“Let’s go exploring”

– Calvin and Hobbes

As a result of reading so many good travel memoirs I’m in the mood for some adventuring. This weekend I intend to go somewhere and do something that’s outside my usual routine. And I suggest you do the same.

You aren’t required to sell off all your belongings and move to the most remote Eastern European village you can find (although that does sound kind of cool), but you should venture to an unfamiliar location. I doubt you’ll even have to leave your city to find a new experience. There are probably plenty of activities within fifty miles that you’ve overlooked. Go on Wikitravel, or a similar site, and find something unique to do in your area. If you can’t find anything there, go out and ask people about local happenings. There’s always some amateur concert, or sporting event going on. At worst, you’ll have an amusing story about how horrible “[insert venue] was.”

Have fun, try new things, and check back tomorrow when I review a book that’s sure to raise some controversy,

Robert

“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”

– Stephen King

Long time readers may have noticed that I tend to avoid recommending fictional stories. This is because I consider most works of fiction to be shoddy mass market garbage. A quick trip through your nearest bookstore will probably confirm this. Between old lady porn and trashy fantasy novels, there’s not a whole lot worth reading. None the less, it is sometimes nice to unwind to a well told tale.

This weekend I want you to pick up a quality work of fiction and read it. Since summer’s approaching and I expect that you’re already busy, I suggest reading some short stories. I’ve been doing a permutation of this challenge for a while now and I find it to be a great way to spend my downtime.

Last night I ordered The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov which I plan on devouring over the next two days.

“The best way out is always through.”

– Robert Frost

By page six, I thought I hated Heart Of Darkness. I was convinced that it was the most overrated book I’d ever picked up. Rather than setting it down, I made myself an ultimatum: if I made it halfway through and was still bored, I could quit reading. A few hours later I was savoring the final paragraph and regretting that I’d almost given up on such an enjoyable book.

At the gym I was sure that I couldn’t do any more squats. Instead of quitting, I promised myself that I’d attempt at least one more set before calling it a day. Three sets later, I was finally finished.

This weekend I want you to do something very difficult, I want you to take up an unpleasant task and see it all the way through.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Today I’m issuing the simplest weekend challenge ever: relax.

From the end of the day until Sunday night, spend your time doing whatever you want. Go on a hike, read a book, visit a museum, smoke pot and watch every episode of Wilfred, it doesn’t matter.

If you’ve been doing serious work, it’s easy to get burnt out. To remedy this, it’s sometimes necessary to take some time off. Do nothing but have some fun and recuperate.

I’m going to spend Saturday at a coffee shop, working on my forthcoming Kindle Single; and I’ll probably spend Sunday morning reading.

Have a great weekend and be sure to check back Sunday afternoon, when I’ll be posting my weekly book review.

“Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”

– Napoleon Hill

For this addition of the weekend challenge, I have a request that may seem rather strange. I want you to try something and fail at it.

I’ve learned more from failure than I have success. Dropping weights on myself taught me more about proper form than any fitness book could have. Pounding my head against a keyboard because I didn’t understand how to write a syntax function in Python provided me with a great educational experience. Having an awkward conversation with a girl, only to have her excuse herself for “a minute” and never return, motivated me to become a better conversationalist.

Initially failure sucks. The only thing I truly hate is the feeling of having failed. Yet, at the same time, I love failing. It is essential for learning any lessons of value, it provides great feedback on what needs to be improved, and it builds character and endurance like no other. Some of history’s greatest men, such as Thomas Edison, achieved greatness only after spending years slogging through failure. In Napoleon Hill’s masterpiece, Think and Grow Rich, Hill describes failure as a “temporary defeat” that always contains “blessings in disguise.”

Every failure contains numerous lessons the benefit from. Spend the weekend failing at various tasks and write down what you learned from each event. At the end of the weekend take a few minutes to go over your notes and figure out ways to avoid repeating those failures.

Now go forth and fail!