happiest of memorial days to you.
i am spending it on le beau's screened in porch in the woods handling biz admin, planning the week, and prepping for creative play. one of today's to-dos is to determine and announce june's online book club book. considering may's book was a bit light and fluffy (pure decadence), i searched high and low for a book new-to-me and with a focus on making a difference.
after reading the reviews and perusing chris guillebeau's website, i've decided on the art of non-conformity: set your own rules, live the life you want and change the world. knowing you beloved blog readers, this subtitle sounded like something we could ALL get behind with sparkly bells on!
i'm purchasing my copy today and hope you, too, are excited about this read. here are a few fun features of chris' that i'm enjoying exploring:
follow chris on twitter
find him on facebook
LOVE the notion of non-conformity and am hopeful this book inspires us all to be the change
we want to see in the world. one tiny sassy-heeled step at a time.
bisous. x
15 comments:
This is a great choice, I read this last month and loved it. I will follow along some though so I can soak in what others are saying and revisit some of the many many dog eared pages I have in it!
Whoa, I'm afraid now! But fortunately I'm not light and fluffy - therefore so far, so good.
Thanks for choosing the book. :)
Yay! I bought the book during Jenn Lee's rbbp video summit -- and now I have an excuse to move it to the top of my reading list. Thanks for selecting!
I have it out from the library right now! I'm ready to start reading! (though I have a feeling I may end up needing to buy it).
I have had this in my "to read" pile for awhile. Last night I was wondering what to read next. Now I have my answer. I look forward to the read and the discussion!
I just ordered my copy! Super excited for this one!
Dang! In leading my own Life of Non-Conformity, I just packed up everything and quit my job. I just read this book last month and now it's in a box! But it is great and it's nice to hear encouragement from people that live non-conformist lifestyles and are successful. Maybe I'll have to get the kindle version when I get one of those next week :)
Sounds perfect. Love the "conduct your own annual review."
Got mine via Amazon today! I'm ready to go!!
wow, finished today and am IN LOVE with this book. i love many things about it - particularly the constant reminder to think outside the box and DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY!
i particularly enjoyed the chapter on leaving a legacy - such an important topic - and loved the morning and evening questions he suggested.
i like the reminder to create a lifestyle that is "location independent" so that you can operate it from anywhere in the world. clearly i haven't done that with the yoga studios or clothing line (since inventory is stored chez moi)but i can do this with my writing and would love to move more toward a life that is "location independent."
the reminder about our 168-hour week and the usage of time is always a good one - particularly his focus on deliverables vs hours worked!
his reminder about creating life experiences versus accumulating "stuff" is SO important. the freedom of living in a city where i can walk or talk public transport (or indulge in occasional taxis) feels so much better than my former car payments, maintenance, and insurance.
the mention of taking a sabbath day has really stuck. for years i've craved a true day off but find myself pulled in to email or to-do drama. today i did things differently. i woke up, checked email, rocked pet care, went to the gym, got a mani, planted impatiens in my patio garden, folded laundry, dyed organic tees, and did some rearranging versus tackling biz to-dos. it felt good and i'd like to make a habit of doing this at least 1/2 a day each week! my soul + home will thank me.
i enjoyed the piece about creating versus responding. it's been a recent focus of mine - a deep desire to create, create, create - and i loved seeing the importance of it highlighted in this book.
absolutely delighted to have stumbled upon this book when searching for the perfect fit for this month's online book club choice. i hope you, too, have been inspired! x
The title alone sold me on this book.
It was a quick and interesting read, and I especially loved the graduate school alternatives (like studying a map for free as opposed to taking 5 geography classes).
I wanted to reevaluate my year's goals--this book inspired me enough to do it as soon as I finished reading.
I just found A Brief Guide to World Domination and cannot wait to read it too :D
At first, I wasn't sure what to think when I looked at the book; however, I tried it and am very glad that I did.
One of the things that really struck me was the thread of compassion that stitched the work together; Guillebeau does use a lot of martial imagery like "taking over the world" and "small army" but what really struck me was the emphasis on leaving a legacy, as well as the recurrent discussions of charity. I like that he does not fall into the trap of some self-help works that involve, well, being so self-focused that there is nothing else important and that Guillebau really emphasizes giving back.
I really liked the idea of a "small army" but did not like the particular phrase. I prefer to use one that I am familiar with which is "find your tribe". I've seen how this concept works with indie musicians like SJ Tucker (blend Tori Amos, Poe, fairy tales, Joni Mitchell and one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard-like that) and artists like Molly Crabapple who just got over 300% funding for her Kickstarter project and wrote about how to get funding on Kickstarter and make people want to chip in for the project, which dovetailed beautifully with this topic.The idea of giving back to your supporters/customers is very important and I think it's great to include that.
The overview of higher education really struck me as well;it is good to see someone offering an idea for alternatives to get you to what you want to do (and also not leaving it out if it is your choice.)Likewise, it also emphasizes lifelong learning, which is something that I feel gets shut out of too many people's lives.
Guillebau's emphasis on personal choice was also very important; other advice books make it seem like you can't deviate from the rules they set or there's going to be failure. I felt his ideas could be productive and compatible for a great number of people, no matter what status.
I've been suffering from chronic illness and have been feeling very low; this book helped me a lot. I may not be able to do huge things, but I can use some of these tips to make my own life more happy and productive.
I loved the power of goal-setting. It really is mighty and it gives someone a lot more agency. I know it has worked that way in my life. Choosing=power.
My only quibbles are minor ones; I would very much have liked to have seen how to get from say, a rotten job to quitting and doing the nonconformist things you want. (I was fortunate enough to be able to quit my job but since it was due to illness, that was not quite what I had in mind.) I'd have liked to have seen more clarity on how to plan an escape route especially if one does not have the finances or support to just drop everything and go. I would also have liked to see some thoughts around gender or disability regarding things such as world travel and getting out of the 9-5, but I hope this is material that can be discussed later.
These issues, however, do not detract from the book.Overall, I think this is an excellent book and I plan to put a lot of it into practice.
It's an excellent choice and a great book.
I recently bought this book on ibooks (for iphone) and have been wanting to read it. Perfect opportunity to dive in!
I enjoyed Chris' addition to the RBBP Summit with Jennifer Lee and have read his ebooks from his website.
LOVE this book so far! I think I may start over again & actually make notes this time! ;)
It has a lot of concepts that my business mentor has been teaching me, as well as thousands of other women in the direct sales industry.
... add to that, this book makes me giggle. Hehe. And when you're looking at something and giggling at work, you get weird looks from co-workers. ;)
xx.
I'm nearly finished, and I'm enjoying this book quite a bit.
One thing that has stuck with me is his comment that most people overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can accomplish in a year.
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