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Give up your fears and get in the driver’s seat.

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When over 500 Gutsy people of all ages, and all nationalities converge in the Portland Museum of Art, you can be sure of one thing: there is a ton of energy bouncing around.

And when the theme of the event is, “How do we live a remarkable life in a conventional world?” with a mix of all kinds of artists, students, young and less young, entrepreneurs, travelers and non-profit leaders, you know that this is a group of people who are not afraid to take risks, live their passions and get back in the driver’s seat.

Chris Guillebeau wrote, The Art of Non-Conformity, and decided to put together this event during his 63 city Unconventional Book Tour. Together with an eight-member team, as well as many volunteers (those dressed in blue T-shirts in the video below), Chris created an “awesome” event. This seems to be his favorite word.

 

Highlights from WDS in Portland, Oregon, June 3-5. 2011

Some of the speakers in this video are:
Leo Babauta from ZenHabits, who’s topic was how to change your habits. follow the path of simplicity, and something we rarely hear, “Have zero goals.” Leo said he used to make weekly, monthly and yearly goals, but that became too stressful to achieve. So now he claims that by, “Letting go of goals, you’re free of the management of your goals.” I personally like his suggestion. Leo continues, “When you don’t have a destination, there’s no failure.”

Jodi Ettenberg from LegalNomads,

“Jodi knew she wanted to travel to faraway places.” She worked as an attorney for five years in New York and saved her money so she could travel. She says, “Find your passion and keep on the path despite the obstacles.” She believes that by keeping an open mind, freelance opportunities come to you, and that you have to believe in what you do. “We all have fear and anxiety, there will always be negativity and criticism, because people can’t understand.” 

There were so many inspiring authors, world travelers, artists and TEDx speakers, like Neil Pasricha from 1000 Awesome Things, that I shall share in future posts.

Chris Gullebeau has an amazing question which I’d like you to think about.

1). “What do you really want to get out of Life?”
and the second part to this is:
2). “What can you offer the world that no one else can?”

Please share your answers with us.
Thanks for stopping by.

How to make a "someday" dream into reality. Chris Guillebeau talks in LA.

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Last Friday evening, one of my recent dreams became a reality: I met Chris Guillebeau. I arrived early and parked myself in a plastic chair, second to front row seat, inside a fun and funky bookstore called, Book Soup, in West Hollyood.
Bursting at the seams, a crowd of enthusiastic fans of all ages, including a young boy, (you can view photos taken by Dyana Valentine,) came to listen to him speak. There is a photo of Chris talking to me in the middle of all the pictures. You can’t miss my bright red sweater.
Chris talked about: how to live a remarkable life in a conventional world. He believes the two most important questions we need to ask ourselves are:
1). What do you really want to get out of life?
2). What can you offer the world that no one else can?
He mentioned a common theme that crops up when people e-mail him about taking action for something they want to do, or to change in their lives.“I worry I’m too late.”
Chris replies, “The best time to start was probably last year, but failing that, today will do.”
Unfortunately, I did not hook up with Jodi Sagorin, whom I wrote about last week.
I have many “someday” dreams that I plan to make into reality.  
What about you?
What dreams do you wish to make into reality?

Do you belong?

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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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