Do you feel more secure when you belong to a group or a community?
Well, you’re not alone. Right from birth, children of every race, color, creed and background go through the same developmental stages, one of them being: establishing a personal sense of identity.
As we grow up we try to identify and discover the following:
- Who am I?
- What makes me me?
- Where do I fit in my family and group?
Indeed, some of us spend a lifetime working on those discoveries.
Whether it’s your community, your neighborhood, your church, or perhaps your culture, most of us like the security we get from belonging to a group.
So what happens to those of us who feel like we don’t belong? Those who are minorities, or a mixture of different cultures, or who have been raised in many different countries, and call themselves TCK (Third Culture Kids.) Where do we fit in?
Well fortunately, there are groups for us too.
The one that caught my eye recently is called, “The Art of Non-Conformity,” and was created by a remarkable man named Chris Guillebeau. He blogs about unconventional strategies for life, work and travel.
Chris Guillebeau is a writer, entrepreneur and world traveler. He started the movement, The Art of Non-Conformity based on the principle that, “Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” One of his goals is to visit each country in the world, (192) by the time he’s 35. So far he’s visited 151 and he’s 32.5 years old. He is an honest, kind and down-to-earth, type of guy, who is passionate about the movement he has started.
If you’re a writer, a world traveler, or simply a person who feels different in their outlook on life, and needs a place to belong, you might want to watch the interview with Chris Guillebeau on David Garlands’s Risetothetop.
Talk about a creative person, Chris Guillebeau has launched his own book tour around the fifty states in the U.S. called the: “Unconventional Book Tour.”
Unlike traditional book tours, Chris talks about his book for only seven minutes at each stop, then lets the audience talk about whatever they want. Since he’s a world traveler, most of the time conversations range from Frequent Flyer Miles to business startups to blogging… and a range of other things. If you’re a writer you may want to get ideas from his own success. Chris believes, “Publishers (and some authors) think that book tours are no longer practical. I think it’s because they’re doing it wrong, and I’m setting out to prove my case.”
Thanks for reading and for your all your comments. Please comment on whatever sparks your interest.
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Thanks, Sonia! Looks like you're doing great work here, and I'm glad to be a small part. Hope to see you on the road somewhere.
@Chris
How do you have time to be everywhere? Thanks for the first comment. Good luck with your tour and travels.
Sonia, neat post. I am going to click over and read some of Chris' stuff. A couple of things in this spark my interest – Chris unconventional approach to things and his book tour. Since I have a book out now, I am very interested in what he has learned about book tours. Thanks.
wb
Fascinating! And how cool that he commented.
@Warren
Warren, I wish you the best of luck with your book and perhaps we can all learn something from Chris Guillebeau.
@Debbie
Yes, I agree. He is a great guy, and has answered my Tweets too.
It sounds like a book that would appeal to me, I'll have to keep my eyes open for it.
Well sticky situation here! I , for the most part feel as though I am a loner. But then I think deep down inside we all feel alone.
Weather or not it is a necessity that we be in a group is an individual thing.
Humans for the most part prefer to be in groups of whatever.
I fall in the middle. I love being alone. Yet I sometimes feel the NEED for company. Go Figure!
Love Di ♥
I'm going to visit Chris soon. As a kid who travelled around a lot, a sense of belonging was not something I had. On the other hand, I never missed it as I enjoyed being different…
As for belonging to a third culture… I think that there are millions of people who do these days. As the world becomes more globalized, so do we.
I bet there are more of us non-conformists out there than there was 50 years ago. The mentioned sites look quite interesting. Off to check them out now.
I guess my adopted positions on pseudo-science and atheism make me a non-conformist; except within my group of fellow non-conformists. *grin*
I follow a couple of blogs of people (Westerners) living in foreign countries. It is an interesting goal to visit every country, but I enjoy the stories of people who actually live among different cultures for a while. One of my favorites is Resident Alien
Love this book! I'm about 1/2 way through it and plan on finishing it up this weekend.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Sonia!
Just found your blog via SCWA, where I am also a new member. Glad to follow your blog. If time ever permits, please check mine out as well! Great stuff here!
Best,
PMT
thisthattheotherone.blogspot.com
Sonia,
Looks so interesting! I will check it out as I'm always looking for fresh perspectives on travel, work, relationships, and life.
Do I belong? Good question, Sonia. I've married a foreigner, lived in many countries and have no idea where I belong. Not when it comes to a physical location at least. When I'm in my home country of the Netherlands I often feel a little like a foreigner because I haven't lived there for so long and I don't "get" things sometimes. Also, my experiences are so different than those of most people there.
I'm mostly at home in an international community. People count more now than location, because I've become so rootless geographically speaking. Finding such a community is not always easy.
Now, about taking a year off, a sabbatical, or a gap year: Ideally everyone in the world should go take a look at other countries, live in another culture for a while, just so we all get a better understanding of each other. It's a mind-broadening experience, and we need more open minds in the world. Still, it not always possible for people to do this for real reasons and not just excuses.
Having said that: We are also trapped in the prison of our own making. Excuses are often the bars that define our comfort zone. Clearly, it takes a certain mindset and determination not to speak of honesty to see the bars we have erected ourselves and break free of them.
Sorry to be so long!
Good post!
@Brenda
I just ordered it and can't wait to read it.
@Diana
Thanks for bringing up another aspect. I was thinking more along the lines of a deep sense of "belonging."
@Ladyfi
I think you and Miss Footloose and I, all have the same views on this.
@Dedene
I'd like to meet the non-conformists. That's why I have agreed to volunteer at chris' event on December 10th in LA.
@Robert the Skeptic
I agree that living in each country is a different issue.
I know Chris lived in Africa for four years. I'm volunteering at his event in LA so I shall get to hear more.
@Deb
Thanks for visiting. Are you going to blog about it. I shall come over and visit.
The group I never knew existed until a few years ago are "Brats", military children who have a problem even answering the first-level question, "Where are you from?" Their story and their unique group is captured exceptionally well in a book and movie, the film narrated by a third general military, Kris Kristopherson: http://www.bratsourjourneyhome.com/ Check it out.
I'm not sure if I ever feel as if I belong anywhere to be honest. I've moved around too much and rarely feel settled. Interesting about the Art of Non-Conformity, must check it out.
Sonia,
Thanks for thinking of those who feel they don't quite fit in. The Art of Noncomformity is a wonderful and encouraging forum for those who feel and think differently!