Escape Adulthood

Live with Less Stress & More Fun

Archives for November 2017

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Steven Sauke, November 2017 Adultitis Fighter of the Month

An Adultitis Fighter is someone who rallies against rules that don't exist and engages in ruthless, senseless acts of silliness that undermine Adultitis and its unadventurous version of adulthood. Once a month, we shine a light upon the most remarkable among us, holding them up as a dazzling example of what we should strive for in this epic battle against a formidable enemy. Steven Sauke takes Adultitis Fighting seriously. He is always on the lookout for fun ideas, jokes, and puns to share with others. Steven travels through life with a great sense of childlike curiosity, capturing the new places and ideas he explores through various forms of art. There are two other things we love about Steven that make him a great example for others. He is not afraid to be or look silly. The photos he shares online often feature him making funny faces wherever he's at. Not only is that a surefire sign of someone with low levels of Adultitis, but it gives permission to others that they don't …

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Stuff vs. Experiences

This past January, as the ho ho hos of the holiday season abruptly transitioned to the ho ho hums of winter, I came across this abandoned television on a walk around the neighborhood. (Sad face added by me.) No doubt this technological marvel was the highlight of some Christmas past, but there it sat on the side of the road, amidst dirty piles of old snow, valueless. Here’s a what I wrote then: The beauty of the light from a hundred candles in a darkened church on Christmas Eve, the afternoon spent together covered in flour while baking snickerdoodles, tucking some deliriously excited but exhausted kids into bed after a late night at Grandma’s; these moments that rush by too fast — rudely neglecting to warn us of their importance as they go — are more valuable than a million big screen TVs. Indeed, the intangible things grow more valuable every passing year. We usually wish we had savored them more when we had the chance. In many ways, this year will be the same as the last: …

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How to Get a Free 2018 Celebrate Everything Calendar

Happy Purple Tuesday! Never heard of it? That's ok. It's basically the new Black Friday, and we have a killer deal you will definitely want to take advantage of. From now through Monday, November 27th (yep, apparently Purple Tuesday lasts a whole week), you will get a free 2018 Celebrate Everything calendar for every $25 you spend at the Lemonade Stand! Considering the calendar sells for $25, we think that's a heck of a steal! You don't have to do anything special; our friendly elves will automatically add the calendars you earned to your package before shipping it out. ;) And we've got lots of cool things that will make it easy to fill your cart. Shop now! …

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The Blessings We Don’t Deserve

Near our house, there is a large wooded marsh with a series of winding trails. Just about every day, either Kim or I or both of us are out taking a walk in that marsh. She takes amazing photographs with her phone of details that I walk right by. (See below.) The other day I stumbled upon three deer, and we all froze. I bet I spent five full minutes standing there, quietly, having a staring contest with them. When they finally ran away, I marveled at their grace and power, and they reminded me a bit of NFL wide receivers. I love those encounters. And I am grateful for that marsh. Interestingly, it wasn’t one of the listed selling points when we bought our house. We didn’t even know it existed. But the funny thing is, if we ever move, the marsh would be one of the hardest things to let go of. Everyone knows that if you plan well and work hard, good things usually happen. But I’m sure we’d all agree that we have a number of blessings in our lives that we didn’t plan for, …

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The Magic Question That Will Make You The Most Innovative Person You Know

The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace. Meanwhile, most of us are being asked to do more with less. The answer to a prosperous and glorious future, it seems, is innovation. That’s all well and good, except for the fact that innovation is often regarded as one step away from sorcery. It is reserved for the super smart, super creative, or super inhabitants of Silicon Valley. Hogwash. You can be more innovative, right now, today. (I don't care if you are reading this in your pajamas or your hair looks like it just took on a tornado.) The dictionary tells us that innovation is merely the introduction of a new and better method, idea or thing. That's it. So yeah, the iPhone was a pretty ginormous innovation. But you know what else was? The person who came up with the idea to put tennis balls on walkers. Apparently they add value somehow, because every walker I've ever seen has one on each leg. Contrary to popular belief, innovation can be easy, but only if you …

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Purple People

If you are reading this, you are in an amazing company of people. Seriously. I hope that you get value out of these weekly messages from me, but there is so much inspiration to be found within this merry band of Adultitis Fighters! Of course we highlight some of them with our Adultitis Fighter of the Month award, but that’s just scratching the surface. A few weeks ago, I wrote about purple goats. Maybe you had to be there, but you can read that post here. The idea was about how we can make a big difference in our families and workplaces by making a conscious decision to stand out. I challenged everyone to be a little more “purple,” and share the results. Here are some of my favorite examples: Melissa Webster has only been working for her company for a few months, but in her role of sending internal communications, she is already gaining a reputation for having emails worth reading for their light-hearted entertainment value alone. She gives out virtual high fives, apology poems …

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