"I like to use 'I Can't Believe it's Not Butter' on my toast in the morning, because sometimes when I eat breakfast, I like to be incredulous. How was breakfast? Unbelievable." –Demetri Martin The early explorers who came back with stories from Yellowstone were written off as crazy people. Surely a loose screw, an overindulgence on booze, or insanity caused by being alone for too long was easier to believe than the tall tales that returned. Upside down waterfalls? Boiling rivers? Bubbling mud? Twenty foot beasts? Please. Well, if you've never seen a geyser, hydrothermal activity, or …
Two Questions to Help You Live a Wonder-Filled Life
A clear night sky is a thing of beauty, with millions of stars blinking silently overhead. It's a pity we rarely notice them. In an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David is speaking with a receptionist at a law firm who has a spectacular view of the city behind her. "Beautiful view here! How long did it take you to take it for granted?" She replies, "Umm, not long I guess." He candidly admits, "It would take me about a day. Maybe less. Maybe half an hour. And I would never look out the window again." How quickly we take wonder for granted. This painting was …
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Best Twenty Bucks I Ever Spent
Last week I was enjoying a wonderful dinner with some speaker friends. We started a table discussion about the best place you've ever been that you'd like to go back to. While others shared amazing stories of Tuscany, Brazil, and Ireland, I felt silly because all I could think of was the Quality Inn in Clearwater, Florida. I'm pretty sure the year was 2007. Kim and I didn't have kids yet, and we were in the early stages of my speaking career. We'd recently been to a speakers convention where a guy named Randy Gage talked about these exotic bungalows in Tahiti. He noted that some are perched …
The Art of Little Things
We ordered a pizza last weekend from a local joint that we love. When the delivery driver pulled into our driveway, we were delighted to see that she had decorated her car for Halloween! Several large rubber spiders clung to her cobweb-laden Corolla, and when she came to the door, not only did she have a hot pizza, but she also pulled some fun stickers out of her pocket to give to the kids! I guess you could say she was an over-delivery driver! She didn’t need permission from her boss to do what she did. She didn’t even need much money. And I am certain that this wasn't an official …
How to Increase Your Odds of Saying Today Was a Good Day
The other day was really good. Nothing earth-shattering occurred, but it ended up just being really wonderful. After a decent night's sleep, I made a breakfast of eggs, sausage and cinnamon rolls. Then we all headed to the local Apple Store to see if the wifi on my phone was broken. It was, and out of warranty, to boot. (Not great.) We decided to upgrade and order new phones (Super great!) After chowing down on that new bacon stuffed crust pizza at Pizza Hut, we drove home and Kim and I enjoyed some peace and quiet in the yard while the kids napped. Afterwards, we took advantage of the wind …
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Ben’s Purple Mustache
Adultitis was kicking our butt. It had been exactly a month since Virginia Rose was born. A good month, to be sure, but also a long one. Weary of the bitter cold weather, our entire family was tired of being cooped up, and the older two kids were passing time by pushing our buttons. Two-year-old Ben had a streak of purple under his nose, a colorful souvenir from "smelling" the markers we used to keep him quiet. Although we pined for an afternoon at a Florida beach, it was decided that going out to lunch was the best we could hope for today. As I went to wipe the marker from Ben’s face, …
Bill Murray and a Lesson On Slowing Down
I love this awesome video (via Don Miller) of Bill Murray with some fans. He agreed to slowly walk down a hallway with the guys so they could film it as though they were in one of his movies. It's pretty epic, and goes WAY beyond a simple autograph. https://player.vimeo.com/video/20089652 Here's Don's commentary: It just goes to show you how great life can be if you’re willing to slow down for people. Of course, none of us are Bill Murray, but slowing down for your spouse, your kids or your friends for just a minute to really give them something that will blow their minds is a magical …
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How to Make Life More Exciting
I blame the microwave oven. Apparently it was the gateway drug that fueled our insatiable desire for immediacy. When you can cook an entire dinner in 30 seconds, why wait for anything? I was shocked to see that our neighbor put up her Christmas tree the day after Halloween. I tried to imagine a plausible explanation. Perhaps she was leaving for a two-month trip to New Zealand and wouldn't return until Christmas Eve, and she certainly wouldn’t want to have to unpack AND put up the tree? Then I started seeing and hearing of more people doing the same. I saw one house with a Christmas tree in …
My New Red Shoes
When it comes to fashion, I'm pretty plain. My daily uniform is usually jeans and a t-shirt. When I speak, I gussy up the jeans and t-shirt with a sport coat. Throughout my entire life, my shoes have typically been one color (black or white) with no more than one accent color. To me, fashion is all about two things: comfort, and not looking like an idiot. Since I'll never be mistaken as a New York City fashionista, the "looking like an idiot" part is avoided by keeping things plain and simple. And then I started thinking about getting red shoes. …
Woman Sees City Streets as Giant Take a Penny, Leave a Penny Repository
Mary Nuckolls is a Champion of Childhood because she gives away money. But not the way you think. She's not some rich heiress who has so much money she doesn't know what to do with it. She's not a professional philanthropist. She works at a preschool. …
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