Since Tim Ferriss coined the term, “lifestyle design” has become a phenomenon. A Google search for the term brings up nearly 83 million web pages. And the term has helped keep Ferriss’s book on the best seller list for over two years. The most important impact of the ideavirus has been to start the conversation […]
Does the Ideal Life Depend on Your City?
I’m Canadian, but I’m currently living in the south of France. And, for the last five months, I’ve been doing something I never would have considered back home. I’m not talking about drinking wine, eating baguettes or speaking French (although I’ve been doing plenty of those things). No, I’m talking about riding a bicycle. For […]
Stop Using Guilt as a Motivation Tactic
If you need guilt to motivate yourself, your productivity system is broken. “Are you procrastinating?” my roommate asks me. Three exams the next day and I wasn’t studying. “No, I laugh, procrastination means I intended to do some work. I never planned on working tonight, so technically it isn’t procrastination,” I respond. This was a […]
Loneliness and the Unconventional Life
Ben Casnocha recently wrote a great article entitled, “Unconventional Lives and the Challenge of Loneliness”, where he discusses a common drawback to breaking free of the crowd: loneliness. Chris Guillebeau has posted similar observations about a life of constant world-travel at The Art of Nonconformity. Is loneliness just the price you need to pay for […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.