Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 68
January 17, 2015
6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXVIII
I. Around the World
Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.
Routines of Famous Creative People (Interactive Version) — How different artists and writers worked, partied, and sometimes even slept
An Insanely Simple 3 Step Guide For Killing Procrastination — How to schedule your most important work—and ensure that it actually happens
Not Dead Yet: How Some Video Stores Are Still Thriving — Blockbuster’s long gone, but a few independent video...
January 16, 2015
A Reader’s Experience of Taking Adderall To Help With Focus
When I decided to undertake a trial run of Adderall, a prescription drug that has both helpful and harmful uses, I also decided to share the story with our community. I figured if I’m struggling with something, I’m probably not the only one, so I thought it would be best to publish the whole experience, including both the benefits I’m seeing as well as the concerns I have.
We don’t have comments on every AONC post, but I left them on for that post so that people could chime in with their contr...
Giveaway: The Green Smoothie Rawkstar Kit
Friday is giveaway day. Comment to win!
This week’s giveaway is an awesome Green Smoothie Rawkstar Starter Kit from our good friends at Simple Green Smoothies.
Longtime friends Jadah Sellner and Jen Hansard started experimenting with green smoothie recipes as a way to combat their lack of energy and improve life for their families. These experiments turned into a passion—and this passion eventually turned into a successful business.
If you missed it, here’s the great story Jadah shared at WDS.
W...
January 15, 2015
Limited Time: Use Southwest Airlines Points to Fly a Companion Free (For a Whole Year)
Link: 50,000 Rapid Rewards Points (Limited Time)
Confession: I almost never fly Southwest. When flying in the U.S., I much prefer American Airlines (and sometimes Delta). However, Southwest has millions of loyal fans who love their point-to-point service, unassigned seating, and general friendliness.
Check out the classic Southwest Airlines safety briefing rap:
For those fans—or anyone who appreciates free travel—you may want to take a look at the improved signup offer for the Southwest Airline...
January 14, 2015
Sleeping in Hong Kong on My 100th Visit
I’m not actually sure I’ve been to Hong Kong 100 times, but that’s probably a close guess. HKG is my most frequently visited international airport, and more often than not I’ve stayed over for at least a day or two.
People say you can’t learn about a city in a short period of time. But what if you stay in a city for a short period of time over and over and over?
In all of the visits, I’ve stayed in just about every possible range of accommodation.
On my very first visit, when I first made the...
January 13, 2015
An Honest Conversation About Debt in America
“Debt is publicly enforced and highly stigmatized, but is almost always privately experienced.”
After filing for bankruptcy herself, photographer Brittany M. Powell is traveling across America to interview other people struggling with unexpected debt. I love this multifaceted, non-judgmental project (originally on Kickstarter — now closed after a successful end).
Through the camera, Powell is starting a conversation about debt—something many people experience alone but never talk about because...
The Beauty of Traveling Solo: On the Road with Megan Van Groll
This is a travel hacking case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )
Not everyone feels comfortable traveling alone, which is one of the reasons why Megan Van Groll’s tales intrigued me. She’s an advocate for exploring the world by yourself, going so far as to spend all of her time outside of a full-time job encouraging people to do just that.
Tell us about yourself.
By day, I’m a social media strategist at a large creative advertising agency. My education and background is actually in studio...
January 12, 2015
A Night at the Airport
After being home for three whole weeks, I’d almost forgotten how to travel.
Fortunately, unlocking travel master status is a lot like riding a bicycle. You go through the motions, packing your bag and choosing your seat on the plane. By the time you take the train to the airport in the morning and amble through the security line, you’re back in the game.
As I began a big trip last week, I flew to Dallas and stayed for the night. In a hotel. Not on the floor.
In my early days of world travel, I...
January 10, 2015
6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXVII
I. Around the World
Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.
The SlumGods of Mumbai: Hope, Hip-Hop and The Dharavi Way — Awesome video from one of India’s largest slums (more info here)
You Are in a Relationship with Yourself (So Make It a Healthy One) — Part of a new “Start Life Over” series from Donald Miller
‘Real Prettiness’ Depicts People with Down Syndrome in a New Light — After seeing the final results, many of the subjects didn’t even...
January 9, 2015
What Does It Mean to Be Rich?
When you’re a kid, you don’t have much concept of what true wealth is—so you tend to relate it to experiences, or at least I did.
In my case, I understood wealth in the context of fast-food restaurants. I used to eat at my favorite restaurants, McDonald’s and Burger King, as often as I could.
I’d never do this now, of course. Maybe it was my generation or social class or just the brilliant marketing of soulless corporations, but for whatever reason I was hooked on fast food.
At some point I r...
