Seventy-five days from today, my first print book hits the stands all across North America. As promised, I’ll be traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada to meet readers and raise money for our Ethiopia project.

—>Read the details and sign up to come out here

***

The book is currently on pre-order for a whopping $10.08 over at Amazon. It tells my story and outlines a road map for your own world domination plans. I’ve been fortunate to get some kind reviews from other authors, and I know that a lot of people will love it. (Since it’s fairly provocative, some people won’t love it, but that’s OK.)

Once the publication date gets closer, I’ll tell you more about it… but for now, I’m gearing up for your help with the massive book tour.

Every State, Every Province… Crazy or Epic?

Because I like big goals, I decided to visit all 50 states from September through December. That includes Alaska and Hawaii, of course, and the District of Columbia, and since I couldn’t decide between a couple of hard choices (Dallas vs. Houston, San Fran vs. L.A.), I threw them both in. Then, I didn’t want to forget my friends north of the border, so I added all 10 provinces in Canada for an extra leg in January 2011.

At first glance, there are a lot of reasons NOT to embark on this project. The whole thing is self-funded and will actually cost more than I was paid to write the book. Most authors go to only a few cities, if anywhere at all these days. Doing the tour forces me to curtail my international travel for at least four months, which will be the longest I’ve been in one country (OK, two) for an entire decade.

Last but not least, most people in the publishing industry don’t believe in book tours anymore. They’ll put authors on a.m. radio stations that no one listens to, but they don’t think it’s effective to actually go out and meet real people.

All of these valid points raise a good question: why spend four months traveling to events in 63 cities?

The first answer is that at all of the meetups I’ve done so far, I’ve heard fun stories from fascinating people doing remarkable things. A great deal of my daily inspiration comes from all of you reading and participating in various ways from all corners of the planet.

The other day I was on an Alaska Airlines flight and someone tapped me on the shoulder to introduce themselves. A few days later I was in a hotel room in Vancouver and someone called my room because they saw my MacBook on the shared network and said that they read the blog. You guys are everywhere! So let’s take it up a level and go out to meet more people and hear more stories.

The second answer is that this project scares me—in a good way. Not everything that scares you is bad; in fact, many things that scare you are exactly the kinds of things you should be doing. Personal growth and overcoming fear are often correlated.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing a day that scares you.” By setting up this tour, I’ve got 63 days taken care of. I really have no idea how to manage the logistics for this kind of thing, so that’s why we decided to put the registration site up now. Better to see who’s out there and who wants to get involved, then we can know more about how to make it happen.

A Few Notes

Co-Hosts and Special Guests. At many of the stops, I’ll be joined by co-hosts: other authors, bloggers, entrepreneurs, travelers, aid workers on leave, and other people from our community. I always like doing my meetups with a co-host anyway, but this time it’s even more important: many of the tour dates are back-to-back, so there’s no way I can arrange the logistics for so many events on my own.

Charity Project: A while back I mentioned our Ethiopia project. I’ll be ramping up the promo for it soon, and this will be a major part of the book tour. Among other things, I’ll be donating 100% of my book royalties for every reader I meet on the tour. More on this important project later.

International Readers: Right now the book is only being distributed in North America, so that’s why I’m focusing my efforts here. Maybe later on I can visit every state in India (28) or every province in China (23). Don’t put it past me! But for now, traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada will take up most of my time through next January.

***

Most important! Thanks for reading this. You’re awesome. I’m excited to hit the road in September.

I hope to see you on the Unconventional Book Tour. Are you coming out? Can you help? Let me know where you are, here in the comments or on the registration site. There are still a couple of places where I’m not sure what the best stop is (Tampa or Miami? Calgary or Edmonton? etc.), so we’ll see where people are, and that’s where we’ll do the event.

And by the way… are you doing things that scare you?

It’s worked out pretty well for me, and all of you are a big part of the journey. Thanks for rocking my world! See you soon.

###

Image: Jon

I’ve heard the question in various forms over the past couple of years: Why not just travel around the world without trying to go everywhere—in other words, why focus on the numbers?

My answer is that the numbers give you a goal—something to keep in mind as you go through a challenging process. The numbers can’t be your sole motivation or identity, but they can be a big help.

Pursuing something meaningful and keeping track of it with numbers is fun and addicting. The numbers help to keep things in context. In my business I have goals based on numbers (sales per day, for example). For the blog I have goals based on numbers (new readers joining every day, for example). I don’t do the work for the sake of the numbers, but the numbers provide a good benchmark.

***

Numbers also make the project more interesting to others. In my case, no one would care if I wanted to visit “as many countries as possible.” Come on. We need a goalpost! 192 is the goalpost—not just “a bunch of countries,” but all of them.

Thomas Hawk has a goal of publishing one million processed photos. Nearly all of them are released to the world under a Creative Commons license, and they’re all good photos too. Why one million? Because it’s an audacious number, which makes it compelling to Thomas and interesting for those of us who are following along.

Sean Aiken worked one job a week for 52 weeks across Canada. Isn’t that interesting? I think so. What if he worked five jobs in a year instead of fifty-two? I’d think: good for him, but not as interesting for the rest of us. When you hear “one job a week for a year,” the story becomes much more engaging.

When times are hard, a goal based on numbers also helps you keep perspective. Is it really worth it to go to random places like Equatorial Guinea? For most people, probably not. But for me, yes—because how could I be satisfied with visiting only 100+ countries?

“Well, that was fun—no need to see the rest!”

I don’t think so. What’s a quest without a challenging objective?

Numbers aren’t everything. But under the right conditions and aligned to to the right vision, they can be a lot of fun. My current number is: 143 down, 49 to go.

And how about you—what do you think about numbers?

###

Image: Fragmented

Do you ever have the feeling that you’re leaving somewhere to which you’ll never return? You’ve been coasting along in the present, then all of a sudden—the future! Is here! There’s no going back, no matter how much you want to.

You walk out of the apartment and shut the door for the last time. You leave the university campus after years of study. You change jobs and say farewell to the workspace.

That place was so important to you, but now it’s no longer part of your life.

If you ever do go back, it’s never the same. You might feel like a conquering warrior (“I remember when I first arrived here, and look at me now!”) You might feel sad or regretful (“I wish I had…”), or you might have only good memories. Either way, change is the constant, and things are going to be different from now on.

***

Sometimes you don’t even see it coming. It just hits you all of a sudden: change is ahead! Be aware that this moment is passing soon, and your life will never be the same. Sorry, but you don’t usually have a choice in these matters.

When saying goodbye to a person or place, some think it’s best to leave things unsaid, or walk away without reflection. I’ve learned that this is usually a mistake, at least for me.

I say: hold on to the moment as long as you can. Fight for it if you have to. Get up early and stay up late. Be brave. Choose the raw emotion, even the awkwardness if necessary. If we must go on to something else, let’s at least think about what was and what could have been.

The more intense the feeling, the better. If synchronicity and the feeling of being part of something meaningful comes with sadness, loneliness, and disappointment, so be it. I just know that I don’t want the alternative—mediocrity, routine, the safe and the comfortable.

***

I often get this feeling when preparing to leave places as I roam the planet, even if I wasn’t that attached to them while I was there. Two years ago I went to Easter Island, thousands of miles out and six hours by air from South America. I enjoyed the visit, but as a tourist destination, it’s a long way to go for a small island with little to do.

I’m not buying a second home in Easter Island, in other words. But then—on the eve of my departure, I looked up at the sky and realized how far I was from everywhere else in the world. I also realized I would likely never return and thought, I’d better remember this.

I joke about collecting countries the way some people collect postcards, but really I’m collecting experiences like these. “Is it worth it to spend so much money on travel?” I’m sometimes asked. I don’t really think of it as paying for travel itself. I’m paying for memories, and when it comes to spending on memories, I say yes. Most definitely. I have no credit limit for memories.

I felt this way while leaving Tbilisi, Georgia a few months ago. It’s truly a beautiful city, and one of the best in Europe, no doubt. The intensity of it all was almost overwhelming to me.

I wasn’t ready to say farewell, but I also knew that staying another day wouldn’t make it any better. I ran ten kilometers the night before I left, trying to process the experience. The next morning, I rode in the mini-bus to Armenia, my next stop, and thought about it further for a good six hours or so.

I had been reading Don Miller’s new book on this trip. Among other things, Don says that meaningful lives do not just happen by accident. They require conflict, risk, striving, and overcoming. A good character in a story has to struggle, and so it is with all of us.

That’s why I think it’s good to embrace the transition points. Don’t go to sleep to dream. You can dream all day long without ever closing your eyes.

After making it to the next hotel, though, I laid down on the bed for a short nap at 4pm. I woke up 10 hours later, still feeling disoriented. I made coffee and did some writing.

Inevitably, I know that we all have to look forward instead of backwards. In the pursuit of growth, it’s better to choose the new than the old. But sometimes it’s also good to hold on to something for a while, and then you can treasure it as the memory it becomes.

Embracing reality may be exhausting, but I can’t imagine the alternative of avoiding it.

###

Image by Dariva

A few notes on our very busy day here:

1. If you’re traveling on Amtrak at some point, I recommend the blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

2. Thanks for all the birthday congratulations. You guys are great.

2. A reader told me about the Bottomless Cup coffee shop in Havre, Montana. We have 25 minutes in Havre this afternoon and I’m going to try to make a mad latte dash. If I don’t make it back in time, J.D.’s in charge!

3. Oh, and the Empire Building Kit has been flying off the shelves! Holy cow.

–>If you haven’t seen it yet, here is the magic internet teleporter.

***

As of right now, I’ll continue selling the EBK for 14 more hours, until just before our mid-morning arrival at Portland’s Union Station on Thursday. Keep in mind that our internet access is quite limited here, so if it looks like I’ll have problems, I’ll end it sooner.

(And if you wrote me this morning, I probably haven’t written back with the usual lightning speed yet. Forgive me while I get this update done first.)

Questions & Answers

Q. I placed an order! What’s next?

A: Thank you! Next: make sure you visit the resources page and join the EBK mailing list. In this case, the EBK list is extremely important because we’ll be sending you 365 mini-lessons over the next year.

You’re supposed to be directed to both of those places (resources page + mailing list signup) right after purchase, but if something goes wrong, let us know and we’ll get you there manually.

Q: Is the webinar only for the higher-priced EBK versions?

A: No, the webinar is for everyone who purchases during this initial launch. No question left behind! (Thank you, Kelly.)

Q: Can I buy the Emperor-in-Training version and upgrade to Hail Caesar or Alexander the Great later?

A: Yes. We can do that for you.

Q: Will this help me become the next Bill Gates, etc.?

A: Probably not. The EBK contains everything I know about running a successful lifestyle business ($50k-150k a year with no employees), in addition to a ton of lessons from many other entrepreneurs. It is designed to be highly-actionable and very comprehensive.

However.

Empire Building is a serious undertaking. I am not interested in finding the easy way out, hiring someone in India to run my operation, or whatever.

I’m interested in working hard to create a meaningful business built on happiness (for customers) and freedom (for me). Relationship is a central component in this process. If that sounds like something you’re into, you might to consider picking up your own EBK. If not, any indecisiveness can now be easily cured: don’t buy it.

***

Alright – back to the rails. J.D. has been explaining how professional blogging works to some folks in the next car—I said I’ll let him handle that. I have, however, rechristened the Amtrak Sightseer Lounge as the “Bloggers’ Lounge,” where we’ve set up shop with a plethora of Apple gear, cameras, internet cards, and so on.

###

Alright—I know I’m supposed to be much more strategic about this, but I’ve been in Cape Verde, speaking at TedX Pittsburgh, and so on.

The best pre-launch plans do not account for British Airways strikes, conference calls with my publisher in various airports, and 46-hour Amtrak rides with uncertain internet access.

Today I’m in Chicago with J.D. Roth. He’s never been here before, so we’re wandering around throughout the day and heading out to a couple of events later. (If you’re in town, feel free to join us tonight from 7-9pm at Rockit Grill, Wrigley Field location.)

J.D. and I just finished up a tour of the city courtesy of reader Margaret Hicks, who was kind enough to include visits to the Apple Store and Sprint Store among other historical highlights.

EBK: What It’s All About

Anyway, I know a lot of people are excited about Empire Building Week. What a coincidence! Me too. Here’s the plan.

The long-awaited Empire Building Kit will finally be available about 48 hours from now, on Wednesday morning around 10am EST / 7am PST. In deciding whether this is something you should pay attention to or not, here’s what you need to know:

The EBK deconstructs the process of building a successful lifestyle business — something I define as a small business with one or two employees, built around something the business owner loves to do. The “successful” part is critical, so I cast a wide net and looked at businesses that earn between $50,000 and $150,000 a year in net income.

The most important question of the whole project is: how can other people do the same thing?

Using the case study model and a series of 365 specific steps, the goal of the Empire Building Kit is to help someone become their own emperor by doing one thing every day for a year.

The not-so-secret involves hard work, a few key decisions made at the beginning of the business, and continuous improvement over time. If you already have a small business of your own, the goal is to dramatically increase your 2010 revenue. If you don’t have a business and are serious about creating your own independence plan, EBK will help too.

Case Studies

The case studies (in PDF, video, audio, and transcript format) are the best part of the project. They include a woman who makes $105,000 a year by walking dogs, a guy who hosts murder mystery parties, a fitness coach, several artists and freelancers, someone who exported an entire new industry to Germany — just to name a few.

What this diverse group of fun, interesting people has in common is that they all make a good living doing something they love. Some businesses are online and some are offline; some owners are interested in scaling up to a higher level and others are happy just to have more free time.

Each case study focuses on what you can do to create a similar business. Some of my favorite lessons from the case studies include:

• How to raise your price from $300 to $500 an hour—and generate more demand
• Why building relationships with other people in your industry can be the worst thing you can do when you’re trying to get started
• How an unknown consultant created a $75,000 business in one year.
• How to set up shop as an offline business in a new city and be profitable in the first month
• The $50,000 e-book that keeps selling and selling (hint: it’s not one of mine)

***

None of the case studies are professional bloggers. Many of them use blogs and other online media to get the word out, but their main role is something different.

One other note: in business, money is extremely important — and that’s why we talk about it in every case study. I am not shy about asking the respondents: “How much money do you make?” Not only that, I also ask: “How much money did you make two years ago, and what did you do to make it go up since then?” and “What is your best-selling product or service and why?” And so on.

Hearing that you are “doing well” helps no one. Being specific can help a lot of people, so I’ve been very direct in asking the respondents to show us the money. They all came through, in very specific, actionable ways.

365 Daily Steps

Let’s see… what else? Oh wait! The 365 Daily Steps. See, the EBK includes a bunch of video interviews, audio interviews, and written interviews — in addition to other lessons from my own mobile desk from all over the world. Being in the ADD club, I totally understand how different people relate to different learning styles.

But I wanted to do something else to ensure active participation on the part of every new emperor, so that’s why I’m including a series of daily lessons for an entire year.

That’s right… EBK owners will get 365 mini-lessons over the next year. (I do try to go all out when putting on a serious project.) There isn’t any monthly fee or ongoing charge of any kind — the 365 days of lessons are included with every version of the EBK.

The 24-Hour Launch + “Ask Anything” Webinar

If you’ve been around for a while, you know I’ve been very careful and deliberate with the growth of the Unconventional Guides business. (Check out some of the Store Updates for more history.)

I’m doing the same thing with the Empire Building Kit. This is my first comprehensive resource for entrepreneurs, and I want to be careful about opening it up too broadly at first. Therefore, I’m going to sell it for one day only. Just 24 hours, and then that’s it for at least a month.

This is because I want to work a bit more closely with the first group of emperors. After the 24-hour window closes, I’ll prepare a survey for the first group where they can ask any question they want. I’ll then produce a private webinar for a few weeks later where we go through every single question in detail — no matter how long it takes.

After we’ve had a month to do the webinar and get feedback from the first group of emperors, I’ll do another launch to a broader audience with affiliate partners. There won’t be a webinar the next time, and the price of the budget version will probably go up as well.

Speaking of the price, thanks again for all of the feedback last week. There wasn’t really a consensus–I’m still getting emails about why it should cost $700 or $70 or any number of prices in between–but probably the largest group of folks suggested $365 as a base price, or $1 a day for all the updates. The good news is that those who suggested that price for the base version will be pleased to see it’s actually much less than that.

In the higher version, I also provide an entire module explaining exactly how I’ve set up the Unconventional Guides business, how much money each product makes, the 20-minute action I took last fall that has brought in an additional $4,000 so far, a few big mistakes and a few big successes, and more.

It’s a true “behind-the-curtain” demonstration with no holds barred, including some revelations that I expect will be fairly surprising. This version will cost a bit more, of course, but I know it will provide tremendous value for those who judge it to be a good fit for their situation.

I’ve worked on this project from 10 countries, and I know it is really going to help people take a big commitment towards building or improving their business. If anyone thinks I’ve “sold out” in creating a more comprehensive resource to help entrepreneurs, there’s not much I could say other than “this isn’t for you.” You should certainly not feel any pressure to buy this (or anything else).

***

Well, that’s it for the non-strategic pre-launch message. I’ll look forward to serving some of you with the EBK, and for everyone else, next week we’ll return to regularly scheduled programming. I’ve got a new interview feature coming up, more travel hacking fun, and so on.

Is that cool with everyone? By the way… Chi-town is a fun place! I’m happy to be here.

###

Image: NizNoz

Last fall I wrote about a special promotion where you could earn an enormous Frequent Flyer bonus by buying a large quantity of useless stickers.

True story, as odd as it sounds. It was one of the best travel hacking opportunities I’ve been a part of yet.

As I result of the promotion, I woke up yesterday to an influx of new miles in my US Air account. How many? Well, I had already earned about 280,000 a few months ago… but this morning the new deposit read: 808,185 miles.

Here’s the proof.

(My favorite part of that screenshot is where it shows my US Air flight history: “0 miles and 0 segments.” Yep, I’m not a big fan of US Air as an actual airline—but as a mileage holder, I love them.)

The Miles Are Raining In!

The best thing is I’m not the only one planning a bunch of trips with new miles. So far I’ve heard success stories from about two dozen readers who also took part. One of the first notes I received came from Lorraine (originally from Calgary, now in Thailand):

Thanks to your post about the promotion with US Air and following your lead, I now have ONE MILLION miles in my US Air account!! WOW, WOW, WOW! Can hardly wait to start planning.

Then I received this note from Farsh (another Canadian — you guys are active travelers):

Duuuuuuuude! US airways, MILES posted! I received a total of 351,000. Looking to go location independent this year sometime. I’m planning to take a year off and travel, I would leave from either US or Europe and visit… Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, India, Tajikistan, Turkey, Syria, Tanzania, Malta, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and the UK

Another note from Ty (not sure where he is from) arrived a few minutes later reporting 324,810 miles.

To try and get on top of all the reports, yesterday I sent out a message asking for everyone to report in with their totals. Long story short, I’m still reading through all the replies. So far, Greg got 250k miles. Bob got 600k. Chris (another Chris) got 210k.

Megan got 39,000. Mike got 51,000. Sherah also got 51,000 for a ticket from South Africa to Uganda. And so on—lots of folks, lots of miles, lots of free travel.

Even using a highly conservative mileage valuation, it’s clear that our own small group has generated more than $100,000 in free flights just from the people who have written in thus far. And since most of us are smart and use the miles to book flights that would normally be more expensive, the real value is likely much higher.

Whatever it is, I’m just glad it worked out. Fun times. Happy travels, everyone.

A Note on Risk

I hope you’ll forgive me for a brief soapbox moment. When I wrote about the deal last fall, I received a lot of emails from excited people, but I also received a lot of emails from skeptics. Someone even told me I was encouraging readers to throw away their money.

“Is this guaranteed?” several other people asked. Sorry, no. Nothing with travel hacking is ever guaranteed! I don’t think the airlines are going to guarantee to sell millions of miles for a fraction of their value; that’s why it’s a hack.

The people who attacked the deal and said it would never work were right—it didn’t work for them because they didn’t try it. Meanwhile, Lorraine in Thailand has one million miles, Farsh from Alberta is going around the world in Business Class, Sherah is going to Uganda, and so on.

As a matter of fact, nothing in life is really guaranteed either. Lots of people said they liked Tsilli’s profile because it focused on how a risk-averse person could carefully and gradually take a big leap. I liked that too, but the point is: eventually she took the leap.

Anyway, that’s the soapbox. Most importantly, congratulations to everyone who is mileage rich! Let’s have a party in Japan, or New Zealand, or somewhere. (I’ll actually be using my miles to get to places like Belarus and Madagascar, but it’s all good. Have fun in Japan.)

Everyone else, this deal is over now—but the next time a good thing comes along, don’t think too hard about it.

###

Image: GT

I wrote a feature article for Writer’s Digest this month, and it looks like it just hit the newsstands. I also received permission to include the full PDF here if you’re interested:

Changing the Rules for Unconventional Success

You can also read a brief online supplement on their site here.

***

I’ve thought about producing a guide about freelance writing, but the reality is that it’s really tough to make it as a freelancer these days. Until I find a way to stretch it out (no one wants to buy a one-page information product), here is the Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing:

1. Don’t do it the old way. You’ll starve!
2. Find a way to take control of the process. You’ll win!

But if you want more than that, here’s 2,000 words on making a living as a writer, free of charge.

It talks about why I write a newspaper column that no one reads, why I’ll syndicate to almost any outlet, and why I don’t care that CNN doesn’t pay me for the articles they post with my byline. More importantly, it offers guidance for new writers, or those who have been unsuccessful using conventional tactics.

I want to be clear that this piece is for writers who are interested in making some kind of income from their work. There’s nothing wrong with writing for any other reason–I write in a private journal every day, and some of my travel writing is entirely non-commercial.

But I also think it’s perfectly reasonable to want to earn a living as a writer, so that is the group I’m trying to help. For those people, the reality is that it is extremely difficult to support yourself as a successful freelancer by doing things the way they have always been done. That’s why you need to change things up and embrace a new model.

From what I can tell, it seems that some people are arguing about whether the new model is “better” or “worse” than the old one. Alas, this discussion is entirely irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if something new is better or worse than something old; what matters is what you need to do to adapt to it.

I believe the phrase that best applies is “It is what it is.”

Therefore, if you want to work as a writer and don’t want to starve, you have to learn a few new tricks. The good news is that if you learn the new tricks, you can actually do quite well. More here.

###

Image: SBGuy

About 10% of our overall site traffic continues to arrive from links to a document I published in the summer of 2008. The document was called A Brief Guide to World Domination, and it seems that a few people liked it.

We now have Spanish, French, and Chinese translations, all made by volunteer readers. Someone else made a Kindle version for you early adopter folks. Good times.

Then, in one of my prouder moments, the site was actively banned for several months in China and from the U.S. government computers in Afghanistan—apparently the search term “world domination” was concerning to both groups.

(I wanted to include this impressive fact in a book proposal, but my agent made me take it out—perhaps it’s not as much of a selling point as I thought.)

Anyway, it’s all been fun. And one of the things that’s MOST FUN OF ALL is hearing different people’s answers to the two most important questions in the universe:

1. What do you really want to get out of life?

2. What can you offer the world that no one else can?

Now you can send in a postcard with your own answers to World Domination Headquarters, and my assistant Libby will be tasked with uploading one of them every week for the next six months for everyone else to see.

(Libby’s working hours are approximately 2-5am every weekday, but I’ll pick up the mail during the day and leave it in her Inbox.)

Here’s Exactly What You Need To Do

1. Get a postcard – any kind you like. Your hometown, somewhere you’re visiting, something you make yourself, whatever.

2. On the back of the postcard, write your name, your Twitter ID (if you have one), and your answers to the two most important questions in the universe, in whatever fashion you want.

It’s OK if your answers are just a guess, an idea, or a work-in-progress. Of course, all of you fun artists can answer the questions in some kind of visual form. And if you’re stuck, not sure, or just want to write something else, that’s fine too.

3. Send the postcard to this address:

World Domination HQ
4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd #639
Portland, OR 97214
USA

That’s it. Once a week for the next six months, I’ll publish one of the postcards that comes in for everyone to see.

Sound good? Naturally, this is optional… but I’ll look forward to reading your notes, and sharing many of them with the world.

P.S. A note from my Very Conformist Lawyer: By sending us a postcard, you agree that we can use it to make you famous, or anything else we think of. Also, your postcard is probably worth a million dollars, but we won’t be paying you for it.

P.P.S. In case you missed the free PDF that started all of this, here it is.

###

Image: Tsilli

While surveying villages outside of the capital Monrovia, we found this site where villagers obtained their drinking water.

As a traveler, I drink the tap water almost everywhere I go — but you can be sure I brought my own $3 bottle of water with me that day. No one builds up an immunity to a water source like that.

The previous year, while working in Sierra Leone, we had taken up a collection for another charity further upcountry in Liberia. After seeing the first water source, we made our way to the second site in a long, bumpy ride in a Land Rover. A crowd gathered to greet us, and this was the image we found at that scene:

At this site we heard a number of interesting things from the villagers, the most interesting of which was that no child had died since the well had been installed. I thought that was a pretty good return-on-investment: pay for a well, work with a local organization to ensure a strong educational campaign accompanies the arrival of the well, and children stop dying.

Stories like these are the best way I know to illustrate two things:

1) The global water crisis is staggering. I won’t bore you with statistics, except to note that almost one billion people in the developing world are more likely to drink from a water source like the first image than the second.

I don’t know about you, but these days I’m more concerned with the quality of my cappuccino than my drinking water. Despite the fact that the world is unfair in many ways, I find it unacceptable that so many people have to worry about where their daily water comes from.

2) Enabling people with the ability to make their own choices is the best form of development. If you can’t make the simple choice to not get sick all the time or keep your children alive, your options are very limited. There isn’t much “lifestyle design” in places like this.

Having been through graduate school in the social sciences, I’m well aware of the moral relativist argument that we should mind our own business and leave these things alone. But fortunately, my two years at the university were preceded by four years in places like Liberia and Sierra Leone. I’ve seen too many water sources like that of the first image, and no one wants their children to die before the age of five due to a completely preventable illness.

Next week, we’ll kick off the new AONC Charity Project. It’s actually not completely new; I’ve been donating a big chunk of revenue towards it for a while, and I’m working with my publisher to integrate the project with the book that comes out this fall.

I haven’t said much about it before and don’t want to make a public issue about my own giving, but I also realize we can do a lot more as a group than any of us could on our own. Therefore, stay tuned for a different kind of launch, which will be accompanied by an ambitious goal (of course).

The thing about before and after — it’s hard to go back to before when you’ve experienced the after. This is true in life, clean drinking water, and transformation of all kinds.

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Greetings, friends and readers. Today I have a personal interview with one of our group who reads AONC from the Sudan.

Christine (not her real name) is from the U.S. and works in the international development field for a charity that operates throughout Sudan. She has spent more than a year in the country thus far, and recently signed on for another commitment of indefinite length.

Because she is engaged in sensitive work and serves in Sudan at the permission of the government, we mutually decided to post this as an anonymous interview. All answers are her own.

Let’s get started.

• I know it’s probably hard to summarize what’s happening in the Sudan, but can you try?

This is a difficult question to answer. For years the media has simplistically portrayed two conflicts in Sudan: the Darfur conflict pitting government support “Arab” tribes against “African” tribes and the civil war between the Muslim North and the Christian South. I’ll start with Darfur. First, the “Arab” and “African” labels are somewhat arbitrary. The various tribes have been living together and intermarrying for centuries.

Second, the level of violence is nowhere near what it was a few years ago during what some have labeled the “genocide.” New arrivals to Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps are fleeing low-intensity conflicts. For the most part, these are no longer just janjaweed/rebel conflicts. Often, they may be arab/arab, rebel/rebel, nomad/pastoralist, etc. While people are no longer dying in massive numbers, over 200,000 people are still displaced due to insecurity.

In March of 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Bashir for crimes against humanity, the first time the ICC has done this to a sitting president. The next day, twelve of the largest aid agencies were expelled from the country. Three of the most effective national NGOs were dissolved and all assets were seized by the government. Since then, the level of harassment of international aid workers has reached unprecedented levels. At least seven workers have been kidnapped in the Darfur region, causing the remaining international agencies to pull out of certain areas. In some cases, the government has taken over certain programs, although how long they can sustain this remains to be seen.

I think it is important to note that the government is not a monolithic entity. There are some very good people in the Sudanese government, particularly the line ministries such as the Ministry of Health, doing the best that they can to provide services to the Sudanese people.

The second conflict is the North/South. In 2005, the leaders of the North and South signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), ending a conflict that had lasted more than 20 years. According to the terms of the peace agreement, a presidential election would be held in 2009 and a referendum in 2011 on whether or not the South would become an independent country. The election has yet to be held due to disagreement over the census. Conflict has arisen in the border areas since the signing, mostly in the oil-bearing regions such as Abyei. These areas have special status and will also have the right to vote whether they want to join the north or the south if the country splits. Of course, where there is oil, there is almost always conflict. In addition, the South has seen significant inter-tribal violence in the past year, with entire villages massacred.

• What are the root causes of the conflicts?

Underdevelopment, politics, race, climate change—ask 10 people, you will get 10 different answers. I’ve given a very simplistic overview above. To learn more about the Sudan conflict, check out Alex de Waal’s blog Making Sense of Darfur. While Alex has a definite bias (full disclosure: a bias that I often share), he is very good about ensuring that those who disagree with him have a voice as well.

• What does a typical day look like for you?

I don’t think there is such a thing as a typical day. I divide my time between the capital and field sites. When I am in the capital, a typical day consists of writing reports and attending meetings with government officials, donor representatives, and various UN agencies. When I am in the field, I visit project sites (schools, clinics, water sources, etc.) and meet with beneficiaries to ensure that our programs are meeting their needs.

• What are your biggest challenges, personally or professionally?

Maintaining neutrality is critical when working in a humanitarian situation. We are in Sudan at the pleasure of the government. As a sovereign nation, they have every right to decide whether or not we are allowed to stay in the country. Since I believe that the life-saving services we provide are critical, I need to be extremely careful of what I say and do, which is extremely difficult and, at times, ethically challenging.

The other great challenge is working with UN agencies. While I know some very dedicated, intelligent people who work for the UN and some agencies that function better than others, the system works against them. I despair when I think of the billions of dollars that get wasted on outrageously high salaries and fancy compounds. What most people don’t know is that often UN agencies, such as UNICEF, don’t actually implement anything, particularly in insecure areas. Rather, they subcontract to NGOs (primarily national staff) who then provide services to beneficiaries, with the UN taking a significant portion of the funds in overhead. When money is funneled through UN agencies, rigid, inflexible rules make it difficult to implement projects. UNICEF now insists that any NGOs building schools or latrines with their funds must procure cement from the UN.

I know many projects that have stalled because UNICEF failed to deliver that cement and won’t allow the NGOs to procure it in the local market. It’s not just the wasted money that makes my blood boil. It’s the way they try to control all humanitarian activities with a dictatorial hand, without consulting beneficiaries or the NGOs who work with them.

I should reiterate that I can only speak to my experience with certain agencies in a certain context, although recent studies commissioned by a consortium of major NGOs indicated that this occurs in many countries.

• Do you think people in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Western world are aware of what’s happening in the Sudan?

I think they get a very skewed idea of what is going on. The loudest voices control the coverage and the debate. In the West, these voices come from advocacy groups like Save Darfur and the Enough project. While their intentions are good, they portray the conflict in Sudan in black and white terms—the evil government against the defenseless rebels.

I even saw a recent editorial by the founder of the Enough project blaming the recent inter-tribal conflicts in the South on the Northern government. The problem with this simplistic view is that it limits the options of western governments if you convince enough of the public that one side is evil and the other is the side of the angels.

• What motivates you or led to your choice to work in Sudan?

An Ethiopian refugee who had spent time in Sudan once said that if you put 100 of the world’s nicest people in a room, 99 of them would be Sudanese. I couldn’t agree more. The first time I went to Sudan, a few years ago, I was extremely nervous. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, anti-western sentiment was high in Muslim countries. I expected to experience this but everyone I met was warm and welcoming. I also find the country fascinating—the cultures, the geography, the politics.

• What worries you?

I worry about not being able to meet commitments to the people we provide services for because of security concerns. With multiple kidnappings of aid workers this year, I worry about colleagues in insecure areas. I worry about the peace holding (see the answer to the next question).

This isn’t a worry but I find that one of the most difficult things about this type of work is always having to say goodbye to people. Very few people want to live long-term in a country that is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. Most people stick around for a year or less.

• Are you more optimistic or pessimistic about the future of Sudan?

I’m extremely pessimistic in the short term. We’ll see how the country reacts to two major events over the next year or so. The presidential election is scheduled to occur this coming April. The voter registration period recently ended, but I know very few people who registered. Some just wanted to stay under the radar. I’ve heard others say that registration implies acceptance that the process will be legitimate, which many doubt. Not registering is a form of protest. Many Southerners could care less about the presidential election because they are simply biding time until the second event: the referendum in which they get to vote whether or not to secede from Sudan. Protests are already beginning about the legitimacy of that process.

Most Southerners support succession. But will the vote be legitimate? Even if it is, will both parties accept the result? Even if they do, does the South have the resources to survive as a state? What’s to stop the southern tribes from fighting each other – over 2,000 have died in tribal clashes this past year. I’ve had Southerners tell me that the only thing preventing them from fighting each other is their desire to hold it together until after the referendum.

That being said, I do have optimism for the long term primarily because of the sheer volume of talented, intelligent, engaged people in Sudan. To be clear, I am referring to the Sudanese and not the expats. I’m particularly impressed by the women in this country. Many of my role models are the smart, sassy, fiercely independent Sudanese women working in the Ministry of Health, teaching in universities, and running nonprofit organizations. I think that may surprise some people when they hear that northern Sudan is governed by Islamic law. Wearing a hijab does not make one subservient.

• What do you do for fun over there? Do you have such a thing?

I think that in order to stay sane, you have to have fun outlets. I read a lot. I think the Kindle is the greatest invention of the 21st century. I hated the idea of ebooks. But when you have very limited luggage allowances, especially on internal UN flights (which we use to get to field sites), a device that weighs 10.2 ounces, can hold up to 1,000 books, and can last for over a week without recharging, is heaven-sent.

Northern Sudan is under Islamic law, which means no alcohol and no nightlife. We spend a lot of time at coffee shops. A group of North American friends decided to introduce our Eastern hemisphere friends to potlucks, which we hold once or twice a month. The embassies occasionally host events.

I love NPR podcasts. Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me is the highlight of my week. If anyone knows a way to download (not stream) Morning Edition or All Things Considered, please let me know.

I also watch a lot of DVDs. It’s not unusual to work 10-12 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week. It’s nice to pop in a DVD and fall asleep 10 minutes later. Regardless of nationality, the most popular DVDs here seem to be West Wing and The Wire.

• Can you tell us a good story about your work?

When people think of aid work, I think the most common images are of people constructing schools or latrines, drilling wells, distributing food, or delivering health care. But just because you build a latrine does not mean that someone will use it. The most difficult part of aid work is getting the community to believe in what you are doing and to take ownership of the projects. I worked for an organization that was building latrines as part of a larger project—but no one used latrines in the community. As a result, the water was contaminated and people were getting sick. During community meetings to introduce the project, community members told our staff that it was taboo to go to the bathroom in “house”. If you do, you will be considered a wizard and your daughters will never marry.

You may find that amusing but these people truly believe that, which is why our community mobilizers are key to our program success.

• What is the one thing you’d want AONC readers to understand about your work, or aid work in general?

People want jobs, not handouts. While there are certain situations when a handout is the only choice (conflicts, natural disasters), I believe that global poverty needs to be addressed in a broader economic context. For example, as long as developed countries continue to subsidize agriculture (typically large agriculture corporations, not the small family farm), African farmers will never be able to earn enough to support their families and will continue to rely on handouts.

• What can we do to help?

I know the easy answer to this question is to give money to charity x. However, I believe that the best thing one can do is to take time to educate oneself. To understand the complexities of the underlying causes of conflicts or poverty and to demand the same of your government representatives.

For aid in general, here are three books that with very different perspectives on aid: The End of Poverty by Jeffery Sachs, The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier, and Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo.

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Wrap-Up

I really appreciate our friend taking the time to write such detailed responses. If you have a follow-up question for her, feel free to post it in the comments and she’ll respond as internet access allows.

(Remember that this is an anonymous interview and she can’t comment on anything political.)

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