#258 Saying thanks

I started writing 1000 Awesome Things on June 20, 2008 as my life was swirling and twirling.

It seemed like every day was cloudy as every morning I’d wheel my car up icy onramps straight into red-light traffic jams to head to my office job in the suburbs. Then I’d wheel back home the same way, every day. Frozen burritos and back pain, up those ramps and down again, my life seemed stuck in neutral with a black scribbly cloud above my head.

One night after work I went online and typed “How to start a blog” into Google. Ten minutes later I wrote #1000 Broccoflower for a quick smile before bed. As my marriage crumbled like crackers, as my best friend sadly took his own life, I was trying to push from back pain to grass stains and from microwaves to wedding buffets.

Nobody visited the site except for my mom. Although I did get pretty excited when she forwarded it to my dad and the traffic doubled. Then on July 18, 2008 Fark.com linked to old, dangerous playground equipment and thousands of people suddenly came in waves. It was strange thinking that cyber travellers spinning on the other side of the planet maybe thought broccoflower was funny, too.

And here we are in 2011 after jotting down one awesome thing every weekday for the past three years and it’s been such a rush. I feel so massively lucky that I’ve had a few extra hours each week to chat with you all about bakery air, rain hair, bubble wrap, and illegal naps.

The Book of (Even More) Awesome comes out today and the first book has been #1 on bestseller lists for a year. Cybernerds called us best blog in the world and next week the awesome movement hits The Today Show before flying around to meet awesome believers everywhere.

I don’t know how to thank you for all of this.

The only way I can think of is to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for reading, thank you for listening, thank you for commenting, and thank you for spreading our big screaming all-caps word of

AWESOME!

The Book of (Even More) Awesome hits stands today! (Some countries release on Wednesday or Thursday as well.) For those who have theirs, what do you think?

The Book Launch of Awesome happens tonight in Toronto at the Indigo Bay / Bloor at 7pm. Hope to meet some of you there!

The App of Awesome launches today and will be free for 5 days on iTunes! Thanks to the geniuses at Bonobo Labs for creating it.

Finally, one more massively sincere thank you for all the support, everybody. I really can’t say it enough.

– Neil

— Photos from last year’s launch —

117 thoughts to “#258 Saying thanks”

  1. Thank YOU, Neil, for putting so much time and effort into making this site amazing. You’ve done such a great thing and so many people all over the world have gotten so much from this. I’m sure no one will be able to fully grasp the impact this has had. I know it’s not easy to keep up with this perpetually/exponentially-growing thing while still holding down a “real” job and a life, but we appreciate it!

    We’re all so excited for you for today! I wish more than anything that I was going to be in Toronto for the book launch.

      1. Yes, please…give us details about the Today Show…. What day should I set my DVR to record it? And yes, I wish so bad that I was in Toronto right now.

        1. Yes – Fans everywhere want to set their DVRs! I can’t wait to see it! (It’ll certainly be better than all this coverage of Will & Kate!!)

          1. 1. Yes, I need to know when to set my DVR as well.
            2. AMEN on the royal wedding obsession!

    1. See if you can spot jdurley and geektween in the top picture wearing our “I’ve been here since broccoflower” T-shirts. We will be sporting them again tonight! (And yes, I kinda did mention this just to make you jealous! LOL)

      1. Ha! I see you guys.. :)

        And you’re right – I’m so jealous! This is definitely one of the days I wish I lived in Toronto so I could be there for the big launch! Report back on how AWESOME it is! :)

        1. Here’s my report on last night’s Toronto Book of Even More Awesome launch! 4 words:

          Chocolate.
          Milk.
          On.
          Tap.

        1. hahaha, t-shirts, great idea!!!
          hmmm must design a “Feeling it in the bones” for Vancouver quest~
          I was thinking Leonardo Da’Vinci’s skeletal, hmmm, any braniac ideas???

      2. Awww, how cute are you guys?!

        Wait, I didn’t mean to say something nice! That was a mean thing — I am insanely jealous!!

        Just kidding! (About not saying something nice, that is … there’s no joking about being really jealous …) I hope you guys had a FANTASTIC time! :D

  2. So happy for you, Neil. Your blog inspired me to make

    http://1000unawesomethings.com

    , which has seen a surprising turnout as well (though, nothing like yours). You’ve made millions of people happy all over the world, and you deserve every bit of praise. Keep on being awesome.

  3. I also missed this: “For those who have their [Book of (Even More) Awesome] what do you think?”

    Well, I’ll tell you what I think. It’s EVERY BIT as awesome as the first one and EVERY BIT as awesome as this site! I love the new ones, I love reading old favorites, I love reading your stories, I love the way you write, and I love finding the fun little goodies scattered throughout. I’m SO excited to get my pre-orders so I can slap an autographed bookplate in each one and dole them out to some very lucky recipients.

    THANKS for writing a couple of the coolest books out there. :)

    1. Jealous again! While I don’t have the book yet, I did wake up this morning to an e-mail from Amazon saying that my big pre-order of books has shipped! Looking forward to getting a big box filled with copies of the most awesome book ever (well, tied for first with the original)!

      Can’t wait to give it the ol’ read..

      Now that I have a Kindle, this remains one of the few books I want to own a “real” copy of.. I mean, I can’t put a signed name plate on an e-book, can I?

      1. Now I am the one who is jealous! I got a shipping confirmation email yesterday from Chapters, and I was all excited thinking it would be my books of even more awesome, but it was something else I’d ordered. I still await my shipment. But I guess I could pick up a copy tonight at the book launch. Did I mention I’ll be there? ;)

        1. You might have mentioned that you’d be present, yes. ;)

          That’s the worst — what a let down! Did you get a copy tonight? How was the book launch?!

          1. My pre-order has now shipped! I’m hoping it will be at my door when I get home tonight! The book launch was great! There was chocolate milk on tap! Oh, and some guy named Neil was prattling on about something. I didn’t really hear anything after “…chocolate milk on tap. You can help yourselves afterwards.” Chad was there to pour the test glass.

            1. My book has shipped too, but I don’t expect to see mine until next week.
              Super jealous that you got to go to the book launch… with chocolate milk on tap!!!

      2. Hey, no one says there’s a rule against a nameplate sticker slapped on the back of a Kindle. ;)

        Also, that’s not fair … Amazon tells me this: “This title will be released on April 28, 2011.” WHAT?!

        Good thing I won a freakin’ sweet, limited edition, advance copy! http://twitpic.com/4i5flo ;) Be jealous, but not as jealous as I am of all the people who went to the book launch tonight and/or who will be present at any subsequent stops on the book tour. Because APPARENTLY my idea for the tour coming to Missouri in lieu of the shady “TBD” location in Vancouver has somehow fallen through. ;)

        1. Perhaps we could rent a VW microbus, cover it with bumper stickers (all AWESOME of course), and travel the continent following along with the book tour, just like proper groupies! Hey, sounds like a great way to spend the summer! Old Grateful Dead 8-tracks optional.

          1. Excellent idea!!! ;) I’ll work on getting a passport / securing a sweet hippie van and we’ll be ready to roll. My parents have an 8-track player — I’ll see what I can do about that, too.

  4. the world needs more awesome. i will never be able to thank you enough for what joy you brought my life. i am so grateful to have found this site and i share it with everyone i meet.

  5. I’ve never been refined or graceful~so apologize, I rather like this saying which brought laughter and encouraged manners to many little ones,
    “Thank you for thanking…”
    YOU have made this possible and YOU who deserve an awesome Led Zepplin song “Thank you”~ENJOY!

  6. The best is little kids saying thank you. When they just say it all on their own, no prompting from Mom or Dad, that is awesome :) Thanks for every awesome post!

  7. Congratulations for all the success and THANK YOU for making me smile every single weekday! ;)

  8. Thank YOU! You have made my days with your awesome writings and I am really excited about your book too! Maybe it can get published in Hungary one day as well…

  9. Thanks Neil, I have been reading the site for a couple of years now, since discovering it when I was going through a rough patch. Still never fails to put a smile on my face each weekday.

  10. Ah, we have to thank you for this awesome blog! Making us smile and remembering that life is in fact awesome is a tremendous thing that you do. Thank you for this.

    Have a great time on your booktour.

  11. This brought tears to my eyes! I had no idea you had such a strong story, but being able to turns those sorrows into so much joy which so many people take part in worldwide, that is nothing short of astonishing. You’re an inspiration, Neil, and I send you all my best wishes and biggest congratulations from Norway. Thank YOU.

  12. No, no, no, Neil…Thank You!!!!! Thank you for everything you do. My mornings aren’t complete without coming here to start my day off with a smile….or the occasional tear.
    My book will be at my door hopefully next week. I’m so very very very very very very very excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    You started your blog one day before I got married.

    1. Wow – between getting married right near the blog launch, and even getting the first 1000awesomethings.com birth announcement, it feels like Bekah’s life shares a special connection with this blog! :)

          1. Hmm. Maybe that post about being able to break into “your own house” was a ploy to get Bekah to comment on how to break into her house…bwahahahaha!

  13. June 16, 2008 was the day I lost my brother, just 4 days before you started this blog. It was dark times for a long time but it wouldn’t be for about a year until I found your blog and I cannot thank you enough for the joy it has brought me.
    Losing my brother has shed new light on how life should be lived, that I need to embrace each day with a positivie attitude and smile on my face becase I never know when it will be my last and I tell myself every day that there is no use going through your last day frowning and being negative. Your blog is my home page and you help to bring that smile so I am able to face each day with positivity.
    Thank you for seeing the positive in the world when your world was crumbling and sharing your story with us. I wish there were more people like you and I hope as you continue this blog and it gains in viewers that the world will slowly become a more positive place.
    Thank you thank you thank you, for just being you :)

  14. You’re book and blog have been a complete inspiration to me. A nice reminder to look around at the awesome things in life. I’ve even convinced a few scrapbook buddies to start their own Awesome scrapbooks, just based on stuff in their lives they wouldn’t normally document. All they need is a copy of your book to get started =) Congrats on Even More Awesome!

  15. Thank you for starting my day off (with coffee in hand) right. I’ve been a reader for quite a while, but not as far back as the broccoflower.

    You’re awesome.

    P.S. That’s actually Romanesco pictured, (you can tell by the fractal spirals on the top) and it’s actually quite delicious, more mild than both broccoli and cauliflower, you should try it!

  16. Thank YOU, Neil, for bringing a smile to my face every morning as I start the workday. You are awesome. :D

  17. Congratulations! Only a few good, can see brightness after tragic incidents and put them into words that can inspire and spread the awesomeness. Few like you make us dream and give us a hope that light is there at the end of the tunnel. Thanks!

  18. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate reading your blog. I’ve had a pretty rough year with a son who has decided to disown us and won’t let us see our new grandson born this weekend. My heart has been breaking. I am a great believer in the law of attraction, and one of the main principles is to be grateful all the time for everything. In my circumstances, I have found it difficult to find anything to be thankful for. I don’t know how I stumbled upon your blog — followed a link to somewhere else, I suspect — but I’ve added it to my Google Reader and watch for it every day. Your awesome posts give me something to be thankful for every day. Things that I just wouldn’t have been able to think of. You have brought a lot of sunshine into a dreary world, and I wanted you to know that.

    And I’ll bet that your attitude of gratitude has improved your own life as well. Thank you so much!

  19. I think I should be thanking you, this blog makes me smile every single morning, I can’t wait to get to work and read it. So thank you Neil for making a difference in so many peoples lives :-)

  20. I can’t count the number of times that your postings put a huge smile on my face…the thanks should go to YOU!!!

    Thank you!

  21. I have followed your blog since brocoflower! I can’t even remember how I found it. I remember thinking how great it would be if you kept up with it to the end and being awed at t he daily things we take for granted or forget are awesome. I LOVE it and it always takes me back to a simpler time so Thank You. I am so happy for your success and saddened for your losses.

  22. I would like to add my voice to the chorus of “No No No! Thank YOU!”. It really has been an incredible time, and I can’t say enough how happy for you I am and how proud of all your successes and how grateful to be a passenger on the ride of awesome! And one more thing:

    ALL HAIL the return of BED-HEAD BABY!

    (Especially today, the day my new nephew has entered our awesome world!)

    1. Congrats! May your nephew have many bedhead days to bring you much joy! Seems the Books of Awesome would make great “Welcome to the World” gifts!

  23. I bought four copies of the first Book of Awesome and gave them as gifts to friends who were going through some difficulties and one copy as a prize for winning a baby pool. I am sure I will be buying a few of the next. Good luck in all your endeavours. It’s the little things in life that make the biggest impact.

  24. Btw: Neil.. that’s not Broccoflower.. it’s Romanesco! Get it right, idiot!!

    (p.s., before anyone jumps on me, it’s worth checking out the Broccoflower comments if you haven’t since the start of this blog.. it resulted in a lot of snippy people who are apparently pretty protective of their vegetable classifications).

  25. could not have happened to a better person, as far as i’m concerned. although we have never met – i just KNOW that you are a genuine, wonderful human being who absolutely deserves every bit of good karma that is happening to you right now. thank YOU, neil!!!!

  26. THANK YOU, Neil, for writing this crazy blog and helping to start everyone’s day with a little more awesomeness! I love this blog and I love the wacky little virtual community it has generated. I’m getting a bit anxious as the number of remaining posts gets smaller and smaller, though! Congrats on everything, and I look forward to the remaining 257 :)

    1. Me too! Ditto everything you just said. Re: wacky community, you may be happy to know that geekteen (recent upgrade from geektween) was telling Heisenberg jokes at Easter dinner. (They fell kinda flat, but I don’t think that’s the joke’s fault.)

      1. Yay! Happy birthday to geekteen :) Definitely not the joke’s fault. It takes a special audience to properly appreciate such sophisticated humor ;)

  27. First of all, I LOVE YOUR SITE. I work in a volunteer job, making no money, struggling every day…. and your site puts a smile on my face every time.

    However, ya’ll need an Android App! That way I can take my AWESOME on the go with me! :-)

    Keep it up!!!!!!!

  28. Oh, I almost cried when reading this. It must be just plane awesome thinking that how many people all over the world you cheer up every day! So I want to say thank you, too. Thank you so much for making our lives just that bit funnier, sweeter and grateful. Oh, and thank you SO much for making me love blogs and for being the first blog ever I have started following.

    Ps. For me it started at high schools pretty boring IT lesson with http://1000awesomethings.com/2008/10/24/91-when-you-arrive-at-your-destination-just-as-a-great-song-ends-on-the-radio/

  29. Every day in economics, I am so upset by the horrible news of recessions, terrorism, and dictators killing their own people.
    Then I come home and read your blog.
    And I remember that the world isn’t so bad after all.
    Thanks for making all my days brighter!

  30. Congrats Neil, all of your success is so well deserved. You make mine and so so many other people’s lives better- sometimes by a little, but also sometimes by a lot. I can’t wait to get my (low on cash) hands on the Book of Even More Awesome. So proud of my favorite little website that’s actually not so little. :)

  31. Neil, thank you for helping me out with my own blog. A busy guy like you, with a new book and all kinds of great things going on, I didn’t think you’d have a second to spare to respond to my e-mail. But you responded within the hour. Much appreciated, sir.

  32. You know what they say, you have to go through the pain to experience the joy. If we did not have a such thing such as pain we would not know what joy is like we do today. This too shall pass! It is also like the pursuit of happiness. We are not perfect and life is always until we perish will continue throw obstacles at us however we have to look pass these obstacles and try to find ways to pursue happiness!

  33. Thank you, Neil! I couldn’t be happier for your success or more excited to get my hands on the new book. Two more days to go in the US! Here’s to a meteoric launch, and I look forward to seeing you when your mega tour stops in Cambridge, MA.

  34. Thank YOU, Neil. The world needs more people like you. :)

    I was at the Toronto book launch today with my friend Amanda. We had a blast!

  35. Glad to hear that your life is so successful and full of happiness now! :) I love to read your countdown of 1000 awesome things but I am kind of sad to think that you’re at #258 already…. Surely there are more awesome things in the world than that!

  36. Okay, same comment as many others but really Neil – Thank YOU. Personally I vote that the #1 Awesome thing be….Neil Pasricha!
    One more thing I need to know, am I the only one who says “AWESOME” the same way as Rhino from Bolt?

  37. I might be a bit late in the reading, but I definitely want to add my Thanks to the choir. Thank you oh so very much Neil for gracing sooo many lives for all these years. I didn’t discover the blog until over a year after it was created, but like so many other avid readers, it was during a very hard time in my life. And since that day, you’re blog has never failed to brighten any of my cloudy days, so thank you :)

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