Some things I just can’t shake. References. Jokes. Song lyrics. Food cravings. All have a trigger.
Almost anytime someone says “number two”, today it was celebrating “we’re number two” on a family text thread, my mind instantly goes here.
#amgrateful and #iamthankful for Austin Powers, and also, all the bullets Tom Arnold took while being Mrs Roseanne Barr. Keep healing, Tom.
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“You can only lose what you cling to.”
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Somewhere between those two lines — a clinging love, an exhausting hell — lives my past 4.5 years of work.
Starting today, I’m no longer between them. Who knows what side I will end up past, but I’m happy to assuredly be no longer between.
“No matter how much we want things to stay the same, life is all about change. Sometimes change is for the better, and sometimes it’s not.”
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that time is unavoidable, unstoppable, and relentless. Because it also only moves forward. All the things we can’t control move forward. All of the things that move backwards, are a product of our own choices.
Today was a can’t lose, bye hell, hello change kinda day. And I will raise my glass to it.
Leggo.
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The greatest measure of a person’s life is found in love.
Warren Buffet, some 18 years ago, defined it further as whether or not the people you want to have love you, love you.
I used to believe that. Until I realized that approach can be gamed. You can pursue only the reciprocal. You can choose to stop loving those who don’t love you back. I don’t buy Warren Buffett’s advice.
It’s selfish. It sets us on a path where we are judged by the way people see us. That’s great for history books. It’s not a great way to move forward in life. It’s downright unhealthy.
I believe he’s onto something; he just got caught up on the validation. On outcomes. Outcomes aren’t always ours to take credit or blame for. What is ours is our effort, our motivation, our approach. Give me the right work over lucky outcomes any day. Really.
Which is why I see it differently. At 44. With two kids. Who I struggle with on a moment to moment basis between who I want them to become and what I need them to know: which is that I love them, no matter what.
And the latter point is where it clicks.
To me, that’s the greatest measure of success today. Loving. No matter what.
At scale.
I wonder then: Have I found a way to love everyone I meet? For some reason? Have I found a way to love more no matter what you get back?
You don’t love so you can be loved. You love simply to love. Love isn’t something you can channel, or direct, or choose.
Love Just is.
The greatest measure of a person’s life is how much, how far, how wide — how truly and honestly, you love.
In year 44, I vow to love more, regardless. I vow to just love. And I believe if I can do so, it will be my most successful year ever. And if I can’t. I’ll be back here writing the same thing for year 45.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for year 44 and for the opportunity to love more.
Be well.
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We just started making our way through the pictures from our trip to Walt Disney World (that you made possible) 6 weeks ago … and we’re speechless.
As we scrolled through all of the pictures we relived the experience and we gained an even greater appreciation (if that’s possible?) for everything your planning made possible.
Every meal.
Every experience.
Planning everything around specific Fast Pass lines.
The fact that you timed your calls in to book rides and events that people can’t believe we were able to get into. The boat ride with the fireworks. I don’t know what to say. You created one of the most incredible experiences for our family. We’ll be telling the world all about you.
Thank you! You made the most magical place on earth even more magical.
Believe it. 
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for you
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I don’t know how to explain it or you. I’m dumbfounded.
You’re 5 years old and change. Sometimes you have the auditory sensibilities of an 80 year old Roadie who traveled with the Stones but “never could afford those ear plugs”. But sometimes, you demonstrate the auditory acuity of Superwoman wearing Miracle Ear.
The best part? Those often toggle on and off as personas in the same conversation.
But I’m here to write for you today because there are times when I do just feel. Heavy. Old. Dragging. Barely carrying my own weight let alone being able to pick you up when you want.
And the most magical sound and the most magical face for me is yours, in that moment. When literally not a soul is attuned to my self-awareness of my own inabilities, and life is just moving forward — Godspeed – life is just accelerating like Cole Trickle on a comeback lap.
When literally, that’s the scene, and the studio audience is waiting for a feeling.
You step in.
Every time.
And make eye contact. It’s one of the times you treat me like you treat everything else you focus on, and nothing else matters. You drop your fork. You drop your crayon. You drop your dolls. You drop your interests.
And you look at me and you keep saying “Buhboo” until I look back.
And then you drop it like Thor’s hammer.
“I love you.”
And with that, my wings have wind.
You’ve done that to me since you were born, Buhboo. With your actions (when I was stressed and needed you to chill or sleep or stay asleep, you magically did), and now, with your attention.
Thank you, Buhboo. You heal me with your words and your attention. I love you, Anaiya.
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I’m gonna take a shower in a bit. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful and #wemissyou Life will never be what it was but it will move forward and we will squeeze the hell out of every moment.
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A year ago I wrote a post about how grateful and thankful I was for the opportunities 2018 presented. Two days later, my father died.
My life changed profoundly on that day and I’ve spent the past year thinking about how to live a more deliberate life. I decided to document that here and I’m working hard to translate this to our team Crazy Egg and to the people who we work for every single day.
Feedback welcome.
Thanks to Hiten Shah Amee Shah John Butler and Neil Patel for the support they showed me that first month and every day ever since.
https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/its-time-to-start-paying-attention/
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2018 … was not easy. Personally. Professionally. It was a year that shook me to my core.
Upon heavy reflection, specifically the past 6 weeks, I realize it’s no coincidence that it ran in parallel with my stepping back from public, daily, gratitude. So today, on the first day of the year, I want to acknowledge the role I played in defining 2018 (on all of the wrong feet), and I want to set the footing…straight. I’ll start with celebrating two people for whom I have no words.
Mom and Dad.
Not those of blood and birthright. But those of luck and choice. Priya KC Bhatt‘s parents. More powerfully, my parents for the past decade plus.
Today…they were there for me, my sis, and my mom … and to them, they’ll think nothing of it.
How do you explain tonight? New Year’s Eve? For my entire childhood I remember my parents making a go at whatever America threw at us, for us. Halloween. Valentine’s Day. Birthdays. Christmas. Thanksgiving. July 4th. You name it. They absorbed, adopted, acclimated, and served my sister Anu Kiran and I a platter, a feast, of moments. But New Year’s Eve? That was theirs.
They partied and threw down in a way that would make the most velvet of ropes feel inferior.
Until February 4th, 2018. When Dad skipped the line and entered the next venue a bit before Mom (she’s destined to enter that party at some point, some days she’s more eager than others, but we know he’s already paid her way and is merely inside, holding a hightop table, with her drink ready … Gin & Tonic … hell, he probably told the barkeep how to make it). New Year’s Eve was them. Until it wasn’t. Today. It wasn’t. How do you fill that void? You bring two amazing kids along for the ride. And wow. Anaiya and Jaanu …they fill voids. They fill canyons. They’d turn the Grand Canyon into a Nebraskan highway.
But how else do you fill that void? You marry into the Chadha family. And you watch Satinder Chadha and Daljit Chadha step into the most complicated of spaces and bring smiles, fun, love, happiness……they act like they had no other place they’d ever been and no other place they’d want to be.
And actually, there’s no acting. There’s just them.
We’re blessed. I’ve got nothing else to say. We’re blessed. #iamgrateful and #iamthankful for Mom and Dad C and have been from day
1. But even moreso, on days like today, I’m beyond thankful and grateful.#iamspeechless
Daddy went back to the bartender tonight. He asked for some extra ice cubes. “She’s going to be a while” he said.
“She’s in good hands.”
Happy New Year.
Not an easy New Year. But a Happy one.
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We wrote a kids book about the importance of shoes, and one way to talk to kids about how every “thing” has value beyond “just” what you perceive. The team at Soles4Souls liked it enough to want to work with us. So, starting on 11/19, 100% of the proceeds from every version of Just Shoes we sell goes directly to S4S projects.
http://amzn.to/2ApQv4VBuy it for someone (a kid, but not required) for the holidays. It’ll be worth it.
It’s a good book. Buy it if you want to spark your kids to into a discussion about the environment, about giving back, about … big topics and ideas you knew they could handle but couldn’t always find the way to start a conversation with them about.
Dream Village, Where Kids Build Better Tomorrows is humbled that S4S thinks enough of us to let us put their name in our work. We’re even more humbled that they think enough of us to more formally make us a part of their mission.
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that our vision for expanding the reach of our stories and the impact of your purchases and investments is taking the next step.
Note: We’ve got other books and other announcements coming soon. Let’s start here.
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A sincere and humbled thank you to the full team at StartCon in Sydney. Minute-by-minute one of the best business conference experiences I’ve had. Professional. Powerful. And humbling. Thanks for giving me some time and space to share our emerging message at Crazy Egg: to grow any relationship, at work, at home, anywhere … pay attention to who’s paying attention, find inspiration, and do something about it.
The StartCon team did precisely that. And I believe all attendees will walk away from the days together feeling better for the time spent and attention paid. Until next year…
#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for ya.(And for all the kind words and feedback.)
Special thanks to Ben Zeidler and Gunny Scarfo and the team at Nonfiction Research for going out of their way to get me some data for our story.
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Suneet Bhatt 