Chris Guillebeau shares unconventional advice about working for yourself, so you can leave conventional work behind!
He’s a prolific writer about how to live and work without conforming to what everyone else around you might be doing.
I read his first book, The Art of Nonconformity a decade ago and he just released his 7th book, The Money Tree: Find your Fortune In Your Own Backyard.
His writing has had such an impact on my own journey and provided me with validation for the unconventional decisions I made about my work, but didn’t actually need!
Definitely check out his blog, his podcast, Side Hustle School and his new YouTube Channel.
Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:
- His process for writing his first fiction book.
- How he responds to uncertainty and what he doesn’t have control over.
- His core central belief about self-reliance.
- Promoting the “third way” of starting a business.
- Chase projects, not money.
- Unconventional advice about working for yourself.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Build community
- Self-awareness
- Self-directed learning
How Chris Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: 6:30 – 7:00 am
- Core work activities + habits: 1) Record/release a podcast every day. 2) Try to write 1,000 per day. 3) Planning things out.
- Ruled by: A combination of a to-do list, habits, and gut feelings, but always has a to-do list next to him
- Regains focus by: Taking a break or a nap and figuring out what’s making him distracted.
Inspirational Quotes
“Embrace situations for change and figure out what you can do that’s in your control.”
“What are the positive changes that are gonna come out of a situation that is inherently negative, inherently disruptive?”
“The chasing of money ultimately just leads to unhappiness.”
“Asking why, just all the time, can be very helpful in your life.”
Coaching Advice
Getting stuck when you write? Chris shared these thoughts about getting unstuck:
1) Focus on the order of your ideas, whether it’s more straightforward like non-fiction, or if there might be multiple approaches as in fiction writing.
2) When writing fiction, think about how different changes may affect different parts of the piece.
Resources + Bonus Materials
The Money Tree by Chris Guillebeau
The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
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Get Unstuck By Feeling Your Pain With Shawn Askinosie (240)