Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 100

Plates

I heard this short story in the form of a dialogue recently:

Grab a plate and throw it on the ground.

-Okay.

Did it break?

-Yes.

Now say sorry to it.

-Okay.

Did it go back to the way it was before?

-No.

Do you understand now?

(See it as an image here)

There are at least three lessons in the story:

1. If someone has hurt you, it doesn’t have to be magically okay. It will probably continue to hurt for a while.

2. If you’ve hurt someone else, you should do everything you can to make it right—but you als...

Don’t Join the Popularity Contest: Make It Happen Yourself

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. A good third of my Twitter stream is composed of messages about other people’s projects.

Some of these requests, however, come in the form of “vote for me and spread the word” pitches—and these I...

A Few Things In the Mix

“Before beginning, prepare carefully.”

-Sicero

Over the past year I’ve been rebranding and beginning many things anew.

We’ve done some decent work so far.

1. In March we launched an all-new event for independent entrepreneurs. The first iteration brought several hundred people together, who are all still learning from one another and launching new projects. (Afterwards, our team agreed to take a series of long naps before planning the next one.)

We’ve been posting one or two speaker videos from...

Unexpected Travel Hacking Day: Earn Up to 170,000 Extra Miles & Points from New Offers

Today was an unexpected travel hacking adventure.

While working on another project for most of the day, I received word of an update to the Barclays Premier Miles and More Mastercard. Normally that card offers a 30,000 point bonus, which is decent—but for a limited time, they’re upping the bonus to 20,000 points immediately upon signup and an additional 30,000 points after meeting a minimum spend. Nice!

I started writing an update to everyone on the owner’s list for Frequent Flyer Master.

Lite...

Most People Want to Work On Their Own (and It’s Not Just a Dream)

The lede on this NPR segment is about young people: 67% of Millennials (ages 18-34) who are currently employed want to work on their own.

That’s interesting, but not really exclusive. The article also notes that 45% of people aged 35 and up also want to work on their own.

This is not a trend! This is a genuine revolution. It’s for people of all ages.

Listen to the segment here:

http://chrisguillebeau.com/files/2014/04/marketplace_segment07_20140425_64.mp3

***

Other interesting notes:

*Having acces...

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Meaning Beyond Metrics

Even in a commercial launch, where the goal is to sell a product, you can find meaning beyond the traditional sales metrics of units sold, revenue, and so on.

Being paid to make things is nice—but it feels good to make them regardless of the outcome.

On Tuesday we launched Get Rich Slowly, a new Unconventional Guide by author J.D. Roth. When I said in the sales copy that it was a year-long process, I wasn’t kidding. He really has worked

Here’s what J.D. said about it:

After a year of work, I'm...

Introducing Get Rich Slowly: A 52-Week Guide to Building Wealth

Pop the champagne and brew the espresso… it’s finally here!

After six months nearly a year’s worth of work, we’re now ready to unveil Get Rich Slowly: the 52-week, action-packed course.

*A 120-page Field Manual to Freedom

*18 Interviews (audio + transcripts) with Personal Finance Experts

*A Suite of Resources to Help You Budget, Save, and Invest

*A New Lesson Every Week for a Year (52 detailed lessons)

*Featuring a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (it will help you, or you don’t pay)

–>Check it out over...

Tomorrow: How to Leave Debt Behind and Master Your Money

Six years ago I had the idea to start a blog. At the time I had no clue what I was doing—a status that hasn’t changed much over the years. But despite being clueless, I knew that I could look to others who had done it and see what worked for them.

Then, in an attempt to steal adapt their strategies, I’d try to make a go of it myself.

In the early days, the person I adapted from more than anyone else was J.D. Roth.

J.D. was my blogging role model. I loved what he had done with a popular site ca...

The Worst Thing That Can Happen Rarely Does

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.

Taking the subway in Cairo during the hottest time of the year was disorienting and slightly scary, but I felt a surge of pride as I successfully navigated my...

Consider the Dominoes

It’s not that you’re too busy, or that you’re doing too much. You’re known for taking on challenges and doing the impossible.

You know your metrics. You take pride in your deadlines. You’ve built your name on striving, and you don’t like to let people down.

You rise with the dawn, fortified by coffee and Greek yogurt. You work until mid-evening, looking forward to the occasional Knob Creek manhattan before returning to make just a little more progress on your goals.

No, “getting shit done” isn...