Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The previous reviewers have done great job summarizing the contents, and I'd simply like to add that one of the key messages of this book is "Don't waste your precious time for doing something you don't love or enjoy". He values his time - "4,440 minutes to fill with things you like to do every week" (from Chapter 9: Radical Exclusion and the Quest for Abundance"). Naturally, he doesn't want to waste your time either, if this book is not for you. On page 7, he has a list of characteristics he wants his readers to have, which I recite here:

1.You Must Be Open to New Ideas
2.You Must Be Dissatisfied with Status Quo
3.You Must Be Willing to Take Personal Responsibility
4.You Must Be Willing to Work Hard

If you read these four points and think "I am not that person", then this book probably isn't for you. For the rest of us, it's a must read. I am a mother of two young children, have my own business and plan to relocate the entire family within a year so our kids can have the experience of growing up in a culture so different from the United States. I encounter lots of questions or sometimes objections when I tell others about my goal, such as "What about your husband's job?" "Why would you leave this (wonderful/comfortable) life here in the U.S.?" "Isn't it risky?" "Aren't you worried?" At times I do think that I might be "crazy" for wanting this, but reading his book gave me a renewed sense of commitment towards my goal. Lastly, it's an enjoyable read as his writing style is very personal, yet direct. He doesn't sugar-code the truth but he also backs up the truth with his own experience and examples. If you have read this review this far, I highly recommend you give it a try.

I have a hard time believing I read the same book as the rest of the reviewers.

The first problem I have with this book is that it's not three books. I suspect that if the book were split into three, the result would be much better. An autobiography of the author could be interesting. A book on how to travel well and on the cheap would be useful. A book on the art and virtue of non-conformity could be good. Instead, we get one book that fails at all three.

To me, the author came off as self-congratulatory if not condescending, and offered very little that is new or even interesting. The assumption is that if you're not living the way he is, you're doing something wrong. His chapter on building your "small army" could just have easily been titled "how to put people in categories so you can mooch off of them."

I'm a huge fan of bucking trends and approaching life with a non-conformist view. All assumptions should be challenged. All authority should be questioned. There are many paths to many different goals. However, that's not what this book is about, and there is very little here for someone that doesn't want to make money by taking advantage of a "small army".

The author advocates life-long learning (yay!) but thinks universities are pointless. (boo!) His main argument seems to be that since he was able to pass tests without learning anything, then the system is useless. Really? While it's true that the formal education system isn't for everyone, there are many thousands of people that have managed to take full advantage of the opportunities it presents. College isn't for everyone, and you have to try to use the system, not get around it, if you want to get anything out of it.

There are many paths through life, and many ways to embrace non-conformity. The dreaded cubicle life can be one of soul-sucking boredom, or you can make a lot of friends, litter the office with desktop nerf dart cannons, all while working towards a common goal. Many paths to the same goal.

The worst part is the that book starts off so promising. The first couple of chapters are a brilliantly motivational introduction. Too bad the book never gets around to delivering.

Chris Guillebeau rocked the online world with his manifesto, "A Brief Gude to World Domination." This book is both useful and thought-provoking, providing both personal anecdotes and helpful suggestions for anyone who's not satisfied living life in the way everyone says you need to.

The book is divided into three sections. Part 1, The Remarkable Life, delves into setting one's own terms for living. This includes fear management and finding ways to "fight authority" without falling into the traps of ineffective sign-holding or getting beat up and arrested for smashing windows and burning down buildings. Part 2, Reclaiming Work, gives various strategies for making one's way without being permanently stuck in a cubicle doing mind-numbing work that is useless and meaningless. Part 3, The Power of Convergence, discusses finding one's legacy work and letting go of things which no longer serve you, be they excessive e-mails, clutter in your home or tasks you don't want or need to be doing.

Unlike other books of its kind, the Art of Non-Conformity features both description and prescription, offering useful suggestions and examples to help pave the way without being preachy. It is refreshingly idealistic without smacking of fantasy. It has an international perspective, and draws on inspiration of many people doing some great work around the world.

As a former wage slave turned freelance writer, the Art of Non-Conformity gave me many things to ponder, and I've been reflecting on changes I need to make both in my daily activities and long-term vision. I was also left with a list of useful resources and interesting people to look up. An added bonus is some great information on what Guillebeau terms "travel hacking," which gave me some great ideas for an upcoming trip of mine.

I really did. Based upon the other reviews and the synopsis, it seemed right up my alley.

But it's been done before, and done better. This book was long on "You can do it" with equal parts of "Look at all the great stuff I've done" but way too short on specifics to be useful to anyone.

The 1 star is for the positive attitude and spirit. But that's not enough to make the book worth it. Even reading the blog this book is based on contains more useful information.

And what is with the Kindle version costing 10 bucks but the book version costing like $7? Stupid - I know that's not the author's fault but unfair pricing is a legitimate reason to negatively review a product.

I feel bad giving a book a one-star review - I never thought I would do such a thing. If I dislike a book I usually just don't review it and put it out of my mind. But in this case I feel it is my civic duty to warn people what they're getting when they buy it. My suggestion: Save your money or buy "4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferris.

Chris Guillebeau is certainly very good at marketing himself and creating the impression that his thoughts are "revolutionary". I haven't found anything in this book that was new to me. Most of Guillebeau's conclusions are obvious to anybody who spends a bit of time thinking about their life and their work - and almost every idea has been dealt with in a more creative way in other books that have been published long ago. It may be that this book is more revolutionary for people living/working in the US than for people living in Europe. I work for an organization where almost everybody works part time, and where it is absolutely no problem to take a few months off to go a a trip. So in my view it's ridiculous to describe someone as a kind of hero just because he quit his job to cycle across the US.

This book doesn't really get you thinking. Instead, Guillebeau establishes himself as a kind of role model, which may be helpful for people who want to copy him - but not for people who want to find their own way.

If you want a much more creative approach, have a look at John Williams' "Screw Work Let's Play". This book may be little known, but it is really good!

This book isn't about any radical sort of nonconformity in terms of metaphysical worldview, political orientation, or lifestyle. Instead, it's more about being self-employed, growing personally, appreciating the world's diversity, spending time in a fulfilling way, and making a social contribution. In other words, fairly standard stuff, although particularly applicable to people getting ready to make significant changes in their lives.

Doing all of these things surely requires personal qualities, but it also requires favorable circumstances such as good health, freedom from having to care for others who are highly dependent on you, ability to handle the physical rigors of travel, and having the opportunities associated with being based in a relatively affluent and secure country. On the one hand, I'm tempted to be critical of this book because the author has these favorable circumstances (in his early thirties, healthy, married but no kids, etc.), and I sometimes got the sense that, due to not having many adult years under his belt, he doesn't fully appreciate the extent to which others are held back by lacking one or more of these elements. On the other hand, I found that he's still able to offer a lot of useful insights and advice, some of which were new to me. The following is my summary of the key points I found most noteworthy:

(1) The central message of the book, which warrants repetition, is: "You don't have to live your life the way other people expect you to."

(2) Life planning is about designing the perfect day, as well as looking at the longer term. In other words, find a balance between structuring your time and allowing for spontaneity, and remember that both the journey and goals are comparably important. Related to this, "... we tend to overestimate what we can complete in a single day, and underestimate what we can complete over longer periods of time."

(3) To make life changes, you have to be open to new ideas, dissatisfied with the status quo, willing to question authority, willing to be unorthodox, able to ignore naysayers and gatekeepers, willing to take responsibility, willing to work hard for a long time (~10,000 hours), generally courageous, and accepting of unexpected consequences. And of course, if you want to escape your current situation, you need to first know where you want to escape to.

(4) Since we tend to regret more what we didn't do rather than did, when on the fence, it's better to do things rather than not. In other words, if you have a bad feeling about something, say no; if you're excited but slightly intimidated, say yes.

(5) We're often held back more by fears and insecurities rather than circumstances. Fear of change is one of the most common fears. Ways to transcend fear include having a bias towards action and mentally envisioning and coming to terms with the worst-case scenario. Moreover, remember that surviving major crises tends to make you stronger.

(6) Saving and investing for the future is fine, but shouldn't be used as an excuse for excessively deferring what you want to do now. Spend money on things you value, including experiences, and avoid other low-value spending. To increase savings, emphasize increasing income rather than cutting expenses. And even if you choose to work toward financial independence (savings equal to about 25 times annual expenses), don't plan to retire.

(7) The best security is your own competence, and self-directed learning is sometimes the most efficient path to expertise. Success often follows a pattern of exponential growth, but you have to get the process going by getting the initial elements in order. Related to this, measure the value of your work in output, not hours spent.

(8) The tension between helping yourself versus others is perhaps best resolved by finding a balance. "The price of greatness is responsibility," and leadership is about influence. At the same time, helping yourself develops capabilities which can be used to help others.

(9) Drawing on Joseph Campbell, perhaps most people are seeking the experience of being alive rather than a meaning for their lives. Either way, think about what you can offer the world that no one else can, and don't apologize for pursuing big ideas and dreams. That means that, while good work is fine, great work is revolutionary. In order to undertake a major project, on the scale of creating a legacy, recognize that you'll also have to give up some things. To free up time for the things that matter, eliminate unnecessary obligations, activities, and even people from your life.

(10) If you do succeed in a big way, after you've basked in the glory of your achievement for a while, move on and find ways to build on it. Consider thinking of every day as the first day of the rest of your life.

(11) The bottom line: don't "go to your grave with your song still in you."

I agree with another reviewer that the book's title promises more than the book delivers. It's about Chris and his life, but isn't a good guidebook for those who want to find their own way. On the plus side, this book would be better received by young people, who need to ask themselves the questions Chris mentions in his early chapters: what do you want from life, what do you have to offer, and do you want to live according to society's expectations or your own? Those who have read other books on the subject, or who have more life experience, will have heard most of the messages before. I found it annoying that Chris stated (or implied) several times that those who live a conventional life are "asleep", living lives of quiet desperation, and that people who follow his example are "awake" and alive. I find this condescending, and I'd like to point out that trying to be different from everyone else is functionally equivalent to trying to be the same as everyone else; you're letting other people determine your life. As a scientist, I also differ with Chris on the value of a college and graduate education, because my experience has been different than that of a liberal arts major. He states that his master's thesis, if published, would have been read by few people. Leaving aside the issue of doing good work for its own sake, one never knows how one's work inspires further insights. My graduate publications have been cited hundreds of times, and I consider my contributions to science to be part of the "legacy" that Chris sees as such a desireable thing. I also note his total neglect of the value of domestic travel and volunteering. The US is a huge country, and there are many opportunities for unique experiences and there are plenty of people who lack clean water, nutrition, and health care who would benefit from the efforts of enthusiastic volunteers or nonprofit-founders. Similarly, I would expect a book with this title to at least give examples of other "non-conformist" ways of life that don't involve blogging and foreign travel: living off the grid, growing one's food, homeschooling children, joining a contemplative community. There are many lives that are rich in deep, subtle experiences; one doesn't have to look outward for more countries to consume or more legacies to create. To reiterate, this is a book about Chris and his life, not a guidebook for authenticity. (Full disclosure: I went to college and graduate school, worked for a corporation, left that to be a housewife, volunteer, and language teacher, went back to school in a different area, and have traveled a lot, but only to 11 countries.)

I'm not saying this is a bad book to read,nor am I saying it is a great book to read either,but it is quite obvious for people like myself,who read "The Four-Hour Work Week" first,that Chris has just regurgitated a lot what was already said in that book,and just shown us how he has applied a lot of those principles that he learned from reading that book to his own venture here,and at his blog.
That being said,he does promise that a certain percentage of the profit from the sales of this book goes to a charity in Africa,that helps to give the people clean drinking water,so if you find you didn't like this book,at least you have the knowledge of knowing you played a small part in helping there.
And you can always come here and write a review if you feel that bad about having bought it.
My verdict :
An OK read,but if you haven't read "The Four-Hour Work Week",grab that first and read this afterward,and I think you'll see what I mean here.All in all,this is a fine example of a guy trying to put what he learned from reading "The Four-Hour Work Week" into practice,in his own life.

If you have a free afternoon and can get this book from the library, it is worth the read, but don't expect to learn how to "set your own rules". What you will learn is how Chris lives his own life and how he considers it remarkable, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing. His story is interesting and there are a few inspirational tidbits to pick up along the way.

I read Chris' blog fairly regularly and obviously I felt highly enough of him to read his book, but unfortunately I didn't learn any tactical strategies on how to pursue a remarkable life -- unless I want to live my life much like Chris lives his. I guess the point of his book and blog is to show people that it is possible to live life on your own terms. Chris is a success story and example for those who feel stuck. But, he even says in his book that he doesn't have the answers and that everyone has to make their own choices to create the life of their dreams and that maybe the things he does won't work for everyone. And that's great, but don't market your book as an instruction manual when it's not. Perhaps it needs a new title?

Good info, but not new news. A bit dangerous to some young collage students who may be on the brink of dropping out. If you think for yourself and don't watch much TV, then this book's content will not be news for you. The author likes to travel what seems like 30-40% of his life, which is fine. But he travels on a low budget and enjoys it. That is fine, but some people like me like to stay in clean hotels and don't like mice under beds. For me, there is more to life than focusing on traveling the world. I agree with the author that you need to do what YOU want and not what other people think you should do. If your thing is traveling the world that is fine.