Women's Philanthropy--Women's Issues

Books Update - The New York Times, 01.28.11

 

Books Update - The New York Times.

 

Book Tour Gratitude, 63 Cities Later

me

show details Jan 27 (1 day ago)

January 27, 2011 Book Tour Gratitude, 63 Cities Later Thanks so much to everyone out there who was a part of the 63-city Unconventional Book Tour, which just wrapped up in beautiful Vancouver last weekend. We're working on a bigger project to document the whole experience for everyone, but for now I just wanted to express my gratefulness. While I've been touring, I've been learning a lot more about the publishing industry. People have asked me, over and over, "What's the verdict on the tour? Was it worth it?" Worth is a curious word. When some people talk about worth, they're obviously referring to money. Technically speaking, it wasn't "worth it" to go to every state and every province to meet readers. I paid more for the tour than I was paid to write the book. But if we look at worth in terms of value and adventure, it's a much easier conversation. Under that analysis, the verdict is that it was totally, 100% worth it. I would do it again tomorrow. Next time I want to do a 7-continent book tour. Most authors don't tour at all now, or if they do, there are all kinds of conditions -- "I'll go to your city if you agree to purchase 200 books in advance" is one common condition. Well, no one bought 200 books from me in Fargo or Little Rock or Newfoundland or any other number of small stops, but they were incredibly rewarding visits regardless. Speaking of the publishing industry, I hear a lot of fairly negative conversation about its current state. Perhaps I'm still naīve about the process, but if I'm naīve about four months of touring 63 cities, I'm not sure what would cause me to be less enthusiastic. You mean I get paid to write another book? I'd do it for free. (Don't tell my publishers.) Print books are dead? I signed thousands of this one on the tour, and translations in a dozen languages will be going out all over the world this year. Book readings are boring? At ours we had cupcakes, afterparties, liquor (thanks, Houston), short talks, and long conversations. Mostly, we had fun, amazing people who took the time to come out and make it a much better experience for all. So yes, it's been great and I'll gladly do it again. If you love something, you have to protect it. That's what I intend to do, wherever and however I can. Thanks again for being part of the journey, either physically or virtually. Tour photos (from many stops) are here. For everyone outside North America, I hope to head your direction as well at some point. Always choose adventure. It usually works out very well, and if it doesn't, well, at least you had the chance to go to Fargo. P.S. I was supposed to use today's update to tell you more about the new Travel Hacking Cartel. I'll now do that in a special update on Sunday, but if you're interested, you can learn more about it here. Most of the billing issues we encountered on launch day are now resolved. We sold out of the first 1,000 memberships that morning, but we're still offering a recording of the bonus webinar for everyone who joins by February 1st. ### -->click here to view or share comments You can follow me on Twitter here You can join AONC on Facebook here Image: Vancouver! By Holly       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?                           The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

Book Review - Cinderella Ate My Daughter - By Peggy Orenstein - NYTimes.com

Book Review - Cinderella Ate My Daughter - By Peggy Orenstein - NYTimes.com.

Is Pink Necessary?

By ANNIE MURPHY PAUL

Published: January 21, 2011” So inevitable is this period in the maturation of girls today that it should qualify as an official developmental stage, worthy of an entry in Leach or Brazelton: first crawling, then walking, then the urgent desire to wear something pink and spark­ly. Whether we smile indulgently or roll our eyes at the drifts of tulle and chiffon that begin accumulating in our daughters’ rooms around age 4, participation in these royal rituals has come to seem necessary, even natural.

Evan Hurd/Sygma — Corbis

CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER

Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture

By Peggy Orenstein

244 pp. Harper/HarperCollins Publishers. $25.99.

Related

Excerpt: ‘Cinderella Ate My Daughter’ (harpercollins.com)

Yet the princess phase, at least in its current hyper-feminine and highly commercial form, is anything but natural, or so Peggy Orenstein argues in “Cinderella Ate My Daughter.” As she tells the story, in 2000 a Disney executive named Andy Mooney went to check out a “Disney on Ice” show and found himself “surrounded by little girls in princess costumes. Princess costumes that were — horrors! — homemade. How had such a massive branding opportunity been overlooked? The very next day he called together his team and they began working on what would become known in-house as ‘Princess.’ ” Mooney’s revelation yielded a bonanza for the company. There are now more than 26,000 Disney Princess items on the market; in 2009, Princess products generated sales of $4 billion.

Disney didn’t have the tiara market to itself for long. Orenstein takes us on a tour of the princess industrial complex, its practices as coolly calculating as its products are soft and fluffy. She describes a toy fair, held at the Javits

Books Update - The New York Times

Books Update - The New York Times.

Books Update - The New York Times, 01.14.11

Books Update - The New York Times.

 

Forward Motion

January 6, 2011 Forward Motion I had an early-early flight, so I booked a hotel near the airport and took the train out the night before. Problem was, I'm so used to going to the airport that I forgot to get off at the hotel stop and instead rode all the way to PDX. Then I stepped off the train and thought: Whoops. Wrong stop. It wasn't a big mistake -- I had only gone about fifteen minutes out of my way. But when I got back on the train to return, I realized I had a choice: take a stop that was further away from my hotel, and walk the half-mile in the cold, or wait on the train an extra ten minutes for the more logical stop. It was a no-brainer: I took the first stop and walked. Reaching the hotel, I was frozen solid, but victorious. I made this choice and felt victorious (though frozen) because of a lesson I've learned: always keep moving. When given a choice between forward motion and remaining in the same place -- choose forward motion. *** This protocol serves well in both travel and life. When traveling, I hate backtracking. I happily ride in African bush taxis for six hours at a time -- but only going one direction. If I have to turn around and go back the other way, I brace myself for an attitude correction. This is probably why I like Round-the-World trips -- once I leave home, the only way to get back is to keep moving in the same direction. In life, moving forward is not always the best choice, but that's not the point. The point is we don't always have complete information about the choices available to us. (If we did, there would be little indecision.) Because we don't have all the information, we need to make the best possible decision, and I think moving forward improves the odds. Oh, and if forward motion fails you sometimes? That's OK -- just find a different way forward, and don't make the same mistake. Keep a list of everything you want to do, and work on it every day. MOVE FORWARD. As Wayne Gretsky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." You might miss some shots when choosing forward motion over waiting it out. But if you don't take action, you'll never know. When in doubt... choose forward motion. ### -->click here to view or share comments You can follow me on Twitter here You can join AONC on Facebook here       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?                           The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

Case Studies Needed for AONC Book Sequel

January 2, 2011 Case Studies Needed for AONC Book Sequel As mentioned once in a while, I'm really glad I wrote the AONC book. It's been a great success and the tour has been incredibly fun -- I finished all 53 stops in the U.S. before Christmas, and I'm headed to every province in Canada starting next week. The foreign rights have been sold to almost a dozen markets so far, and I'm looking forward to having it more widely available around the world and in different languages. I enjoyed working with the team at Penguin for the first book, and I'll continue to support it for years to come. My next book will be published by the Crown team over at Random House, and they have also been a good group to work with so far. Since 99% of you probably don't care about how the publishing industry works (and you're probably smart for not caring), on to the important part: My second book will be on unconventional entrepreneurship -- specifically, how people with no special skills can start a small business doing something they love without going into debt. I always get in trouble for saying this, but I think it's absurd that students are spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on "business school" that doesn't teach them how to actually run a business. Most successful entrepreneurs I know have just gone out there and started something without waiting for permission. We bootstrapped, we learned on the job, we didn't make excuses, and we took responsibility for success or failure. There are many of us out there in the world, and many more who want to do the same thing. Last year I ran a small business forum several times with my friend Pam Slim. Then I launched the Empire Building Kit. In each of these projects, I heard from hundreds of "regular people" who started small businesses of their own, usually within a few short weeks or months of thinking about the idea, and almost always without breaking the bank. These stories inspired me. I'd like to meet more people with unconventional entrepreneur stories, and I'd like to profile many of them in the next book. I'm finally putting my wasted years in higher education to good use and setting up a broad, scientific study of small business owners who skipped the part about "go to business school for years and borrow lots of money to start your project." Because the publishing industry takes forever, the book will launch into the world in Spring 2012, assuming I can actually finish writing it before July 2011. Criteria for the Study Here's what I'm looking for, and here's the chance to be in a book that will make an even bigger impact than the first one. You run a business that produces at least $50,000 a year in net income You started your business on a low budget (the lower, the better) Your business significantly improves the lives of your customers or clients (broadly speaking) You are willing to talk about your business in specific terms, including financial details and mistakes you've made I'm especially looking for people who started a business after being fired, laid off, deciding to quit a conventional job, or some other major life change. The more unconventional or interesting the story, the better. *** Action: if you meet these criteria and would like to be considered for the book, head over here and fill out this form. No need to email me with details -- just fill out the form, and if I have questions, I'll get back to you at some point (it may be a while, since I'm gearing up for my Canada tour). -->The Big Submission Form Usual disclaimer: a small team and I will be selecting 50-100 case studies from a field of many more, so please don't be upset if yours isn't exactly the right fit. You'll also need to sign a release form before being included in the study. (Personally I hate those things, but that's a compromise I make when working with a major publisher.) And yes, you can forward this opportunity to people you know who might be a good fit for the study. I want to get a broad array of great stories to profile in the book. I know the recession has been hard for many of us, but I also think there are enough stories of hardship out there already; I want to highlight stories of people who have taken matters into their own hands and created a meaningful, profitable way of living. Oh, and if this doesn't apply to you now, well, check back in 15 months when the book is out. Happy weekend, everyone. And Happy 2011! I wish you the best year ever. ### You can follow me on Twitter here You can join AONC on Facebook here       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?                           The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

Books Update - The New York Times

Books Update - The New York Times.

2010 Annual Review: Looking Back

December 16, 2010 2010 Annual Review: Looking Back After a great time with a fun group in Seattle last night, I drove down through Washington and crossed over the Columbia river... hello, Oregon -- also known as state #50 on the 50-state book tour. States #1-49 are now complete, and tonight is the grand finale at Powell's in Portland. *** Since time is short and the year is long, I started thinking ahead on the Annual Review even though I don't leave for the actual trip until tomorrow. As explained in previous posts, the review focuses on looking ahead to the next year, but I first spend at least a day looking back on the year that's ending. I start with two simple questions: What went well in 2010? What did not go well in 2010? Answering these questions is an easy way to begin the process of being intentional about your choices in the forthcoming year. In case you're curious, here are some of my answers. What Went Well (A Long List!) Last year I identified 2010 as the year of scale and reach. In previous years I had the Year of Convergence, the Year of the Revolution, and the Year of the Cantaloupe (long story). In 2008 I started AONC and built it to a respectable level in the blogging community. 2009 was also a good year... I wrote the book and transitioned to working on AONC full-time. With 2010, I wanted to take what was working and make it better -- thus the theme of scale and reach. This theme held true from start to finish. In the first half of the year I focused on international travel and growing the side business to a more sustainable level. The launch of the Empire Building Kit, first on an epic train ride with my friend J.D., and then a month later with 40 affiliate partners, was a big stepping stone in this process. During the second half of the year, I focused on the book launch and related 53-city book tour to every U.S. state and a few bonus stops (to be followed by a Canada tour in January). Both of these projects have taken the community to a whole other level, and I'm thrilled that they have been received well. I've wanted to write a book for at least five years; to hold it in my hands and (even better) hear from people who have enjoyed reading it is extremely rewarding. The other interesting thing is seeing that when you take the time to build a strong platform, as I did in 2008 and 2009, the platform eventually becomes self-sustaining and one thing tends to feed into another. (I'll explain more about this in the Business Lessons post, coming next week.) I also met my goal of visiting at least 20 new countries before September. I try to make it to at least 20 new countries every year, but this year was especially challenging due to losing an entire quarter from September--December. (I'll have a whole post about travel lessons and where I've been this year after the Business Lessons one.) Other Good Things Our Ethiopia project has raised more than $70,000 so far, including a big donation of $24,000 that came from one blog post a couple of weeks ago. I hosted the $100 Business Forum with my good friend Pam Slim four times. Our Facebook community grew to more than 17,000 awesome people. Everywhere I went, I tried to meet with friends from Twitter and elsewhere. I gave talks at TedX Carnegie Mellon and several colleges. I feel like I'm improving in my speaking (it helps to give 53 talks in a row and 50 radio interviews in a month) and am looking forward to doing it more next year. I formed an action team for next year's World Domination Summit and opened registration. More than 375 people are now registered from 13 countries -- I expect we'll sell out of the remaining tickets in the next 30 days, nearly six months in advance of the event. Last but not least, as I was writing these notes, Jolie reminded me that I've become much more relaxed about big things than I used to be. I used to feel stressed and need several days to prepare for a major activity or event -- this year, I didn't have that luxury, and ironically I think it helped me to feel more comfortable in overcoming my fears. If you're nervous about speaking, it helps to give 53 talks in a row. Forced deadlines also help -- I had only one big day in April to launch the Empire Building Kit, and I know if I had more time, I would have taken it and it might never have happened. What Did Not Go Well Overall, the year was fantastic. I'm extremely grateful, and the notes above are just a small selection of highlights. I can trace "what did not go well" to a few things: health, more back-and-forth travel than usual, and a growing tension between conflicting interests. Because of the travel, and especially the 53-city tour, my diet and exercise definitely saw a significant decline. I used to run marathons; now I run six miles and consider that a major workout. Early in the year I had planned to attend a weekly yoga class; I stopped going after a few months. There were a number of evenings on book tour where I had only vodka and almonds for dinner, usually around midnight back in my hotel room (and then I often had to get up at 6am or earlier to shuttle to the airport -- I was definitely one tired non-conformist at a few stops on the tour). By comparison's sake, I'm still relatively healthy. I've been vegetarian for more than three years, I don't smoke, and if I fail to exercise for more than a couple of days, I start feeling anxious. But comparison is the key word -- if I compare myself now to myself a couple years ago, I know I was in better shape then. I spent a lot of time away from home in 2010, which was good for my adventures and career, but wasn't always easy for Jolie or even my own emotional well-being. I don't travel as much as some people think; I'm actually in Portland more often than I'm wandering around the world. But it's true that I was away more than usual this year, and I don't want to pretend that it is without consequence. Challenge for the Future I've also begun to experience some minor tension between conflicting interests that I'm not sure how to resolve. I sometimes say that I'm a "maximalist" who wants to do everything. My strategy in growing AONC has been "say yes to everything," and this strategy has served me well for the most part. But try as I have, I've learned that sleeping only 4-5 hours a night on a regular basis doesn't work well for me. Perhaps a story will help to illustrate this dilemma. Last week I was in Alaska and Hawaii for the tour stops, and I flew home to Portland for the weekend before heading out again. The next stop was in San Francisco, but before going there, I went to Milwaukee to give a talk at an author summit hosted by the great team at 800-CEO-Read. During my weekend at home before heading out, I heard about a concert I really wanted to attend. I thought the concert was happening while I was still home, but alas, when I checked further I discovered it was on the Monday I had to fly to Milwaukee. I felt sad to miss the concert, I knew I would likely be even more sleep-deprived than usual by the time I made it to San Fran, and a big part of me really wished I could skip the extra trip -- but I had already made the commitment, so of course I went. The interesting thing -- and therefore the challenge -- is that I really liked the group I met in Milwaukee. They were fun people, I learned a lot from them, and I felt like I was able to contribute something as well. That's why I know the answer to this dilemma isn't simply "take on fewer work commitments" -- because I greatly enjoy the work I do. I had a meaningful day at the author summit and was glad I had made the trip. I was still sad about missing the concert, but also happy to meet other authors and be a part of the event. In other words, I didn't want one or the other; I wanted both. This dilemma caused me to think more about this post I wrote earlier this year. Some people can answer the dilemma by saying "eliminate what's not important" -- but what if you've already done that? I went to San Fran and was sleep-deprived for a couple days, but I got to talk at Google and then had another fun event that night in the city. I don't regret the trip at all, but I wonder if next year I should try to go to a couple more concerts. At any rate, this isn't a settled issue, so I'll be thinking about it more as I plan my next year during the review. But first, to Powell's tonight for stop #53 of the 53-city U.S. tour. We made it, everyone! Every single state, and a few bonus stops along the way. Thanks so much for being a big part of this. Now, over to you... How was your 2010? Feel free to share a few highlights or lessons learned.  ### -->click here to view or share comments You can follow me on Twitter here You can join AONC on Facebook here       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?                           The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214 If you don't love these updates, click the link below and I'll vanish forever. http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?LCwcDCyctCzsLIwcDKzMtEa0HKzs7MycHA==

2010 Annual Review: The Beginning

	December 13, 2010 2010 Annual Review: The Beginning Every year since 2006, I've set aside an entire week in December to review the year that has almost passed and look ahead to the next one. I certainly don't think I've got everything figured out in my life, but I can honestly say that this practice has been the most helpful exercise in all that has happened since then. The Annual Review is usually a private practice, but I decided to share some of my thought process starting in AONC's first year (2008). You can read last year's series here, here, here, here, and here. I said last year that so much happened that I had to take two weeks. This year was even bigger, but I don't have the luxury of two weeks this time. My 53-stop U.S. book tour is ending in Portland, Oregon Thursday night, and literally the next morning I'm heading out with Jolie for a week away to work on the review. How It Works You can read the original process I wrote here. In short, I look back on the year and ask myself a series of questions, journaling the answers in a paper notebook. The questions start very simply: What went well in 2010? What did not go well in 2010? The main part of the planning session focuses on the year to come, but before looking forward I spend at least one of the days reflecting back on the year that is ending. I can usually identify a number of answers for each question -- successes and failures, times where I was happy or proud and other times where I knew I fell short. Next, I'll review all of the goals that I set the previous December, and write out the results. Did everything happen as I expected? Probably not, but it's interesting to compare results with expectations and see what overlaps and what diverges. In addition to personal lessons, I'll also write down a list of business lessons I learned during the year, and a roundup of all the countries and cities I traveled to. This leads to the next, longer stage of the planning process where I look ahead to the forthcoming year, carefully thinking about which projects I'd like to pursue and which actions I need to take to ensure their success. Coming Soon: The 2010 Review The series I'll publish here over the next few weeks will be written in real-time. I'll share some of my own answers for those who are curious, but I also encourage you to consider undertaking this exercise yourself in some form. You can either do it the same way I do (I'll share details as we go along) or modify it to suit your own needs. By the way, this is not meant to be a restrictive process in any way. Whether you are right-brained or left-brained (an admitted oversimplification), a creative or an analytical, a review like this can help you. It's your life, so why not be intentional about it? A good plan allows for plenty of spontaneity and room for change, but without a plan at all, it's difficult to work toward something significant over time. I want to live the most meaningful and fulfilling life possible, and as mentioned, this process has helped me more than anything else. I hope to see some of you on my final three tour stops -- details here -- and here on AONC, I'll look forward to hearing about the fun plans that many of you have for 2011 as well. Until then, here's wishing you well from Albuquerque, New Mexico.   ### -->click here to view or share comments You can follow me on Twitter here You can join AONC on Facebook here       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?
	The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214 If you don't love these updates, click the link below and I'll vanish forever.