I hope this list will help you find some new blogs and podcasts to follow. If you’ve got the time, I’d love to see a post like this on your blog. Not bullshit shout outs, or niche appropriate recommendations, but an actual look inside your Google reader. I’d also love to receive any personal recommendations you have for me.
I omitted a lot of blogs from this list. Here are the reasons I left blogs out.
- Your blog hasn’t been updated in 4 weeks. Sorry to Alan Perlman, David Crandall, Adam Baker, Cody McKibben, et all! What are you guys up to?! :)
- I follow you because you are my friend and you write about personal stuff or things unrelated to travel and business.
- You write about awesome stuff like sex, gender politics, pure philosophy, smart drugs, or anything remotely naughty. I don’t want to bother offending people. I’ll save that stuff for the DC.
- I follow your blog purely because you are a DCer or are in one of my niches.
- You tweet so effectively that I haven’t bothered to pick up your RSS feed yet.
- I’m on your email list and you aren’t in my reader (hey Laura Roeder and Corbett!)
- You write an SEO or tech news blog. I’ve got a folder full of these that rarely get checked anymore.
The order of these blogs is the same order they show up in my Google reader. There isn’t any methodology here as far as I can see.
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Steve Pavlina – Personal Development for Smart People
- WHY: The definitive personal development blog on the internet.
- READ: “10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job“
Paul Graham – Essays
- WHY: Y-Combinator founder is the total package. Paul has few peers as an entrepreneur, investor, and essayist.
- READ: “How to Make Wealth”
Ribbonfarm.com – Experiments in Refractored Perception
- WHY: Venkat equips you with powerful metaphors for life and business. I often refer to his concepts in business brainstorming sessions. Ribbonfarm was my favorite blog of 2011.
- READ: “The Gervais Principle: The Office According to the Office.”
The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss – 4 Hour Work Week Blog
- WHY: Keepin’ tabs on the Godfather. Among entrepreneurial types, 4HWW is one of the most underrated books in talk (not in action). 4HWW changed the game forever. Take all the hype and blogsphere BS away, and it stands as one of the top 3 business books of the last 10 years.
- READ: “The Not To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now”
Tynan – Life Outside the Box
- WHY: Some of the best personal development achives on the web. I’ve been following Tynan’s blog for years.
- READ: “Living in a Small RV – Introduction”
Corbett Barr
- WHY: A thoughtful writer posting about self-improvement and entrepreneurship.
- READ: “Startup vs. Lifestyle Business”
Garaphernalia 6.0 – Gary Arnt’s Personal Blog
- WHY: Gary is one of the world’s top travel bloggers. His reflections on blogging are great to read.
- READ: “In Blogging, Our Strength is Our Weakness”
Jet Set Citizen – John Bardos
- WHY: Interviews with regular people living their dream of world travel and location independence.
- READ: “16 Months to Location Independence”
Chris Guillebeau – The Art of Non-Conformity
- WHY: Chris is traveling to every single country in the world. He can write, too.
- READ: “Things They Have No Right to Tell You”
Pat Flynn – Smart Passive Income Blog
- WHY: Pat is setting the web 2.0 marketing standards, and our company uses a lot of his advice. Hell of a guy, too.
- READ: “The Backlinking Strategy that Works”
Seth’s Blog
- WHY: You have to read it, plus it’s really good.
- READ: “Self truth (and the best violinist in the world)”
Fluent in 3 Months – Benny Lewis
- WHY: This is exactly why I love blogs. Travel around, learn languages, write about it in interesting ways.
- READ: “17 Cultural Reasons Why This European Never Wants to Live in America”
Location180 – Sean Ogle
- WHY: Sean is a good friend of mine, world traveler, and a great storyteller. (We’ve got some history together…)
- READ: “Why You Shouldn’t Go to College”
Chris Ducker – Virtual Business Lifestyle
- WHY: Chris is a great friend, a LEGIT entrepreneur, and knows more about outsourcing in the Philippines than any other human being I’ve met (I lived in the Philippines for 1.5 years).
- READ: “Taking a Break, Re-Focusing, and Giving Thanks”
Salty Droid – “You Can’t Make Money Online”
- WHY: Watch an online vigilante take down shady internet marketers and their “frauducts.”
- READ: “Naomi Dunford: Spider Intercession”
Deano’s Travels
- WHY: I’ve met him a couple of times on the road. Great guy and DCer.
- READ: “Fighting Pandas – Trying to Get a Site Out of the Grasp of Google’s Panda”
Karol Gajda – Ridiculously Extraordinary
- WHY: No BS, guy has chops. I love his auto-responder series. Sign up for it.
- READ: “Free is Not a Fucking Business Model”
Ryan Holiday
- WHY: Smart guy, unique perspective, great books.
- READ: “Pain”
Viper Chill – Viral Marketing with Glen Allsopp
- WHY: One of the leading internet marketing blogs on the webs.
- READ: “How to Become a Niche Rockstar: The Guide“
Sebastian Marshall – Strategy, Philosophy, Self-Discipline, Science, Victory.
- WHY: My generation’s Steve Pavlina, just fucking crazier (in a good way).
- READ: “The Million Dollar Question”
Software By Rob – Rob Walling’s Blog
- WHY: Chops galore. Software, entrepreneurship, bootstrapping.
- READ: “You Can’t Make Money Charing $1 a Month”
Sovereign Man – Simon Black’s Blog
- WHY: Nothing else like it. Internationalization, wealth protection, expat lifestyle, and investing.
- READ: “They Treat me Better Than Bono Here”
Wandering Earl
- WHY: One of the web’s best personal travel blogs.
- READ: “The Day US Customs Found a Bullet in My Pocket”
Both Sides of the Table – Mark Suster
- WHY: Super sharp entrepreneurial writing from a successful venture capitalist.
- READ: “Never Ask a Busy Person to Lunch, Here’s Why:”
Derek Sivers
- WHY: Philoso-preneur.
- READ: “A Real Person, a Lot Like You”
MicoISV on a Shoestring – Kalzemues (Patio11’s Blog)
- WHY: One of the best bootstrapping small biz entrepreneur blogs on the web. TONS of great detail.
- READ: “Don’t Call Yourself a Programmer, and Other Career Advice”
Nerdy Nomad – Kristi Henderson
- WHY: Income reports. Travel. Block and tackle make it happen via online marketing, and years of acrhives. GREAT blog.
- READ: “September Earnings and Spending Report“
Riding the Waves of Personal Development – Srini Rao
- WHY: The host of blogger favorite BlogcastFM has his finger on the pulse of the blogosphere.
- READ: “5 Ways to Give Yourself an Education that Kicks the Crap Out of the One You Got in School”
ZenHabits – Leo Babauta
- WHY: The quintessential blog. I think it’s this blog that taught me how to use Google reader.
- READ: “How to Read More: A Lover’s Guide”
Adsense Flippers – Joe and Justin
- WHY: One of the most useful internet marketing “make money online” blogs on the internet. AWESOME guys.
- READ: “Most Popular Blogs, Do They Deliver the Goods?”
Joel Runyon – Blog of Impossible Things
- WHY: Joel is my roll dog, or, he would be if we were in the same town.
- READ: “Nice People Don’t Change the World.”
Ben Casnocha – Entrepreneurship, Books, Current Events, Intellectual Life
- WHY: Super smart entrepreneur. Sounds good eh?
- READ: “The Effects of Going off the Grid and Exploring Nature”
Mike Michelini’s Personal Blog
- WHY: Super cool DCer, get an inside look into the southern China co-working, ecommerce, and manufacturing scenes.
- READ: “More Expat Friends Leaving China, It’s Getting Harder to Stay!”
Legal Nomads – Jodi Ettenberg
- WHY: Amazing travelogue, great pics, what’s not to love?
- READ: On Taking Risks, Long Term Travel and Finding Your Path in Life
Sam Harris
- WHY: Smart, smart, smart.
- READ: “The Truth About Violence”
Lifestyle Business Design – John Paul Grant and Matt Canty
- WHY: Get a front row seat while two DCers try to build a business empire in Davao, Philippines.
- READ: “7 Rookie Business Mistakes We Made”
LewisQ.com – Lewis Quartey, TMBA Alum and Ecommerce Consultant
- WHY: Lewis writes great articles about life as a freelancer on the road.
- READ: “Life’s a Circus”
Live Uncomforably.com – Derek Johanson
- WHY: I like this guy. Wish he would write more.
- READ: Why You Need to Dress Sharp
Ryan Goes Abroad
- WHY: Word travel, baselining, interwebs. Love it.
- READ: “My Medellin Apartment: What You Can Get for $300 a Month”
Study Hacks – Cal Newport
- WHY: Talent is overrated, success principles, identifying the keys to hacking academia, art, and the workplace.
- READ: “Interested in Lifestyle Design? Get a Ph.D”
Finch Blogs – “Lifestyle Design for Online Entrepreneurs”
- WHY: A legit traveling affiliate marketer.
- READ: “Monetizing a Blog with Premium Posts : Does it Work?”
Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site
- WHY: The original gangsta travel blog.
- READ: “Everyone Says I’m Running Away”
Ophelia’s Web – Elisa Doucettte
- WHY: Copywriting, lifestyle design, TMBAer. We’ll be working on some big projects together in 2012.
- READ: “Nothing That’s Worthwhile is Ever Easy”
On the Spiral – “Exploring the Adjacent Possible”
- WHY: A unique take on technology, economics, and behavior.
- READ: “Reconsidering Gift Economies”
Niche Pursuits – Specer Haws
- WHY: Highly respected make money online guys with detailed information on his site. Chops!
- READ: 5 Simple Adsense Layouts That Increase Your Click-Through Rate
Nerd Fitness – Steve Kamb
- WHY: Funny, useful, inspiring.
- READ: “How to Live Like James Bond for a Weekend”
The Bulletproof Executive – Dave Asprey
- WHY: Bleeding edge health and brain optimization advice.
- READ: “Why You are Suffering from a Modafinil Deficiency.”
Nate Damm
- WHY: He walked across America. It’s not quite water, but it’s close.
- READ: “The 1990 Version of the 4HWW”
Mr. Money Mustache
- WHY: Extreme frugality and financial definition as a means to wealth. Balla!
- READ: “The True Cost of Commuting”
Minimum WIFI
- WHY: At the top of the page, there is a photo of a laptop, and a palm tree. “Minimum WIFI.” Not much content but I love the idea.
- READ: “November 2011 Earnings Report”
New Rules – Kevin Kelly
- WHY: Kevin Kelly wrote my favorite book of the past 2 years, What Technology Wants. This blog drips out one of his older works.
- READ: “All Things Being Equal, Chose Technology”
* * *
Podcasts
The Adam Carolla Show
- WHY: Funny and insightful, Adam master of improvisation and is taking on Howard Stern’s torch as the world’s best radio host.
- LISTEN: “Dr. Bruce“
Start-ups For the Rest of Us
- WHY: This show is so hot right now! I love listening to Rob and Mike talk shop. Bootstrapping entrepreneurial goodness.
- LISTEN: “TechZing for the Rest of Us”
Foolish Adventure
- WHY: Tim Conley has some serious chops in regards to content biznass, social media marketing, and membeship sites. I trust what this guys says. (Oh yeah, and he’s really cool)
- LISTEN: “Successfully Using the 5 Types of Membership Site Content.”
Internet Business Mastery
- WHY: Internet business original gansger podcasters, 6 years and still going strong.
- LISTEN: “The Biggest Mistake Every Internet Marketer Makes and How to Avoid It”
This Week in Start-ups
- WHY: Chops galore. I love Jason C’s no-bullshit approach and business sensibility.
- LISTEN: “Eric Ries of the Lean Start-up”
The Partially Examined Life
- WHY: Wow, philosophy presented in a fun and super interesting way.
- LISTEN: “Heidegger: What is Being?”
Philosophy Bites
- WHY: Philosophy in bite sized chunks.
- LISTEN: “Martha Nussbaum on the Value of the Humanities”
The Joe Rogan Experience
- WHY: Irreverent, hyper honest and open show with great guests.
- LISTEN: “Anthony Bourdain on the Joe Rogan Experience”
NPR: Fresh Air
- WHY: Fascinating insightful interviews with interesting people.
- LISTEN: “The Physics of the Future: How Will We Live in 2100?”
Jet Set Money Show
- WHY: Interviews with digital nomad types.
- LISTEN: Jet Set Money iTunes Feed…
BlogcastFM
- WHY: Bloggers tell their stories.
- LISTEN: “Using Virtual Assistants to Help Grow and Monetize Your Blog with Chris Ducker”
Freakanomics Radio
- WHY: Counterintuitive takes on our society and the forces underlying it.
- LISTEN: “The Academic Origins of China’s One Child Policy”
This American Life
- WHY: Radio at it’s best. Hear fascinating stories from everyday Americans.
- LISTEN: “Middle School”
Mixergy
- WHY: Interviews with the web’s most successful entrepreneurs.
- LISTEN: “How Questioning Basic Assumptions Made StubHub and $310 Million Dollar Company”
Dan
Dan and Ian are live streaming each day at 12 PM (noon) EST time.
Tune in to ask questions and join in on the discussion.