NetWorthCanada.org

 The easiest path in life is the path of least resistance.  Follow the masses.  Go to school, get a job, buy a house, pay it off, retire.  If you’re lucky, you get two days a week and two weeks a year to build your lifelong memories.  Some don’t even get that much.  I have found myself thinking lately that there must be more to life than this.  Another person that also thinks this way is Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non Conformity.   The web address is http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/ and I have also put a link in the Web Links section of this site.

Goal:  To Visit Every Country in the World

One of Chris’ goals is to visit every country in the world before the age of 35.  Not exactly typical, is it? On his site, Chris posts about three main categories: life, work and travel.  His posts are written on a wide variety of topics, and I found them to be immensely interesting.  Chris writes from the perspective of someone who views life in a much different way than most and is quite happy to see things from that perspective.

I have enjoyed reading his posts, they present work, travel and life in a way that really makes me stop and think.  Perhaps his greatest message is that we should all take the time to understand and pursue our passions. 

There are several outstanding posts on his site.  One of the first to really catch my eye is, “The Decision to be Remarkable”.  The post starts by telling the reader that to stop being average, we need to decide to be different.  He calls for us to stop making excuses and take responsibility.  The concepts that he presents can be applied to life as well as personal finance.  Have you ever said, “I just don’t make enough money”?  Or how about, “I know I should have a budget, but I don’t have time”.  Your time would be much better spent trying to understand the situation and find solutions rather than just making an excuse and allowing your brain to shut down.  An excuse is the lazy way to avoid responsibility, and when you stop accepting excuses, you will find that you will become a much happier and productive person.  This is just a very short summary of this post, and I strongly suggest you read the post in its entirety.  The decision to be remarkable can be applied to any and all aspects of your life.

You Are Incredibly Rich…But Not Preachy

Another post that really caught my eye is, “You Are Incredibly Rich”.  This post is written about various statistics regarding the average income of people throughout the world.  Typically when people write these types of articles, they come across as preachy and as though they are trying to lay a guilt trip on the reader.  In this case, the writer is trying to make the case that we are much better off than we sometimes feel.  When I read the title “You Are Incredibly Rich”, I immediately thought of my fleet of Italian sports cars in my imaginary underground garage, and my Gulfstream jets which also happen to be imaginary.  It is often very easy to look around and see the people who have more, but people in the first world often don’t take the time to look at what they do have.  One of the first statistics that is used is that sixty percent of the worlds population lives on two dollars or less per day.  That really does help put it in perspective.  I was once told by someone that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I did not like that comment at all.  I believe that my response was to correct the speaker that it was a plastic spoon.  My family is not rich by North American standards, this article makes a very good case that we are quite a bit better off than many families elsewhere in the world.

I have never been a person that is very concerned with what others think.  I could care less what the latest spring fashions are, and I have very little interest in the reality epidemic that is plaguing television right now.  In some ways, I have been a bit of a slight non conformist myself and maybe that is why I enjoy this blog so much.  AONC encourages people to be different, pursue your passions and never settle for being average.  After reading a guest post that Chris did on another site that I read, I was hooked.  Although his advice might not necessarily be for everyone, his site is well worth a look.