GENERAL
A year after you leave college, no one will care what your GPA was.
Once you fully understand what you want, it’s not usually that difficult to get it.
At all stages of life, people will gladly offer you unsolicited lists of things you “must” do, be, or have. Most of the time you can nod your head, walk away, and ignore them.
You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.
Potential is good when you’re 15 years old. After that, you need to start doing something.
Simplifying your life is like running – not that complicated. You don’t need gadgets or monthly magazines to do either of these activities.
“Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” –Martin Luther King, Jr
Before people become widely accepted as heroes, they are usually hated by large segments of the general population. See Gandhi, Jesus, Martin Luther (the original), Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and many others.
WORK
Contrary to what you may have heard, it does not always “take money to make money.” You can start many businesses for less than $100.
You don’t need employees to have a business. In fact, it’s probably easier not to.
In many organizations, it’s not hard to stand out by being remarkable. Sadly, this is true in non-profit organizations just as much as in cubicle nation.
If you’re only working 10 productive hours a week but technically have to be on a job site for another 30 hours, why not spend 5-10 hours of the extra time doing something useful instead of just surfing the internet? Ideas: learn a language, write a novel, plan your retirement, whatever.
TRAVEL
If you save $2 a day for three years, you can go anywhere in the world. Most places will take much less than three years.
The list of really big mistakes that you can’t recover from is very short. You can walk into glass doors in Singapore, arrive in Pakistan without a visa, or even double-book yourself on two non-refundable flights from Asia. Most of the time, everything turns out fine.
On your next flight, why wait in discomfort with all the masses? Stand outside an airline lounge and politely ask a friendly-looking person on the way in if they’ll vouch for you. Almost all lounges let members bring one or two guests in for free.
There aren’t that many dangerous places in the world. True, Somalia would not make a good vacation spot. But the list of Somalias is short, and the list of amazing places is long.
ART
If you don’t enjoy spending long periods of time working by yourself with no external validation, a career in the arts is probably not a good choice.
Despite appearances to the contrary, it’s OK for artists to make money.
Jackson Pollack: is it really art? Your opinion is the only one that matters.
GETTING SERIOUS
Sometimes things that seem “too good to be true” actually turn out to be true. If you’re skeptical by nature, you might miss out on some of them.
You are not a bad person if you want to do something for yourself.
You don’t have to feel guilty for having more than other people do. The goal is to help them get more by creating wealth, not by taking it away from you.
These things are optional:
- Cars
- Credit Cards
- Houses
- Bank Accounts
- Phones
- Insurance
[Note: They can all be useful; just understand that they are also optional.]
Sometimes, the underdog can defeat the establishment. (Then, the underdog becomes the establishment, but that’s another story.)
Almost anyone can learn to do 100 push-ups in six weeks. True story: I completed my push-up challenge by doing the final exercises in the Ulaan Bataar airport in Mongolia this summer, waiting to fly back to Korea.
It’s not that hard to change when you really want to. Smokers who try to quit several times before succeeding often say that only on their last attempt did they really want to change.
There is almost always more than one way to accomplish something.
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That’s what I’ve got so far. Care to add anything below?
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Unconventional Park Scene by pasotraspaso
August 8, 2009
Nichole Moses
@Daniel: Absolutely. How else are we supposed to find our true selves if we don’t experiment, and then let go of what doesn’t work?
August 21, 2009
Selma
I love your perspective on things that seem “too good to be true”! Why doubt them? Savor them while they are true!
One of my own favorites: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that we aim too low and we reach it” — Michaelangelo
August 25, 2009
João
One bit of advice I’m trying to apply to my own life:
“Jump and the net will appear”
Great post and great blog.
October 6, 2009
Hazel Vargas
Great post, as usual, Chris. Some of them are familiar, but coming from you they sound fresh again. I need those reminders especially when I find myself putting up a wall of resistance when something seems impossible to achieve.
On marriage, I can say from experience that it’s the little things that cause friction and escalate into a war. I’ve been married and divorced twice [to the same person] — ok I hear the snickering already from the audience. My advice is don’t wait too long or make excuses or justifications for your spouse’s pecadillos. So I’m all for a marriage lease
— anywhere from short-term (3 months) to “long term” (7 years), renewable by mutual agreement. If it gets rocky the first 3 months, chances are it will stay the same forever. Believe me. If the “plumber” you hired couldn’t fix the leak, find another . . . no, not another plumber. Get a new lease.
October 12, 2009
Oleg Mokhov
Hey Chris,
Less is more. In life, work, and creativity.
Get desired results faster and easier by being effective, not just productive. Focus on the important, ignore the rest – you’ll do less and get more.
Focus on the 20% that will bring you 80% results. Use freed up resources on doing the same to your other things.
Life maximization is the most effective way to live. You maximize your limited time and energy on what’s important to you and ruthlessly cut out the rest. Fill your life to the brim with what makes you happy.
Thanks for your great unconventional ideas. Keep living an remarkable life,
Oleg
October 14, 2009
bette
Love your web site, Chris and I admire your courage and trutfullness. Keep on living a full life. The information about frequent air miles will be great. Thanks for what you do. B
October 18, 2009
Digital Nomads
Chris-
I particularly like you list of non-essentials, and the idea of only needing $2 a day to travel.
Thanks
October 23, 2009
Denise
I’m from the Caribbean and education is IMPORTANT! But I’ve come to realize that it’s pointless to develop a great mind and lose your soul in the process. To not really know who you are, what you’re about, what you stand for because for so very long, you’ve listened to other voices telling you what to do, what to think, who to be. You’re fortunate Chris that at this early age, you’ve figured out the real deal. “Be you.” That’s what each of us is here for, I believe. But we get so caught up in what “they” say is best for us (loudly or ever so silently.) I wish you well. I’ve been here longer than you, but I’m just starting the non-conformity journey. I call it the “be-thine-own-self journey.” Shakespeare was right. We’ll then serve the rest of humanity well. It’s the only way. Thanks for listening to your voice and stepping out in faith and doing this work online for us all to be a part of.
November 13, 2009
ida
You are not a bad person if you want to do something for yourself.
Just what I wanted to hear today. This was amazingly good advice
November 25, 2009
justagirl
You will re-invent yourself hundreds of times during the course of your life. Don’t be afraid of it.
December 7, 2009
Fiona Leonard
Great post.
One thing to add to the list of optional things in life. Going to a formal school is also optional. Check first before assuming you have to send your child to a building with the word school on the front.
Life offers a whole range of alternatives.
As someone who no longer has a house, car or credit card, I can endorse the rest of the list.
January 6, 2010
don
Awesome post. I have never had to tell anyone that I graduated from USC business school- but with a 2.5 GPA.
January 10, 2010
Marcus Sheridan
This was great Chris. I especially enjoyed your point about the GPA, which I believe is one of the greatest ‘false-symbols’ society has of one’s future success. In fact, much of school and college are a very poor reflection of what will end up with ‘the man’ and his/her happiness and awareness in the long run. Keep up your greatness.
January 20, 2010
Jeanie
Being a non conformist whilst bringing up children is a challenging thing to do. I copped heaps of criticism even from my husband, but I stayed true to what I believed and as a result I have 4 very independent children I don’t have to worry about. I will be sharing your site with my grandchildren. Thank you thank you. I love your web site and read every email from you.
February 7, 2010
Kiki
Every time I start thinking that maybe I should just go the safe’n'standard route instead of making my life my own, I reread the sage advice here. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the continued inspiration on my non-conformist journey.
February 9, 2010
charles
Technical degrees are like GPAs too, perhaps with a slightly longer useful life. The last time anyone asked me about my degrees was almost 20 years ago and I don’t know where mine are any more.
All the paper does is give you is something to wave around when you have no experience. Once you have a few years of experience none of that matters.
As a parent that homeschools I’m starting to seriously doubt the wisdom of going to university/college at all. You can learn more, faster, and cheaper by learning on your own and gaining real world experience. ie. extend the home schooling principles into university/college space.
February 10, 2010
Kate
Always been a non-conformist myself and got lots of stick for it over the years…keep going Chris with this great blog to encourage all of us to stick with what we know is the best way to live life….
March 8, 2010
Melanie Kissell
The short and sweet of it …
Thanks for being YOU, Chris, and keep on keepin’ on!
March 26, 2010
Jenn Brockman (alexshares)
Someone mentioned failure – there isn’t failure. We can choose to quit working on that goal, or realize that it won’t work out the way we would like, but we can choose to continue in a different way.
I’m new to your blog and am loving it so far.
March 29, 2010
Billy Bostick
Lead, do not follow (as a general rule) unless the leaders views mirror your own. Ultimately being happy requires us to follow our own instincts and in order to do that we are generally required to be self-employed. Chris’s comments about things that are optional but conventionally thought to be needed is key. Accepting the realease of these optional vices is very liberating. I still have some of these things but i have them because they are what i want – not because someone else thinks i need them.