910 thoughts to “#1 Anything you want it to be”

  1. Neil, I wanted to share with you my Facebook post about 1000 awesome things. Here it is:

    I am sad to announce that “1000 Awesome Things” officially comes to an end today. Although many were worried the world would no longer be awesome (AH!), Neil assured everyone with his #1 awesome thing, “whatever you want it to be,” that awesome is what’s awesome to you. Keep on appreciating life’s simple pleasures, even without the help of “1000 Awesome Things.” It is these simple pleasures that are too often taken for granted, that keep us smiling and keep us awesome in this crazy world.

    My #1 awesome thing is giving.

    I think one of the most awesome things that often goes unnoticed, is the act of giving. Nothing is more rewarding than knowing that you had an impact on the life of another; no matter how minute or how big it might be. If everyone made the effort to give -let it be opening a door for a stranger, giving a homeless man a dollar, volunteering abroad or even creating a blog to remind everyone of life’s simple pleasures, the world and everyone in it would be a bit happier, a bit better and a bit more…. AWESOME!

    Thanks for everything Neil Pasricha, you’re awesome!

  2. Neil, thank you so much for all of your wit, love, tears, and happiness.
    1000AwesomeThings.com will always be my go to for a laugh, or a breath of fresh air. As said in the comments here many times, we all think you should be the #1 Awesome.
    -Taylor Jones

    1. He can be #1 on our lists of awesome!
      I see that your name is linked to dear photograph. I love that site. It makes me cry every time! So unique.

    2. Agreed, Bekah.. I’ve shed tears over those touching photographs. What a creative person you are, Taylor, and nice to meecha!

  3. Hi Neil,

    I was actually waiting and trying to guess what could be the #1 awesome thing. It had to be special. I must say you have done complete justice to everyone’s expectations by saying awesome is what is awesome to you. I personally liked the long hot shower on a winter morning, and deciding to make it really long shower very very awesome. And yes, thanks to your blog my pet word now is “Awesome”.

    Awesome.
    Cheers and God Bless.

    1. The things that are most awsome to us is what really matters.
      I was also trying to guess what #1 could be, but I never would have thought of this. I was thinking, love, friends, hope….. this is much better.

  4. Pingback: 1,000 Awesome Things writer ends blog with No. 1 | News-ON Toronto

  6. Thanks for this! I’ve been following your blog for about 3 years and have enjoyed looking forwards to a new post everyday! Time for me to go to my copy of “The Book of Awesome” and start at the beginning!

    1. Do you have the other awesome books? There’s a book of even more awesome and a holiday book as well as a calendar.

  7. Wow, what a journey. Thank you…..thank you for the words, thank you for the small pleasures, thank you for being so inspirational. AWESOME!

    1. Neil truly was inspirational to us all, wasn’t he? We must continue with the awesome movement in our own little ways to honor him.

  9. I’m kind of a late comer, but I’ve really really enjoyed each and every one of the awesome things featured here. And while I may be a little sad about this list reaching its end, this (awesome) finale only leaves the door open for more awesome things.

    Let the awesomeness never end!!
    Thank you so much for this Neil!

  10. Missing those who weren’t with us this evening, but I’m sure they’ll be checking in soon enuf and finding the same joy we have. Love and goodnight all! I’ll be checking back to see where we shall proceed from here…Every ending leads to a beginning…

    1. I know! (Wendy? Bekah? Simone? C’mon y’all!)

      I’m sad to turn in, as well … but I’m pretty sure that “Staying up past midnight commenting on the best blog ever” isn’t a valid excuse for being late for/missing work ;)

      1. Yeah, guys….what’s up with having a party without me? I tried to stay up to leave a comment on my ghetto phone, but I crashed and burned. But I’m here now!!
        I’m sure your class would have understood if you were late because you stayed up late! LOL!!!
        Kathy~ “Every ending leads to a beginning…” I love it, it really does.

      2. Also, I forgot jdurley, but I figured she was out celebrating since she was one of the lucky ones who got to go to the event!

        How was it, jdurley? SO GOOD?! What happened? What all was there? Describe! :)

          1. :( My computer wouldn’t allow me to do a thing on last night! So much that our family thought the gates were locked and it ended with Neil’s post! CLEVER. BRILLIANT. GENIOUS. ETERNAL. AWEMAZING WAY TO GO, NEIL! It’s the motivational Awesome hierarchy:) Thanks, Neil. Thanks everyone.
            ftr Ken, NASA is sorely wrong, my grand-babies ARE the center of the universe! Peace out:)

        2. Oh! I didn’t see this comment yesterday – there were so-o-o-o- many comments to read, but yeah the event was great, there was chocolate milk on tap, there was an adorable tween whose hand shot up when Neil asked for participation, and then I swear her eyes almost bugged out of her head when he gave her a signed book for being the first to put up her hand!

          Neil admitted that “Ducks” was, in fact, a lame post that he did at the last minute (although I still like it! Ducks are cool.) And that “old, dangerous, playground equipment” was his favourite, because it’s the post that first got picked up by Fark and made his page views take off.

          So yeah, it was great!

          1. No… he just said that about Ducks to make Freddo feel better. That’s all. Ducks are awesome. I had a pet duck once. I accidentally killed it, but that’s besides the point. Maybe if I would have had chocolate milk on tap for the poor thing, it would have survived.

            1. Hahaha aww my brother and I had pet ducks when we were little. Mine was called Quacky and his was called Blacky, and mine died because it had trouble laying eggs or something to do with that. I was in denial, so I convinced Josef that Blacky was actually Quacky, and his duck had died. Then the remaining duck ended up getting caught in all the weeds in our backyard and dying in there. I’m pretty sure I accidentally killed most of my pets when I was little :P Although I guess Quacky and Blacky’s deaths weren’t in any way my fault, I still feel bad that I lied to my brother!

              1. I don’t remember mine’s name. I was about 8 or so I think. I fed mine a crawdad without taking off the pincers. The crawdad ended up choking my duck because he latched on and wouldn’t let go.

                1. D: That sounds terrible!! But what exactly is a crawdad? Like a lobster or crayfish or marron or something?

                    2. I’m sure not many American’s are familiar with that word either, I’m sorry. I live out in the middle of nowhere. In the mountains. I’m what the rest of America would probably call a hillbilly or something of the sort.

                    4. Ah, I getcha. :) Sounds nice. I live in the ‘country’… well we’re actually a city but we’re country bumpkins compared to the rest of our city-living family!

      3. :(
        i’m pretty upset right now!
        you see, last week our internet went down here at work & i haven’t been able to get on here until now (monday afternoon!) I’ve missed about on pretty much everything & now i’m just catching up & reading everyones posts.
        i feel like the kid who rocks up to a party after everyones gone home :(
        oh well – the awesomeness will forever live on in my heart – doesn’t matter how many times i’ve commented on this post – i agree that it was the best post number 1 could have been :)

        1. Yeah that was probably IT playing a joke on you. They know how addicted you are to this site and frankly there’s plenty of filing that needs to be done :P

        2. There’s still plenty of time! I’m still here… although I’m sure you’re probably asleep right now… its a little after midnight in Australia, right? Did I get that right?

          1. Depends which state (it’s a just before midnight in WA) :P And Simone, a few of us regulars are still commenting on everything lol so the party’s still going! It’s not over- some people are still up dancing!

            1. So… I just wanted to put this out there… I finally, finally got a smartphone and I’m looking for people to play games with. I have a few, but more would be great. username on most games are bekahbug04
              I’m on draw something, words with friends, hanging with friends and sramble with friends. I can’t draw and I can only come up with small words in the word games, but I’m here if anyone wants to add me.

              1. Well IIIII Don’t have a smart phone and I don’t really play phone games, much, but if I did have a smart phone I’d add you!

                1. I just got one Sunday. I was sort of against them actually until I talked myself into getting it. Very thankful I did. One of the great things is that I found a blogger app and I can now post to my blogs! My smile blog is up and running again!

                  1. Yay congrats! I am very happy to say that my phone has lasted me almost 4 years, and it was the first phone I ever got :) It’s still running fine! (And not a Nokia!)

                    1. My last phone was starting to mess up. I let my baby play with it too many times and he was pushing down on the screen really hard. Then, when I went to text, if I tried to push the ‘p’ the letter ‘i’ would pop up. If I tried to hit the ‘n’ the ‘g’ would pop up. Stuff like that, so I had to get a new one.

                    3. I wasn’t mad. It was my fault for letting him play with it. It was cute watching him pretend to talk to people and play with it looking like he was texting. But then I found out why I was so against having touch screen phones. But… I can never not have one now. Its weird.

                    4. D:> that sounds sooooooooooooo cute :3 haha like my smileys? and yes i hear once you go touch you can never go back much (just made that up then. you like?)

  11. This website is pretty awesome. I’m pretty awesome. The internet and sharing are awesome. The fact that I’m read this when I should be writing my very last paper for my master’s degree program… AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. HAHA! That was SO me a couple years ago … “Hmm, stay up and comment excessively on this awesome blog or work on my thesis?”

      Obviously, no contest ;D

  12. Hey Neil I’ve just started reading your blog in march and have been loving every post. I’m even thinking of getting both books! So thanks for helping me through all my problems, and letting me realize how great of a world we live in. I will always remember this place and that where ever I go I will notice an AWESOME thing.

    Cam

    P.S. You are so lucky to be living in Canada.

    1. Canada is a lovely place. I don’t live there, but I’ve visited and I am itching to get back. I do strongly urge you to go get the books. There are actually 3 books. Theres the Book of Awesome, the Book of (Even More) Awesome and the Book of (Holiday) Awesome. Hopefully there will be more to come.
      I’m glad that you got to be a part of this, Cam!

      1. Time after time! It would likely take my old computer 3 days to get to the last comment made by Kathy Lahota:
        “Never tire of these awesome posts”…. to which I reply~
        DITTO^.^
        I cannot believe #1 has not made it to 1000 comments yet!

  14. After reading this blog almost the whole time I had tried to guess the #1 Awesome thing. But that’s why you are the genius behind this blog and not me–I never imagined it would be something so simple but so meaningful and perfect. What a perfect way to end the blog, Neil! Thank you SO much for sharing your succinct, witty, and yet somehow simple writing with us. I have given “The Book of Awesome” as a gift many times over and like clockwork I always get a note or a call a few weeks later from the recipient how it’s their new favorite coffee table book. Thanks again for being AWESOME!

    1. Who woulda guessed that this was #1? It does fit so perfectly.
      Sarah…keep paying it forward. Keep handing out some awesome.

    1. Mine’s June 13!!!!
      I’m hoping its an announcement for a new book or maybe a tour and we’ll all finally get to meet him.

  17. I needed to turn my computer back on to tell everyone this. I was looking for my copy of “The Book of Awesome” and I checked the space between the wall and my bed and I found a piece of bubble wrap. Time to enjoy #840

    1. I love me some bubble wrap! Super cool that you found it while looking for your Book of Awesome! How perfect is that?

      1. It was AWESOME!!! When I got the book and looked at the back, it is one of the first things on the list!

        1. I got some bubble wrap this morning too! We were packing up ready to leave from our holiday and my Mum’s partner used it for something gave it back to me :) Bubble wrap is really awesome, but the thing is I get bored of it after a while/or I can’t be bothered sitting down and popping it. So anyone want to come over to Australia to pick some up from me?

  20. I wasn’t sure at first….hahaha
    Thank YOU for this. What a simple, wonderful, genuine site this has been. What an authentic experience you have given to so many people.

    You’ve no idea what your book has meant to me, my life, the lives of my clients….etc.
    (I work with recovering ‘drug addicts’…you’ve helped me remind them of the small joys that are still out there)
    You have a kind soul….and a wonderful spirit.

    Take care of you.

    xx

    steph

    1. Thank you for sharing the awesome with some people that really need reminded of what is awesome.
      How many sites out there have this kind of tone? It really has been a lot of fun, Stephanie.

  22. Neil, Thanks a ton, for a wonderful blog…Hope you start a new blog soon…After ,ofcourse, an awesome break…Best Wishes…Cheers!!!!!

  23. Congrats! It has been a pleasure to read this blog for four years, and your ability to inspire hope in all of us to find AWESOME in our daily lives.
    Thanks so much!

    1. 4 years of awesome comes to an end, but we all leave this place with a new hope and bright eyes to find little things that brings joy to each of us.

  24. Neil
    YOU are awesome!
    I will never forget this blog it has brought me happiness. Everytime I see something you’ve mentioned here I smile.
    In Awesomeness
    Rosie

    1. I do the same thing, Rosie! Every time I pop the buttons on the lid to my drink, I think of how awesome it is. Whenever the elevator is already on my floor, I smile and silently thank Neil for helping me realize how special it is.

  26. Thank you so, so much! I’ll tell you what is awesome:

    Having a reliable source of cheer.

    That includes this blog. Thank you!

      2. *Tsk, tsk, tsk…ducks are our friends. It’s turtles that are the problem, if you ask me.

          1. Haha I was briefly flipping through an article in Frankie magazine yesterday on the history of Red-Heads and Chuck Norris was listed. Among the many monikers for red-heads were Ginger Ninjas, Teenage Mutant Ginger Turtles, Fanta Pants, and of course rangas. Haha just thought you shoudl know :D

          1. Yes, and don’t forget, it’s “turtles all the way down”. Where would we be without them? I shudder to think!

            1. Sorry, I would NEVER mean TMNT! It’s all of the other pesky turtles. I have a lame childhood fear of turtles…short, but dumb story.

  27. thanks for the long journey..
    i didn’t expect what would be on the #1 before
    and now, “anything what you want it to be”?? that’s totally AWESOME to end 1000 Awesome Things

  28. Thanks for the great blog and awesome experience and feelings i get from this place!
    Have a Great DAY!

    1. You have a great day, too! Remember, you can still come back and comment. I know many of us will. Just because its over doesn’t mean its over.

  29. I have too many awesome things to pick a #1. But, I told this one to Neil yesterday and I feel like it needs some place on this list… “Couch naps.” It’s like #995 (“Finding money you didn’t even know you lost”), except it’s sleep, and you didn’t lose it. Ok, it’s not really like #995, it’s better. It’s extra sleep!! There are no covers to share and there are no worries to care.

    2. I was trying to explain to a friend the other day that I have a really good napping couch. Not all couches are created equal, and not all couches were made for napping. Mine, however, was BUILT for naps. Good one :D

      1. OMG! Napping with babies is great. I did read and liked it on here, but I forgot about how great it really was until I had my son. My daughter had grown up too fast and I missed our naps, but I try to nap every Saturday with my baby now. Its wonderfully awesome.

    4. #995 was my favorite… I always hide money from myself so that when I do find it, I’m so ecstatic!

  30. Thank you! You deserve to be #1 (along with being able to finally talk to the US Army boyfriend and my brother surviving a bad car accident with minor injuries).

    1. Glad your brother is ok, Barbora. Sorry about the accident, but at least he came out ok. Thanks for being her to share in the #1 awesome thing with all of us!

  32. Today is my birthday.

    I’ve been counting down the days on this blog and the days to my birthday with the same sense of dread and trepidation. Sad, but true. And now that it’s here, there is only awesomeness. What else would anyone expect from Neil?

    Neil’s birthday gift to me is the gift of hope. Of the possibility of joy. Of belonging and community — real, for all its anonymity. He has tied us all together through our communal love of bakery air and popping bubble wrap — and the way you just have to grin when you see that picture of the baby with his hair standing straight up. I mean seriously. Who IS that kid?? Does his hair still stand up like that every day? I bet he’s in Kindergarten already. Does someone slick down his unruly mop every morning before he goes to school? :o) I love that kid.

    I am grateful. Ever grateful. For the nights i have read this blog and smirked, grinned, laughed and on occasion bawled like baby. Neil has made me appreciate my life and the people in it, my history and my future.

    Thank you Neil.
    Thank you.

    I’m going to go put a candle in a jar of Nutella to celebrate.
    Carole

    1. Happy birthday Carole!!! Having the #1 awesome thing announced on your birthday is bitter sweet. Celebrating more birthdays is awesome, I hope you do something wonderful today.
      A candle in a jar of Nutella!!! I love that idea!! Nutella cake…. is that a thing? Instead of using cocoa, use Nutella??

        1. Nutella can go in anything! I think I might need a Nutella cake for my birthday…… and we can share lovethebadguy!

    2. What a beautiful idea, Carole! Hope you enjoyed your Nutella birthday treat! Hmmm, now I’m wondering if there’s some kind of Nutella flaming dessert?! :)

  33. AWESOME! I love the blog because it gave me a heads up everyday even knowing that you and so many around the world think alike and smile at the tiny details because they make life so awesome!

  34. I’ve been reading your blog outloud to my classes (I teach High school math in Winnipeg) and I am sad that we have reached #1. It’s always been a joy to introduce a new class to 1000 awesome things and reading out loud the new entry, or going back and finding our favorite awesome things. This has held a special place of honour in our class.
    Thanks Neil! You helped us find AWESOMENESS not only in your blog, but in our everyday lives. And for this you are
    AWESOME!

    1. You can still read it to future classes, the blog will still be around. I’m glad that your classes have enjoyed this with us.

    2. If only my HS maths teachers had read 1000 Awesome Things to my classes, I may have been more interested in the subject. Of course, that was 30+ years ago, so there was no Awesome Blog or internet, but that’s beside the point. Point is, you’re an Awesome Teacher!

  35. Hi Neil, from little old new zealand, saw your TED talk and am only now up to 700 odd. My sincere Congratulations – what an inspiration you are, just love your turn of phrase – getting me through a rough patch – so here’s to the fact that I’m only a third way through the list, that’s…. AWESOME! – Take Care

    1. Mala, you have so much left to read and enjoy. I hope you find it as inspiring, hopeful, helpful, funny and sad as much as all of us have.

      1. Thank you for your kind words Bekah, and thinking to reply in the midst of all these great comments :) Wishing you all the Best Awesomeness

    2. I love your ID as it reminds me of something…
      I’ve always thought the Indian Holi festival so amazing and I love to see photographs of the participants. I’ve just recently found out that versions of the festival are held in a variety of American cities, woohoo! So, I plan to train for next year’s 5K Holi festival. Which brings me back to your ID: I’m pretty sure that after participating in the festival, I will be the color of Awesome! I love that idea: Awesome is a colour! And what a gorgeous rainbow color it must be!

  37. This is my first comment in here but I thought now it’s a good time to write something. I’ve been reading this blog at least two years now. I have no idea how I found this place but I’m really happy I did. This blog, and you Neil are AWESOME!
    Thank you.

      1. Every one is welcome here, you can comment anytime, Anna. I’m glad that you’ve been reading along with us and sharing in the awesome.

  39. At post #200+ its likely no one will ever see this but i still remember stumbling upon this site in 2009 at a particularly hard time in my life. And i was amazed at how i instantly stopped focusing on what was wrong w/ my life and started noticing what was sooo right (like when my friends save me spots in crowded rooms and getting so caught up in a book you cant stop) and since then this has been a constant for me. A place i know i can always come to when i need to be reminded that theres still more good things then bad in thd world. Thank you for sharing this with all of us, thanks for giving every one of us the chance to see just how many awesome things make up our daily lives.

    1. AA, your comment does not go unnoticed! I know my life has brightened up too since I’ve been reading this blog. I found this blog at a time of need, like many did, like you did. I was separated from my husband and trying to find my way back to him. This blog helped me put the past behind me and it reminded me that there is more good than bad in this world. People just tend to pay more attention to the bad. I try not to let the good go unnoticed anymore.

      1. Nope, not unnoticed! I love to read all of the comments. Isn’t it great how this blog inspired us to focus on the glass being half-full?!

  40. No! I can’t believe it’s over. :( This was amazing and so eye opening. You’ve made my days brighter since I’ve found this blog. So creative, so uplifting, amazing.

    You should start another one! This time counting up to a thousand. You know, just an idea.

    Thanks for the great writing.

    1. Keep your eyes open from things from Neil. I’m sure there are many to come our way. Maybe not in blog form, but something….

  41. Congratulations! A few days ago I realized this journey was about to end… I’ve been reading you for a long, long time, and your posts have been a constant in my daily readings, but now… well, sometimes it’s wise to say goodbye… so farewell and thanks for all the fish!
    Robe (Málaga, Spain)

    2. OK, so now if I hear that the dolphins are leaving, I’m gonna worry! LOL! A fun goodbye to a fun blog. :)

  43. Wow, I can’t believe it is over! I’ve spent here so much time! Thank you so much. Greetings from Poland!

      1. Hello! I am Polish too :D Except I’m half Polish, third generation I think… But anyway, my name is Zosia :)

  46. AWESOME! I am humbled and overwhelmed with joy for having been a part of internet history, together with Neil and all of you. Thanks so much guys! Let’s keep the awesomeness going!

  47. Congratulations on all that you have achieved!! I find it AWESOME ;) that you’ve been able to become successful doing something that brings a smile to so many people’s faces around the world every morning, you should be immensely proud. All the best to you in your future endeavours!

    1. We can still be on the lookout for other things to bring a smile to our faces every morning. I’m using the Awesome desk calendar.

  48. Thank you so much for making this blog, and reminding us of all the little awesome things in life every day. You’ve certainly made my life more awesome! Thank you.

  49. Oh wow. This is the first post that’s made me cry just from looking at the writing (or lack thereof). And I’m not ashamed, even though I’m in an internet cafe and have spent all my change on the internet :) This is the most perfect #1 anyone in the world could have thought of, and I absolutely love it. Unlike a few people up at the top of this thread, I don’t want to fill it with anything, but thoughts and ideas, mentally. I think that blankness is perfect symbolism, and it can stay a blank slate but hold all our ideas on it. It reminds me of this story about a man coming home every night, waving his hands over a tree then going inside to his family. The tree is his ‘worry tree’, and it holds all his troubles- except this Awesome post can hold all our dreams and loves! A fourth book of awesome should be made for the remaining few hundred of the countdown, and maybe a whole blank one to fill in ourselves! Wouldnt that be cool! I’m rushing now because I only have 1 minute left but I’ll keep commenting as many times as I have to here in reply to everyone!! And also, Facebook people?????

    Thank uyou Neil, for the time of my life.

      1. Of course that made me cry!! I think we are all softies here :P But I had to start reading that one before I started crying. But this post, I just looked at the title, scrolled and saw there was nothing there, and the tears welled up and spilled. Such beauty in the simplicity.

  50. What is awesome is that YOU, Neil, with your blog, changed MILLIONS of lifes: the ones who read the blog, the one that through your words found the strength to go on (or to start from the begenning for the nth time), the one that found that AWESOME is not equal to BIG, but, for most of the time, is equal to SMALL, TINY, whatever! As the Little Prince said, “One sees clearly only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eye”.
    And you made millions of people see with their heart. That’s what’s AWESOME.

    Thanks for being around, thanks for being here, thanks for every single word you wrote, thanks for everything.

    Imagine what’s best for you: I wish you the double of it.

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