Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 83

Don’t Just Build a Business; Start a Revolution

Short version: there’s a new manifesto you should read. It’s by my longtime friend Jonathan Fields, and is all about a new way of thinking about entrepreneurship. Go download it!

The Art of Revolution (free PDF download)

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Last year Jonathan started a revolution by talking about revolutions. After he unleashed a series of powerful new ideas at a small conference, thousands of people wanted to know more. He filled up 1,000 seat webinars (over and over) and taught executives how to restructure...

Lessons from the Journey: Before Beginning, Count the Cost

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: Being Beginning, Count the Cost.

In the early days of my journey to every country, someone criticized it by saying all it required was a certain amount of time and money. I later realized that this perspective could actually be helpful. If I clearly under...

How Do We Make Ourselves Alert Again?

From a reader’s discussion to a book I’ve been reading on tour, Orfeo by Richard Powers:

Interviewer: “You mention close listening and focused attention. I found the study that you referenced about our loss of focus to be fascinating and disturbing.”

“When all of us can listen to every piece of music that was ever written, at any time, from anywhere that we want, how can we hear anything?

What happens is we cease becoming adventurers and participants in this grand experiment of art, and we simp...

Mini City Guide: San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

I love big cities, and always enjoy returning to Hong Kong, New York, and Sydney—among many others. But what about those unknown gems that are off the beaten tourist path… those obscure places that are just waiting to be explored by real travelers?

Our new “Mini City Guides” are here to uncover those gems, and we’re looking to our favorite explorers—AONC readers—to give us the inside scoop.

Nominate your favorite unsung city. This city was nominated by reader Claudia Gonella.

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Which accessibly o...

Giveaway: Woodland Chevvy Scarf by Krama Wheel

Every Friday is giveaway day. Comment to win!

Up for the win is this awesome scarf from Krama Wheel, founded by traveler and entrepreneur Roni Sivan. Every Krama Wheel scarf sold secures the making of a new school uniform for a young Cambodian student who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

This small business was inspired by Roni’s travels through Cambodia. Krama Wheel supports the local scarf makers by paying them fairly, while also paying local seamstresses to sew school uniforms for children.

Be s...

You’ll Always Lose at the Comparison Game (So Stop Playing It)

I went back to the Tattered Cover in Denver last night. Love that store! Fun people. I remembered being there two years ago.

At the time, The $100 Startup was selling really well and there were at least 150 people at every tour stop. I was feeling good. In Denver that night there were more than 200. The store manager seemed impressed.

“You don’t always have this many people?” I asked.

After I heard her answer, I realized why I’d asked: I wanted her to say, “No, never! This is a huge crowd!”

B...

One Lifetime, 10,000 Hats: Robyn Devine’s Ambitious Project

This is a “quest” case study, a new feature focusing on quests and adventures of all kinds. (Read others or nominate yourself.)

Adventure is for everyone, and adventure looks different to each person. For Robyn Devine, she found her big adventure by making hats—and not just a few of them, but a lot of them. Her goal: to make 10,000.

Introduce yourself!

My name is Robyn. I live in Omaha with my husband and two kids. Since August 2009, I have dedicated every spare moment I have to knitting hats wi...

Being a Tourist During Political Unrest: Notes from Kiev, Ukraine

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

Even in the best of times, traveling can be tricky. But throw in a full-scale, riot-police infused demonstration, and things get exponentially harder. Ashlea Wheelerof A Globe Well Travelledbrings us her story from Kiev:

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In December 2013, my partner and I spent four days as tourists in Kiev, Ukraine. Our trip had been planned for a while, but a few days prior we discovered we were about to journey to a city in political turmoil. At the ti...

Top 5 Credit Card Signup Bonuses for Miles & Points: September

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 Tuesday, September 23. Happy travels!

In this edition:

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Ink Plus

Lufthansa Premier Miles & More

U.S. Airways Maste...

Don’t Miss Out on Your Own Story: On the Road with Christy Campbell

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

As a stated “recovering conformist,” Christy is nowconvinced that living a comparison-free, mindful life is as non-conformist as it gets in today’s world. Here’s her story.

Tell us about yourself.

I’m a story-teller at heart. I love telling mine, as well as other people’s. But I’ve noticed something: those who only dream of a lifestyle that includes soaking up experiences in foreign lands – and even those who live that life – ar...