The Art of Non-Conformity

Thinking differently, questioning assumptions, and living a life of grateful adventure.

by Chris Guillebeau

The $100 Startup Is Live!

Greetings from midtown Manhattan, where a large amount of coffee is about to be consumed in a corner room at the Doubletree hotel. Today is the day. After three years of research and writing, it’s finally here. Read More

Beginnings, Process, and the Calm Before the Storm

I’m here to begin a new journey as "The $100 Startup" goes out to the world tomorrow. Here are a few notes on the early beginnings. Read More

Thelonious Monk and the Search for Value

A long time ago, I was a jazz musician. I listened to Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans. I loved what they had done for the jazz world, and for the joy of music in general. Read More

Cycling Before Dawn: Notes on Crossfit, Consciousness, and Comparisons

Home for a month before setting out on a new adventure, I resolve to make some changes in my life. It starts with exercise. I’m a committed runner, a casual yogi, a beginning swimmer, and every week or so I head to the gym for an unfocused session of strength training. In other words, it’s too random—so I resolve to change it up. Read More

Where Is Your Security?

The Olympics are in London this year, but in the U.S. we’re gearing up for our own non-stop spectator sport. It’s a lot like a reality show, complete with advertising and corporate sponsorship. Many candidates enter, but only one remains when it’s over. Read More

There's a Letter You Need To Write

Dear Reader,

I found these letters in a beautiful book based off this website. There are a variety of stories expressed in the letters, some hopeful and some painful. I thought I’d share a few with you below. Read More

The One-Page Career Cheat Sheet

Are you happy in your job? This fun resource—a one-page, “career cheat sheet”—from Sarah K. Peck can help you think through the question in a structured way. I asked Sarah a few questions about the career cheat sheet. Read More

What to Do About Those People Who Sidetracked Your Life

This article doesn’t have much to do with travel hacking or unconventional work. And in fact, it will only apply to a minority of the people who read it.

If you’ve always had a great life and nothing truly unfair has ever happened to you, feel free to skip this one. There’s lots of other great reading out there elsewhere. Read More

2011 Annual Review: Looking Forward

Merry Christmas and Happy Everything!

Wherever you are and whatever you’re celebrating, I hope you’re having a great holiday week.

This is the final post of the 2011 Annual Review series. Looking back over the year, here’s what we’ve covered thus far:

Overview of the Process 2011 Highlights and First Thoughts 2011 Business Lessons 2011 Travel Roundup Read More

The Tower: a Free Report for a New Way of Life

Greetings, friends and readers.

I’m on the road as usual, and today I’m also excited to announce the release of a new manifesto, The Tower.

As with my two earlier works, A Brief Guide to World Domination and 279 Days to Overnight Success, this report is completely free, with nothing for sale and no email opt-in required.

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There's Plenty of Time (But What If There's Not?)

I’ve been working on a new, non-profit writing project that I’ll share tomorrow. Here’s a preview of the concept—for more on the project itself, see the note at the end or check back tomorrow.

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Second Chances

The first time I was busted as a juvenile delinquent, I wasn’t actually arrested—apparently I was too young. I was eleven years old in a small town in rural Montana, and the way it was explained to me at the time, the laws in my state did not allow for juveniles to be charged with a crime before the age of thirteen. Read More

Questions to Ask of the People Who Make the Rules

What, exactly, are the rules?

Why do these rules exist?

By whose authority are these rules upheld?

What’s more important—the spirit or letter of these rules?

Has anyone ever found or been granted an exception to these rules?

Could these rules be bent, modified, overlooked, or otherwise changed? Read More

The Sense of Loss in a Big Adventure

An unexpected thing happened on the streets of Seoul, Korea.

I’ve been to Seoul several times, and don’t really feel anything special about it. It’s not a bad place in any way, and perhaps I’d like it more if I spent more time there. I just don’t think of Seoul in a special way, as I do with other Asian cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok. Read More

Qualifications

Sometimes people ask about my qualifications. It’s a fair question with a simple answer: I have none. There’s absolutely no reason I should be doing pretty much anything I’m doing these days. Read More

How to Write 300,000 Words In 1 Year

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This Time It's Different

Have you heard the one about the end of time? Yep—it’s on the way. Read More

Things They Have No Right to Tell You

All of my relationships have failed, but here’s what you should do about yours.

I’ve never written a book, but here’s a list of everything that’s wrong with yours.

My business failed, but here’s how you should run yours.

My blog has five readers, but here’s some free advice on how to attract attention. Read More

Be Nice to the Cleaners

I went to participate in an event held at a bookstore in a big city. I saw on the store's calendar that a Very Famous Author (we'll call him Mr. X) had been there the day before. Read More

Notes from a Cold Bathroom Floor in South Africa

Tomorrow I'll be headed to Madagascar, the final stop of my latest trip before I begin the long process of returning home. Read More

An Important Thing No One Will Tell You

I talked with someone who was in the process of calling fifteen people to get their opinions on a project. Why was any one of our opinions worth so much effort? I'm not sure, but someone had told her she should seek out as many opinions as possible before deciding what to do. The standard line is: Listen to what other people have done and avoid making the same mistakes. Read More

The Family Who Doesn't Understand

Several times on my never-ending book tour, people came up to me with multiple copies of my book for signing. “My family doesn’t understand me,” they said, “So I’m giving them your book.”

“Thanks,” I always said… although I worried a little about signing books for people who didn’t necessarily want them. I learned to invent a specific inscription for these copies: Read More

Superpowers

In an interview, Warren Buffett was asked what superpower he would like to be granted. His response: “I’d like to have the ability to read faster.”

I loved this answer, but when I shared it on Twitter, a few people said something like, “That’s dumb. If you read faster, you won’t retain the information.” Read More

Forward Motion

I had an early-early flight, so I booked a hotel near the airport and took the train out the night before. Problem was, I’m so used to going to the airport that I forgot to get off at the hotel stop and instead rode all the way to PDX.

Then I stepped off the train and thought: Whoops. Wrong stop.

Dreams. Because it all starts with a dream or an idea. Recapture your lost dreams, create new ones, and find a way to make them real. Living. Because as Bob Dylan said, “He not busy being born is busy dying.” If you’re not sure what to live for, try peak moments and big adventures. Read More

Chasing Daylight: Some Thoughts on Mortality

If we were no longer here tomorrow, who would notice? Read More

On Being Homeless for 35 Minutes in Central London

Losing is easy. Letting go is much harder. Read More

Killing Time

Time is a jealous lover. Read More

Chris Guillebeau travels the world and writes for a small army of remarkable people at chrisguillebeau.com.

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About The Art of Non-Conformity

Once in a while it really hits people that they don't have to experience the world in the way they've been told to - Alan Keightley***The Art of Non-Conformity (AONC) project chronicles my writing on how to change the world by achieving significant, personal goals while helping others at the same time. In the battle against conventional beliefs, we focus on three areas: Life, Work, and Travel.