The art of non-conformity, by Chris Guillebeau

 

In the vein of the more well-known Timothy Ferris and his The four-hour work week, author Chris Guillebeau encourages readers to think differently about their work and personal lives. Guillebeau dropped out of high school and then completed college in record time. He volunteered in West Africa for four years and then continued on to graduate school. Since then he has worked as an entrepreneur with many projects in the works at once, including blogging, writing books, public speaking, and online sales. He travels widely (he has a goal of traveling to every country in the world), and shares strategies and tips for traveling cheaply. He provides an outline for a one-year substitute for graduate school that includes reading the Economist thoroughly; learning the names of every country, capital, and president/prime minister; traveling widely; reading the basic texts of every major religion; subscribing to a language-learning podcast; learning three new skills; reading 30 nonfiction and 20 classic books; joining Toastmasters; starting a blog; reading Wikipedia's daily random page; and listening to Grammar Girl podcasts. While this seems like a fun and ambitious project, it can't really substitute for the many graduate programs that teach people specific skills and knowledge for particular careers. While I applaud Guillebeau's success, most people will only be able to apply some of his advice to their own lives. Some might be inspired by his advice on traveling; others might be spurred on to quit their jobs or take on a side job that's more interesting and which will help them transition to a more free existence. Either way, this is a fun book to read; there's something here for everyone.