After a visa snafu kept me off a flight to the South Pacific island nation of Nauru, population roughly 7,000, I was stuck -- at 11 p.m. with nowhere to be except the world's smallest island country, which wasn't able to welcome me due to my lack of a visa.

Sometimes, your adventures take you further afield. You fly to a big city, then to a smaller city, and eventually on to an airstrip that could be anywhere. Stepping off the rickety commuter-jet stairs into the void, you're tempted to shout in expectation of an echo.

Hello... ello... lo... o.

After flying through the day and night via Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and Nairobi (yes, I'm perpetually tired), I made it to Kigali, Rwanda — the starting point for my latest trip.

This was a special adventure: a visit to several countries in Central-East Africa, and my first time to trek...

I recently read two books about the choices people make when faced with the knowledge of their forthcoming death. The first book is called Last Acts, and was written by a doctor who worked predominantly with hospice patients.

Throughout the book, people make different choices -- some seek to create...

A couple of years ago, I was in London on a three-day layover after flying in from Africa. I had been in Sierra Leone for several months and was looking forward to walking the streets, hanging out in coffee shops, and seeing friends before heading on.

On my first night...

Most of the time, the obvious way around an obstacle isn't the only way.

Looking for another option is called the unconventional strategy -- when you have the same goal as anyone else, but you find a different way to achieve it.

It works in education, career, personal finance, social...

I did a media call for a journalist on the subject of "time management" recently. When I heard the topic, I was worried: one, I don't think I'm that great at time management... and two, I'm not even sure such...

If you are confident, they will say you are arrogant.

If you are deliberate, they will say you are too sure of yourself.

If you have a sense of purpose, they will say you are self-absorbed.

If you know who...

I'm no consultant, but from time to time (as in, several times a day) people ask for my opinion about building some kind of online business. I'm happy to give $0.02 for whatever it's worth, and I'm sure there are times when...

It happens to me every time I travel overseas. I talk with people who hear about where I'm going, and they always say the same thing: "That sounds amazing! I wish I could do that."

My reply is always the same: "What's keeping you from it?"

I'm not being judgmental;...

The question comes up a lot: "If you were starting over with this project, what would you do differently?"

In my case, I probably wouldn't put the domain on chrisguillebeau.com. If you have chrisg.com, that works -- but Chris Garrett got to...

re•mark•able [adjective]: worthy of being noticed, especially as being uncommon or extraordinary

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If you want to break out of the mold of average, the first thing you need to do is to make a decision to be radically different. Most remarkable people...

Here's a fun exercise: take 60 seconds and write down the peak moments of your life.

A peak moment is a fixed point in time that has strong, positive memories. You climbed the mountain! You achieved something monumental! Things will be different...

Everyone lives their life by some sort of internalized list of values or moral code, but many people don't take the time to sort out what they really believe in. Because of this disparity, they often feel conflicted when deciding how to make regular...

I stepped outside my hotel room and put my headphones in. Taking the elevator down to the lobby, I looked out at blue sky and sunshine -- much nicer than the previous day of cold rain.

Then on the way outside, I did...

Welcome to Part II of The Agenda. Part I is here.

I don't follow professional or amateur sports, but every two years, I love watching the Olympics. I enjoy the stories, the years of training without reward, all in pursuit of...

In 2009, I visited with Seth Godin and his Alternative MBA students. Afterwards, I asked Seth for advice. "I know it's a long list," I said, "But what's one thing you think I can improve upon?"

He said, "I think you need...

I lived in Seattle for a year before I went to my first professional sports game. I'm not usually a big fan of watching sports, but it was fun to go down to Safeco Field and hang out with friends at the Mariners' game.

Getting to the game could have...

When you were a kid and wanted to do something your parents or teachers didn't like, you may have heard the question, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?" The idea is that it's not good to do something stupid, even if everyone else is doing it. The...

Traveling between Budapest and Prague in the summer of 2004, I suddenly realized how comfortable I felt with the process of moving from place to place. I was 26 years old and beginning to travel independently. It no longer felt strange to fly between continents or change currencies three times...