Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 73

How to Write a Dozen Novels and Hundreds of Stories

From William Gibson’s about page:

“I do have an email address, yes, but, no, I won’t give it to you. I am one and you are many, and even if you are, say, twenty-seven in grand global total, that’s still too many. Because I need to have a life and waste time and write.

I suspect I have spent just about exactly as much time actually writing as the average person my age has spent watching television, and that, as much as anything, may be the real secret here.”

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There are more than twenty-seven of...

Limited Time: 50,000 Bonus Miles on U.S. Airways Card

Link: 50,000 Miles for U.S. Airways Premier World Mastercard

Breaking news from the card that refuses to die: for a limited time, you can now earn an increased signup bonus with no minimum spend.

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Many of you know that U.S. Airways and American Airlines are in the process of merging, with the U.S. Airways brand eventually disappearing in the night like so many airlines of old. But for some reason, U.S. Airways and its partner Barclays have continued to issue their Premier World Mastercard mo...

17 Years of Silence and One Long Walk: John Francis’s Quest

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

I heard about John Francis when I was researching quest stories for my latest book. His was hard to top: he’d taken a vow of silence that lasted nearly two decades. Wow! Of course I wanted to hear more.

Tell us about yourself.

I’m John Francis, former United Nations Environment Program goodwill ambassador to the world’s grassroots communities, National Geographic Explorer and Director of Planetwalk.

I’m also known as the Planetwalke...

“Make Ideas, Not Art”: The Sketchnote Workbook by Mike Rohde

If you’re like me, you have no drawing skills whatsoever (which means you’re probably not like me). No matter if you’re a closet M.C. Escher or can’t draw a basic stick-person – if want to improve how you capture ideas and share them with others, there’s hope.

Remember our friend Mike Rohde, who illustrated The $100 Startup?

Mike’s first book, The Sketchnote Handbook, told the story of sketchnotes—a way to capture your thinking visually and remember key information more clearly.

Since then, M...

Pay $39 and Travel for Nearly Free: The Missed Opportunity of My Recent Guide Launch

Link: Upgrade Unlocked

Right before the Thanksgiving holiday, our Unconventional Guides crew unveiled a new product to help people travel for less.

The launch went well, with hundreds of copies sold right away and hopefully many more to come. Most importantly, the initial customer base is loving it. We’ve been getting a ton of nice notes, like this one from Mirva, a globetrotting reader:

“I’m actually in Guadeloupe largely as a result of your 7-hour lecture on frequent flier miles that I watched...

6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XXI

I. Around the World

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

9 Ways to Conquer Seasonal Affective Disorder — Kris Carr’s practical tips on wellness (#5 is my favorite)
In Praise of Short Sentences — A professor encourages students to write better using fewer words
The Greatest Ivy League Prank of All Time — Ten years ago, a group of Yale students convinced hundreds of Harvard football fans to switch sides
A Camera Budget for Every Budget — The...

How to Plan an Annual Review (+ New Course from Michael Hyatt)

Toward the end of next week I’ll head out to conduct my Annual Review, an extended exercise to reflect on the year that’s coming to an end and prepare for the next one.

This has been quite the year with a lot of ups and downs, so I’m not entirely sure how I’ll process everything—but I promise to take you along for the journey.

What Comes First

We’ll start by looking at the answers to two simple questions:

1. “What went well this year?”

2. “What did not go well this year?”

I’ll share my answers fo...

Dreams Have a Habit of Popping Back Up: On the Road with Lola Akinmade Akerstrom

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

When no one else believes in your dreams, sometimes they get lost in the shuffle until you find the strength to believe yourself. Lola Akinmade Akerstrom was a systems architectwho’d dreamed of making a living of travel since she was a child.

Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in Nigeria. I had an insane obsession for geography and outlandish dreams including traveling the world, becoming a best-selling author, and wor...

How to Be Alone on a Holiday

I remember a Christmas in which I spent the day entirely by myself. Strategy #1: sleep as late as possible. Strategy #2: fill up the day with as many things to occupy my time without feeling lonely.

It didn’t work, at least not completely. I was sad and depressed for much of the day. I focused on getting through it and moving on, believing that other years would be better.

It doesn’t have to be this way, of course. You can have a wonderful time by yourself—you can travel alone, go to restaura...

How to Think About People Who Disagree with You

And other ways of applying perspective.

“Guy from Minnesota says it’s cold in the winter. Guy from Mexico disagrees, says it’s hot in the winter. Both have a hard time realizing they’re each right based on their own unique life experiences. They call each other idiots in the comments section of news article that has nothing to do with weather.”

Link: Easy Ways to Think About Hard Finance Stuff

Image: GOW

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