Borsalino Test #6: 1,000 things I am grateful for
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Readers,
There is something about the times we live in that has turned western civilization into a morass of grumpy old men moaning about shoddy battery life of iPhones. Below there is my intent to exercise gratitude for the sweeter side of things, without sounding saccharine. I honestly do not expect any of you to read through all of this. Yet, please, have at it - it’s a buffet.
As always, you can read my essays here. Alright, now onto the essay.
Michele
1,000 things I am grateful for
Professional black & white photographs
Breaking the rules and getting away with it
A chalet in the middle of the Alps with friends
The ability to mute annoying people on social media
Hot air balloon rides
Acrobatic sneezing
Today
Doing the best with the information I have
The State of Pennsylvania, in November 2020
The smell of clean air after a storm
Strong legs
Apple Pay
Frequent laughs for no particular reason
When someone holds your keys and wallet in their purse
Google maps
White rice
Old folks who sit on their porch and wave at you when you walk by
Beethoven’s symphonies
Spinning class instructors
Books that were once popular, but now forgotten
Advice with no incentive asymmetries
Kanye’s lyrics
Big crowds enjoying big fireworks
Winning at chess against a significantly stronger opponent
Laying on grass
Online communities
People that consider themselves contrarians but don’t feel the need to rub it into your face
Realizing you still remember the words to a song you haven’t heard in years
Making soup with homegrown vegetables
Saying the same thing as a sports commentator says just before they say it
When useless meetings get cancelled and they give you time back
Organized notes and highlights from book I have read
Being able to collapse on my bed when I am completely, massively exhausted
Developing good taste in something
Lagunitas IPAs
Being single
Plant stores
Terrible snack businesses run by kids
Being comfortable in your own age
Unintended puns
Hanging out with my mom
Jeff Bezos’ laughter
Cool pins
Au Cheval’s burgers in Chicago
Getting appreciation for something you are actually working hard at
Pete Souza’s legendary portraits of Obama
Surprise wildlife sightings
Condoms
A full stomach
Access to quality education
When the guy who borrowed your pen actually gives it back
People who take ownership of their mental health
Eidetic memory
The ability to care about what others care about
Discovering a new form of raw talent you possess
The ability to remember the past
Epiphanies
Bias towards action
Grocery delivery
When you spill something on your shirt and it doesn’t leave a stain
Summer in Chicago
The fact that you don’t really need to reply to DMs or emails
Uber drivers that knows all the shortcut and gets you there ahead of time
Setting no alarm
When you know all the buttons to speed through the automated telephone system
Actual polymaths
Micro-humor sprinkled in very complex essays
The ability to know when to quit or persist
Bonsais
Democracy
Raw seafood
Forgiveness
The first meal I eat after a cold or a flu
Dry cleaners that fold your shirts
The fact that direction matters more than speed
The gift of focus
Fond memories of my dad
Your favorite barber
Graffiti art in Sao Paulo
Eating a bowl of cereals and milk with a big spoon
Jon Batiste’s suits
When your currency is worth exponentially more in a foreign country
Serendipitous opportunities to materially help peers with minimal effort
Sassy people
Solutions to gender inequality
Rotary dial phones
A beautiful handwriting
Great female leaders
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
Hot tea by the fireplace
The word ‘humane’
Clever therapists
People that can shoo a fly outside without having to kill it
The nonzero probability that we are not the only form of life in the universe
Japanese whiskey
Access to quality healthcare
People wearing masks above their noses during Covid
Ad blockers for YouTube videos
Fully charged devices
Writers
Well stretched muscles
Fusilli
When I drop a glass and then stick my foot out so it hits my foot and doesn’t break
Recycling bins
Color-coded book stacks
Andrew Chen’s essays
Riding my bike late at night when the streets are empty
Strangers that say bless you when you sneeze
That first ‘I love you’
Intelligent risks
The chocolate tip of the cone
Adult cartoons
Selling your sawdust
Mary Meeker Internet Trends
The sky right before a thunderstorm
Products with batteries included
Rhymes
That one spot with the very best ramen in town
My grandma’s zucchini fritters
Finishing a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle
Nutritional labels on packaged food
Your thinking place
Online forums in early 2000s
Remembering the lyrics
Local dialects
Giving yourself permission to quit boring books
Tupperwares
That feeling when popping bubble wrap
Deleting a social media app and not regretting it
Succulents
The privilege of learning about racism instead of experiencing it
That one really good pen that never gets lost
Long weekends
Falling asleep in the backseat of a car late at night when somebody else is driving
Being right when everybody else is wrong
Free thinkers
Old maps
Remembering what movie that guy is from
Body warmth
Inspiration
The first sunny, warm day in London
Super fast group clean-ups
Pearly white teeth
Third culture kids
Complex but right answers as alternatives to simple lies
Empathetic hiring managers on job interviews
Moving forward and moving on
Daydreaming
Writing to learn, not to teach
My driving license
Lack of urgency
Pogs
White men aware of their privilege
Wearing underwear just out of the dryer
People that retweets your best tweets
Public health
High ceilings
Paul Graham’s essays
YouTube rabbit holes
Volunteers
The moment at a concert after the lights go out and before the band comes on stage
Access to a hammock
When the person you’re meeting is even later than you are
Telescopes
Chris Dixon’s essays
Vinyl records
Being able to land on a very reasonable quantitative estimate with very little data at hand
Weekends with no plans
Dropping my phone and realizing the screen is still intact
Finding something you lost a long time ago after you already gave up looking for it
Listening to the same track over and over without getting tired of it
Taking Fridays off
People that share your same temperature preferences
Ray Dalio’s Principles
That comfy sweatshirt
Artsy bookmarks
My personal operating system built in Notion
Hip hop artists that get into venture
Quality journalism
Airbnb short-term stays
The fact that online shopping spare you the need to actually go to a physical mall
A green wave of traffic lights
The first time of the year in which you are able to eat on the patio
Afternoon tea
Dopamine
Having a whole row by yourself on the plane
When people you actually miss tell you they miss you
The wittiness of Rick & Morty
When a work friend becomes an outside-of-work friend
People returning wallets
Chatty and kind Uber drivers
A sunny day of ski with friends
Note-taking as a form of rebellion against the entropy of memory
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Carlo Cipolla
Long comfortable silences between really close friends
When your shoes are tight enough to stay on your foot but loose enough to slide on and off without untying them
Not getting a hangover when you were expecting to get one
The moment the bass kicks in
Typing username and password right
The 10,000 hours you already spent on something
When the leader who you voted actually becomes Prime Minister
Getting to the phase of your career when you won’t need Linkedin nor resumes that much
Giant morning stretches accompanied by stupid noises
People that pick up the trash on beaches
Hugging an old friend
Job promotions
People that tip waiters, especially if more than 20%
Wordless nods of understanding among friends
Numerate people
The good kind of stomach butterflies
Really cool sneakers
When your buddy is in town to visit
The moment at a concert in which the crowd finds out what they are going to play
Weekdays with no meetings nor calls
Making a perfect tie knot at the first try
Appreciation for food you have cooked
Odd colored foods
Seeing a plane from another plane
Watching seniors do water aerobics
When it works
Dinosaurs
Uncovering a really key insight during a research
The first snow day of winter
Realizing you still remember your old phone number
Angel investors who actually dedicate quality time to founders
Q-tips after showers
The future
Returning to your warm and comfy bed after getting up to pee in the middle of the night
A tall glass of water and ice on a hot summer day
Playing soccer and scoring a goal
Watching a movie in the basement with a group of friends
Eric Jorgenson for putting together the Naval’s Almanack
The Painted Ladies in San Francisco
Nice neighbors
Braided hair
Being able to complete a half marathon
Staring ahead at a brand new year
Great friends from a very different age group
People that really, really sell it while barbecuing
A colorful set of spices in an Indian market
Drinking from the hose
Biting off the last piece of the popsicle without losing any of it
Singing the national anthem with a big crowd
Having had a roof over my head through my entire life
Short acceptance speeches
The difference between time spent and job done
Structured thinkers
Feeling great after a 18 hour intermittent fast
Serendipity
Corduroy pants
New subscribers to my newsletter
When you hit it off real well with someone at a party
Modern art
Discovering a shortcut on your way home
Successfully building new habits
Peeling an orange in one shot
Using hotel lobby bathrooms when you’re out walking around
Making new friends through successful teaming at board games
When a stranger walks by and offers to take a photo of you and the person you’re with
A spectacular basketball dunk
Lack of anxiety
A good turnout on my birthday
The sound of a freshly cracked egg hitting a hot frying pan
Same-day delivery
Old couples holding hands
When someone saves you a seat
Italians that open authentic gelato shops abroad where everybody eats ice cream
Unsexy, profitable businesses
My favorite sweatpants
The art of domesticating your emotions without suppressing them
Foreigners that ask the correct pronunciation of your name before actually guessing
Probabilistic thinking
Easy WiFi passwords
Calling a shotgun before everyone else hop on the car
Kamala Harris’ dance moves
Getting to know the backstory
Flipping through the entire bank of posters while waiting for someone who’s making a purchase
Raincoats
Warm sandals that have been sitting in the sun
Men that can pull off suspenders
Salt
The right light when you are out with your camera
Yosemite
Getting in line before it gets seriously long
The 80/20 principle
Women that can pull off a beret
Stomping dry crunchy leaves on the sidewalk
Suggestion boxes
Well researched Twitter threads
Whiteboarding sessions with very smart co-workers
Discipline
Savings
Catching a sunset on your way back from a great workout
Eating the thing you’re cooking while cooking it
That one really efficient IT support person
Funny idioms like ‘Drinking the kool-aid’ or ‘beating around the bush’
Playing the game for the love of it
Getting through it
Nuances
Being able to read books they were once banned
A clear conscience
Settlers of Catan
Being proud of someone
Bitcoin’s rally
Steph Curry half court shots
My middle-school math teacher
Proportionate people
Tetris
Catching somebody singing in their car
Couches with the chaise-longue
Unconditional generosity
Decorated pottery
Really crafty pumpkin carvings
When the risotto you are cooking turns out perfectly ‘al dente’
Grateful people
Golden kiwis
Charisma
My family car growing up
Busy people who don’t busy brag
People flashing their high beams at you to warn you about the cops
Tossing garbage in the trash can from far away
Origami artists
That empty meeting room
The Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish
Fixing your wedgie when no one’s looking
Personal brands
Well-groomed beards
La Ritournelle by Sebastien Tellier
Old people acting like little kids
Different emoji skin tones
People that quit smoking
The day when you first realize you can drive
Long yawns
The Lead Domino
Alan Watts’ interpretation of Eastern philosophies
People that hire for slope, and not y-intercept
The human brain
Compelling first chapters
Cleaning personnel
The ability to stay calm during a conflict
Marcus Aurelius’ meditations
The first wave you catch on a foamie
Those who always send voice notes but they also keep them short
High tens
Quirky curse words my dad used to say that I still remember
Pac Man
Successfully navigating home in the dark
Spotting a talented comedian before they become famous
When you’re really tired and about to fall asleep and someone throws a blanket on you
The first time a new friend calls you by your nickname
Lighting candles with matches
Homemade guacamole
Smart shades
Pocket cash found in pants
Learning new keyboard shortcuts
Good friends’ advice
Leap years
Really funny GIFs
Nailing that perfect move in a board game
Teeth-whitening stripes
Getting upgraded ahead of a long flight
My eyebrows
My knowledge of slide making and deck building
Male feminists
Drawing on steamy mirrors with your fingers
The Melting Asphalt blog
Appreciating the beauty of all your body’s scars and scratches
The first text message between new friends
My first internship during college
Bougainvillea on walls
Picking up your perfectly functioning AirPods after you mistakenly dropped them in the washer
A stack of napkins right when you need one
The final seconds of untangling a really big knot
Echo
Focusing on yourself and finding peace
Nothing in particular, just the gift of being here
Those ‘We are excited to inform you…’ emails
Gen Z’s social and environmental awareness
Spotting a typo before submission
My bed
Happy friends that get engaged
Figuring out how we got on this topic
Extended deadlines
Getting served breakfast in bed
Creative OOO emails
The thin line between corny and cute
Good beard days
Chamath Palihapitiya at CNBC saying that we should let airlines fail
Brass bands playing in the streets of New Orleans
Mastering the art of the all-you-can-eat buffet
A close friend’s wedding
That separate compartment in your stomach for dessert
Restaurants that handwrite cards or short notes in my food delivery bag
When your team tip over a really tied up game
Looking up while underwater
Duvets
Having one of my essays featured in an actual book
Correctly guessing my mom’s secret ingredients Every. Single. Time. Let’s go!
Saunas
Bougainvillea on walls
The last page of a very good book
Oxford comma
Quick digestion
All job interviews I bombed in my life
Intellectual credibility
Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte
Palindromes
Crayons
Crying it all out
Being entrusted with a secret
Witty banter with someone you just met
Neighbors with pools
Sign-in bonuses
Warm baths when it’s raining outside
Rocking chairs
People that hold the elevator for you
The sound of water lapping against a dock
Elevators
Hustlers that don’t need to glorify their hustle
No ads
When your friend texts to tell they got home safe
Cooking something for a potluck dinner
As hard as 2020 has been, it’s not 1918
Audiobooks
Rain hair
When someone grabs the bill for you at a restaurant
Age of Empires
When you forgot the keys but someone is home already
Effective skin care products
The truth
Someone else’s attention
Positive games instead of zero-sum games
Hoodies
Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings
Nutritional labels
Late in the afternoon when you are the only person at the beach
Mentors
Great titles
Your very own spot on the couch
Sarcasm
Equity
Getting a trucker to blow their horn
A good meditation session
20% discounts
Daydreams
Crossing the last item on my daily to-do list
Art supplies stores
Personal coaches
The absolute accessibility of running as a sport
When you arrive at the bus stop just as the bus is coming around the corner
Scientists
One-word ingredient lists
When your friend returns your book and they actually read it
When the guy at the gelato counter gives you free taste of different flavors
Really accurate personality tests
That guy that - unexpectedly - can rap
Clever 2x2 matrices
Eating that last piece of dessert left in the house
People who take good care of their plants
A near gas station
Learning & Development corporate budgets
That one belt bought at the vintage store
Seeing way worse weather somewhere else on forecasts
Seeing a huge tree and remembering how small it used to be
Really quick mental math
Surprisingly simple life advice
The far corners of your mind
Reading something that's so good you can feel how much brain horsepower went into those written words
New episodes from the Tim Ferris’ Show
The fact that we can get distracted from distractions by other distractions
Floss
Keeping the most important thing the most important thing
Mental clarity
Starting the lawnmower on the first pull
David Perell’s Write of Passage course
No meetings Monday
High conviction
Really powerful vacuum cleaners
Spam filters that actually work
Waking up before your alarm clock and realizing you’ve got lots of sleep time left
Going to museums alone
Thoughtful feedback
The sound of rain from inside the tent
Really great hotel showers
Bank holidays
Stepping into the shower when it’s already at the perfect temperature
Leaving networking events without having to ask permission for it
Weird food combos that only you enjoy
The smell of my childhood bedroom when I go back and visit my mom
That sandwich place in Ortigia
Warm bread and butter before a meal starts at a very nice restaurant
Machine learning
Bids of love
Photosynthesis
Inbox zero
The transition from an overscheduled life to one grounded on intent
The rare balance between confidence and humility
Wearing what you just bought out of the store
Journals
When the subway doors stop right in front of you
Colorful surfboards
Ice cream delivery that actually doesn’t melt
Being able to remove really tough stains from your favorite piece of garment
My mom’s selfies when she gets a haircut and wants to know how she looks
Coffee table books
Free time
Clever tweets
Remembering how lucky we are to be here right now, reading this
Yuval Harari’s books
Voracious content consumers that are also creators
Remote work
A fit body
Learning something so cool you want to call friends to tell them
Locking eyes with someone attractive at a bar
Eating leftover cake for breakfast
Servant leaders
Getting as comfortable saying no as you are saying yes.
Long-term thinkers
Cohort-based online courses
Good health
Your identity
Not knowing what you don’t know
Still having hair
Correct use of punctuation
Thoughtful sexts
Jazz bands
Not bumping your head on something you always bump your head on
That one great song that comes up when you are exhausted but still running
The moment of anticipation just before the first kiss
FaceID
When tap water is actually really good to drink
Clever puns
The ability to forgive yourself
Clearly articulated unit economics
Being able to assemble furniture without looking at instructions
Being able to plan for snoozes
When the chapters in the book you’re reading are really short
Really tall castles of cards
Learning from iterations in relationships, wealth or knowledge
Watching an artisan working their craft
Excel shortcuts
Fibonacci sequence
People that are not afraid to learn in public
Cracking a very successful joke with your friends
Kind executive assistants
A long hike in nature
Cutting through the chase when you really need it
Perfect egg cracks
Finding the start of this stupid duct tape
One-line wisdom
Gel pens
A well organized, informative Table of Contents
Scrambled eggs
The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzikin
The right level of challenge
Japanese cherry trees
The concept of personal monopoly
A big exhalation
Ben Thompson’s Stratechery
White truffle
Well designed slide decks
Asymmetric returns
Eliminating the unnecessary so the necessary may speak
Cappuccino milk foam
Everything Carlo Rovelli has written
Museum gift shops
That teacher
Friends met on Twitter
When a stranger genuinely compliments you without giving sleazy vibes
A good massage
Getting the Emergency Exit row on the airplane
Anyone who takes no bullshit
Dangling your feet in the water
My previous self who has packed ahead of time
Extremely productive days
Dinner tables as the greatest technologies of social intimacy
When the beat drops
Successfully scratching an itch away
Getting more done than actually anticipated
Cranking up the volume when driving on a highway
Reading books that are way above your weight and still get the gist of them
People with extremely developed emotional intelligence
The button ‘Block’
Scented bars of soap
That one guy who starts the standing ovation
The extra time you get when the clocks roll back
Freedom of movement within the European Union
Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students
Owning assets
Healthy conflict as a doorway to acceptance.
Setting a new personal record
Completely guessing the right answer on a multiple choice test and still passing
Throwing spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks
The fact that anything looks easy when you don’t have to do it
Eating a burrito without anything falling out
When the laptop magically heals itself from an annoying error
Epidemiologists
Realizing you’re going to be in the background of someone else’s picture and smiling at the last second
Old pictures of family members
Picking the perfect neighborhood when visiting a new city for the weekend
Thermostats and the ability to regulate indoor temperature
Football trading cards
Memories of my loved one that are not here anymore
Japanese denim pants
Taking a break
The feeling of my teeth after getting my braces removed
Finding high school pictures
Working in a state of flow
Absence of envy
A calm mind
That one picture in which you definitely look attractive
Regular and orderly people that turn out to be wild and original artists
Reciprocal gratitude
The guitar solo of ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Friends met through warm introductions by other friends
A very cold pillow
At-home workouts
Grandma’s hairstyle
Skiing the first track
Dogs with jobs
Cultivating the gift of self-awareness
People that find the time to reply to cold emails, no matter how accomplished they are
Being able to do my own thing
Giant Lego sculptures
Afro hairstyles
Codecademy
Love letters
Really efficient customer support
Unpacking long awaited Amazon boxes
Ordering stuff off menu
When you find out that people you already like are also avid readers
Silence
Airie Spears’ impressions of Jay-Z
Quads fatigue after a 10k run
Wrapping it all up way ahead of time
Rare butterflies
Being able to close down the car trunk when it’s already fully packed
The smell of fresh laundry
Parmesan cheese
Properly filled chocolate croissants
The compounding effect
Unparalleled life hacks such as putting wet devices into rice
Doing your thing when nobody’s watching
Realizing that when you have nothing, you still have books
Bubbles rising to the surface of a champagne bottle
Spot on reading recommendations
Writing this
Codenames
Electronic payments
Tim Urban’s essays
The fact that we got 90% effective Covid vaccines in 10 months
‘Wet floor’ yellow signs
Stoicism
The smell of old bookstores
Being up next
Autocorrect
The fact that you can’t never get enough of what you really don’t want
Getting the armrest at the movies
Receiving thoughtful apologies
A squeaky clean apartment
Moore’s law
Picking up something that turns out to be a lot lighter than you expected
Mental strength to avoid mindless doom scrolling
Rich group conversations
Q-Tips
Hitting a very high note with the trumpet
Being safe
Walking around naked when you’re home alone
Cool parents
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Buying the dip just in time before the price goes up
The Midnight Gospel on Netflix
A complementary usable toothbrush on a long flight
Not knowing the real meaning of crippling financial difficulties
Previous highlights on Kindle books
3:00am conversations with best friends
People that are tolerant with others, yet strict with themselves
Losing someone, yet knowing they have lived a full life
Clean public bathrooms
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
When you’re not the new guy anymore
Raclette
Recyclable packagings
Great metaphors
Figuring out the plot twist just before they reveal it
Finding your car in a big parking lot using your keyless remote
Sicilian almond granita
The smell of frying onions and garlic
This exact moment
Afternoon naps
Being able to spend less than you budgeted at the end of the month
Humility
When you check the scale and you actually lost weight
Fancy footwork
When unwelcome guests leave
Cauliflower rice
That one really nice guy at the office
French kisses
Sorbillo’s pizza in Naples
When it stops raining right the moment you get out
Kettlebells
The honey badger
The fact that ‘the present’ just keeps showing up
Flag knowledge
Good escalator etiquette
Witty pickup lines
Getting something with actual handwriting on it in the mail
Taking a spin on a shopping cart
Words that twinkle
Documentaries on nature
Lisbon colorful tiles
The first couple hours of the road trip
Relatively affordable Michelin-starred restaurants
When you hit something with your car and there’s somehow no damage
Cool nicknames
Well researched strong opinions
The middle part of chocolate croissants
Acquaintances that turn into friendships
Responsible use of psychedelics
Ice stalactites
Colorful minerals
A good night’s sleep
Winding down
Being able to read Arabic
Managers that don’t need facetime to measure productivity
Feeling protected
Gay rights
When the DJ plays your request
Driving home after a long trip and getting all your radio stations back
Wild frat parties in your 20s
Prime numbers
Speedbumps
The moment when the lights dim at the movie theater
Inspiring graduation speeches
The way Wynton Marsalis plays trumpet
The sound of scissors cutting construction paper
That one professor in college
Being able to read music
Sweet potatoes
Knot names
The bell curve
Trying new pants and fitting into them against all odds
Rickshaw rides in India
Stocks that pay dividends
Ryan Holiday’s books
The sound of barely frozen puddles cracking when you step on them
Goat cheese
The back kick you get when the plane speeds on the runway
Winning a gamble
78% dark chocolate
Progression bars
Buying the dip before the hike
Sending yourself emails to do stuff in the future
Apartments with lots of outlets
That feeling after building something
Good hair days
When all the stock in your portfolio soar
Feeling you don’t need much more than that to be fulfilled
Historical non-fiction
78% and 85% dark chocolate
Hilarious last names
When you manage to squeeze enough toothpaste out for one last brush
Tap water
When the gym instructor pushes you to your own very limit
People who bring treats to work on their birthday
When someone compliments you in front of someone you like
Correctly guessing if the door is push or pull
Foreigners who pronounce my name correctly at their first try
My Roam Research graph
The fact that you cannot fail at meditation
Going off the grid
People that are not afraid to ask dumb questions during high-stakes meetings
Chipotle
People that understand that correlation does not equal causation
The moment after the show ends and before the applause begins
Strangers on Facebook Marketplaces that purchased my furniture
That one text you were expecting
People that are not afraid to ask for help
Waiters and waitresses who bring free refills without asking
Making it halfway
A great performance review at work
Cities by the ocean
Woodworking
Belly rubs
When everyone you’re eating with at the restaurant agrees you made the best choice
Anything that can grow wings
Birth
Information abundance as the solution to writer's block
Whenever you are able to avoid short dopamine fixes
Getting a well-positioned locker at the gym
Your favorite author compiling a list of their favorite books
Smart people who use their intelligence to build others up
The fetal position
Really fond memories from looking at group pictures
Canadians
When it suddenly just clicks
Coincidences
Tennis grunts
The concept of opportunity cost
Non-fungible token art
The three-paycheck month
Muscle strength
Jokes with the staff
Overly elaborate pool shots
Worriless sleeping
Intellectual Property
People that can moonwalk
The game of basketball
When your heartbeat suddenly accelerates for no reason
The sound of cork popping
High caps on credit cards
People you don’t need to clean up for when they visit
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Diving into cold water
The moment at a restaurant when you see your food coming from the kitchen
Bakery air
My sister
5am with a cup of coffee
Bearing the fruits of your labor
Capitalism
The fact that in the span of a lifetime, we spend ~3 months brushing our teeth
The smell of coffee powder
Grandpa’s hat
Flip-up sunglasses
Obama playing ball
A glass of milk after eating something incredibly spicy
Feeling unrushed
Street food trucks
Good judgement
Thinking it’s Thursday when it’s Friday
That feeling after you just clipped your hand nails
When the socks from the dryer all match up perfectly
When your windshield wipers match the beat of the song you’re listening to
Atomic habits
Vulnerability
Paid Time Off
Exposed brick walls
When someone compliments your new haircut
People that say thank you and actually mean it
The RadReads newsletter
The sound of airplanes’ toilet flushes
Really clever concepts expressed with very basic language
What sets you apart
Quickly reaching deep sleep
Perfect blood checks
When dots connect
Forgiving white lies
Self-taught coders
Paternity leave
Relaxed face muscles
First month free
Veggie burgers
Thick oil paint
Free samples
An incredible thought-through startup investment thesis
The ability to live by my own values
Knowing your close friend finally left that toxic job
Drying off in the sun after swimming
The difference between freedom from something and freedom to do something
Being able to fix my own bike chain with my bare hands
Coming home after a long day to the smell of someone cooking dinner
Getting dressed out of the dryer or laundry basket
Systems, instead of goals
Waking up really thirsty in the morning and finding a glass of water you can reach from your bed
The hermit crab example that growth comes at the expense of comfort
The Great Big Story series
The thank you wave when you let somebody merge in front of you
People that help you moving furniture
‘Gimme Shelter’ by Rolling Stones, live at Rome in June 2014
When your laptop or cell phone is just about to die but you manage to run and plug it in before it completely shuts off
Airplane toilet flushes
Good listeners
Not the fact that it's raining, but the feeling of being rained upon
Refunds
The State of California
Boat waving
Idea sex
Finally getting the perfect picture
Having met Joe Biden in person
Bike helmets
Eating the crusts of the sandwich first to save the middle part for last
Garlic
Victorian architecture
The way duck walks
Marimekko charts
Correctly guessing the meaning of an acronym before googling it
People that don’t need credentials to signal their value
A new season of your favorite show
Finally peeing after holding it forever
Snowball battles
Twisting the lid off the jar after nobody else could
Naval’s tweets
Being in a good mood
Blueberry jam
My mom’s love
Giving unconditional love, which is at least as good as receiving it
My parents dancing together
Whole Foods
Disagreeing with someone open enough to appreciate your point of view
The other side of the pillow
A random coin in my pocket when I want to get coffee and I am out without wallet
Label makers
Poufs
Bulleted lists
Nice cops
Homemade dishes at potluck dinners
Clean window panes
Being able to teach something to someone
Well kept gardens
Negative Covid tests
Ladybugs
Thoughtful cold emails
When you dodge a bullet
Zero commissions
The timeless beauty of Taj Mahal
The last couple of hours of work before the weekend
Picasso’s Bull
The sound you make walking into fresh snow at night
Narrative violations
Checking somebody out and not getting busted
Wordless apologies
Short sentences
Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever they are
Self-awareness
Drying your hands on your pants
Going to the movies by myself
When chopsticks come apart cleanly
David Foster Wallace description of the toilet flush
Sunday lunch with family
30% tax ruling in the Netherlands
People that separate drunk idiots in bar fights
The fact that wisdom can’t be copied, but must be embodied
Eating the first freshly baked cookie from the oven even though it’s way too hot
Peanut butter
Backseat car windows that go down all the way
Laughing after a good prank
Adrenaline
My grandpa’s old stamp collection
Duffel bags
Ownership
Danish butter cookies
Air purifiers
Picking the most fun carpool on a road trip
Marc Andreessen’s essays
Fat baseball players
Breathing
Espresso shots
Blowing your nose in the shower
Paycheck day
Bedhead all day long
The fact that it takes a village to get to the top
Paying for something with exact change
Alex Danco’s essays
Perfect parallel-parking on the first try
Derek Sivers' most successful email ever written
Giant sequoia trees
The sound of a solid crack from a good break in billiards
Cozy house parties with really interesting people
The fifth pocket on denim pants
Graduation day
Colorful, rare birds
Pyramidal communication
The moment on vacation where you forget what day of the week it is
Right-sized tupperwares
Healthy struggle
When you manage to get ready super fast when there’s no time to shower
My dad watching Formula 1
Little gifts that parents bring you back from their trips
The freedom to do nothing
Free international shipping
Absence of ego
Crusty bread
Genuine curiosity
Notion
Getting buried under piles of heavy blankets on a cold night
When the guy with a full cart of groceries lets you go ahead because you’re only buying one thing
People at the grocery store that know exactly where everything is
Flirting
Realizing how many things you need no permission for
Food delivery, especially during the recent pandemic
The people that read this newsletter
Listening to couples tell you how they met
That pile of assorted beers left in your fridge after a party
Being able to spot a constellation in outer space
Peeling plastic off of new devices
That perfect bite with all the toppings in it
FInding you have something in your teeth before someone else notices
Rad dance moves
Comfy slippers
Alone time after days of intense socializing
Gym soreness the day after
Crispy new knee-high socks
A house full of love
The hand signal between runners when they cross paths
Napping on somebody else
Rome at night
Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans
People that admit mistakes
People that can actually pull off suspenders
Great questions
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Had a strange today and reading this list made it a bit better. Thanks for that! I try to exercise gratitude as often as I can with my own mental list but being able to read someone else's was pretty entertaining but also informative and a bit emotional as well. Thanks again!
Wow this is beautiful at so many levels. Thank you for writing this Michele.