Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 224

“I don’t remember deciding that I didn’t want kids. I just...

“I don’t remember deciding that I didn’t want kids. I just always knew. I expected to have a solitary and philosophical life. It had nothing to do with the noise or the responsibility or the diapers, I just didn’t feel qualified. I couldn’t figure out my own life. How was I supposed to be responsible for someone else’s happiness and sense of self-worth? I pictured fatherhood as a quiet living room where everyone was unhappy and nobody knew why. But I was wrong. They made me so much happier, and it was so much easier than I thought. I didn’t realize how much of being a father is just about doing things together and being where they are.”

“Choosing what I want to do with my life is like trying...

“Choosing what I want to do with my life is like trying to watch a YouTube video. When I’m halfway through the video, I glance over at the sidebar and see they’re recommending something else that seems more interesting.”

“I’m twenty-four, but I look like I’m...

“I’m twenty-four, but I look like I’m twelve. So I’m hoping I’ll age like Clooney.”

“We lived in Idaho, but our dairy farm went broke when the...

“We lived in Idaho, but our dairy farm went broke when the government dropped the price support for milk. Then I saw an ad in the paper looking for someone to build a library for Alaska’s first Eskimo college. I needed a job, and I’d studied library science in college, so we packed up all our kids and moved to Alaska. We stayed for 17 years, and I started libraries in about a dozen Eskimo villages. We lived for a few years in Barrow, which is the northernmost city in the United States. It was completely dark for several months a year. The temperature would fall below zero in October, and wouldn’t get back above zero until May. We’ve had an interesting life for a couple of farm kids.”

“I’m under a lot of pressure to create a new currency where...

“I’m under a lot of pressure to create a new currency where people can profit from helping other people. This has been prophesied over and over again. I need to work harder because I feel like I know the future and I’m the one who has to drive this train.”

“I was born in a small town in North Carolina, but my family...

“I was born in a small town in North Carolina, but my family moved north when we were young. After I graduated from college, I went back for a visit. I thought it would be fun to make a bit of a triumphant return to my hometown. I was driving a new car and had a City College sweatshirt, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. As soon as we arrived, we got out of the car to walk around a bit. We were acting a bit too self-assured. My brother started taking photos of signs that said ‘Negro Entrance.’ We were gone for a couple hours. When we got back, a young white teenage mechanic was shouting at us from across the street. ‘Don’t get in your car!’ he screamed. ‘Don’t get in your car!’ He brought his truck over and towed us back to his garage. He explained that he’d seen the police disconnect our muffler so they could pull us over and take us to jail. After he fixed our muffler, I drove all the way back to New Jersey and didn’t return for 40 years.”

“I love when it’s almost dawn because that’s when my creature...

“I love when it’s almost dawn because that’s when my creature friends wake up and start singing to me.”

Just about a month away from the release of HONY Stories!...

Just about a month away from the release of HONY Stories! (October 13th) The first few copies have arrived and they look beautiful. The book is pretty massive. It’s 43% larger than the first book and includes more of everything. There are tons of the richer and more mature stories that have emerged over the last couple of years. Plus there are over 100 exclusive stories, which have never been seen and are among my favorites. HONY Stories is the result of thousands of hours of work. And I won’t say it’s perfect. But I’m pretty sure it’s as perfect of a book as I’m capable of making at this point in my life.

To top it all off, we managed to keep it at the same price as the last book. ($29.99) You can preorder now for 30% off, and it will be on your doorstep next month!

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1aXqwEk
BARNES AND NOBLE: http://bit.ly/1KCQeOt
INDIEBOUND: http://bit.ly/1GUl4L6

“Second grade is starting on Wednesday. They assign homework...

“Second grade is starting on Wednesday. They assign homework in second grade, so I’m a little worried about that. Also the teachers don’t help you as much. They might see that you are spelling a word wrong, and they’ll let you spell it wrong without even telling you. They’re not being mean. They just want to push you. Not actually push you. But push you to spell better. And I’m pretty sure we’re going to be learning about Native Americans. Because I walked by a second grade class last year and everyone was on the floor making Native American stuff out of clay.”

“I spent about ten years as a music agent. Along the way, I...

“I spent about ten years as a music agent. Along the way, I became very interested in how my clients handled success. Some of them were tremendously successful but quite unhappy. Others seemed quite content with their success. The subject interested me so much that I went back to school to study the science of happiness, and now I teach the subject at NYU. Happiness doesn’t necessarily mean you have a smile on your face. It’s more of a mixing board with several different dials: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. Everyone’s mixing board is set differently. There’s no one way to be happy and there’s no wrong way to be happy. I may draw my happiness from relationships, while somebody else may need to be constantly engaged in the pursuit of a goal.”