Welcome to Easy, Breezi.

Your friend who sends you a weekly update on what she's working on, reading through, and thinking about – in a list.

Today is my 26th birthday 🎂 

Part of me feels like this milestone is entirely irrelevant – I’ve already had my quarter-life crisis and I’m still a few solid years away from the big 3-0.

But another part of me feels immense pressure.

My mom was 26 when she had me. She got married two years prior to my dad, had a full-time job as a English prof and somehow managed to also be the best mom on the planet. Truly, I can write an entire post dedicated to how/ why she is one-in-a-million but that’s for another day.

What I’m trying to say is when I think about having kids at this age, I fear for my (and theirs!) life.

Even thought I’m nowhere near that stage of my life, it got me thinking.

One day, when I do feel ready … what would I tell them?

5 important things to tell my kids

1. Your confidence, worth and self esteem is the single most important predictor of how happy and successful you’ll be in life. 
   
   You will not succumb to any danger or threat if you look in the mirror and feel confident and happy with the reflection looking back at you. The effects of hardship (things like judgemental people in your life, personal failures, experiencing imposter syndrome, conflict and disagreements) have such minimal impact when you’ve already developed a deep-rooted sense of self-worth that irrefutable.
   
   

2. People help you. Degrees and accolades don’t. 
   
   Having kingpins of people act as the parachute of your life. If shit goes wrong, they’ll be there and they’ll hold you up. It’s actually quite easy to form and nurture these relationships: be authentic and treat them like your grandma. Text them with updates, ask how they’re doing, remember what they like, help them without being asked – everyone loves their grandmas.
   
   

3. Nothing matters if you’re dead. 
   
   So how to not die? Drink water, sleep 8 hours a day, eat primarily fruits veggies and protein, walk and workout, no smoking and no drinking (okay if it’s just socially/ occasionally), don’t text and drive, be aware of your surroundings, don’t provoke or be aggressive with strangers, get sunlight daily, wear SPF, go to the doctors, take days off if you’re sick and think happy thoughts often.
   
   

4. Optimize for today and hedge for tomorrow.
   
   There are too many polarizing opinions about whether 1) you should do what makes you happy today or 2) invest in building your future. You can and should just do both. When I quit my corporate job at 22 to join a beauty brand that was just starting out, I was optimizing for my happiness today. I knew I would have more fun and learn more in that role, despite the risks (low pay, no security, no recognition). But to hedge for the future, I started growing my professional brand on Twitter and LinkedIn. I positioned myself as an experienced operator, opening multiple doors for me had I ever decided to leave (head of growth, consulting work, starting my own company).
   
   

5. No problem is unfuckingsolvable.
   
   I can count the number of things that are actually impossible in the world with one hand. 99.9% of things are indeed possible. Want to meet your idol in person next week? Possible. Want to quit your job and open a coffeeshop? Possible. Want to do a full ironman tomorrow with no training? Brutal … but possible. It pisses me off when I hear someone share their hopes and dreams just to end it with “but that’s not possible”. The default attitude in your head should be one of possibility and problem-solving. QUITE LITERALLY ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE SO STOP SHUTTING YOURSELF DOWN BEFORE YOU EVEN START.

So yes, happy birthday to me (and my future children who will get the blessing of this piece as soon as they can read).

I’ve recently gained a bunch of new subscribers so in case this is the first post you’ve read …

Hi, I’m Lillie 👋

I’m building a social app called Breezi for people who like to make and share lists.

Thank you for following along my journey ❤️ 

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I'll be back next week with more lists!