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legend. Getting anything produced was a
awards, that became classics, and that then had people quoting them verbatim year
You had to maximize joy when it fluttered into your life. You had to honor it. And savor it. And not stomp it to death by reminding everyone of everything you’d lost.
“Because last night, when I was reading your stuff, I wanted to work with you. And I haven’t wanted anything—anything at all—in a very, very long time.”
I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we’re longing for—adventure, excitement, emotion, connection—we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with—sometimes questions so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them—we look for answers in stories.
Bearing witness to the suffering of others? I don’t know if there’s anything kinder than that. And kindness is a form of emotional courage. And I’m not sure if this is common knowledge, but emotional courage is its own reward.
Because if fantasies come true, they can’t be fantasies anymore. And then what do you have to fantasize about?
“They’re just not the kind of flowers you buy for yourself.” Charlie was quiet a second, and I realized he was suppressing a smile. “I’m glad I bought them for you, then.”
“Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that’ll be true.”
“So if I say, ‘This terrible thing happened, and it ruined my life’—then that’s true. But if I say, ‘This terrible thing happened, but, as crazy as it sounds, it made me better,’ then that’s what’s true.”
happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”
If you wait for other people to light you up, then I guess you’re at the mercy of darkness.
You need somebody in your life who lifts you up—not drags you down. Trust me on this.
“You can get away with so much when people have already decided to like you.”
“People say ‘marriage is hard’
“But I disagree. I don’t think marriage is hard. I think, in fact, if you do it right, marriage is the thing that makes everything else easier.”
“Appreciate your person.”
“Choose a good, imperfect person who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, and puts the toilet paper roll on upside down, and loads the dishwasher like a ferret on steroids—and then appreciate the hell out of that person. Train yourself to see their best, most delightful, most charming qualities. Focus on everything they’re getting right. Be grateful—all the time—and laugh the rest off.”
“There it is. The whole trick to life. Be aggressively, loudly, unapologetically grateful.”
So it can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there.
It’s all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on. It’s all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it—but how you choose to tell it.
