Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 78
October 31, 2014
The 16 Year Old Self’s Bucket List : Kristen Goldberg’s Quest
This is a quest case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )
Kristen Goldberg took a leap of faith when she agreed to share the story of her life list with me for The Happiness of Pursuit. Until then, she’d never publicly shared her quest before. I’m glad she did, and I’m glad she’s letting me tell you a little more about it here.
Tell us about yourself:
When I was 16, I penned a “Bucket List” (this was long before the movie came out) of 42 things I wanted to accomplish in life. I am now a 37-...
October 28, 2014
Moving Your Family to Central America for 18 Months : On the Road with Annabel Candy
This is a traveler case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )
A popular travel blogger, Annabel Candy’s talents extend far beyond putting text to screen. When I heard about some of her adventures with her family, I wanted to share some of her tales of living abroad with three kids.
Tell us about yourself.
I sometimes describe myself a slow nomad because I’ve lived and worked in eight different countries. When you speak with me you can tell I’m from the UK because I still have a British acc...
October 27, 2014
6 Discoveries from Near and Far: Volume XVII
I. Around the World
Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.
What It’s Like to Carry Your Nobel Prize Through Security — Apparently it’s very heavy, and also made of gold
Is This the Greatest eBay Listing Ever? — A highly comprehensive video game collection for only $164,000
“No Words, No Breakfast” — How James wrote 1,000 words a day for a month
Northern Lights in the Sky Above Norway — It turns out that Norway is a great vantage point to see...
Lessons from the Journey: Some Adventures Should Be Shared
From my own 193-country journey to the stories of many other people who were kindly willing to share, The Happiness of Pursuit attempts to extract and convey the lessons of modern-day quests. This series explores some of these lessons.
Lesson: Some adventures should be shared.
In studying quests, I heard from people who chose to pursue a big goal as a couple, a family, or just as a group of friends. These joint attempts had mixed results.
In some cases, like John and Nancy Vogel, tackling a dre...
October 26, 2014
A Better Organizational Strategy: Throw Away Everything That Doesn’t Make You Happy
I love the principle presented by Japanese organizational expert Marie Kondo in her new book. The short version is: discard everything that doesn’t “spark joy.”
For all the clothes you don’t wear, pass them on. At minimum, never keep anything you haven’t worn in the past year.
Go around your house and get rid of all unnecessary papers. Papers are the worst—they rarely bring joy.
Don’t worry about organizational accoutrements or professional storage products. Forget about being super minimalist...
October 25, 2014
Robert Genn’s Last Year to Live
They considered how to spend the time they had left together. There were thoughts of trips to Hawaii or the Galapagos, but Genn wanted to end his life as he had lived it: in his studio, making art, with his family close by. James fashioned a reclining chair so his father could continue to paint, lying down, as his illness took a physical toll. “He made it is his mission to go as long and as far as he could with a paintbrush in his hand, and he was painting small canvases right up until the la...
Top 5 Credit Card Signup Bonuses for Miles & Points: October
Every year I earn well over one million Frequent Flyer miles and points. About 250,000 of them come through actual travel, and the rest come through travel hacking: the art of seeing the world on a budget.
One of the easiest ways to earn a lot of miles all at once is through credit card signup bonuses. This post contains the best current card offers as of Friday, October 24. If getting every card from this post, you’d earn 165,000 points or miles and $250 in cash. Happy travels!
In this edition...
October 24, 2014
Do You Want to Be Right or Do You Want to Be Free?
I’ve been thinking about this question recently (thanks, Danielle).
There’s a lot of freedom in giving up on a matter of principle, so you can move on with your life.
When at an impasse in a difficult situation, the freedom comes in saying “OK, whatever. Have it your way, but let’s stop the silliness.”
Letting go is tough, though… because you’re right. And you want everyone to acknowledge it! But there’s a price to pay for being right and receiving the acknowledgment.
“Life is too short for this...
October 23, 2014
100 Books in 100 Months: Eugene Yiga’s Literary Quest
This is a quest case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )
Eugene Yiga fell in love with the written word – and took that love to quest-level when he decided to read the 100 Greatest Books of All Time, in the 100 months leading up to his 30th birthday. Here’s his story.
Tell us about yourself:
I’m regularly told I sound British or American, but I was born in South Africa and have lived in this amazing country all my life. Eventhough I studied finance, accounting, and classical piano at the U...
The Abandoned Airport in Congo that Became a Playground
I spend a lot of time in nice airports—and plenty of not-so-nice ones, too. But seeing these photos from war photographer Michael Christopher Brown made me reflect on my days as an aid worker in West Africa.
While flying around the region, I saw plenty of abandoned planes on derelict runways. The airlines changed names and ownership in shady deals every couple of years. Flights would be canceled with no explanation, and sometimes the entire airport would be closed off, thwarting the plans of...
