Radical Inclusion (or I’m Saying Yes To Everything For 7 Days)

An experiment in saying yes. 7 days only …

I’m keeping this article up, but the public experiment is over. The Facebook giveaways are still going on though. Still saying yes to people who don’t know I will say yes.

###

The idea of Radical Inclusion, which I’m about to reveal, was spurred by 2 things:

1) The concept of Radical Exclusion where you say no or shut out almost everything. Chris Guillebeau talks a little bit about it in his world-changing book The Art of Non-Conformity.

and

2) 4-5 years ago I read a book called “Yes, Man” about a guy who says yes to everything. Then I did a half-assed attempt at saying yes to everything. (The book was turned into a lame movie.)

Not this week.

This week (the next 7 days), every request of my time gets a yes. What this means is, my time in the next 7 days. Not in the future.

Want to interview me? Cool.

Want to talk on Skype? Cool.

Want to take me out to lunch? ;) Cool.

Have an extra ticket to a Pistons game and want me to join you? Yes.

Don’t have a ticket to the Pistons game but want me to take you? Yes.

Want me to comment on your blog? Cool.

If somebody local asks me to hang out? Yes, yes, yes.

Update: 6:35pm Thursday. See those requests up there? All cool and kind and nice. Not greedy and insulting. For the next 7 days I will say “yes” to *everybody* who doesn’t know about this experiment. I will also say yes to cool requests like the ones above. I will not say yes to commands. “Go do this” is bullshit and if that’s your request please stop reading this site. We’re not meant to be.

How do you know if your question is “cool”? Simple: would you ask it normally of anybody or myself even if you might get a no? If the answer is “yes, but I’m afraid to ask” then it’s probably all good. If the answer is “no, I just want to be your master” then it’s not all good and please stop reading this site. :)

How this will work:

From the time this post goes live until exactly 7 days from now (when I leave for BlogWorld) I’m going to say yes to every request that comes through my facebook fan page, comments on this post, or in-person.

Bonus Facebook Page Yes, Yes, Yes Giveaway!

Go to the new (and very bare) RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com Facebook Fan Page, “Like” it, make a request, and WIN! ;)

Every day for the next 7 days I’m giving away one copy of Yes, Man along with one of my other favorite life changing books. (You can choose between Kindle or paperback versions.)

To kick it off, today I’m giving away Yes, Man and The Art of Non-Conformity (personally signed by Chris Guillebeau!).

What Kind of Request Can You Make?

Nothing is stupid. Almost nothing is off limits.

The only caveat is if I say yes to something I can’t say yes to something else that takes place during the first thing’s time frame. Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out how to be in more than one place at once. But you can bet I have a hardcore group of scientists working on that little issue. ;)

I’ll be working through the requests as best as I can.

I expect 1 of 2 things will happen:

1) I won’t receive a lot of requests. This is a strong possibility because maybe this doesn’t seem real. Or maybe you’re letting fear get in the way of making a request. I can’t do anything about that.

or

2) I’ll get so many requests that I won’t even be able to read through them all.

Either way, I’ll let you know how it goes …

Head over to the RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com Fan Page and “Like” it right here.

107 thoughts on “Radical Inclusion (or I’m Saying Yes To Everything For 7 Days)”

  1. I’ve already tweeted it, but I have to say it again: You are insane!! In a good way :)

    I’ve thought about doing something like this before – not even on the level you are doing it (as I have no blog, etc) – but I was too afraid of what might happen in terms of my time, energy level, and sheer ability to handle all the commitments…

    I am SO curious as to what is going to happen Please keep us updated! I have a feeling only great things will come out of this :)

    Good Luck!!

  4. Request: Could you check out my website (aruggedframe.com), review it and post the review of it on your site including a link?
    I feel like this would be a pretty ridiculous thing to do since my blog currently gets around 5 visits a week (and I have a sneaking suspicion they are all from my girlfriend).
    Thanks! And good luck!

  5. Want meet up for breakfast, lunch, or coffee tomorrow? I’m in Royal Oak, MI and can meet somewhere within bike range.

  6. Question: Can I make the request now to be fulfilled later?

    I am in the process of setting up a new site (finished in the next month or two). At some point, I would love for you to guest post on it. I love your writing style and think it would be a great fit for the topics of the site.

      1. Also, updated the article. Not giving away future time anymore. This is a 7 day experiment. Not a who knows when it will end experiment. :)

  7. Wow, so much awesomeness it’s not even funny… or maybe it is.

    I spent some time thinking about this, had an idea about what to ask you to say yes to… and my immediate first reaction was “Hell, no, I could never ask that!” Then I come here to post a comment… and someone has already asked the exact same thing. LOL Great life lesson, huh? :)

  8. Okay, fine Karol, whatever ;)

    Umm, you can start by commenting on my 2 latest posts. Honest comments about my posts. Maybe I’ll make a request a day, muahahaha. You asked for it, my friend, you asked for it!

    No, this is pretty damn awesome though!

  9. How radical is this? OK, here is my request. I want you to loan me $1,000 USD to be paid back in 5 years time at zero interest but accounting for inflation. Yes, I’m a jerk.

  12. Love this idea! Will definitely try something similar, starting with saying “yes” to your generous offer ; )

    Request: An email interview. I am currently building a website to support my work (am self-employed). Can I email you a list of questions tomorrow and post your answers to my site when it’s ready?

    Dziekuje!

    P.S. Took advantage of the Minimalist Book Sale and am happily working my way through the stack…

  13. Totally bold idea!

    Request: I would like to send you a copy of my new free e-book on Saturday morning for you to review and then post the review and a link on ridiculouslyextraordinary.com.

    It’s about why food is awesome and how to rescue our culture from fake food.

  15. Great idea. Keen to see how everything goes. Could you please do a post on your 3 top free traffic getting techniques for your online businesses (excluding this blog). Thanks :)

    1. 1) affiliates and other people writing about me and my products
      2) guest posts – me writing on other people’s blogs
      3) articles on other sites (which I don’t do for this blog) like ezinearticles.com – Henri from http://www.wakeupcloud.com is a master at this

  16. You’re very2 nice Karol,

    I’d like if you can help to write a comment on my blog and e-mail me 1 simple writing tips.
    -KC-

      1. Karol,

        Thanks for the tips..that is more than one.

        However, I am yet to see your precious comment on my blog.

        Or are you batching all the commenting to some time later?

        Thank you in advance.

        P.S – I hope thank you is also one of the Rule of Being Cool ;-)

  18. Hi – Just noticed it is nothing in the future so wanted to ask if I could email you about my first idea and just have you give me your opinion and/or any suggestions. No rush – when you have time. Is that okay? I might not get it to you until tomorrow.

    Gayle Thompson
    Los Angeles, CA

      1. Thank you! I have it on my ‘to do” list today and will send it along. I really appreciate this.

  19. This is really impressive. I have a feeling you’ve got a crazy busy week ahead of you!

    So here’s my addition to your list: would you be my first email interview?

    I love that I already know the answer. :) Dena

  20. Hey Karol,
    I’m really enjoying the Minimalist Book Sale products, thanks for getting that together. I have been writing some articles for my website launch, tba, and would love to kick it off with an interview with you concerning my blog topic since you have been one of my main influences. Let me know. Thanks. -Ludwig

  21. Hi Karol,

    This is such a wonderful, generous, fantastic idea of yours! I think it will be really good for you, and for the people!

    I have a similar request to Gayle’s – I have a bunch of ideas for a big project I’m planning on embarking on, perhaps I could run them by you and you could tell me what you think of it? I’ll keep it short and email it to you tomorrow. Everything that I’ve been reading and stumbling on and thinking about recently has been falling into place like it’s fate, like it’s already been written, and this offer of yours has come exactly at the right moment!

    How very exciting!

    Many thanks in advance, as I have this suspicion you’re going to say YES! :)
    Katie.

  22. Hey Karol, this is a beautiful project! I hope there will be a post about all the things you did during this time… though that’s not my request… ;)

    Rather, it’s this: I want to dive a bit deeper into photography during the upcoming months, but still have some doubts. I noticed this was in part because I don’t show my work enough to other people, so I don’t get sufficient honest critique. (Friends and family are too forgiving, Flickr even more so…!)

    So I want to ask you to check out my gallery site (http://www.bluelies.de/) and let me know what you think about the photos, especially of the series “The vacations you always wanted”. As you’re a pro traveler, I think you might enjoy the time spent there, and for me, any feedback on it would be really valuable!

    Thanks a lot in advance!

    1. Checked out your photos and they look great. Here’s the thing: I’m not a good critic when it comes to photography or visual art. Nothing ever really looks bad to me unless it’s blatantly bad. :) Some of them seemed a bit random and didn’t really give me any feeling/message.

      #11 ;)

      #24 is awesome

      #30 as well

      1. No problem, I wasn’t after a pro opinion, just your personal thoughts! Thanks for taking the time for this, I really appreciate it!
        And if there’s anything I can do for YOU, please let me know! :)

      2. Hi Fabian,

        I just checked out your photos too, and I think you have the makings of a very great photographer! I love the photo on your opening page of all the people in the sea – the colours are great, and so’s the perspective, and it just is a great shot.

        I like how you find clever points of view to show through the lens, such as the 3 green bike lights lined up one behind the other (21) and refracting the portrait of the man (26) through the pair of glasses. I like your portraits, keep working on them and they will turn from very good to fantastically-superb and groundbreaking! Some of them just need to capture that person’s ‘essence’ a bit more, so just keep shooting and really delving deep into that person and who they are, what they’re doing.

        I love your attention to detail, great composition and great eye-popping contrast in your colours, and sharp black and white. I like some of your landscapes very much, especially 27, and the symmetry in 33. I’d love to see more bleak landscapes, something a little harsher to take your photos forward from snapshots into works of art (I’m not saying they are snapshots. Only a couple felt a little like this, like 31 – if she’d got her kit off and was mimicking the statue she was standing next to, it’d be a much more interesting and amusing photo!) but I truly do like your photography a lot, and think a lot of them are very professional and excellent.

        Keep shooting, and keep progressing! Keep up the good work! OK, essay over!

        Katie.

        1. Wow! See, that’s all Greek to me. :) Composition and contrast and whatnot. :) Thank you for your thoughts Katie!

  24. May I send you an email interview next Tuesday to later post on my blog? It will probably focus on your American Dream is Dead manifesto.

  25. Karol this is awesome! I’m really interested in reading your follow-up post to your inclusion period.

    My request: Can I interview you for 30 minutes on Skype, about living a Ridiculously Extraordinary life? I’ll send you an email to figure out what day/time works best for you.

  27. Great idea, and love the minimalist package, thanks for providing that.

    My request: read 3 posts on our blog (not videos or guest posts…actual posts) starting tomorrow, email me 1 thing we need to improve on, and put a link to our site on yours. I suppose that’s 3 requests so if you only acquiesce 1 of them I understand.

    Thanks!

    1. Update: 6:35pm Thursday. See those requests up there? All cool and kind and nice. Not greedy and insulting. For the next 7 days I will say “yes” to *everybody* who doesn’t know about this experiment. I will also say yes to cool requests like the ones above. I will not say yes to commands. “Go do this” is bullshit and if that’s your request please stop reading this site. We’re not meant to be.

      How do you know if your question is “cool”? Simple: would you ask it normally of anybody or myself even if you might get a no? If the answer is “yes, but I’m afraid to ask” then it’s probably all good. If the answer is “no, I just want to be your master” then it’s not all good and please stop reading this site. :)

      1. Karol,

        OK, I suppose I phrased that a bit wrong.

        New request: Will you interview me as a post to be put on your blog?

  28. Hey, Karol:

    Kudos to you for putting this little experiment into effect! It seems as though you’ve already come across a few interesting [and/or frustrating] challenges. And encountered some interesting participants. But those are what make something like this a learning experience. For you, and for the rest of us. Rock on, man- I look forward to connecting one day!

  29. Karol,

    On Sunday, my brother and his girlfriend are hosting a pumpkin carving party. You are welcome to join if you like, though it’s in Atlanta, which could be a distance issue for you.

    My request is: could you draw a cool sketch of what you think my Jack-O-Lantern should look like?

    Thanks for your time and talent!

    T.J.

  30. Most surprising thing about this experiment: maybe 20% of requests use my name.

    First rule of business and life: use people’s names. Second rule of business and life: be cool. Third rule of business and life: if you follow the first and second rule you will go far.

    1. How did I forget this: please. Please! I think I’ve seen please in less than 5% of requests. Only 2 requests in the blog comments said please.

      I think please falls under the Second rule of business and life: be cool. Cool people use “please” and “thank you.”

  31. Cool idea. Thanks so much for doing it. Can you take a look at our travel blog and let us know if you have any tips or recommendations for us. Thanks so much for your time and this opportunity. Talk to you soon.

    1. Put a subscription (RSS or e-mail) form above the fold somewhere. Those little bottom bar things with all the buttons are useless and just clutter sites. Not sure why people use them. That said, it’s something you have to test because there are always outliers.

  32. Would you be willing to read a little about (my school) the Evergreen State College and tell me what you think about it? I personally think it’s a good way to live an extraordinary life in college, while still learning the hard skills and facts that I need (I’m a scientist) and I love having a program instead of several classes.

    http://www.evergreen.edu/about/curriculumoverview.htm

    1. University is good if your goal is to be a piece of the machine. And it’s especially good if you like teachers to tell you “this will look good on your resume.” But an extraordinary life is lived outside of school. Outside of classes. Away from teachers who will never do anything but teach. (The good teachers are the ones who kick ass outside of school and only teach because they’re smart enough to realize that most other teachers suck.)

    2. Hey Val,

      Another perspective: Evergreen’s supposed to be a fine school, especially in the arts, and Olympia’s a very pretty area.

      Also, coming from a guy who got his Master’s and still definitely didn’t end up part of the “machine: (hi, Karol ;-) ), I can also attest to college’s (especially grad programs’) unique ability to help you rethink your thinking about how to think. (Got that?)

      Ultimately, I’d let your intuition guide if/when/where you go to school.

      Hope that helps,
      Haidn

  33. Awesome idea, so inspiring!

    My request (if you have the time):

    Please take a quick look at my blog and email me two ideas for how I can turn it into a revenue generating blog/business (I’m new to blogging).

    Thanks!!!

    1. 1) Write kick ass content on your blog.
      2) Write kick ass content for other blogs.
      3) Connect with other people in your niche.

      Boom! Don’t worry so much about generating revenue right away.

  34. Hi Karol,

    I am usually a lurker here and read your site for quite some time, when you got started (before your site became a success), by the I am quite impressed and happy at everything you achieved.

    I know you are supposed to say yes but I would like to kindly request to check out my any 3 blog posts, comment on 2 and link to 1 post on your blog, if you think it is worthy only. You have a choice.

    And let me know what I can do help? Kindness goes two ways in my book.

    Keep up the great work!

  35. Good morning Karol,
    I just want to say Hi from Canada!
    Thank you for the 72h sale, I was so happy to find out this HUGE sale.
    And you are very brave to accept to say “Yes” to everything but so far, I found that people are very king and don’t ask for anything big or unbelivable.
    Ok, I have to finish with my request too. I am going to be the first one to ask you that: Could you send me a copy of your new ebook “Mind Control Method “, please?

    Have a wonderful day,
    Frederic

  36. Good morning, Karol!

    I found you recently through the book sale. I can’t think of anything to request but wanted to tell you what an incredible idea this was! (OK, maybe one small request. Please DON’T look at my blog. It is woefully out of date but I’m OK with that!)

    Have a great weekend!
    -Meghan

  37. Hey Karol, I love the ‘yes man’ idea. My request is, would you please let me take you out for a fantastic vegan lunch/dinner when you visit my lovely city of Vancouver BC.

    Thanks,
    Kerry

    1. hehe, yes! and I really do need to visit Vancouver some day. I’m told it’s beautiful, I’m simply never in that part of the world. :)

  38. Karol, You have been putting together some bold projects lately! I can’t wait to page through the min book sale – that was such an amazing deal. I would have never been able to buy all of those products on their own. Plus, $10,000 to Kiva is phenomenal!

    As for my request, I already was hoping to interview you (via email) to put up on my site and thinking about contacting you soon anyways. So will you interview with me and when it goes up, link to it? If you are slammed, we can do this in a couple weeks. Keep on doing amazing things! Kristen

  39. Dang, I was gonna say, send me $100!! But it would be in jest. Your experiment sounds very interesting and will wait till you post about the results. What did you get out of the experiment you didn’t expect? How did the law of unintended consequences come into play? If I was anywhere in your neck of the woods, I would say, “Let’s meet and have a beer!”

  40. Hi Karol!

    You rock. Seriously. It’s so outrageous and **courageous** of you to do this.

    I have two requests, please. I have no idea whether you’ll agree (partly because I don’t know where in the world you are at this moment), but either would be lovely. Both would be absolutely incredible!

    Request the First–If it’s at all possible, I would LOVE to take you out to dinner! Or heck, lunch or breakfast, if you prefer. :o) I’m in San Francisco, and if you can get here [any time in the next week is fine except for Saturday (tomorrow) night], it’s my treat and we’ll go wherever you’d like. I’m also vegetarian–though not vegan–and know some great places. It would be awesome to sit and chat with you over a meal.

    Request the Second–Would you be willing to interview *me* on Ridiculously Extraordinary, if you think I’d be a good fit? My blog is http://www.PracticeMakesImperfect.com, where I write about tossing your “shoulds” out the window and living a richer life by becoming exuberantly imperfect. I also have a strong interest in voluntary simplicity, bucking the status quo, and other things that overlap with what you write about…plus, to be honest, I’m right on the launching pad for making PMI my platform for self-employment and firing up the engines. I interview equally well in writing or voice (your choice, of course), and I would be extraordinarily grateful if you’d be one of my booster rockets!

    Even if you can’t say yes to either of these, I’m going to bew watching your “yes” week with utter delight. :o)

    THANK YOU for being such an exemplar of awesomeness!

    1. Thanks Michelle. If I lived in San Fran it would be a yes. I live a “short” 5 hour flight away and have commitments all week so it’s no.

      While I would love to interview you I can’t guarantee I would post it on this site.

      1. LOL–I can see how that “short” flight might be an issue. :o)

        And I’d be glad to be interviewed even without the guarantee–your call entirely! (except if it’s a phone interview and you want ME to call YOU, of course. Heh.)

            2. Uhh–sorry. Should have told you I need a bit more notice than that, since I’m at the Day Job (ack!) and don’t have my netbook with me. But I could do it tonight–any time after 6:30 Pacific time. :o)

  42. Hi Karol,

    I feel the need to call bullshit on you…respectfully. Here’s why. Your blog is called Ridiculously Extraordinary, not Ridiculously Ordinary.

    Your experiment has the potential for some fun and interesting experiences. Yet, you’re saying yes primarily to things you already do. Of course, you are being generous and helpful. And yes, people are making genuine requests they would like to experience with you. However, on a small number of requests, you aren’t pushing yourself, in fact, you’ve basically said no, without actually saying no. The majority of requests that have come your way have been to do one of the following: check out a blog and comment, give advice, give an interview, Skype chat with someone, or give them a free book. Those are easy for you to handle. Here are two requests though, where you’ve effectively said no:

    1. Write a blog post to raise awareness regarding domestic violence.
    2. Draw a jack-o-lantern sketch.

    On the first, I’m willing to bet you do know someone who has experienced it, but were unaware. You’ve designed much of your consumption around respect and non-cruelty towards animals. Why not take a few minutes to discuss why cruelty to fellow human beings is unacceptable as well? It will of course require a few minutes of your time to learn a little about the issue, but then you’ll be more informed on something new. I don’t think you need to have personal experience with it in order to get the word out about how wrong it is.

    As the author of the second request, I certainly didn’t think you are an artist, so not being very good at drawing wouldn’t have mattered to me. I just wanted a sketch you personally created and thought you might enjoy the creative experience for 5 – 10 minutes. Besides, how does not having a scanner really limit you? You have a camera. Couldn’t you just snap a picture of your sketch and email it? I do appreciate the link to eHow, thank you, and I hope you enjoy your family dinner on Sunday.

    In closing, I’m not trying to be a jerk and I’m not whining about the sketch. You’ve been generous to even offer this up to people. I’m just saying, please consider pushing yourself to put the “extraordinary” into this experiment. Otherwise, why not rename the experience “Semi-Radical Inclusion (or I’m Saying Yes To Many Things I Already Know How To Do, I’m Good At, and Which Don’t Take Much Time for 7 Days)”.

    Best,
    T.J.

  43. Hi Karol!

    I’d like for you to please take a look at my blog, comment once, and let me know if you have any tips or recommendations for me. Thank you very much!

  44. Hi Karol,
    I saw something about you on another blog mentioning your love of tea. I was just wondering if you ever reviewed or mentioned tea brands?
    I work with Tipu’s Chai, they make one of the world’s first (if not the first, we haven’t found anyone else doing it yet, but don’t want to lie…) micro-ground chai teas from organic and fair trade ingredients.
    We use absolutely NO chemicals, preservatives, sugar, artificial sweeteners or lactose of any kind in our chai. Just pure tea and spices.
    Let me know if you’d be interested in trying it. Thanks, Karol.
    -Travis

  45. Wow Karol, gratz on this carzy experiment i hope you dont burn yourself out, my request is simple. please Review 1 or both blog of mine, my first blog is about doing the impossible.

    http://www.bzemic.com/impossible/

    the second blog is my fitness blog http://www.bzemic.com/instinct/ both are still being worked on over time so they are pretty rough for now.

    after you review please leave comments, link to your own site, tips, suggestions etc.

    that about it thank you for your time

    steve ward

  47. Hey Karol,

    It only took 7 months of fantastically interesting emails before I finally became a customer. I’ve started reading several from the book sale already. I can’t wait to get the long haul course.

    I thought I’d ask you to do something that you’ll have as much fun doing as we can watching. My incredibly funny buddy started a group on facebook called The Swooshy Face. I’d like you to have a few beers and follow his video instructions on how to take some Swooshy face photos and post them in the group. It’s one of those things that’s such a great idea that everyone should share in being ridiculous sometimes. You don’t need the beers, but it helps loosen your face up. :)

    Thanks again Karol, your emails are the only ones that if I don’t have time to read, I leave marked unread until I can sit down and enjoy them.

    -Mattjones

  48. Great fun idea Karol. My request is can you please give me 1 hour consultancy on instant messenger on Minimalism and online earning on 11th Oct 2010?

    I hope you accept this.

    Regards
    Charan.

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