Though it’s true that the pandemic has brought the world to its knees, it also has the power to bring us together, and in little, unseen ways it can even make us billions more dollars than we were making before. Hey, that’s pretty cool. There are miracles like that everywhere if you just look out for them. Helpful reminders that maybe, just maybe, I’ll all get through this together.
I know it can be tempting to check the news constantly, to worry yourself to sleep about vital workers not getting basic protections as their bosses thrive financially and, frankly, physically. But instead, why not take a breath, clear your mind, and, any time you feel anxiety bubbling up, just remind yourself that you could buy an Audi every minute for the rest of your life—that’s more than a thousand Audis a day—and still have more money than anyone else in the solar system.
I took a walk in my garden recently to gauge whether the lawn staff deserved a tip, and I found myself standing under a magnificent cherry tree in full bloom. I felt the most profound joy from simply pausing there, listening to the sparrow and goldfinch, taking a cleansing breath, and grunting like a wild boar while ripping my clothes off and yelling “Fuck yes!” at the top of my lungs until my throat was totally shredded.
At Amazon, we have a saying. It goes, “More more more more more more more more more more more gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more come in here and close the door Seth I want it done today Seth more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more.”
My advice to you: even though you’re stuck at home, try to find more. More to cherish, more to learn, more to discover. Take up a new hobby. Fly your drone into a cloud and see if you can find it again. Sue someone who doesn’t have the resources to engage. Sink a yacht just to watch how the water swirls. Tell your V.P. of distribution to kill a cow and see if he’ll actually do it. If you’re still going a little stir-crazy, why not stay in a different one of your houses every night of the week? We’ve all got to get creative here.
The other day, I decided to try my hand at baking some bread, like I’ve seen people doing on Instagram. I had never done it before, but I figured it would be a nice afternoon distraction. I measured out my flour, my water, then, whoops! I realized I didn’t have any yeast in the house. I paused for one full hour, staring down at my counter. Then I thought to myself, No worries, let’s get creative. So I picked up my phone and purchased all two thousand locations of Panera Bread in the U.S. and Canada. I poured myself a glass of Malbec as I downsized their workforce (the vibe was a little “union-y”) and voila! I had a package of yeast sent right over.
I can’t tell you how good it felt to use my creativity to solve a problem and take up a new hobby. I mixed the dough together and was totally amazed at how the yeast kept expanding it. The longer it sat there, the more it grew, seemingly swallowing everything around it. For a minute, I thought it was getting way too big. LOL. Like that’s a thing. Then I baked it. It wasn’t the most perfect loaf—who among us has ever been in their kitchen?—but, hey, it was good enough. And that’s my message to you. Things may not be perfect lately, but maybe what we need right now is a healing dose of “good enough.” It works for my employee-safety protocols, and it’ll work for you.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of et cetera.