The Happiness of Pursuit

I read this book because I had been impressed with one of Chris Guillebeau’s other books, The $100 Startup.

This book focuses on the idea of embarking on a personal quest, a goal such as visiting every country on Earth or seeing a game at every Major League ballpark.

These quests might puzzle or confuse others, but they can bring great purpose and meaning to your life.

His quest was to visit every country on the planet (which he accomplished). He says that the journey is just as enjoyable as the completion though, and in fact many questers feel a sense of sadness or disappointment when they finish because they enjoyed the process of the struggle. Many of them go on to find a new quest.

Here are my notes:

• “The world’s best-known literature reflects our desire to hear about struggle and sacrifice and the pursuit of a goal.”
• “If you want to achieve the unimaginable, you start by imagining it.”
• “Courage comes through achievement –but also through the attempt.”
• “Discontent is the first necessity of progress.” -Thomas Edison
• “Not everyone needs to believe in your dream, but you do.”
• “Being told you can’t do something is extremely motivating.”
• “There are few goals worth pursuing that are totally risk-free.”
• “Life is risky. Choose your own risk-level.”
• “You must do something. The sooner, the better. “
• There are two ways to approach change: either incrementally or all at once. There is no third option where you passively wait for change to happen.
• “The more prepared you are, the more spontaneous you can be.”
• He chooses a word or theme for each year.
• He says that you can turn your quest into a career, but that does mean that it’s not a pure quest anymore.
• “Experience produces confidence, confidence produces success.”
• “If you don’t love the process, the grind is tough.”
• “If you’re going to worry about something, worry about the cost of not pursuing your dream.”
• “If you can’t change the world, at least you can change yourself.”
• Measurable progress is important. Be sure to count things down or check them off.