About 10 years ago, I purchased a world map at an independent bookstore in Austin, Texas, along with a small box of multi-colored push-pins. I plastered the map on the wall of my bedroom, and for each country that I visited, I pushed a different color push-pin right through the capital city. I wanted a visual reminder of how much of the world I had seen — and hadn’t.

Wistfully, my goal was to visit all 200 or so countries — and in the back of my mind I always wondered — are there people out there who have actually visited, or are seriously attempting to visit, all of the world’s countries?

Chris Guillbeau’s blog, The Art of Non-Conformity, features a litany of — as you may have guessed — non-conformist ideas, one of which includes the goal of traveling to all 193 countries by the time Chris turns 35.

Impressively, Chris has already reached 183/193 of the countries on the list. His site also features stories about the strategies he incorporates in order to be able to do so.

Fittingly, other articles on The Art of Non-Conformity include “Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World”, “Use Frequent Flyer Miles to Go Anywhere”, and an intriguing personal favorite, “A Brief Guide to World Domination”.

For anyone who is physically or mentally restless, or as Chris puts it “for anyone who feels like changing the world, wondering if there must be more to life” – The Art of Non-Conformity may just be for you.

Check out Chris speaking at a TED talk below!

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