The Happiness Of Pursuit Part 17

The effort is the reward. If you measure success by the opinions of others, you've effectively set yourself up for failure. But if you measure success by your own effort, focusing on what you produce and contribute, any additional praise or fame will be a bonus. The work itself can serve as its own motivation.

Some adventures should be shared. Tom Allen said that "a dream can have only one owner." But some challenges can be conquered jointly, and even if your quest isn't a tag team effort, chances are that a number of people will partic.i.p.ate in your dream as you move toward completion.

Misadventures produce confidence. Getting stuck, detained, shut out, or set back is never fun, but these experiences are a necessary part of the journey. When something goes wrong, strive to accept it as an investment in learning. Hopefully, you won't make the same mistake twice ... or at least, not over and over.

As you make progress toward a small goal, the bigger vision expands. Many people featured in the book started with a small goal that grew in scope as it became more feasible. If at first you can't picture a tremendous accomplishment, start with an achievable one. (Conversely, when you work toward a tremendous accomplishment, watch out: The next one may be even bigger.) Quests do not always tie up well. Sometimes the ending is glorious, and sometimes it's bittersweet. Either way, take the time to process all you've been through. When you're ready, choose a new adventure.

Appendix 2.

Cast of Characters.

NAME QUEST CATEGORY STATUS.

Tom Allen Bicycle around the world Athletic Restructured.

Marc Ankenbauer Jump in every lake in two of the largest U.S. and Canadian national parks (168 lakes in total) Athletic Completed Izzy Arkin Master karate in Kyoto, j.a.pan, as the first step to becoming a ninja Athletic Completed Ron Avitzur and Greg Robbins Sneak into work at Apple for months to create software that later s.h.i.+pped on every computer Creative Completed Elise Blaha Create a life oriented around "serial crafting" projects Creative Completed Mark Boyle Travel from the United Kingdom to India without money Activism Restructured Nate Damm Walk across the United States Exploration Completed.

Rasanath Dasa Leave Wall Street to live in a monastery in Manhattan Self-discovery Completed Laura Dekker Circ.u.mnavigate the world's oceans on a 38-foot sailboat as the world's youngest solo sailor Exploration Completed Robyn Devine Knit or crochet 10,000 handmade hats Creative In progress Tina Roth Eisenberg Publish a body of work promoting innovative design Creative In progress Travis Eneix Commit to a radical focus on his health and write down everything he ate for 1,000 days Self-discovery Completed Nicholas Felton Doc.u.ment life through an extensive series of personal annual reports Doc.u.mentation In progress John Francis Abstain from motorized transport and maintain a vow of silence for 17 years Activism Completed.

Miranda Gibson Protest illegal logging by climbing a tree in Tasmania and living there for more than a year Activism Completed Seth G.o.din Challenge the status quo by publis.h.i.+ng a continual stream of ideas Doc.u.mentation In progress Kristen Goldberg Complete the life list she first created when she was 16 years old-no modifications permitted Self-discovery In progress Scott Harrison Establish water charity, with the goal of giving access to clean water to every person in the world Activism In progress Thomas Hawk Take, edit, and publish one million photos Doc.u.mentation In progress Meghan Hicks Run the Marathon des Sables Athletic Completed Josh Jackson Attend a game at every Major League Baseball stadium Exploration In progress A. J. Jacobs Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in one year Academic Completed.

Jia Jiang Practice "Rejection Therapy" for 100 days and post the results on YouTube Self-discovery Completed Julie Johnson Train her own guide dog Independence Completed Steve Kamb "Level up" his life on an "Epic Quest of Awesome" Self-discovery In progress Stephen Kellogg "Climb the right ladder" by pursuing a career as an independent musician Doc.u.mentation Completed Juno Kim Leave behind a traditional life in South Korea and become an advocate for female Asian travelers Self-discovery Completed Rita J. King Create Science House and a series of "mystery jars" Academic Completed Steven Kirsch Find a cure for a rare blood disorder Activism In progress Matt Krause Walk across Turkey, ending at the Iranian border Exploration Completed Isabelle Leibler Train an untrainable horse Athletic Completed Jay Leno Master the art of stand-up comedy Creative In progress Sasha Martin Cook a meal from every country in the world Creative Completed Mark McDonough Capture the 1989 Rio Grande Heritage Unit train (among others) on camera Doc.u.mentation Completed Shannon O'Donnell Travel through Southeast Asia with her 11-year-old niece Exploration Completed Jiro Ono Devote his life to mastering the preparation of sus.h.i.+ Creative Completed Alicia Ostarello Go on 50 dates in all 50 states Relational Completed Martin Parnell Run 250 marathons in a single year (among other quests) Athletic Completed Hannah Pasternak Move to Israel and hike the National Trail Exploration Completed Bryon Powell Establish a community focused on ultrarunning Athletic Completed Jerry Seinfeld Master the art of stand-up comedy Creative In progress Mani Sivasubramanian Create a foundation that offers health-care access to low-income children in India Activism Completed Phoebe Snetsinger Set the world record for the most sighted birds Exploration Completed Allie Terrell Visit every basilica in the United States Exploration In progress Gary Thorpe Produce the world's largest symphony performance Creative Completed Helene Van Doninck Become an advocate for non-lead ammunition Activism Completed John and Nancy Vogel Bicycle from Alaska to Patagonia with their twin 10-year-old sons Exploration Completed John "Maddog" Wallace Set the world record for running marathons in the most countries (100+) Athletic Completed Adam Warner Fulfill every goal on his late wife Meghan's life list Self-discovery In progress Howard Weaver Lead an epic battle to return Alaska's newspaper to the people of Alaska Activism Completed Sandi Wheaton Travel and photograph America's Route 66 after an unexpected layoff Doc.u.mentation Completed.

Gabriel Wyner Become fluent in at least five languages to support his opera career Academic Completed Scott Young Complete the 4-year MIT computer science curriculum in 1 year Academic Completed Stephanie Zito Give $10 every day to a different nonprofit organization for a year Activism Completed.

Appendix 3.

A Quest for Everyone.

It's admirable to find one thing you love and make it your sole focus for a long period of time, just as many of the people in this book did. But if you're still not sure what that thing is, consider experimenting with smaller aspects of big goals.

Don't want to run one hundred marathons? Can't imagine running at all? No problem. Go out and walk twenty minutes.

Don't want to visit every country in the world? Great. Renew your pa.s.sport and go to one country in the next six months.

Nineteen other ideas follow, all adapted from the quests in this book.

QUEST BAZAAR.

BIG QUEST WHO DID IT BOOK PAGE RELATABLE ALTERNATIVE.

Move to Kyoto, j.a.pan, to master karate and become a ninja Izzy Arkin 46 Take a cla.s.s in karate, taekwando, or other martial art.

Circ.u.mnavigate the globe on a solo voyage in a small sailboat Laura Dekker 71 Go on a solo voyage of your own (small sailboat optional).

Practice tai chi and write down everything you eat and drink for 1,000 days Travis Eneix 34 Log your daily activities for a week, paying attention to what you eat and how much you exercise.

Spend hundreds of hours doc.u.menting life to create a detailed personal annual report each year Nicholas Felton 124 Spend a few hours on an annual review, in which you define priorities for your life and set goals for each year.

Take a vow of silence for 17 years John Francis 42 Don't speak for a whole day.

Climb a tree to protest logging; remain there for 400 days Miranda Gibson 184 Find something that bothers you, then find a small way to make it better for others.

Visit every country in the world Chris Guillebeau Visit a single new country.

Bring clean water to everyone in sub-Saharan Africa Scott Harrison 41 Bring clean water to one village in Africa. Just $6,000 can sponsor an entire project that provides clean water, education, and follow-up visits. Visit charitywater.org/donate.

Take, process, and edit one million photos Thomas Hawk 64 Learn to improve the photos you take with your phone or handheld camera. Commit to posting one a day for a year.

Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in one year A. J. Jacobs 127 Read a different Wikipedia entry every day for a year.

Practice 100 days of "Rejection Therapy," visiting fire stations, restaurants, and other businesses with unusual requests Jia Jiang 74 Practice a single experiment of Rejection Therapy. Ask for something unusual that you don't expect to receive. Pay attention to how you feel when making the request.

Become James Bond for a weekend as part of an "Epic Quest of Awesome" Steve Kamb 129 Decide how to "level up your life" in your own way. Is there something you can learn, do, or become?

Walk across an entire country or continent Matt Krause (and others) 9 Walk everywhere for a week, or at least a few days. Find creative ways to avoid motorized transport.

Cook a meal from every country Sasha Martin 87 Broaden your culinary horizons-prepare a meal from a cuisine you haven't tried, or visit an ethnic restaurant you've never heard of.

Devote your life to making the best possible sus.h.i.+ Jiro Ono 47 Visit a nice sus.h.i.+ restaurant and order "omakase style," where the chef determines your entire order based on the best ingredients of the day.

Visit every basilica in America to learn more about your faith Allie Terrell 93 Visit a building of religious significance, either relating to your own faith or to a different one.

Become fluent in four or more languages to benefit an opera career Gabriel Wyner 119 Learn to comfortably speak one foreign language. Everyone's a beginner at the beginning.

Complete the MIT computer science curriculum in one year Scott Young 112 Enroll in a single online course (from MIT or elsewhere) and watch at least two of the lectures.

Give $10 every day to a different nonprofit for a year Stephanie Zito 189 Give $100 to a new charity, then commit to learn more about it over the next year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

CHRIS GUILLEBEAU is an entrepreneur, a traveler, and a New York Times bestselling author. During a lifetime of self-employment that included a four-year commitment as a volunteer executive in West Africa, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his thirty-fifth birthday. For most of his adult life he has modeled the proven definition of an entrepreneur: "Someone who will work twenty-four hours a day for themselves to avoid working one hour a day for someone else."

Chris's first book, The Art of Non-Conformity, was translated into more than twenty languages. His second book, The $100 Startup, was an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller with hundreds of thousands of copies sold worldwide.

Every summer in Portland, Oregon, Chris hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people. Connect with him on Twitter (@chrisguillebeau), write to him through his website, or say hi at your choice of international airline lounge.

ChrisGuillebeau.com.

Also by Chris Guillebeau.

The $100 Startup.

The Art of Non-Conformity.