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  • Happiness Is — The Launch Post

  • written by: Matt Madeiro
  • published on:

And I, ladies and gentlemen, am pumped.

What on earth is this?

This is a book! And a free one, at that, dedicated to some of the greatest (and simplest!) pleasures I know: the little things in life.

The idea sprung from a conversation about stress, life, happiness and hookah(!), and how the middle two never really ask for much. Think about it. We stress about a whole slew of problems some more serious than others, but one thing never changes: they don’t last. Even the big, bad and scary seem like a distant memory just a week or two later as we move on to new stresses and new concerns.

Some things don’t change, however. Some of them stick with us a lot longer — maybe even every single day of our lives. These little things, at the end of the day, are always with us, and they can offer a simple kind of happiness if only we’d stop and say thanks.

So instead of panicking about every new bump on the horizon, why don’t we share a little gratitude—a little happiness—for the little things that never leave us?

Let’s give it up for the simple pleasures. That’s what this book is about.

Why should I read it?

Because it is awesome. That’s not ego on my part — every single simple pleasure in the book is packaged with a custom piece of art from one of twenty-something awesome people.

You read that right. Rather than release several pages of white space, I wanted to take Happiness Is to the next level. I wanted a community art project. And so I put out the call, a month or so back, to see if people dug the idea, hoping a small handful might volunteer to add a little color to the mix. The response still has me reeling. I have a list of beautiful people, here, that I want to thank for contributing, as I know this book would be absolutely nothing without their generosity and talent. Give it up for:

If you’d like to know more about them, check the Contributors section at the end of the book for biographies, links, and general shenanigans.

How do I get it?

Subscribe to the Make Every Day Count newsletter using the box below.

This book is a reward for every amazing person who decides to follow along this journey. The newsletter, too, is a chance for me to interact directly with all of you one-on-one (and offer some pretty cool perks along the way!), which is something I never did often enough with Three New Leaves. You’re great people, all of you, and I’d love to connect further, so why not stop in and say hello?

Once you’re all signed up, you’ll receive an email with a link to grab a copy of the book. Simple as that!

If you’re not interested in subscribing but still want to check the book out, I’ve got you covered. You can grab it on the Kindle store for just a little under a buck. And hey, why not leave a review while you’re at it?

And what’s next?

This book isn’t complete.

Of my original list of 50 simple pleasures, only thirty-ish made the cut. I’d love to have art for all of them to include in an upcoming second (and still free!) release. Happiness Is will remain a community art project for the life of this blog — a chance for readers, artists, and generally cool people to submit their artwork and have new pages added to the book.

What’s left on the list? Check the official Happiness Is page here to see if anything catches your eye. Thanks!

Spread the Word

Like the book? (I do too!). Then please help me spread the word. Here are a few ideas:

  • Tweet this launch post using the button below.
  • Pin it! The cover picture above would look mighty fine on a Pinterest board, I bet.
  • Review it! When the Kindle version launches next week, I’d love to have reader feedback. I’m not looking to dominate the charts or anything, but every little bit helps.
  • Have a simple pleasure of your own? Write a post about it! I’d love to see what you all come up with, and I’d love to share a little gratitude for all the little things that can mean so much.

Thanks! Here’s the subscribe box one more time in case you missed it:

I’ll see you all next week!

And lastly: thank you. I’m incredibly proud of this book. I’m proud, too, to have met so many fantastic people in the process of cobbling it together, so I hope you enjoy reading these pages as much a I did building them.

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