Optimism is a muscle you can grow. And here are three simple things that grow it: 1. Unfollow all news 2. Keep your phone out of your bedroom 3. Hang out with optimistic people 4. Keep a list of things that make you happy 5. Play ‘Rose, Rose, Thorn, Bud’ around the dinner table

“More than ever in these image- and recording-obsessed times we distrust words, which seem at once too loud to echo the silence and too muted to express tumultuous existence.” — Fernanda Melchor

We think: "Work hard today, be happy tomorrow." We should think: "Be happy today, do great work tomorrow."

“Be softer with you. You are a breathing thing. A memory to someone. Home to a life.” —Nayyirah Waheed

“What most commonly led people around the world to feel awe? Nature? Spiritual practice? Listening to music? In fact, it was other people’s courage, kindness, strength, or overcoming.” ― Dacher Keltner, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

Our brain scans the world for problems and sometimes that’s all we see. Happiness is a choice. And it's hard work.

I sat down in Nairobi with award-winning Kenyan novelist Peter Kimani to talk normalizing abnormalities, decolonization, writing habits, whitewashing conservation, and much more. Here are some of my favourite quotes.

Ten most important two-letter words? If it is to be it is up to me.

Our brain scans the world for problems and sometimes that’s all we see. Happiness is a choice. And it's hard work.

“I think the idea of having a ‘type’ is so wrapped up in what our cultural standards of beauty are and what our gender standards are.” Jen Agg on #3bookspodcast

“If I were a doctor, I’d prescribe books. They can be just as powerful as drugs.” Shane Parrish

“The creative adult is the child who has survived.”—Ursula K. Le Guin

I sat down with Carl Honoré, author of 'In Praise of Slowness', to talk about how to live a calmer, slower, richer life. Here are some of my favourite quotes.

What story are you telling yourself? “I failed biology” is a fact. “I failed my parents” is a story. “I’m an alcoholic” is a fact. “Nobody trusts me” is a story. “I have a pot belly” is a fact. “Nobody will love me” is a story.

Everything I read in September!

“Empathy is not relating to an experience, it’s connecting to what someone is feeling about an experience.”―Brené Brown

“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts”—Marcus Auerelius

I just sat down with novelist Robin Sloan ('Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore', 'Moonbound'!) and talked AI ethics, olive oil, myths, and, of course, formative books… here are a few of my favorite quotes:

We’re all full of self-judgments. Sometimes we forget that we are all trying, trying, trying. We are all getting better. Be easier on yourself.

Everything I read in August!

It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than to think yourself into a new way of acting.

"You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it."—Oprah Winfrey Oprah knows: Intrinsic motivation outperforms extrinsic motivation. To see if it’s there, ask: "Would I do this for free?"

I was starstruck when I met one of my lifelong idols for a chapter of 3 Books: Jerry Howarth, the voice of the Blue Jays. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Love of bustle is not industry."—Seneca

5 books I recommend if you’re feeling anxious: 1. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson 2. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh 3. Our Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha 4. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson 5. Mindset by Carol Dweck

Want to be a stronger leader? Read 20 (or even 2!) pages of fiction a day.

"Over the course of my life, I have known no wise people, over a broad subject matter area, who didn’t read all the time ― none, zero." ― Charlie Munger

A good job includes the 4 S’s: Social (friends) Stimulation (learning) Structure (schedule) Story (purpose)

All of us have contracts with our employers. Very few of us have contracts with our partners. My wife and I have one with four points on it:

Absolutely loved 'Four Thousand Weeks' by Oliver Burkeman (who was also an amazing guest in Chapter 142 of 3 Books!). If you're in a pinch and squint mood here are a few of my favorite pages from the book.

“The imagination is not a state: it is the human existence itself.”—William Blake

I start my days with two-minute mornings. Before I get out of bed or reach for my phone I take two minutes to prime my brain for the day. I write down my answers to: 1) I will let go of... 2) I am grateful for… 3) I will focus on…

Let’s get rid of book shame and book guilt. There are no prizes for reading thick bricks with big words. Nobody cares how smart you look. Just read what you love until you love to read.

Want an easy 2-minute happiness intervention? Phone a friend. That's it. Just pick up the phone and phone a friend. What if they don't answer?  Doesn't matter. 2-minute voicemail or voicenote over text works just fine.

Never retire!

A few years ago, I settled into the children's section of Book City in the heart of Toronto's beautiful Bloor West Village with my favorite bookseller in the world—the one and only Sarah Ramsey. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

One tip to avoid overwhelm: Every night before bed I grab a blank index card and write down 3 tasks I want to do tomorrow.  That’s it. Just 3.  The forced prioritization is half the battle.  It always helps me sleep better.

In the early 2010s, I wrote a self-help book that catapulted me into a strange universe. I went from working an office job in the suburbs to walking onto TV show sets where I was often introduced as “Captain Awesome” or “The Happy Guy!”

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." — Bob Dylan

Untouchable Days are days when I am literally 100% unreachable in any way…by anyone. On these days, I’m 10 times more productive.

91-year-old Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is on 3 Books!

5 ways to read a lot more books: 1. Put a bookshelf by your front door and move the TV downstairs 2. Delete news and social media apps off your phone ⬇️

We decided it was important for us to have one Family Day every week. What’s a Family Day?

Average lifespan in North America is 30,000 days.   Today is 1 of those days.    Close BlueSky.    Call someone you love.

Have you ever felt burned out at work after a vacation? I’m talking about how you knew, the whole time, that a world of work was waiting for you upon your return. Our vacation systems are completely broken. What’s the solution?

I’m back into zines! It happened suddenly. Do you have a favourite zine? Or just one you recommend?

A book I’ve been dreaming up for years–a collection of Canadian stories, quirks, traditions, and memories–finally gets to see the light. When publishers passed, I realized it didn’t need to be a ‘big book’ to matter.

Only 2 days left before my next book lands! It’s a feel-good, self-published collection of Canadian memories, stories, and good old-fashioned small joys. Can’t wait to read it? Check it out in podcast form, out now: https://youtu.be/9ut5r3BneLM

In an era of infinite choice the value of curation skyrockets.

A one-step plan for how to be happier 👇🏾 Step 1: Turn off your phone for rest of the day