of my innate desire to learn and experience something new. I always knew we got biased information about global cultures, and I dreamed of cutting through that.
Read MoreMeet Jack: a 93-year-old man who lives in a cabin in the wilderness. He built the cabin 36 years ago and has lived in it full-time since his wife passed away. “This house is five miles from the nearest road. That’s why I bought it.” “It’s not that I don’t like people. I do. But…
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Many times a day, I hear from someone who asks for help promoting a cause. They have something they're working on and want to share it with me—totally fine. I generally like to help as many people as possible. Being helpful relates to feeling happy, at least for me, and it's also a nice thing to do. Some of these requests, however, come in the form of “vote for me and spread the word” pitches—and these I feel less comfortable with.
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“When I wake up in the morning, I feel like any other insecure 24-year-old girl. Then I say, ‘Bitch, you get up and walk the walk today.’” ―Lady Gaga One time I failed at something I’d worked at for a long time. I felt terrible and spent a week moping around, complaining about it. My…
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A while back I was emailing with Julien, and one of his questions reminded me of a story I like to tell… “A lot of people probably relate to the idea of leaving behind their responsibilities and heading out to a new life, but they’re not in the situation where they just say “screw it”…
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Being between things is tough. There’s a bright future ahead! You can picture it, just out of reach in the near distance. But there’s a muddied present in front of you. Things are messy and take longer than you think. You experience setbacks as you proceed toward the goal. What can you do? You could…
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“The past always seems better when you look back on it than it did at the time. And the present never looks as good as it will in the future.” -Peter Benchley Back in the days when I still had hobbies, a few friends used to come over to the house for weekly gaming sessions.…
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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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From time to time, it’s good to sit back and ask yourself a few questions. Here’s a starting point. *** Are you happy? Are you doing something you enjoy? A good way to look at is: how much time do you spend on the good things? Who are the good people in your life? Do…
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I’m flying to Tokyo for the weekend, which I’d say is a long story but it’s actually a short one. I have a meeting with my local publisher and I need miles to requalify for American Airlines elite status—so I’m heading out for a super-quick Japan adventure. On my connecting flight to LAX this afternoon…
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From Robert Genn’s recent letter to artists: Choreographer Twyla Tharp’s Creative Habit, describes her morning routine of rising early and going through the same morning rituals; same coffee, same bun. She puts on the same leotards, goes down the same elevator to the same street corner, puts her arm up in the air and gets…
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What if learning wasn’t confined to a rigid program in a university? What if you could begin learning now, without going back to school?
The One-Year, Alternative Graduate School Program was one of the more popular parts of the original AONC book, in the same chapter where I compared the value of my graduate school degree to my career as an independent writer. I’ve since heard from a number of “students” of all ages who implemented this practice in a variety of forms. The point isn’t to disparage traditional education, but to provide an alternative for different kinds of learning. You never have to put off learning, and higher education isn’t the only option. Read More
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When you were a kid and wanted to do something your parents or teachers didn’t like, you may have heard the question, “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?”
The idea is that it’s not good to do something stupid, even if everyone else does it. The logic is think for yourself instead of following the crowd. It’s not bad advice, even if it’s sometimes used to exert control more than to support independent thinking. Then, you grow up and suddenly the tables are turned. People start expecting you to behave exactly as they do. If you don’t conform to their expectations, some of them get confused or even irritated. It’s almost as if they are asking: “Hey, everyone else is jumping off the bridge. Why aren’t you?” The irony of this is lost on everyone who is busy lining up to take the leap. The logic shifts from independent thinking to groupthink. If everyone else is doing it, it must be right. Read More