Chris Guillebeau lived in West Africa from 2002 to 2006, and then moved to Seattle, Washington for an M.A. program in International Studies at the University of Washington. He now lives in Portland, Oregon, when he's not somewhere else in the world. Currently on a five-year personal quest to visit every country in the world, Chris writes for a small army of remarkable people each week. To join the army or just read his writing, head to ChrisGuillebeau.com. Chris posts live updates from everywhere he goes on Twitter. His first book, The Art of Non-Conformity, will be published by Penguin in September, 2010.
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Chris, you're a mission in action, "Challenging authority since 1978," according to your website. Where did this urge originate in your life? Have you been a rebel since kindergarten?
I don't know if I've always been a rebel, but I was fortunate to have a family (especially a dad) who encouraged independent thinking. He regularly bought me books about anything and everything, which helped widen my horizons. Then a few other things also helped:
a) I started a small business when I was 19 and never went back to the world of traditional employment
b) Together with Jolie, my wife, I moved to West Africa in 2002 and spent four years volunteering for a medical charity
c) After we moved back to the U.S., I started actively traveling... more on that in a moment.
Collectively, these things definitely helped to influence my worldview.
Your blog, entitled The Art of Non-Conformity, features "unconventional ideas for remarkable people." Please elaborate for us.
I'm interested in helping people think differently and make their own choices in life. The most important themes of AONC are non-conformity and empowerment. How can we live remarkable lives? How can each day be filled with meaningful activities? How can we have fun, go on adventures, and also make the world a better place for others at the same time? I'm interested in the convergence between each of these concepts. Loosely speaking, that's what I write about. Travel, entrepreneurship, and community are related concepts.
Your site says you are " … a writer, social entrepreneur, and world traveler." How, exactly, do you define social entrepreneur?
A social entrepreneur is a non-profit change agent, an entrepreneur of ideas or someone who is involved in charity work. I should be clear that I also do commercial work as well -- so I'm a "regular" entrepreneur in addition to the non-profit work.
You are totally devoted to travel, and recommend it highly for everyone. Why do you think travel is important?
Well, I do recommend travel, but I'm not necessarily on a crusade to get everyone to travel. I think it's more important to figure out what each of us really values, and then pursue that. For many of us, including myself, world travel is a big part of that answer. As to why it's important, I like this quote by Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts."
Your "Practical Resources for World Domination" represents an amazing amount of productivity, despite the fact that you prefer to be on the road. How do you manage to produce so much while on the go?
I don't separate my work at home and my work on the road. Wherever I am, I have my MacBook, a paper notebook, and a long list of projects and tasks I'm working on. I like the simplicity of the basic GTD method: write everything down, break big projects into much smaller tasks, and try to make some progress on every project every day. Over time, as you say, most of us can produce a high amount of materials, especially compared to people who are focused on busywork.
There's also a long, unwritten list of things I don't do. I don't watch TV. I don't go to meetings. I listen to voicemail only once a week. It's really all about tradeoffs. My belief is that we each make time for what we value, either deliberately or passively. I think it's better to do it deliberately.
What's an example of 'travel hacking,' and please share with us a couple of your latest tips!
'Travel hacking' is the use of creative strategies and tactics to see the world (or even travel close to home) on a limited budget. An example: last year I earned 400,000 Frequent Flyer Miles, most without flying at all. I then redeem the miles for high-value tickets that would otherwise cost a lot of money. As to how this is done, I monitor a lot of forums, web sites, and travel blogs. Whenever a good opportunity comes up, I jump on it myself and then tell some of my own readers about it.
Last year my readers collectively earned more than 4 million miles on various airlines. They sent me notes about flying First Class to Europe and going on cruises in the Mediterranean. I love those emails!
What advice do you have for someone who wishes to create a blog as an income-producer?
The first thing I would ask is, "Are you sure you want to do that?" It's kind of like writing a book: a good idea if you're truly passionate about the topic and don't have false expectations of success. If your primary motivation is producing income, that's nothing wrong with that, but a blog may not be the best choice.
If you DO want to go for it, then of course you shouldn't hold back. Go all out! But be sure to find the right blend of what you love and what other people also care about as early as possible. That factor will be a big part of how long it takes to be successful.
Talk to us about writing. What are your convictions and ambitions about the art of writing?
First, I don't limit myself in writing about one specific, niche topic. I write about a number of topics (travel, entrepreneurship, motivation) for a number of venues (my own blog, other blogs, a newspaper column, magazines, books, etc.). The variety is very helpful, because even though I'm writing a lot, the deliverables are not always the same. I try to write at least 1,000 words a day, six days a week.
And second, writing is my job. It's just what I do. If a plumber gets bored, she still shows up every day and goes to work. Why should it be different for creatives? Steven Pressfield wrote about this in the wonderful little book,
The War of Art, which I re-read regularly and would recommend to anyone feeling frustrated or blocked in their writing.
How do you stay on top of all the details? Do you manage all your web interactions yourself, or are there others helping? Have you ever worked with a VA?
I do almost everything myself. Personally, I like email, Twitter, etc. and wouldn't want someone else to do it for me. I do have a (very small) circle of people I work with closely who help with a few things. At the top of the list would be
Reese Spykerman, my designer, who devotes a great deal of her time and energy towards my work. I can see that in the future, having some kind of VA in the circle would be helpful, but it has to be the right relationship at the right time.
Another thing that helps is that I keep the business very simple. Just as how I don't watch TV so I can have time for emails, I have a long list of things I don't do in my business. I don't sell physical products, I don't do consulting, I don't offer customization, and so on. On the other hand, I handle all customer support myself, I'm happy to help by email for free as much as possible, and so on. Again, it's a question of intention, I think.
After you've visited every country in the world, what do you envision will be your next step?
I still have a long way to go, and there are a lot of challenges ahead as I focus on some of the harder countries. When I finish, I expect I’ll set another big goal and start working on that. Ultramarathon man Dean Karnazes said recently, “Relaxing stresses me out,” and that’s true for me too.
But mostly, I hope to keep writing and keep connecting with other fun people. Being able to interact with a large community spread out all over the world is a very effective motivator.
Interview graciously conducted by: Mary H. Ruth of Virtual Writing and Communications: Specializing in writing, editing, and social media marketing, Mary has been a virtual assistant, and member of VAF, since 2007. Please visit her blog, Virtual Assistance and You, a journal for VAs and their clients.
Interview with Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity
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