Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
    The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
    The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
    Audiobook5 hours

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

    Written by Chris Guillebeau

    Narrated by Dan John Miller

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    If you've ever thought, "There must be more to life than this," The Art of Non-Conformity is for you.

    Based on Chris Guillebeau's popular online manifesto "A Brief Guide to World Domination," The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. You'll discover how to live on your own terms by exploring creative self-employment, radical goal-setting, contrarian travel, and embracing life as a constant adventure.

    Inspired and guided by Chris's own story and those of others who have pursued unconventional lives, you can devise your own plan for world domination-and make the world a better place at the same time.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 9, 2010
    ISBN9781400189991
    The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
    Author

    Chris Guillebeau

    Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and The Happiness of Pursuit, and the Wall Street Journal bestseller Born for This, among other books. He is the creator and host of the annual World Domination Summit, a gathering of cultural creatives that attracts such speakers as Susan Cain, Brené Brown and Gretchen Rubin. Guillebeau speaks at dozens of events, companies and universities, including Google, Facebook, SXSW, Evernote, LeWeb and more. He recently completed a personal goal of visiting every country in the world.

    Related authors

    Related to The Art of Non-Conformity

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Growth For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Master The Four-hour Work Day

      Jan 22, 2019

      Tim Ferriss wrote about the four-hour work week, which involves outsourcing your work. That’s not what we’re talking about. The four-hour work day involves super-concentrated periods of work, split into four hour-long blocks, to help you nail a workl

      1 min read

    • Article

      Can't Hurt Me

      Jul 1, 2019

      David Goggins | Lioncrest Publishing R413-R611 "Do you know who you really are and what you’re capable of? I’m sure you think so, but just because you believe something doesn’t make it true. Denial is the ultimate comfort zone." "Are you ready to go

      1 min read

    • Article

      Find Your Why

      Jan 5, 2022

      Find Your Why
      4 min read

    • Article

      Communicating With Empathy

      Nov 23, 2022

      Communicating With Empathy
      7 min read

    • Article

      Redesign YOUR LIFE

      Mar 5, 2020

      Redesign YOUR LIFE
      3 min read

    • Article

      My ‘Flexible’ Job Is Like Without Being An The Employee Perks ‘‘

      Jan 19, 2021

      Q I love my job and the immediate team I work with. I am a contractor, so the benefits to me are that I can fit my work around childcare, I plan my diary and choose when to go on holiday, and I do the work my way. The cons are no sick pay or holiday

      4 min read

    • Article

      Your Dilemmas…

      Jun 4, 2020

      Cathy Wassell is a business coach and owner of Socially Contented. She’s also an autism advocate and the founder of Teen Calm, a subscription box for anxious teens (teencalm.co.uk). Q All my friends hate my new boyfriend. We all hang out as couples a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Write Down Your Ideas!

      Nov 23, 2021

      Write Down Your Ideas!
      4 min read

    • Article

      Dating Drama

      Jun 1, 2020

      Dating Drama
      8 min read

    • Article

      Brain Trust

      Jul 11, 2019

      The best career advice I received was to overcommunicate, underpromise, and overdeliver. It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming people have the same level of skill and knowledge as you on a subject, but often this is not true. If you’ve been wor

      4 min read

    • Article

      Growing Your Shiny Spine

      Apr 13, 2022

      Growing Your Shiny Spine
      5 min read

    • Article

      Negativity Detox

      Dec 28, 2023

      Negativity Detox
      6 min read

    • Article

      It’s In The STARS

      Mar 21, 2021

      You want to make your opinion known and not just in your work or social circle. There is a situation that you feel needs to be addressed and you have to do something. Time to get involved in politics on some level or help a humanitarian organisation.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Here To Help

      Dec 6, 2023

      Q I live on my own and need to have surgery. I’m fiercely independent, and this operation will mean I need help to manage my day-to-day life to begin with, and will then require further assistance. The thought of asking people is preventing me from d

      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Dec 23, 2022

      MARY FENWICK is a writer, speaker and executive coach. She is also a mother, divorcee and widow. GOT A QUESTION FOR MARY? Email letters@psychologies.co.uk, with ‘Mary life’ in the subject line. FOR MORE about Mary’s work in leadership and team coac

      3 min read

    • Article

      Designing Your Legacy

      May 1, 2023

      EVENTS OCCUR UNEXPECTEDLY to all of us at random points throughout our lives. Some of them can spark sudden and drastic changes; others make themselves felt slowly and over time. What about you? Are you hearing the slow, dull murmur of dissatisfactio

      6 min read

    • Article

      When You’re The One Who Needs Help: Five Ideas

      May 14, 2018

      As the head of a philanthropic organization, the writer of this column has seen what can be helpful to those in need. Here are her insights.

      3 min read

    • Article

      School Of Life

      Nov 23, 2023

      School Of Life
      19 min read

    • Article

      Good Advice!

      Sep 1, 2022

      Good Advice!
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Art of Non-Conformity

    4.5/5

    43 ratings19 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      Yet another blogger writes a book about blogging.I read some brilliant reviews and actually thought this book might live up to its name. In truth once I began reading it I loved it. However, about 2 chapters in, after a very strong opening, it simply didn't go anywhere. Chris Guillebeau's definition of non-conformity is being self-employed. He wants to teach you how to live an exciting life of travel and make money by blogging (since he has no other skills as he pointed out in his TEDtalk). Neither blogging, nor traveling is for everybody. He talks about leaving a legacy (in his case insignificant blog posts) and building a "small army" of which to take advantage (he needs to pay the bills). His insights are extremely shallow. He advocates not going to college and blogging and reading books as an alternative. Last time I checked these things aren't incompatible. His reasoning for this is that he made a bad decision in choosing what to study and never had use for his degree. If you want to read a book that has something to say about education read John Holt. He never even came close to capturing the basic idea of being a non-conformist, which is basically thinking for yourself and looking into things from more than one perspective to come to a conclusion for yourself. You don't need to quite your job to be a non-conformist, there is no reason to do so if you enjoy it and find it beneficial. You should find meaning in any and all activities for yourself, not because somebody says a certain thing is worthwhile. Ultimately non-conformity is about living the way you want for your own reasons.Feel free to read the book for yourself but I wouldn't recommend it.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Not a bad book for its genre, and one that actually seems like it has some real meat to it - but as with most of these "jettison the trappings of your current life and do like me" tomes, it's really just a book about the author and how to be exactly like him. Which doesn't sound bad at all, its just that these books always seem to be written by people who don't have kids. So if you don't have kids and never want to or plan to, and you're looking to escape from the boredom of a cubicle job and a mortgage, I'd definitely say to check this out over most other books of its type, but there's way too much focus on the author's own goal of traveling to every country in the world than can really be helpful.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This book inspired me in a way my parents are going to hate.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I heard the author talk on the radio and was taken by his comment that so many people need a "permission slip" before taking a chance in life. Many people limit their own lives because they need this so-called "permission slip."

      The author writes a great many good ideas but this is the one that sticks.
    • 5/5
      A Game changer (or Paradigm shifter). This book asks hard questions and opens up the possibility of hard answers. The author strives to bring his agenda to light at the very beginning - stating that for this book to be of any value to you the following must be true (it is not sufficient for you to think they are true).1) You must be open to new ideas2) You must be dissatisfied with the status quo3) You must be willing to take personal responsibility4) You must be willing to work hardThis is the book I have been looking for for years, but maybe I was not ready for it before now. This book is not about how to get rich or have lots of money, but more on how you can help others and enjoy your life in the process.
    • 5/5
      Excellent read - everyone can benefit from this book!
    • 5/5
      This is a fantastic book from a very interesting person. The website is also excellent with a range of lovely downloads. It really helped to clarify a particular way of approaching life which I am drawing on a lot as `i get ready to retire.
    • 5/5
      Opens up your eyes and gives you a great way to look at life in a more positive way. As well on living your life on your own terms.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this because it reminded me of many ideas I've forgotten along the way. Some quotes I underlined:

      You can do good things for yourself and still make the world a better place for everyone else. In fact, the goal is to find as much convergence as possible between these values.

      ...without the energy I derive from being by myself, I know that I wouldn't be of much use to anyone else later on.

      Some people enjoy nothing more than putting down winners. I call them energy-sucking vampires--they don't contribute anything positive to the world, but they enjoy lashing out and attempting to suck the life away from other people.

      The whole section on understanding how you relax and recharge was particularly useful. I have a tendency to default to the plans of others instead of really considering what I enjoy doing and how I like to spend my downtime.
    • 2/5
      Hmmm. This book could have been fantastic. Sadly, it was closer to mediocre. There is a lot of good information in it, and I am taking the message to heart. But it was not presented well, and so I can’t really recommend it to others. The author does have a website, however, which might be better (I haven’t checked it out yet).

      The book takes quite a while to get going. The entire first chapter felt like filler. I think much of the information could have been shared in two or three pages, not 19.

      In that intro, the author attempt to protect his ideas from criticism by saying that he abides by four principles, and if you don’t, that’s fine, but then this book is not for you. Those principles are:
      1.You must be open to new ideas
      2.You must be dissatisfied with the status quo
      3.You must be willing to take personal responsibility
      4.You must be willing to work hard

      I am absolutely on board with 1, 2 and 4 as they are. And I’m on board with what I hope is the concept behind number 3. However. I find, based purely on my own experience, that “personal responsibility” is often the code privileged people use to blame other people for not doing what they do. I think the concept of taking control makes sense – I’m not a fatalist, and I don’t think people are just stuck wherever they are – but I’m also not so naïve as to think that a white dude living in the U.S.A. might have a bit of an easier time taking ‘personal responsibility’ than others.

      But let’s move past that. As I said in the beginning, there is a lot of good stuff in here, but the way it is presented isn’t the best. Also, the author fills the book with anecdotes to illustrate his points (good) and little relevant quotes (also usually good). However, you might recall if you read my review of “Start with Why,” I’m quite aware of the gender and race of the examples authors choose to use. In this book, there were by my count 88 quotes and anecdotes; 73 were men and 13 were women. And most were white. It’s hard to view someone as a harbinger of non-conformity when so much of what he finds inspirational comes from such a homogenous group.

      Is that entirely fair? Probably not. Especially because, as I’ve said a couple of times, there is a lot in here that is useful. It’s just not a good book.
    • 3/5
      This book is almost an autobiography, since the author seems to think alot of himself and thinks the reader cares to hear about him. If you can put up with this guy's egotism, there are some good ideas. He is really into travel and his travel tips could be useful. His low opinion of education is interesting and partially justified but is impractical for many jobs, which require or have no other practical means to obtain. I liked his ideas on writing but do not agree that everyone should pursue entrepreneurship. I weakly recommend the book.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the majority of this book. I really liked the concept of going a different route or at least seeing what the different route would look like. Got a little bored near the end when he went into the places he has scene and who to go about all the traveling but i understand why he put it into the book
    • 4/5
      i really, really enjoyed this book. while i would have appreciated more practical advice, this book was still a necessary kick in the pants to stop waiting for permission and to instead start living. this is a manifesto about living life on your own terms, particularly around the work that you do. good stuff.
    • 4/5
      This is punchy and inspirational. While the author relies on his on experience as an illustration of his basic manifesto that we should all lead remarkable lives, he remembers to return to his theme and does not make this a book simply about his own experience. This is far from being a memoir or a plea in favour of fallowing the author's particular path -- rather it is about the value in finding your path and concrete tips on how to walk that path once you've found it. It is both practical and concrete and also philosophical and ideological.
    • 5/5
      This is a fun book, fast to read and full of great ideas. Chris Guillebeau has packed together tips for travel, writing, and being true to yourself. I highly recommend it. September 7, 2010 he started his Unconventional Book tour, where he'll be visiting all 50 states and talking about the book for 7 minutes. The rest of the time he'll be talking about whatever the people who show up want to talk about. And there may be cupcakes! He describes the tour as "a book tour like no other – self-funded, collectively-organized, and most importantly of all – not boring. "
    • 5/5
      great read, glad that author has an online resource for listeners to view.

    • 5/5
      An Intriguing Outlook on a New Life Adventure

      Chris writes a wonderful book. No reason to post a long review here, BUY the book right now. There is literally no reason not to.

      The Art of Nonconformity is thought-provoking, fun, and it grips you like a fiction book. I just couldn't put it down.

      Loved it, and I expect you will too.
    • 5/5
      Highly motivated book which is full of experience and specific outlook on the world. Some parts are filled with travel or other advices that may be useful indeed. First half of book is awesome but this rate is slowly reduced to last chapters which are boring.
    • 5/5
      No tengo palabras, justo lo que necesitaba oír, en el. Momento perfecto.