"The Art of NonConformity" by Chris Guillenbeau: A Review

"The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want and Change the World" is Chris Guillenbeau's life in print. Chris is not only a word traveler but attended multiple colleges simultaneously, wrote a guide entitled "A Brief Guide to World Domination," and has worked at a number of careers in his full life. He has taken time to share a part of his extraordinary life with the world to demonstrate that you don't have to be a part of the Status Quo.

This book is 242 pages of sheer life, from childhood, to volunteering for a medical charity in West Africa and setting the personal goal of visiting every country on the globe. Chris uses his personal life and excerpts from the lives of others as a living example of unconventional living. His motto of "I did it, you can too," seems to echo from the pages without him saying a single word about it in print.

He starts out by discussing sleepwalkers, journeying on to tips for setting the terms for your own unconventional life, smashing through walls of fear, how to fight authority and win, creating your own legacy and a variety of other subjects.

This book is a good read for those who want to start living unconventionally; however I feel that if it was less autobiographical and more tutorial-oriented it would have been more effective in attaining it's goal. However, Chris makes no bones about his "follow me" approach, and he does well with that method. Those who have no desire to travel the globe may feel left behind however, even though Chris tries hard to keep everyone with him.

This book may be just what the reader needs if one is looking to make a change but is uncertain of where to begin. For those who have unrequited wanderlust the tips within these pages may be just what the doctor ordered.

For those just wanting to change their lives, they may find the autobiographical sections detailing his world travel to be a bit of overkill, but if one can relax and enjoy his journey it is a really fun ride!