In JFK I got on the 16-hour Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. It was 3pm in the New York afternoon, and 3am in HKG—exactly halfway around the world.

The Boeing 777 took off, I had lunch, and I took a short nap.

I always set my watch to the destination time when boarding a flight, so it was now sunrise in Hong Kong… with 13 hours to go. What’s next?

I like long flights, but this was pushing it even for me. I had the whole day set out before me, with nowhere to go and nothing much to do except what I made for myself.

I ordered coffee and sparkling water, then set up shop and got to work on a series of tasks. By the time I arrived in Asia, I hoped to:

*Draft a blog post
*Draft a newspaper column
*Revive my desperate-action-needed Inbox from 300 to 75
*Review an upcoming writing project
*Decide on a business strategy for another upcoming project

I got down to work on these tasks and found fulfillment as I go through the list. I also watched half of a movie, which is all I can usually handle, and caught up on an important game of Kingdom Rush on my iPad.

The day in North America faded away as we began our flight across the Pacific, chasing the sun. The day in Asia went by and the sun finally disappeared outside my window.

Did I use this time well? Did I feel alive, and did I do something that mattered?

I remember watching the entire day unfold like this in other parts of the word. I remember the long bus rides through Africa that stretched out over hours that seem endless.

Sure, there are some obvious differences between African buses and Cathay Pacific Business Class. But there is so much similarity too. In either mode of transport, you wait. You keep waiting. And you wait some more.

One time I rode the bus through the night and into the next morning. The day after, the same disorienting feeling: another day passes by outside the window. We change borders and there’s a new stamp in my passport, but the world looks the same.

I feel this way on ferries, on trains, on long drives through the U.S. Always getting closer to something while putting distance behind something else.

But really, what is life but to love and to create? And to keep moving along, always choosing forward motion and never backtracking.

***

I staggered off the plane at 8pm local time. I still had another flight ahead of me, a three-hour hop to Bangkok, but first I sat on the floor of HKG airport and logged on to the world. Greetings, everyone.

My outbound messages lept into space and a flock of new ones swooped in, the yin-yang of email management.

When I walked to the lounge and prepared to board the flight, I was already moving on. Time to think about the next stop, the next project, the next level of the tower.

What are you working on over there?

###

Image: Paul

I recently posted a question to readers about what to do in an uncertain airport situation. This was the scenario:

You arrive very late at an airport you haven’t been to before. Security takes forever, but the flight is on time—which means you’re even more rushed.

You walk into the terminal and look for your gate: A70. Damn… you’re currently at A18. Above you is an “Express Train” that runs between A1 and A75 with an unknown number of intermediate stops.

You know if you take the escalator up to the train and catch a ride it could be faster—but remember, you’re unfamiliar with this airport.

Will you have to wait for the train to arrive? How much faster will it actually be? Might it be better to hoof it?

You can’t just stand there and think about it forever… remember, time is short. You have only ten minutes to get to A70 before they close the flight.

It’s up to you… what do you do?

I greatly enjoyed reading all the responses, which came in a range of perspectives. Readers were fairly divided on the answer. A majority said they would hoof it, but a significant minority said they would take the train. A few others had unconventional ideas that were fun to read.

I also tend to fall on the “choose the action you are in control of” side, and not just when I’m running late at the airport. Upon arriving in the downtown area of an unfamiliar city, I’m happy to walk for an hour with my bags… as long as I know where I’m going. When I’m lost, which happens often, I get incredibly frustrated with myself. In the case of the airport scenario, I hoofed it—and I made it to the gate just in time, sweaty but triumphant.

I don’t think this approach is always right, though.

Sometimes I notice similar situations where it would indeed be better to take the train, stop and figure out my surroundings, or whatever the equivalent decision is. For example, our internet went down at World Domination HQ (also known as my house) recently. I was frustrated and didn’t know what to do, but instead of trying to think it through, I used my iPhone as a connection for a while and then went outside to the nearby coffee shop for two hours.

Since I work online for much of the day, it was frustrating to lose the one thing that I absolutely need to function. Meanwhile, Jolie came home and spent five minutes figuring it out before it was working again. Ignoring the problem—my approach—was clearly not the best answer.

***

Showing up in Eritrea without a visa last week, I felt I was once again approaching the “walk or take the train” scenario, albeit with higher stakes. If something went wrong, I could be put in jail or thrown out of the country—which is exactly what happened in the end. But sitting on the tarmac before disembarking into uncertainty, I had a thought:

It’s not the outcome that matters. It’s the decision to act.

Most of us judge the outcome of a course of action, not the intent. Consider a guy who performs a dangerous stunt on a motorcycle. If it goes well, we think he’s brave, courageous, a badass. If he fails or is injured, we think he’s stupid, foolish, and deserves what he gets.

In the case of Eritrea, I wasn’t responsible for an outcome that was largely outside my control; I was only responsible for the decision to go. Perhaps it was a foolish decision, but I knew I had to take the chance.

By the way, thanks for the flood of input last week about whether the Eritrea adventure “counted” for my quest. Strong opinions were expressed from all sides, but it looks like a 3-to-1 majority voted in favor.

I also understand and appreciate those who disagreed with the majority. If I can get back to Eritrea at some point later, I will, but for now I’ve got to work on my 13 remaining countries.

As the plane touched down and we taxied to the remote stand where I’d hop on the shuttle bus and prepare to meet the officials, I asked myself: How am I feeling?

I had a lot of nervous energy, I really didn’t know what awaited me on the other side, and you know what? It felt good.

I resolved then that whatever happened, I was glad I had taken the risk. A few hours later as I was being marched back to the plane to Cairo with handlers who had confiscated my passport, I was exhausted and unsure how I’d find my way out of Egypt—but still glad I had made the trip.

It’s not the outcome; it’s the decision to act.

###

*Last reminder: tomorrow is the big day for WDS 2012! We expect to offer the final round of tickets to those on the waiting list at 9am PST / 12pm EST.

Image: Fayj

A long time ago, I sent a thick packet of information to Yale, explaining in considerable detail how awesome I was and why they should accept the honor of my giving them tens of thousands of dollars a year.

They sent me back a short, polite letter, saying that while they were happy to accept my initial contribution of $75, they had plenty of other applicants, even more qualified and more awesome than me, all willing to pony up the tens of thousands of dollars for the next few years.

Regretfully, I was informed, the $75 was all I’d be able to pay them. “We wish you well in your future endeavors” was how they ended their brief reply, and they didn’t even follow me on any online social networks.

Every year, a large number of young people go through the same ritual—hours upon hours spent explaining why they deserve the privilege of becoming indebted to a system that probably won’t train them for a job. For many (not all, but many), the main benefit of graduate school, or even college or university in general, is a form of life avoidance: I’m not sure this is what I want, but at least I won’t have to think about it for a while.

When my first book came out, I finally made it to New Haven. I wandered the campus before speaking that night, drinking coffee at a student hangout and remembering all the time, money, and stress I had invested in the unsuccessful application. A couple days after New Haven I was in Cambridge, Massachusetts and saw signs advertising my appearance at the Harvard Coop. Back in the day, Harvard had also sent me a polite letter saying I wasn’t good enough for them.

Thinking about it on the road, I enjoyed the irony: I never made it to their graduate programs, but now I was speaking at their bookstores and campuses, my name on posters around the city.

***

It took me a long time to get away from validating my life according to something that didn’t relate to my true hopes and goals. At the time, I really did want to devote years of my life doing things that no one would notice, in hopes of obtaining letters behind my name that no one would care about. As ridiculous as I knew it was, I still wanted it! It was hard to let go of… until I finally did.

Part of it was the attachment to something of questionable value (a degree, useless letters), but I was also attracted to the linear nature of academia. I wanted to do something interesting and meaningful, and I saw a clear, if not entirely sensible path. Never mind that the end was muddled; at least I had a certain next step. Pay a certain amount of money, write a certain number and type of essays, complete such-and-such requirements, meet with various advisors, and so on. All fairly straightforward.

But when you venture out on your own, the next step is often unclear. You don’t necessarily know what to do at any given time, which is why having a specific direction is a superpower. There is no degree or graduation waiting for you at the end, and you have to determine your own milestones.

Graduates sometimes experience anxiety and uncertainty. What happens now? they wonder, confronted with the loss of routine and clear deliverables. On a path of independence, you get all these feelings in the beginning, with no one assigning you papers to write or exams to sit.

Having to be responsible, to make decisions about your life, to find something that fulfills you and matters to the world can be a scary thing. It certainly was for me, which is why I felt comforted by the thought of turning my decisions over to someone else.

Fortunately, I didn’t get what I thought I wanted. I paid the application fees, wrote the applications, and pestered people for recommendation letters all to learn that I would probably be better-suited somewhere outside towers of ivory.

Years later, I write these notes while sitting in a hotel lobby in Tajikistan, a place I had never heard of back then. I fly around the world and work on projects I find meaningful. I have no qualifications to do much of anything, yet for the most part I do whatever I want.

I realize now it wasn’t so much the acceptance or rejection of academia, an institution that may very well serve other people’s needs more than mine. It was the rejection of defining myself according to exterior standards, a system that was rigged to reward conformity by design.

Yep, I’m glad I didn’t get what I thought I wanted back then.

###

Image: MC

A while back I was sitting in a room with Jonathan Fields, a fellow author and good friend. At the front of the staging area, a publishing executive was talking about the state of the industry.

Does anyone have any questions?

Someone had a question, and a good one: “If I want to write a book, what’s the first thing I should do?”

The consultant started going down the list. These days it’s all about platform-building, he said. You need to make sure you have a good fan base on Twitter. You also need to have a blog. Then you need to think about your marketing plan. You have to write letters to famous authors and ask for their endorsement, and craft your elevator pitch for TV.

“And,” he said, after recovering for a moment. “When you want to write a book, you should also think about what you have to say.”

Jonathan and I looked at each other with the same thought: Uh, isn’t that pretty much the first thing?

I’m not always the best person on stage either, so I don’t mean to blame the guy in front for having a Rick Perry moment (“What was that third thing?”). Nevertheless, I also think it’s fairly apparent that a lot of people work on all kinds of things before coming to that all-important question: what do you have to say? What’s the point of this exercise, and who will ultimately be helped by it?

***

Tomorrow we’re launching a project, our first commercial guide in well over a year. The long wait is partly because I’ve been busy with other things, but also because this one is a LONG time in the works.

The world of publishing is mysterious and strange. I’ve spent three years annoying my publishers with ceaseless questions, and I still don’t understand how a lot of things work. Fortunately, I don’t always have to understand, because I rely on my veteran literary agent, David Fugate.

A long time ago, I asked David if he would jot a few things down: lessons learned, the best advice he gives to aspiring authors, an overview of the book proposal process, and so on. I was picturing around 10,000 words, about the length of one of my manifestos.

Then something unexpected happened: David went into a cave and emerged three months later with an entire book manuscript. “Wow,” I said. “This is… really… big.”

David explained that once he got started, he couldn’t stop. He felt there was no way he could share everything that writers need to know in a short document, so he kept writing and writing.

By the time he came out of the writing cave, we had a much better resource that expected. The finished version clocks in at over 45,000 words, not counting sample proposals, interviews with editors from the big NYC publishers, a long list of marketing strategies and tips, and various additional resources.

Note: Tomorrow I’ll give you the full rundown on what’s included. It’s a big product, but the whole thing is also accessible—the point is to show aspiring authors exactly what they need to do to attract the attention of publishers, and to clear up a lot of misconceptions that are widely held about books.

Speaking of misconceptions, sometimes people ask why I’m still writing books. “Doesn’t the internet allow you to skip that whole process?”

Actually, no. I love the internet, but I also love books—still. My second book launches in May, and I’m seriously excited to go out on the road to meet readers. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but there’s something about books that I find special and unique.

Thankfully, I’m not the only one. Every day I get emails from people who have found my book in a bookstore or library. Book #1 is now out in more than a dozen countries, and it also gave me the opportunity to write book #2, which will reach an even broader audience thanks to more attentive distribution.

The Unconventional Guide to Publishing: Tomorrow at 9am PST / 12pm EST

The purpose of the Unconventional Guide to Publishing is to provide a shortcut to learning for anyone interested in how publishing really works. We’ll do our best to make it fun, with discount pricing (three days only) and a couple of special launch bonuses to reward early buyers.

Surveys show that 80% of people want to write a book in their lives, but only a tiny percentage actually does so. Our mission with this guide is to get more people from the 80% into the percentage who write and publish.

Whether you care about this resource or not, I’d encourage you to think about the main question: what do you have to say? Figure that out first, and everything else that comes next will be a lot easier.

How about you—what kind of book do you want to write?

Feel free to tell us in the comments.

###

Image: Karsten

Here’s the scenario: you arrive very late at an airport you haven’t been to before. Security takes forever, but the flight is on time—which means you’re even more rushed.

You walk into the terminal and look for your gate: A70. Damn… you’re currently at A18. Above you is an “Express Train” that runs between A1 and A75 with an unknown number of intermediate stops.

You know if you take the escalator up to the train and catch a ride it could be faster—but remember, you’re unfamiliar with this airport.

Will you have to wait for the train to arrive? How much faster will it actually be? Might it be better to hoof it?

You can’t just stand there and think about it forever… remember, time is short. You have only ten minutes to get to A70 before they close the flight.

It’s up to you… what do you do?

###

UPDATE: Thanks for all the fun answers. As is often the case, we could have chosen MANY winners… but we had to pick one, and we picked Grace’s comment from all the ones below.

*Free prize! We’ll choose one answer from the comments and award a $50 gift certificate to Unconventional Guides. All answers must be in by Friday at 9am PST.

*The Unconventional Guide to Publishing, our first guide in 16 months (!) launches next Tuesday. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, this is for you… more news on Monday.

Image: W3Y

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

I wrote some of this material in advance (only slightly!) so I could spend much of the actual review week working ahead. I was tired, having literally arrived in vacation-land and meeting up with Jolie a few days after taking a minibus through Somaliland—more on that after the holidays.

After a few margaritas (tequila not being served in Somaliland for some reason), I got serious about looking ahead to the next year. Serious is a good word for the process; I really wanted to think hard about how I can improve and what I want to focus on.

A few things came to mind almost immediately…

TRAVEL. As mentioned during the recent roundup, I’m down to less than 20 countries on my quest to go everywhere. Since I usually visit more than 20 countries a year (in 2011 I made it to 26), visiting only 13-15 should be easier. The challenge, however, is that I essentially have no more backup plans—I simply have to make it to these particular countries. In the past I’ve made numerous adjustments and even big changes while I’m underway. I won’t have that luxury anymore.

BOOK. My next book, The $100 Startup, will hit the shelves on May 8, 2012. Writing it was a herculean effort involving hundreds of interviews and even some actual research (that $32,000 graduate degree may have been worth something after all…).

The book will have a worldwide release, going live in the U.K. and most commonwealth markets at the same time as it goes out in the U.S. and Canada. I’m planning a 30-city tour in North America and an extended international tour as well.

BUSINESS. As discussed during the business lessons post, I have two projects planned for early 2012. The first is the launch of the Unconventional Guide to Publishing, which I’m very excited about. We’re planning to go live on January 10th, and I’ll have a preview available the day before. I’ll begin working on the second project, a sequel to the original Empire Building Kit, soon afterwards.

WDS. In July, we’ll bring nearly 1,000 people together for our second annual gathering of awesome people. Our challenge this year is to preserve the community aspect of a small group, while still opening the doors for more people to be a part of it.

The final wave of registration will happen in late January, offered first to those on the waiting list, and then to the general public if any tickets remain.

Theme of the Year

Every year since 2006, I’ve chosen a word or two as the theme of the upcoming year. In 2009 I had the year of convergence, where I worked to bring together all my different projects into one focus, and 2010 was the year of scale & reach, where I published my first book, went on tour, and ramped up the business. As I finished another book and hosted the inaugural WDS, 2011 was the year of taking flight.

Thinking ahead to next year, I want to get more specific. I want to do more writing, as well as different kinds of writing. Above all, I want to do something that matters and to continue challenging myself—a lot like what I wrote about in The Tower.

As mentioned a couple of times, I do feel somewhat uncertain about how my life and work will shift after I complete my 193rd country, but I’ll keep working on it and will take things as they come along.

With the big book launch and nearing the end of ten years of traveling, I’ve decided that this will be the year of finishing. Throughout this year and next I’ll be moving from one longstanding focus to another, but I want to enjoy the ride while it lasts. After all, I still have 16 countries to visit! And so much more to be done.

Annual Review Roundup – Reader Stories

One of the things I’ve done a poor job at is highlighting many of the great people in our community who are undergoing all kinds of fun projects of their own. I’ve been talking with a couple of smart people about how I can fix that as part of the 2012 plans.

For now, I wanted to show a few of our readers and community who have been undertaking their own Annual Reviews over the past week. I received at least 100 trackbacks to various blog posts, and a selection is below.

Benny Hsu wrote about a busy year of living, including getting engaged and married while starting a new business.

Jermaine Lane wrote about an unrestricted life and his “Poemvember” experiment.

Janelle wrote about losing weight and volunteering.

Milo wrote about a wedding and a blog.

Jill Salahub wrote about her 2012 theme of retreat.

Cynthia Morris created her own end-of-year worksheet that others can download.

Noch Noch wrote about staying alive, getting engaged, and getting a puppy.

Lindsay wrote about joy, working out, and successfully maintaining a long-distance relationship.

Chris Stott wrote about not buying an iPhone and not playing enough guitar.

Ryan Brooke-Bisschop wrote a detailed review of his card collecting hobby and business.

Noah Bonn wrote about letting go of Facebook and compulsion.

***

These are just a few posts from our community—you can see dozens more in the comments section of each review post (tip: click on the person’s name to go to their website).

I’m grateful for a big year, and eager to get started on some new things for 2012. Thanks for being part of AONC. Because of you, we’re getting better every year.

QUESTION: What’s your word or theme for next year?

###

Don’t be a stranger: Join the AONC community of 30,000 fans on Facebook, or circle me up on Google+.

Image: Harshad

Greetings, everyone. I’m finishing up my latest trip to Africa, and I hope you’re well wherever you are.

Below is the first part of the 2011 Annual Review. Two notes on this year’s series: first, at the end of each post over the next few weeks, you’re invited to leave your own response.

Second, we’re compiling a list of other people who are doing their own Annual Reviews at the same time. If you’d like to share yours, include a link to one of this year’s AONC posts. Our system will automagically pick it up, and we’ll share a few highlights from several blogs at the end of the series.

Have fun!

***

As explained in previous posts, the review focuses on looking ahead to the next year, but I first spend at least a day looking back on the year that’s ending. I start with two simple questions:

What went well in 2011?

What did not go well in 2011?

Answering these questions is an easy way to begin the process of being intentional about your choices in the forthcoming year. In case you’re curious, some of my answers are below.

What Went Well in 2011

I wrapped up the 63-city Unconventional Book Tour by visiting every province in Canada. (A brief, simultaneous attempt at visiting every Tim Horton’s in Canada was sadly unsuccessful, though not for lack of trying.)

I finished writing THE $100 STARTUP, my second book. The project involved interviewing hundreds of people and distilling their lessons into a giant research project that eventually became a 70,000+ word book. Naturally, it was a ton of work, but I’m excited to get it out to the world in May 2012.

Business work was great. Despite having only one major product launch this year, the Unconventional Guides business still grew more than 40% from 2010. (I’ll share some specific business lessons in the next post.)

I made it to more than twenty new countries, bringing me closer to the goal of going everywhere. (I’ll do a whole travel roundup with specific notes next Thursday.)

Together with a strong Portland team, I hosted the inaugural World Domination Summit (WDS). Even though we expected good things, it’s safe to say that WDS exceeded all high expectations. With 70% of year one attendees paying in advance to return—when we didn’t even know the date, the speakers, or the program—we felt confident that we were building good things. Several attendees said it didn’t feel like a conference as much as a gathering of friends, and that was our intention from the beginning.

To be clear, I’m not taking credit for almost any of this. The attendees, speakers, and team were the ones who made our inaugural event extra-awesome. I’m extremely thrilled to be a small part of it, and looking forward to the bigger-and-better sequel next year.

Earlier in the year, Jolie and I moved to a new home in Portland. We’re still in the same part of the city and remain carless by choice. Our furry companion, the Liberator, is still responsible for comment moderation on the blog, and has recently taken on new duties of attacking Christmas trees, causing them to crash on the living room floor and frighten the neighbors.

Traveling 200,000+ miles a year takes its toll, but I remained in relatively good health for most of the year. All told, it was a great year, and I’m grateful for all the adventures.

What Did Not Go Well in 2011

Thinking about what did not go well is the more important part of the review. Overall, the year was fantastic, but how can I improve? Where are the cracks in the wall?

Here is a partial list from that department.

LIMITED SCALING. 2010 was the year of scale and reach, but it seems I can only scale so far. I’ve encountered this a few times in my work over the years—I can easily build a business or project to a certain level, but have difficulty going further.

I suspect part of the problem relates to a deliberate choice of preferring to do a lot of things instead of focusing on one specific thing. I do see this choice mostly in positive terms, but perhaps a negative is that I’ll remain limited in the degree of growth I can achieve. I’m still thinking about this, and haven’t figured it out yet.

TRAVEL FATIGUE. Overall, another epic year of travel was great, but I also began to long for a time when I can travel more freely, and perhaps less intensely. During October’s trip, I flew 11 segments in 14 days, mostly through Africa on random airlines. Then for last week’s trip, I did it again: 10 segments in 12 days, all in Economy class, mostly in Africa with multiple flights at unfortunate departure times such as 3am. I have fairly good travel stamina, but over time, such a schedule does wear me out.

When I got stuck in Australia, I was initially disappointed about not going to Nauru, but then I found myself with three days to spare in Sydney and I had one of the best travel experiences of the whole year. I don’t want to do only “easy” travel, even after I complete my quest, but if I could limit all the intra-Africa flights and 3am departures, I’d be happy. I’m looking forward to that in another year or so.

LIMITED TEAM-BUILDING. With the exception of WDS, I don’t have much of a team in my business work. Reese is a wonder designer who devotes much of her time to all things AONC, and I often leave her waiting on things. Sean does a good job working with our affiliates, but I don’t give him much to work on—which is entirely my fault.

This relates to my earlier problem…. the question of scale. What am I trying to build here? In some areas of my work, like book publishing, travel, and WDS, I feel it’s fairly clear. In other areas, though, I find myself hindered by my own poor delegation or decision-making skills.

SMALL THINGS. A few small things fell through the cracks. I hand-wrote 500 cards to each WDS attendee earlier in the year, but I didn’t send holiday cards to all 8,000 Unconventional Guides customers like I did last year. The profile series on AONC is badly in need of updating. Our charity project in Ethiopia continues to raise funds, but I haven’t done much to promote it or completed the site visit yet. (I know that Charity: Water continues to do great work there, so I’m not worried—but I also know that the project could be more substantial if I invested more time with it.)

***

Something That Matters

When I think about what’s happened thus far and what I want to do next, the simple answer is that I want to do something that matters. I want to make a positive contribution to the world. These are fairly basic motivations, perhaps, but I find them highly motivating.

Overall, my biggest concern is that I remain motivated. As I wrote in The Tower, I want to wake up every day feeling excited about what lies ahead. When I end the day and go to bed in South Sudan, where I’ve been recently, or wherever I am in the world, I want to look back and remember something I made or contributed to.

This sums up what I’m feeling in the final days of 2011: on track, doing well, still motivated to continue, but wanting to make sure I’m doing the right things.

With that in mind, I’m planning to make a few adjustments in how I write for AONC. Next year I’ll actually be writing more, not less, but in a slightly revised format than the one I’ve used since 2008. Of course, I’ll still keep on track with my commitment (3 years and 10 months without missing a scheduled post so far), but I want to make sure it remains an engaging experience.

I’ll share more about that and other plans as we go through this series.

Your Turn: How Was 2011?

Those are my initial thoughts on 2011. Now it’s your turn. What’s one thing that went well in 2011, and one thing that didn’t go well?

Feel free to share some responses in the comments if you’d like, but more importantly, answer the questions for yourself.

###

Image: Foxy

Many thanks to everyone who has been reading or supporting the launch of The Tower, my new manifesto. If you missed it on Tuesday, you can pick up your free copy in a range of formats.

I also want to thank my long-time friend and colleague Reese Spykerman, specialist in branding and magic, for her great work on the design. Reese truly raised her game on this one as we worked on telling a story through words and images.

I’m now writing from Dubai, en route to Nairobi and eventually Somaliland if all goes well. Over the next ten days, I’ll be in the region and visiting some hard-to-get-to countries.

***

The Tower is all about the subjects of urgency and legacy, written through the analogy of an iPad game I played on another trip to Africa several months ago. The goal is to encourage readers to think about crafting a life oriented around creative work that helps others.

Here’s a selection from the last portion:

There is a cemetery in my neighborhood that I often pass through while running. It’s been there for a long time, with gravestones marking the deaths of people who died as early as 1846. The cemetery is multicultural and interfaith, with inscriptions in many languages and numerous forms of honoring the dead.

As I run through this resting place and toward the waterfront that flows through the center of my city, I often think about these people, loved by others but unknown to me except through the epitaphs on their tombstones. Did they live the life they wanted? Their lives mattered regardless of the choices they made, but did they fulfill their potential? Did they die with any unresolved regrets?

Someone who died a hundred or more years ago may have lived a meaningful life, but the choices that were available to them were dramatically different than the ones available to us today. They couldn’t take one million photos, visit every country in the world, or talk to thousands of interlinked people from all walks of life through the online social web.

The same may be said about us in another 150 years, but that is not our concern. Whether the era that we live in is more special than others or not, a single fact remains: this is our time. This is our chance.

I wrote the manifesto, and this section in particular, because I believe it’s important to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities around us. That is the overall message I hope to communicate with AONC in general: life is short, so let’s pick up the pace and make our time count for something.

Next year I’ll be making some changes in how I publish this blog and the overall focus of related work. My goal is to continue getting more specific about how we can live intentionally and pursue a big dream, while serving others and crafting a legacy. (I’ll explain more about this during the forthcoming Annual Review.)

I’m grateful to have a platform with so many amazing people who read and contribute from around the world. You inspire me.

Oh, and if you haven’t read The Tower yet, check it out! It’s best read on an iPad or other tablet, but you can also read via simple PDF, Kindle, or just plain text.

You can also share your own ideas about legacy projects in the original comment thread.

Wishing you well from DXB-NBO,

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Image: Mavis

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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You can download your own copy here –>

The Tower — Main Download Link (PDF)

Kindle Version | Version for Printing

Tech Notes: This document is best experienced on an iPad (click the PDF in Safari to open a version in iBooks) or other tablet device.

If viewing on a regular computer, you’ll need the latest free version of Adobe Reader. For Kindle support, see this page.

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What It’s About and Who It’s For

This report is not about Frequent Flyer Miles or making money as a blogger, as much fun as those things can be. Instead, it’s about URGENCY and LEGACY—topics I’ve been thinking a lot about recently.

What if life were like a video game? How can we incorporate creative work and the desire to build something into our routine? What truly matters?

These are the questions I examine in the manifesto. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be traveling in Africa and then doing my Annual Review. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’ll take some time to think about the next year and your own legacy project.

As always, thanks for reading.

Action #1: If you find the report interesting and valuable, would you please help in spreading it along?

You can post a link to this page or the whole PDF on your blog, through Facebook, or wherever you connect with interesting people.

Action #2: What does legacy mean to you… and what are you doing about it today?

Feel free to share your response to this question through the comments field.

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Image: Thomas

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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A specter is haunting the internet. Everywhere you go, you hear about how you should slow down. First it was slow food (a good thing). Then there was slow living (not so good) and the rejection of striving and effort (even worse).

The central part of this message is: “There’s plenty of time. Stop hurrying and take it easy. Bake cakes, play in the forest, do what you want.”

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past few months, and tomorrow’s project is an attempt to say something different.

The central part of the alternative message is: “HURRY UP. Life is short, so we should put our limited time to good use.”

Why so intense? Because we only get one chance.

Why the rush? Because we’ve got a lot to do and a short amount of time to do it.

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A common scenario involves imagining that today was your last day on earth:

What would you do if this was it? You have only one day to live.

It’s a good question to think about, but not sufficient on its own. If today were your last day, you might tell someone you loved them. You might try to make amends with someone you had wronged. You might enjoy the time as much as possible, and you might indeed bake a cake.

All of these things are good, but you can do them anytime. No need to wait for the warning of a last day that you’ll never receive. Most of us don’t get the chance to know when our last day is, and even if we do, we’re not usually in a position to make real changes.

Besides, a single day is short-term by design, and you’ll never create anything with lasting value in the short-term. Sure, you can “live in the present”—but if you want to build something beautiful, you’d better be thinking about the future as well.

Instead of watching life as it passes you by, what if you actively worked on crafting a legacy composed of creative work that helps others?

What if there was a systematic method of “legacy work” that allowed you to build this enduring record step-by-step?

Yes, there might be plenty of time left. But what if there’s not?

There is an urgency to life, whether you want it or not. When you embrace the urgency instead of ignoring it, you can create something that changes the world. Oh, and you can do this in a fun way that makes the best use of your own talent and motivation.

In a world of take-it-easy, who needs a life oriented about effort and achievement?

Well, I certainly do. And perhaps you do too.

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Tomorrow morning I’ll release a new manifesto, the first in more than two years. It’s all about living with urgency and how you can build something over time. If you find it worthy of attention, I’d be grateful for your help in spreading the word.

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Image: Rutty