The greatest trick I've learned in living a happy life is always trying to see the world through a grateful lens. This is the story of how a bag of burnt popcorn taught me lessons about gratitude.

A few nights ago, my fiance and I had made plans to have a low-key date on a weekday night: to hang out at home, watch a movie, and eat this special popcorn we had purchased during our trip to Maine. It was a complete popcorn-on-a-cob, which apparently was made with corn harvested all the way back in October and then dried in an unheated greenhouse all the way to March.

The instructions told us this:

• Place the cob in a paper bag

• Put it in your microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes

• Watch closely for popping

Simple enough right?

But after we finished microwaving, and when we opened the paper bag, we were greeted with a jet of smoke. Panicking, we immediately took the paper bag to our balcony to let it air out. We also opened all the windows in our living room and study so we could let out all the smoke.

At this point, we knew that we had totally decimated our popcorn and the only option we had was to try to let what happened ruin our night. We sat down and I pressed play on my Roku.

30 minutes into the movie, we heard a loud knocking on the door.

Thump, thump, thump.

Who could be knocking at our door at 1 a.m. in the morning?

We opened the door expecting to see a neighbor, but instead, we saw four firemen, armed head to toe with equipment, all with looks of concern on their faces. The one knocking asked us if we smelled any smoke, and that's when we realized what was happening:

Our burnt popcorn had accidentally summoned a whole team of firemen. As a result, not only did we waste their time, but we also woke up half of our neighbors in the process.

But instead of spiraling in shame, it made me realize this big truth that I am learning time and time again:

There are so many things we can be grateful for in our daily lives that are often invisible to us.

Before that day, I had never encountered a fireman face-to-face. I've passed by a lot a ton of fire stations around New York and marveled at dozens of fire trucks, but have never really taken the time to think about what they do for the community, neighborhood, and city that I live in and love.

As the flashing red and white lights started to disappear and the fire trucks drove away, I couldn't help but feel this colossal gratitude for the responsiveness and the safety that these firemen provided.

It also reminded me that I am supported by more people in my life than I often realize.

I am writing this newsletter because of so much support I have received over the years, both visible and invisible to me. While swimming in these positive emotions, it also becomes much easier for me to just enjoy this process, regardless of how many subscribers I have or will have.

🌞 Here is a mini gratitude exercise you can try with me today:

The exercise or technique is called "Gratitude Trail" and the goal is to help us realize and appreciate the infinite number of people we can be grateful for.

Take, for example, the device you are using to read this content. Try to imagine how many people it took to design, package, and ship it to you. Zoom in on that one person who handled part of that process, and imagine his/her life and picture the partner, friends, and family that supports them. Keep going as far as and as deep as you like. Don't be afraid to go on tangents, like picturing the tree that the person is leaning on while taking a break from work.

If this exercise makes you think about the people in your life that you appreciate and value, don't forget to tell them you're grateful for them.

Go ahead. They would be so happy to hear it from you.

And if are curious and want to try other gratitude exercises, you can try them here.

How can I help you?

If you are interested in working more closely with me, here are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Apply for a free 1-hour coaching call with me to get personalized guidance on building digital products, without using a line of code. I help aspiring and non-technical founders find purpose, joy, and creativity by empowering them to build out their ideas using no-code tools 💡🚀

2. If you have a business you want to promote, feel free to reply to this email or DM me on Twitter.

And that's it for now! ✨

Thank you for reading this edition all the way to the end. I appreciate you 🙏

Did you like this post? It would mean THE WORLD to me if you could share this on your socials and tag me at @atsaotsao. Thanks again!

Hope to see you in the next issue!