“All You Can Eat” Is No Bargain

The July Project: Day 12

Try this exercise: Drop in on a Chinese buffet at the height of the lunch rush. Take a quick visual survey of the first 10 adults you see. Notice how many of them are overweight. Count the number who could probably be described as morbidly obese.

Now turn around, walk out, and go eat somewhere else.


I understand the arguments in favor of buffet dining: you don’t have to limit yourself to a single menu choice, it’s easy to feed yourself quickly, there are plenty of things that the kids like, and so on. I’m also not bashing Chinese cuisine in general …[MORE]

Birds of a Feather, Part I: Small Moments of Contagious Happiness

The July Project: Day 8

Someone once told me, “Happy and successful people tend to be surrounded by other happy and successful people.” If we assume for a moment that it’s true, what are the implications? If you don’t find yourself in the company of people who are thriving, how are you supposed to get ahead?

  1. Trade in your friends for new, better ones.
  2. Keep your friends, but add a few higher-quality ones to raise the average.
  3. Concentrate on what you can do to improve your own life.
  4. Leverage your happiness and success by focusing on the well-being of the people around you.

It seems that answers C and D might be two sides of the same coin …[MORE]