On Writing, Ideas, and Making a Difference
This is an interview with Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity and his new book, The $100 Startup.
In this interview, Chris and I talk entrepreneurship, creativity, and what it takes to launch a successful business these days.
What’s the $100 Startup about, and why is it needed?
Not too long ago, I was traveling and came across a rude flight attendant. This woman was clearly tired and jaded about her job. She was curt with passengers, responding to drink requests with a quick reply: “Yes, I heard you the first time.” And more than once, I overheard her complaining to another attendant.
The experience left a mark on me. Nobody likes being around people who hate their jobs. We all need to learn to love what we do, or go work somewhere. I really don’t see an alternative.
I don’t like watching football (not even the Superbowl). Or baseball or basketball. Or really any organized sports at all.
For the longest time, I thought this made me weird. (Maybe it does.)
Most guys like sports, right? So how could I associate with my own gender if I couldn’t spend three hours on a Sunday watching the “big game”?
Honestly, it just felt like a waste of time. No matter how hard I tried, I always felt bored.
Jason Fried of posted a tweet recently saying how sad it is when business surveys set “satisfied” as their highest metric for success. What a “low bar” to set, he laments.
I’m inclined to agree. What an indictment this is. Against our malaise. Our work. And our lives.
We all want to leave a legacy. We all want our lives to matter. Yet, that’s not always our call.
I thought about this today, when I heard about the death of former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno. And I thought about the art we create, the lives we lead, and the stories people will tell about us.
It happens to the best of us.
At some point in this crazy, hectic holiday season, we lose track of what matters most: people.
We get caught up in gifts and decorations and the sheer exhaustion of family and travel.
So, how do we beat this?
It’s a discipline, one that doesn’t always come naturally, but it’s essential to making the most of the holidays or really any time of year.
I just wrote a new eBook, called Dirty Redemption: Stories of Unexpected Grace Found in Unlikely Places.
It’s a collection of 10, short stories from my life — mostly about my experience as a missionary overseas and in Nashville. It’s nearly ten thousand words full of some of my favorite tales of this beautiful mess we call redemption.
And you can get a free copy of it, if you’re willing to be generous.
For years, I never understood Christmas. I was a bit of a Scrooge. It just seemed like the whole thing was a farce.
Every made-for-TV movie I watched between Thanksgiving and New Year’s preached the same gospel: “It’s not about presents.”
But then, every Christmas morning, I was inundated with presents. It didn’t make sense. Someone was lying.
There is a deficiency of good decision-making in our world today — especially amongst creatives. And that needs to change.
We creatives (i.e. directors, authors, designers, and more) are especially bad at making decisions. Why is this?
Because we dwell in the realm of possibility. Of ideas. Sometimes, it’s hard to choose just one. But that is precisely what we must do.
Most organizations have forgotten the art of storytelling, which is why their messages aren’t being remembered.
For a while, there was a resurgence of the importance of sharing stories, but then like most fads, it began to fade away.
The trend has once again become facts, statistics, and the incessant boasting of what country is suffering from the greatest injustice. This must change.
