Greetings, fellow Portlanders and fellow Powell's fans from around the internets. I've made it over from
my usual home to write on unconventional ideas for Powell's.com all week. My thanks to the team here for having me, and thanks to you for reading.
Tomorrow we'll look at how to skip graduate school and save $40,000. Wednesday will be about travel hacking — a system of mistake fares, Frequent Flyer miles, and geographic arbitrage to go anywhere in the world on a budget. Thursday will be on how to find a job in Portland (hint: it doesn't involve Craigslist or mass resume mailing), and Friday we'll do something... much different.
But let's start with the basics. My new book, The Art of Non-Conformity, begins as follows:
When you were a kid and wanted to do something your parents or teachers didn't like, you may have heard the question, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?" The idea is that it's not good to do something stupid, even if everyone else is doing it. The logic is think for yourself instead of following the crowd. It's not bad advice, even if it's sometimes used to exert control more than to support independent thinking. But one day, you grow up and suddenly the tables are turned. People start expecting you to behave very much like they do. If you disagree and don't conform to their expectations, some of them get confused or irritated. It's almost as if they are asking: "Hey, everyone else is jumping off the bridge. Why aren't you?"
Living a remarkable life involves embracing unconventional ideas and the pursuit of adventure. But before we can do either of those things, it's good to step back from the bridge and take a careful look around. Asking why isn't always popular, and it's much easier to go with the flow. But where's the fun in being like everyone else?
See you tomorrow!