"The Book of Awesome"
So what's this all about?
Polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes swirl in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze.
Whoa.
It's getting pretty ugly out there.
That's why one chilly spring night I started a tiny website called 1000 Awesome Things. For a boring guy with a nine-to-five job, it became a getaway from my everyday.
I never imagined that writing about finding money in your old coat pocket, the smell of gasoline, or watching The Price Is Right when you're at home sick would amount to any¬thing.
Honestly, when I started the site I got excited when my mom forwarded it to my dad and the traffic doubled. Then I got excited when friends sent it to friends and strangers started sending me suggestions:
"When cashiers open up new checkout lanes at the grocery store," "The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk," "Waking up and realizing it's Saturday."
It seems like maybe these tiny little moments make an awesome difference in many of our rushed, jam-packed lives. Maybe we all love snow days, peeling an orange in one shot, and Popping Bubble Wrap.
Maybe we're basically all the same.
Over the past year the website grew into a warm place where people around the world came to curl up under a blan¬ket and think about the small joys we often overlook. With so much sad news and bad news pouring down upon us, it's fun to stop for a minute and share a universal high five with the rest of humanity.
What started on a whim has changed me for the better too. Now when I get the thank-you wave while merging, hear the crack of ice cubes in my drink, or move clothes from the washer to the dryer without dropping anything, I just smile and enjoy the moment.
So . . . that's the story so far. That's how we got from there to here. And now it's time to come on in. The fire's crackling and there's a seat on the couch here. Cuddle up and let's all get into it.
Let's all get onto it.
And let's all get a little bit
AWESOME!
Reprinted from THE BOOK OF AWESOME by Neil Pasricha by arrangement with G.P. Putnam's Sons/Amy Einhorn Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright © 2010 by Neil Pasricha.