Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 65

“In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart”

From The Diary of Anne Frank:

“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death.

I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquili...

My Favorite Part of the Qatar Airways A380 Flight Was the First Class Lavatories

On my recent Round-the-World trip I was fortunate to be able to fly two 7-hour flights in First Class on Qatar Airways new A380 service from Doha to Paris and back again. It was such a great experience through and through.

I still get excited about traveling—sometimes very excited. I’m not completely a grump.

But it’s true that when it comes to travel, there aren’t many things I haven’t seen or experienced in one way or another. It’s easy to overlook the privilege of flying ten hours to anoth...

Just Add Venture: Mohammad Khan’s Story from Lahore, Pakistan

This is a reader story. ( Read others or tell us yours .)

We’re taught that sitting in a classroom or reading a book will make us knowledgable—but all the way in Lahore, Pakistan, Mohammad Khan didn’t find that to be true.

Mohammad decided to change how he experiencedthe act of knowing. Here’s how he explained it:

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Years ago, I thought accumulating information was the same as possessing knowledge.But even with all the information I had, my life didn’t reflect what I knew. Information was boring. I n...

Just Add Venture: Mohammad Khan’s Story

This is a reader story. ( Read others or tell us yours .)

We’re taught that sitting in a classroom or reading a book will make us knowledgable—but all the way in Lahore, Pakistan, Mohammad Khan didn’t find that to be true.

Mohammad decided to change how he experiencedthe act of knowing. Here’s how he explained it:

–

Years ago, I thought accumulating information was the same as possessing knowledge.But even with all the information I had, my life didn’t reflect what I knew. Information was boring. I n...

What if We Live the Same Way We Travel?

A German filmmaker reimagines the art of the staycation:

“In our everyday life, we seem to be unaware of new experiences. But is it just a matter of perspective?

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Lessons from Don Miller: Success Is More Difficult to Manage than Failure

Don Miller is the kind of guy that I implicitly trusted the first time I met. Not to psychoanalyze too much, but in general I’m not a very trusting person. I believe that most people are good, but I don’t necessarily trust a lot of people. With Don, though, I felt comfortable discussing personal stuff right away.

After a recent lunch meeting, he wrote me an email with more advice. I asked him if I could share part of it, and he agreed. Maybe it helps some of you, too? Here’s Don:

“Rapid success...

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXX

I. Around the World

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Flying Turnips in Spain — An odd and oddly beautiful tradition in Spain
That Time Queen Elizabeth Drove King Abdullah Around in Her LandRover — “His nervousness only increased as the Queen, an Army driver in wartime, accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads”
What to Say to Get Your Way — How to talk to anyone (anyone? yep—it seems that way)
Virgin Atlantic Up...

To Write a Great Story, Start with a Real Struggle

I appreciated this illustration on unconventional storytelling from Tom Gauld:

When talking about adventures, I often relate the plot outlining of blockbuster movies and video games.

What if the synopsis of a big summer movie was “So and so had to save the world from evil… and then they did?”

We’d think, “That’s it?! How did they save the world … what happened along the way? Did they lose something and have to recover it? How was the hero changed throughout the journey, and what was different...

This Brand-New “Habit Journal” Helps You Keep Track of What’s Most Important to You

We’ve all heard it takes our brains 21 days to form a new habit. This new journal, currently being crowd-funded, does exactly that—keeps you on track while you form new daily habits, with these habits eventually leading you to conquer big goals.

Here’s how it works:

Choose a goal
Write down the daily habits that you think will help you achieve that goal
Plug those habits into your daily tracker pages
At the end of each day, take 5 minutes to reflect on how you did
Review at the end of each week, th...

Watch This Pan Am 747 Take to the Skies (Or At Least the Ground) in the Ultimate 1970s Recreation

Air travel has changed a bit over the past few decades—and mostly for the better. Back in the day, an average transcontinental airfare would run you at least $1,500 in today’s dollars, compared to $400 or so now. Yikes.

There were no budget airlines, and—shocking—there were no Frequent Flyer programs where average people could earn large amounts of miles and effectively travel for free.

Still, a little nostalgia never hurt anyone (or does it?).

In another example of people who devote an incred...