portland : The Art of Non-Conformity

Travel

Off to See the World, Once Again

In the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, I set out on a journey. The streets were wet as I rolled my carry-on and walked a few blocks to a smartcar, which I drove to the MAX train station. The train took me to PDX International Airport. With only a few non-U.S. flights, I’m not sure what’s truly international about my beloved small town airport, but at least security’s quick and everyone is friendly most of the time.

Before I leave on a big trip, I’m always anxious. Once I get going, I’m always excited. After hundreds of trips and millions of miles flying around the world, I know this routine well.

Last fall was a 40-city book tour, which was fun in a different way. Sometimes people would ask if I got tired of being in a different city every day, which no chance to do much except prepare for the evening event. The honest answer is “Not really”—I honestly enjoy the process of hustling my way around the U.S. and Canada, meeting with a different group of readers every night and doing whatever I can to inch a new book forward in a crowded marketplace.

Et Cetera

Offline for World Domination

Today officially begins the fourth-annual World Domination Summit, also known as WDS. It’s here! Posts on the site will continue, but I’ll be mostly offline with our 3,000+ arrivals coming in for the main show + many different academies. Later this morning, our first Academies will begin. I’ll be at several of them. Tomorrow morning…

Travel

The Great “Dining Dash” Adventure of 2014

The other day I took on a mini-quest with my friend and fellow traveler Stephanie. We went to ten restaurants, cafes, and food carts in six hours as part of a challenge to earn dining miles. Here's how it went down.

Et Cetera

Expanding the Pie in Southeast Portland

After a month at home with no travel, I’m heading back out on the road this week. This time I’m going to Nepal and Bhutan, two countries in South Asia that have eluded me until now. Trip Logistics I used 50,000 American Airlines miles to book a one-way awards trip on Cathay Pacific to Hong…

Et Cetera

Extreme Gratitude, Hometown Edition

On Thursday night, about 50% of Portland, Oregon descended upon the Pied Cow, a local beer garden to talk about travel, entrepreneurship, blogging, and all kinds of other topics.

At one point a waitress came over to ask what our group was working on, and someone said "World Domination." Nice one. Later on, the same waitress told me we were "the most polite group of non-conformists" she had ever met, which I also appreciated.

Travel

This Is How it Begins

I previously wrote about how a long trip begins from Seattle. I didn’t have a car there either, but public transport required a high threshold of patience and pain. In Seattle it took up to two hours to begin a trip, which was especially interesting when the first flight was at 6:00 a.m.

Et Cetera

New Home in Portland, Oregon

Hey everyone, welcome to the weekend edition of the Art of Nonconformity. It’s not really an official thing, at least not yet – it’s just for those of you who read by RSS or who happen to stop by the site on Saturdays. I figure I’ll use it for personal updates and random things that don’t fit in a Monday or Thursday post.

Today’s Big News Is that I No Longer Live in Seattle

Yes, it’s true. World Domination HQ is now located a few hours south of the original base in Seattle. Articles and other world-changing information is now published live from my new home of Portland, Oregon.