The Art of Non-Conformity – Book Notes

 

The Art of Non-Conformity
Set Your Own Rules – Live the Life You Want and Change the World

by Chris Guillebeau

This is a great book and it can be read over a weekend. This book will definitely inspire many people to create their own path in life.

Many of us fall into doing things because we think it’s what we should be doing instead of doing things that inspire us.

For example, we go to college after high school because that’s what we think we’re supposed to do. Then we either go on to graduate school or get a job and work for someone else. We continue to work all our lives, taking our 2-week vacation (maybe) and going through life just like everyone else.

This book wants us to rethink all of that. The author wants us to know that we don’t have to live by the status quo. We can make our own rules and live a life that we truly want, a life that we are excited about and a life in which we can make a difference in the world.

Will it be easy? Probably not. Will people think you are crazy? Possibly. Will you be living life on your terms, doing what you want and making a difference? Most definitely!

Below is a brief summary and breakdown of each of the sections of the book.

Part I
The Remarkable life

Even though Chris Guillebeau is an educated man (having gone to graduate school), he is not necessarily an advocate for that route. He worries that too many people go on to university because it is what they are expected to do. He equates this with sleepwalking through life – doing what is expected or doing what everyone else does because we follow the herd, never stepping out of bounds.

Too many of us do things in life because it’s the way they have always been done. This goes against everything that the author believes in.

Note: If you are a parent and you want your kid to go to college, you may want to keep this book off their book shelf!

Guillebeau starts out by stating that the objective of his book is to change how we think about life and work. His book may not be for everyone – if you are not open or interested in exploring new ideas then it might not be for you.

Read this book if are:
1) unhappy with the status quo
2) willing to work hard
3) willing to take responsibility for your life

If this resonates with you, then jump in! If you often think ‘there must be more to life’, then this is a good book for you!

What do you want out of life?

First, we have to start by figuring out what we really want out of life. Most of us don’t take the time to think about this, which is truly a shame. We need to know what you want and why we want it.

How do you want to make your life remarkable? Figuring this out is no easy task. One thing that might help could be to think about what an ideal day might look like for you. Not an ideal day at the beach – this is just a vacation, but your ideal day where you lose yourself in your work and do things that matter to you.

It helps to pay attention to the things that we do that put us in flow or ‘in the zone’. This is when we lose track of time because we’re so involved and into what it is we’re doing.

Once we have a clear idea of what we want out of life, it is then time to align our actions with the life we want. We need to set out a plan to get to where we want to go.

Planning is an important part of this process so you can see where you are going and how far you have come. Many people make the mistake of thinking that it will take them much longer than it actually does to reach their goals. Don’t let your goals slip away because you think it will take too long to attain them.

Note: On your path, there will be people who will try to hold you back and tell you ‘no, you can’t do it that way’. Guillebeau calls these people ‘Gatekeepers’. Gatekeepers are the people who do things a certain way because that is how they have always been done. They will always tell you something is not possible, they will always try to limit you. Don’t let the Gatekeeper stand in the way of your dreams. Unless it is illegal or going to harm someone, there is probably a way to make it happen.

What about Fear?

One huge barrier that Guillebeau recognizes and addresses is fear. The good news is that fear is normal, but we must learn to conquer it.

He says that we can generally break our fears down into 3 categories:
1) fear of failure
2) fear of success
3) fear of change

We should take the time to actually think about what we are afraid of and make a list. Once we do that, we know what we are dealing with and we can look at them one by one instead of a huge pile of fears.

It’s so important to really think about what you fear. Is it change, failure, success? Write out your fears. This will make them more tangible and easier to deal with.

Mindset change….. We have to work on adjusting our mindset. We must learn to 1) accept that change is going to happen and 2) understand that we don’t want to live a life filled with regrets. This will help us make decisions and deal with fear.

Another popular strategy for dealing with fear is thinking of what the worse case scenario could be. If we think about the bad things that could happen, we generally see that they are either not that bad or that we can deal with them. This is one way in which we can get a step ahead of fear.

A few more words on fear (or doubting yourself): Many of us will not do certain things because we think that we don’t have ‘the right stuff’. Guillebeau mentions a few things that you need to have to succeed in your endeavors and some of the things that you do not need.

You do NOT need to have:
– Experience
– Years of preparation (he says life is plenty of preparation)
– Paperwork (degrees, referrals, etc.)
– A mentor

Don’t let your mind tell you that you can’t be successful without these. This is fear talking and is only there to hold you back. While these things are certainly helpful to have, they are not necessities.

What about the things that you do need?

What you need is:
– Passion
– Vision
– Commitment

Some people say they want a lot out of life, but do nothing to get it while other people take calculated and strategic steps every day toward getting what they want out of life. You need to decide which one you want to be.

Part II
Reclaiming Work

Most of us think that getting a stable job is the responsible thing to do, but Guillebeau argues that taking charge of your own career instead of relying on someone else to take care of you is the less risky option.

So many of us think we are safe when working for an employer. If something happens in the industry you work in or the economy suffers, your employer will have no problem letting you go. Thinking you have security is really an illusion.

The idea here is that ‘your own competence is your best security’. You can find your own work and do your own thing, but it will require you to take responsibility and action.

You are responsible for your own competencies. Guillebeau is an advocate for the entrepreneurial life style, but admits that it’s not for everyone.

If you do work for someone else, yet you want to live life a little more on your own terms, it is possible to think outside of the box to find opportunities for yourself.

Just because no one else has done it before does not mean it can’t be done. Instead of thinking about trading your time for money, think about the value you bring to your job. Many employers nowadays are becoming more lenient and understand that people want more flexibility in their life.

The bottom line is to always continue to develop yourself and your competencies. Slow and steady changes in our life can make for huge improvements.

Guillebeau tells us a bit about his experiences. He was a high school drop out, yet ended up going to college and graduate school (somehow without a high school diploma or GED!). Yet he doesn’t necessarily think going to college is the right choice. He says that the only thing he really learned at college was that everyone has a motive or agenda. Learn this from life and you don’t need to go to college; save your money and do something more productive with your time.

While in college Guillebeau started a blog and found that he could reach more people with less effort, for less money (a lot less), and was able to do the things he loves.

The point he is making is that we don’t have to go the traditional route in life just because everyone else does (or because someone else wants you to). It all goes back to figuring out what you want out of life.

Too many people go to college or graduate school to avoid real life. They think they will learn valuable lessons in college – and they will, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn those lessons outside of college for a lot less money and a lot less time.

Of course if you want to be a professor at a university or a doctor, then a formal education is necessary. Most other things in life don’t require that type of formal education.

He offers some suggestions for educating yourself outside of the traditional classroom. He says doing the following in one year can be an alternative to graduate school:

• Subscribe to and read The Economist
• Memorize the names of every country and capital and know who the rulers of each are
• Travel to other world regions
• Read the texts from the major religions of the world (the New Testament, the Quran, the Torah, the teaching of the Buddha) and visit their places of worship
• Learn a language by subscribing to a language podcast and listening 5 times per week for 20 minutes for an entire year
• Loan money to an entrepreneur (possibly using a website like kiva.org that connects entrepreneurs and people interested in supporting them). Meet with that entrepreneur and learn about their experiences
• Acquire 3 new skills during the year. For example: photography, computer programming, rock climbing, speed reading, etc.
• Read at least 30 non-fiction books and 20 classic novels
• Join a gym/ health club and regularly workout
• Learn how to and be comfortable with public speaking and presenting
• Start a blog and post on a regular basis (the blog can be on anything you like)
• Set the homepage of your browser to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Randompage (read whatever comes up every time you open your browser)
• Learn how to write by listening to Grammar Girl (iTunes podcast) and read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamontt
• Read the book, The Know it All by AJ Jacobs

All in all, this ‘program of study’ should cost less than $10K for the year versus many times that for a formal education.

In reality, if you think about it, you might end up learning and retaining more following his program.

Guillebeau talks extensively throughout the book about the path that he has chosen (to work for himself and travel the world). He also talks extensively about his world travels. He has traveled to every country in the world (before the age of 35)!

This is his passion and what he is willing to spend his money on. Many people might hear his story and think,

‘It must be nice to get to travel the world whenever you want. Not everyone can do that’

Guillebeau disagrees and says it’s all a matter of what you want out of life. You may have to sacrifice some things in life, but only you can decide if it is worth it.

What about money? The simple fact is that we need money. But we have to ask ourselves – how much do we really need?

We can get a big corporate job and make over $100K, but there are sacrifices you will have to make. Is this what you want? Do you think that you will be happier with a lot more money?

Studies actually show that after a person makes about $40K per year, their happiness does not increase significantly if they make more money.

There may be times when you have to be frugal – you will need to think about what is important to you. Do you really need to spend a lot of money on a big house and a nice car or would you rather take time to travel the world? Or have different life experiences?

Do you want to fill your home with lots of things or would you prefer to not work as much and have time to explore the things in life that you love?

What is it that you value and what will make you happy? Generally speaking, material things do not bring us lasting happiness or provide value to our lives.

(Read what Epicurus says about happiness)

Part III
The Power of Convergence

We want to live our life in alignment. This means, having good relations with family and friends, being excited about our work, taking care of our body, and doing the things that we want to each day.

How many of us can say that all of these are a reality for us?

Guillebeau believes that it is important to eliminate unnecessary things from our lives if we want alignment.

What does it mean to eliminate the unnecessary?

We need to ask ourselves, ‘why should I do this and what will happen if I don’t?’.

If we truly think about the amount of time that is wasted at work with meetings, pointless and menial tasks, unnecessary paperwork, etc. it can become quiet eye opening and even depressing.

If you are working for yourself, really think about what is necessary. He suggests making a list of things that you do that you know drain your energy. Make this a part of a ‘To Stop Doing List’. Many of these things can be eliminated from our life without much interruption.

You should also apply this to other areas of your life. For example, don’t spend time with people who bring you down or are negative. This will give you more time to do the things that are important or spend time with people who lift you up.

You can also find more time if you stop watching TV. You may think this is preposterous, but try it for a month and see if you really are missing out on something. You may find that you enjoy the extra time you have to do other things that are more important.

You could also try giving up your phone. This may sound even more preposterous, but if people know they can’t reach you by phone, they will reach you in other ways if it is totally necessary. Many times phone calls are unnecessary.

Email might be another thing to give up. Keeping in mind that if you have a business it is wise to make yourself available in some capacity. Just don’t live in your in-box. Maybe set one time per day that you will check and respond to emails.

Your Legacy Starts Now

In a chapter titled, Your Legacy Starts Now, Guillebeau outlines how we can leave our mark on the world.

To do so, we need to answer 2 important questions:

What do you want to get out of life?
What can you offer to the world that no one else can?

Leaving your mark (or your legacy) requires a few thing:

• Vision: How will the world be different because of your project?
• Beneficiaries: Who will benefit from the project?
• Medium: How will you be doing the work?
• Output: What is it that will be produced?
• Metrics: How will you measure your success?

Here are Guillebeau’s personal answers to these questions:

• Vision: Empower people to live unconventional lives
• Beneficiaries: At lease 100K individuals who want to change the world and live different lives
• Medium: Writing, appearances, products
• Output: Writing blog posts, articles, books of at lease 300K words per year
• Metrics: Use analytics to measure website visits, email subscribers, etc.

What about you? What do you want from life? What can you offer that is unique? How do you see that happening?

Conclusion

There will no doubt, be critics to these ideas.

People will say:
‘We can’t just do whatever we want’
‘Some of us have responsibilities to take care of’
‘This kind of life doesn’t work in the real world’

Yet the critics are not the audience that Guillebeau is looking to reach. The critics are those who can just follow the status quo. The world, however needs non-conformists. These are individuals who are not satisfied with going through life like everyone else. They want more from life, they want to live life on their own terms and do the things that make them happy.

This kind of life is possible, you just have to make the choice.