Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 26

How to See the World as a Full-Time House Sitter

This is a reader profile. (Read others or nominate someone to be featured.)

After experiencing the loss of both a marriage and a business, Vanessa Anderson left the UK in June 2013 to visit Ian Usher in Panama… and never returned! Through house-sitting and teaching English online, they’ve been able to fund their nomadic lifestyle and become part of a larger sharing economy.

Here’s her story:

It actually begins with Ian’s side of things back in 2006. Blindsided by the breakup of his own marri...

WDS 2016 Begins Next Week in Portland (And You Can Still Join In!)

Link: Join Us in Portland for WDS Connect!

If you’ve been following along for a while, you’re probably familiar with WDS, also known as the modestly titled World Domination Summit. For the past five years, I have been fortunate to produce this awesome summer gathering with the help of a small-but-mighty team in Portland, Oregon, with thousands of interesting people in attendance from all over the world.

Last year we celebrated our five-year anniversary and decided to try something new for 20...

The 12 Most Common Questions I Get About Traveling the World (Part I)

I’m no longer going to every country in the world (mission accomplished), but I’m still traveling at least 200,000 miles a year.

As such, I get a lot of questions over and over, both from people who want to travel far and wide and those who just want to learn a few things to make their lives easier.

This series of three posts provides some attempted As to the Qs.

How did you get the idea to go everywhere?

I remember it very clearly: I was on a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, during my...

Three Simple Actions to Increase Your Available Options

Even if you’re perfectly happy where you are, anything you can do to add security and increase your options will help you.

What if you had a different source of income than your paycheck? When you have that in order, even if you have a great job and no desire to quit, you’re also earning money on the side. Put it in savings, pay off debt, or put it toward meaningful experiences.

What if you had the ability to travel anywhere? That’s why you should accumulate miles & points, so that you can...

13 Untranslatable Words About Love

“ubuntu” (Ndebele)

I really enjoy the work of Ella Frances Sanders*.

Her bestselling book, Lost in Translation, has been a worldwide hit in many languages. This short video adapts 13 “untranslatable” words about love, sharing their literal meaning.

Here are a few of my favorites:

tiam (Farsi): the twinkle in your eye when you first meet someone

forelsket (Norwegian): the indescribable euphoria as you begin to fall in love

nunchi (Korean): the subtle, often unnoticedart of listening and...

When to Compromise and When to Hold Your Ground

At some point, most of us end up settling in a major part of our life. We compromise and make tradeoffs.

We can’t always get everything we want, of course. We can’t always be in total control. But we can certainly get a lot of what we want, and if we prioritize what’s most important to us, we can probably get the top things on the list. Just because we can’t always be in control doesn’t mean that we’re never in control.

This truth presents a natural question: when should we compromise, and...

“It Felt Impossible, Until I Did It”: One Year in South Korea

This is a reader story. (Read others or nominate someone to be featured.)

Lauren Meeks believes that there is immense value in learning other people’s stories. It all started with an unlikely year of teaching English in South Korea.

Here’s her story:

I’m a writer currently living in Atlanta, although I’m reluctant to call any place “home.” I spent several years abroad as a child, and over the past 7 years I’ve traveled to every continent except Antarctica (it’s on the list!) and over two doz...

3 Keys to Building a Successful Writing Career

Habit.If you want to be a writer, you first have to write. You can sit down and free write. You can write first and edit later (or “write drunk, edit sober” as the saying goes). You can use a timer and write for 50 minutes every morning or you can plan to write 500 words before going to bed. If it works for you, that’s what matters. (Here’s my habit.)

In a world where everyone is busy and all of us have a million opportunities to do something else, one way or another you’ve got to find a way...

Limited Time: Get a Free Guide to Online Business

Link: Ramit’s “Ultimate Guide to Online Business” (Free)

Every day I hear from new readers who pick up The $100 Startup, especially around the world as it continues to be published in more and more languages (22 at last count).

The world of people interested in creating personal freedom through entrepreneurship continues to grow. And as it does, many of these people have questions about the best next steps to take.

My friend Ramit Sethi, whom I’ve known for more than six years, has recently...

A Quest to Visit (and Illustrate!) Every U.S. National Park

This is a reader story. ( Read others or nominate someone to be featured. )

Technical mapper turned visual storyteller Karla Sanders met restless Colombian web designer Andres in Italy and fell in love. Now, they’re back in America and on a quest to visit all 59 national parks in the U.S.—with a twist.

Here’s their story:

About a year into having an Etsy store, I was also working as an in-house graphic designer in Cleveland. To sustain our outdoorsy natures, Andres and I would go hiking in C...