Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 69

Round-the-World Tickets Revisited: How a Single Ticket Can Take You to 16 Cities + Earn 40,000 Qualifying Miles

Long ago I wrote a post on Round-the-World tickets that continues to be one of the most trafficked posts on the whole site. It’s still mostly accurate, at least in terms of the broader principles.

I also still book and travel on at least one RTW ticket a year. Last year I used two, and I’m heading out this week (!) on another one. My itinerary this time is very similar to one I did a few months back:

JNB-DOH-CDG-DOH-LHR-LAX-MEX-DFW-JFK-LAX-SYD-PER-SIN-HKG-HND-HKG-JNB

I’ll be splitting this trip...

Annual Review 2014: A Big Batch of Reader Reports Is In!

Hey everyone! Thanks as always to all who read the blog and all who participate in some fashion.

The December 2014 Annual Review was a long one. I spent 6,000+ words compiling a ton of lessons from the year, as well as plans for 2015. You can catch up on some of the posts here:

2014 Annual Review is Here! Updated Free Tool Will Help You Plan Your Whole Life

2014 Annual Review: A Few (Embarrassingly Personal, Per Usual) Lessons Learned
2014 Annual Review: Lessons in Entrepreneurship & Unconventio...

How to Get What You Want in 2015 (Free Presentation TODAY)

Link: Free Presentation on How to Get What You Want This Year

You may have noticed that most of the time we make resolutions, they don’t always work out. We fall behind, we get off track, or we become distracted by the many commitments and requests we encounter every day.

Yet some people always manage to adhere to their resolutions and follow through on their goals—throughout the entire year. What do those people do differently?

Thanks to detailed research (and long personal practice) from Mic...

Traveling the World on $50 a Day: On the Road with Matt Kepnes

This is a traveler case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )

Popular traveler “Nomadic Matt” is no stranger to most of our community. For the past nine years, he’s been traveling the world, reporting on budget strategies from dozens of countries. This week he has a new book out, and I thought we’d check in to see how he got started.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Matt and I’ve been traveling the world since 2006. I wasn’t a big traveler growing up—I never even took an overseas trip un...

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 alwa...

Writing With Adderall: A Personal Case Study

Short version: I recently started taking the prescription drug Adderall (the brand name for amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) to help with an increasing inability to focus. Overall, it’s been working great, and here’s the whole story of my experience. If you’re in a similar situation, this might help you, but don’t skip the details and disclaimers.



***

Some Background

Regular readers may know that from time to time, I get somewhat frustrated with myself. I always go back and forth on how much I...

Amazing Collage of Snapshot-Created City Maps by Japanese Artist

File under: ultimate collage art.

I recently stumbled on these amazing maps by Japanese artist Sohei Nishino. For each of them, he uses up to 4,000 photographs, culling and cutting them into the finished product.

I’m a sucker for great maps, and I always love seeing when someone devotes years of their life to producing a specific craft. Put those things together, and you’ve got my attention.

Berlin

Tokyo

How does he do it? Here’s what he says:

“I walk through these cities, camera in hand, capturing...

6 Discoveries From Near and Far: Volume XXVI

I. Around the World

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

Clawing My Way Back on New Year’s — “The last day of the year meant entering a new year he would never see”
New Photos of 8 Elaborate Mosques in Iran — Rarely seen beauty from Iran
Designing The Best Board Game On The Planet — Board games are on the rise, and there’s a formula to their success
The 4 Most Common Relationship Problems (and How to Fix Them) — The best predictor of how...

Checking Your Bank Accounts Will Not Make More Money

Seems obvious, right? We wouldn’t expect that driving past the gym will make us any healthier.

But when it comes to money, those of us who are self-employed tend to spend a lot of time on activities that do nothing to help the bottom line, either directly or indirectly.

I don’t just mean “administrative work,” because some administrative work has to be done even if it’s not particularly exciting. You still need to do customer service, update outdated info, and so on.

No, I mean the tendency we...

A World Record to Ski 4,161,823 Vertical Feet : Steph Jagger’s Quest

This is a quest case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )

One time I went skiing for an hour, and then I went for hot chocolate in the lodge. Steph Jagger, whom I met at a book event in San Diego, went skiing and didn’t stop until she’d gone more than four million vertical feet.

Tell us about yourself.

I’m Steph Jagger and I currently live in California where I run an executive & life coaching practice. From July 2010 to May 2011, I circumnavigated the globe in search of snow.

While travel...