Here’s a weird statement, my friend, Neil Pasricha, is simultaneously one of the free-est, and also most rules-based and systematized humans I know. He’s got a system or ritual or set of rules for just about everything from how many nights a month he can be away from his family - that’s written into his signed family contract by the way - to what he does the first two minutes of every day to how and we he can hang out with friends, wander the streets in solitude, workout. Even the very thing that exploded him into the public consciousness about a decade ago, his wildly-popular blog about tiny pleasures and awesome things, was pre-designed around a countdown from 1,000 to 1 day. 

You might think this would make life feel rigid, boxed in, devoid of freedom and room to play. But, for Neil, it’s the exact opposite. All these systems and rules and rituals and routines remove so much decision-making burden it’s like he has tons more time to actually just do the things he loves and that make him smile. And that includes everything from playing with his wife and kids to traveling, speaking, writing a series of blockbuster books and more.

His new book - Our Book of Awesome: A Celebration of the Small Joys That Bring Us Together, for the first time ever, invites hundreds, actually, it might even be thousands of people into his writing and sharing and community-building process to share awesome things from people’s lives, large gobsmacking to short, sweet and funny, from all over the world.

It’s a wonderful read that I highly recommend, and today we’re diving deep into Neil’s compelling take on saying yes to systems as a way to bring more freedom and joy and space into your life and then inviting the community to share in both the awesomeness and the process of creation.

You can find Neil at: Website | Instagram | 3 Books Podcast

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Susan Cain about the creative power of bittersweetness.

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