Throw Your Morning Routine in the Garbage and Try This Instead
(Or keep your morning routine and add this... it's short, simple, and free!)
Happy Thursday Friends,
Did you ever notice how you meet the coolest people right when you’re leaving a party or event? These are the kind of people that have a special energy about them, and you wish you could stay and talk.
That happened to me a few weeks ago when I was getting ready to leave an event. I was saying goodbye to a friend when someone he knew approached us. I soon met DJ, who had a huge smile on his face and just radiated with positive energy.
I learned DJ is a very busy guy - he’s a husband, father, COO of a major fellowship church and plaza (that includes 5000 members, two schools, and ministries), AND a business owner himself.
As DJ told us what he does, my friend asked,
DJ, how do you do it all?
DJ kind of laughed and said,
Yeah, I know, it’s a lot…
I just… start each day with the best of intentions.
And with that, DJ inspired What I’d Rather Be Talking About this week:
DJ‘s success formula includes two key points:
1. A Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
2. An approach to life that addresses that while we have no control over ultimate outcomes, we can control our intentions.
When we face our days with good intentions fueled by a PMA,
life just feels better and less overwhelming,
even if things don’t go our way.
I realized that DJ is successful because he doesn’t let the stress of life (which is there whether we have 1 or 100 things on our daily list) get in the way of his intentions.
And, like a guest leaving a party just when it’s getting good, I’ll leave you to ponder DJ’s wisdom.
But don’t worry. I’ve left you some good stuff below.
AND something different this week!
I’m experimenting with the format of Thursday’s newsletter a bit, as well as Saturday’s (the edition for paid subscribers).
And hey… if you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love it if you’d click on the orange button below - if anything, just to do a little window shopping to see your options. You can sign up for a free plan or upgrade to paid, which means extra newsletters, my secret thoughts (juicy), and special surprises coming to your inbox. Whichever plan you choose, I want you to know I appreciate you coming back week after week!
Ciao,
Abbey
Sweet dreams lead to sweet days. It’s hard to have a great day if you’ve had a restless night. For cozier nights, try Buffy - a company offering plant-based, sustainably made sheets, comforters, and pillows. (Check out their sale! ) But if tummy troubles are keeping you up, try this sleep meditation for digestion (yeah, it’s a thing… who knew?) or drift off with meditations to connect with your loved ones or spirit guides.
Trying to keep it clean, even during the holidays. Healthy holiday meal ideas from The Pioneer Woman, clean side dishes and gluten-free options from DELISH, and some visually pleasing and easy-to-make options from Tastemade.
Photo by Henrique Felix on Unsplash Money advice from Penny Hoarder - 7 Things You Should Never Do With Your Money. A financial podcast that’s right up my alley: Can We *Really* Manifest Wealth and Prosperity? Also, if you want to get rich, Ramit Sethi can teach you how in this YouTube series.
Business cards, stickers, holiday cards & more. Call me old school (or just old), but I like a good old-fashioned business card. I think it’s because I discovered the coolest cards around from a company called MOO. Moo has mini cards, square cards, stickers, and even holiday cards!
Where are my DEAR EDWARD fans? A bunch of newsletters ago, I recommended the Apple TV series & book called Dear Edward. Well, the author, Ann Napolitano, wrote another book - Hello Beautiful that sounds equally as powerful and moving as Dear Edward. (So, get your hankies.)
Because how can we be in November without talking about buying things? If you’re looking for alternatives to big box stores and the big A word, here’s a gift guide of women-owned businesses & a roundup of Etsy gifts under $50.
Something for my 80s girls or 80s wannabes… If I had gobs of money, I’d buy one of these for each of my childhood friends. I can’t even stand the nostalgia. And not sure why I’m so into the 80s this week, but if you suddenly want your MTV, too, check this site out.
 It’s not a newsletter without at least three podcasts or streaming recs. In my ears this week are The Top 24 Destinations to Visit in 2024, Getting Funky with Probiotics (do I know how to have a good time or what?), and How to Live a Longer, Healthier Life with Parsley Health’s Dr. Robin Berzin.
And more baseball this week… coming from the girl who didn’t know the World Series was going on until last week. Run, do not walk, to Netflix and watch the story of Yogi Berra, It Ain’t Over. Would make a great post-Thanksgiving dinner watch for the whole fam.
ON A SERIOUS NOTE
As I end this newsletter, I’m going to share a Yogi Berra-ism, as I’ve been inspired by the Netflix documentary mentioned above.
There are a lot of things in life you can’t control, but how you respond to things that you CAN control.
Inevitably, as we go through life, we’ll get beaten down by things out of our hands.
This can be frustrating. And defeating, making it hard to be our own cheerleaders and get motivated to try again the next day.
But if we take DJ’s advice and face each day with the best of intentions, perhaps the hard times won’t seem as bad.
And when all else fails, just remember Yogi’s most famous advice:
If you get to a fork in the road, take it.
Let’s keep at it, friends.
Coming to you with the very best of intentions,
Abbey
