Eric Austvold

Lover of life and happiness!

[Larry Legend☘️ @LarryBirdDaily]

Bird had no elite athleticism. No flash.

Just IQ. Vision. Deadly precision.

3 MVPs. 3 rings.

The smartest player in NBA history?

[Dustin @r0ck3t23]

Elon Musk said five words on Joe Rogan that explain everything wrong with your life right now.

Musk: “Happiness is reality minus expectations.”

Five words.

And it explains why the most comfortable generation in human history can’t stop feeling empty.

Musk: “If you just go try living in the woods by yourself for a while, you’ll learn that civilization is quite great.”

He’s right.

On Naked and Afraid, people tap out in days. Sometimes hours. They crawl back to the same civilization they spent years resenting.

Because comfort is invisible until you’re sleeping in the dirt.

But the formula has a second variable.

It’s the one destroying you.

Reality didn’t get worse. By every measure, it’s the best it’s ever been.

Expectations did.

Your grandparents compared themselves to their neighbor. Maybe a cousin. That was the whole universe.

You compare yourself to 10,000 strangers before your first cup of coffee. Curated. Filtered. Showing you a life that doesn’t exist.

Theodore Roosevelt said it a century before any of this was built.

Roosevelt: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

No Instagram. No TikTok. No algorithm designed by the smartest engineers on the planet to show you precisely what you don’t have.

And he still called it.

Now run the equation.

Reality holds steady. Expectations spike every time you unlock your phone. The distance between them stretches. And happiness doesn’t fade.

It collapses.

Not because your life got worse.

Because your reference point moved.

We built the greatest civilization in human history.

Then we built the perfect machine to make sure nobody enjoys it.

Every scroll. Every notification. Every “suggested for you.” None of it connects you. It’s recalibrating what you think you need. Upward. Constantly. Without your consent.

And you wonder why you feel behind.

You’re not behind.

You’re running toward a finish line that moves every time you look up.

The most dangerous lie of this generation isn’t that life is hard.

It’s that everyone else figured it out. And you’re the only one who didn’t.

Nobody figured it out.

The formula doesn’t negotiate. It just runs.

Raise expectations faster than reality improves and you will be miserable inside a paradise you built with your own hands.

That’s not philosophy.

That’s arithmetic.

And the calculator is in your pocket right now.

[Robert Sterling @RobertMSterling]

I just had the craziest experience at the airport.

We are about to board a flight to Atlanta when the pilot from the incoming plane walks out of the jetway. Guy is probably late 50s, salt and pepper hair, military look. The kind of pilot you instantly feel good about seeing on your flight.

Pilot walks over to the counter, gets on the PA system, and starts addressing everyone. “Folks, I’ve been doing this a long time. Flying one of these jets is easy. The hard part is looking at 130 people and telling them their flight is going to be delayed.”

Audible groans throughout the boarding gate. Most people here are flying to Atlanta as a layover before another flight. 130 people just had their day become a complete mess.

The pilot goes on. “I get it, trust me. But here’s the deal: During our landing, we had a small mechanical issue. I’m not your pilot for the next leg, but I don’t feel confident the jet’s safe to fly until we have a mechanical team look it over, and I don’t feel comfortable asking the next pilots to fly you guys until we get confirmation.”

He points at the agents next to him behind the counter: “Now, none of this is the agents’ fault. Please be kind to them. I’m the one who made this decision, not them, so any inconvenience you experience is my fault. Just please know that I don’t do this lightly, and I’m only doing it because I believe it’s in the best interests of everyone’s safety.”

Now this is where the story gets crazy. The pilot puts the microphone down, grabs his suitcase, and all the people in the gate…

Start clapping.

I’m not joking, everyone starts clapping for the guy. 130 people who just had their travel plans ruined give an ovation to the guy who made the decision and delivered the message.

All because he addressed them with decency and transparency, took ownership of the decision, made it clear that it was necessary, and explained why it was in everyone’s best interest.

It’s honestly one of the best examples of strong communication—of strong leadership, for that matter—that I’ve seen in a long time.

@Delta, whoever your Atlanta to Wichita pilot was this morning, he’s one of the good ones. Please tell him the delayed passengers of flight 1637 appreciate what he did.

[Eric Austvold @EricAustvold]

@EvanRodriguezCT Love this!

[Evan Rodriguez @EvanRodriguezCT]

After the team flew back following UConn’s National Championship loss, Tarris Reed Jr. prepared a speech on short notice for UConn’s Athletes In Action meeting.

“I told myself I would let the Holy Spirit speak through me.”

He revealed that night, both Azzi Fudd and KK Arnold of UConn WBB got baptized

Truly amazing work and an inspirational message from T-Reed 🙏

(Via iamtarrisreed/IG)

[steph sheehan @Steph_Sheehan]

-played in 3 final fours, 3 national championships
-two-time national championship
-most 3s made in uconn history
-18 NCAA tournament wins
-name on the wall forever

forever my captain, forever one of my favorite huskies. uconn legend, alex karaban 💙🤍💙🤍

[Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein]

Dear Alex Karaban,

Thank You for an incredible four-year career.

You are truly one of the great winners and ambassadors in the history of college basketball.

Walk Proud.

Today.

Tomorrow.

And Forever.

Sincerely,

America

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

I was flying Southwest from Dallas to New York. Three rows ahead of me, there was a young soldier in uniform. He looked barely 18. He was staring straight ahead, gripping the armrests. He looked nervous. When the drink cart came around, the flight attendant asked him what he wanted. 'Coke, please,' he said. 'Heading home?' she asked kindly. 'No, ma'am,' he said. 'Deploying. First time.' The whole row went quiet. The flight attendant didn't say a word. she handed him his Coke. Then, she got on the PA system. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest in Row 8 today. Private Miller is on his first deployment to serve our country. Since I can't buy him a drink, I’m going to ask a favor. If you want to write him a note of encouragement, pass it forward.' I grabbed a napkin. I wrote: 'You got this. Stay safe. - A dad from Row 12.' I watched as napkins traveled up the aisle. Napkins, receipts, pages torn from books. By the time we landed, the soldier had a pile of paper on his tray table three inches high. He stood up to get his bag, and he was wiping his eyes. He carefully packed every single scrap of paper into his rucksack. 'Thank you,' he told the flight attendant. 'No,' she said. 'Thank you.' We all walked off that plane a little quieter, reminded that freedom is just a word until you meet the kid who is defending it.

Credit: Margie Lee

[Don Keith @RealDonKeith]

🤣This is a hilarious montage of Chuck Norris jokes.

If you think about it, he really was the first 80’s action hero and pretty much started the genre of 80’s and 90’s action movies.

[Eric Austvold @EricAustvold]

@dr_ericberg Magnesium glycinate for the win!

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Rick Pitino was asked what stops people from being great. His answer was one word.

"Ego stops greatness. I call it edging greatness out."

"In a spiritual sense, ego is edging God out. But ego is edging greatness out."

And he made a key distinction:
"I'm not talking about confidence. You have to be a confident person."

"But ego really gets you to where you think you've arrived. You think you know it all. You stop learning. You stop listening."

That's the trap. Confidence keeps you hungry. Ego convinces you that you've already made it.

You lose your hunger and humility.

"Learning and listening are important for great leaders. Great leaders have to listen and they have to continue to learn and surround themselves with people that are better than them."

EGO = Edging Greatness Out

The moment you think you've arrived is the moment you stop growing.

Stay confident. Stay humble. Never stop learning.
(🎥@LewisHowes )

[Greg Berge @GregBerge]

A must listen for parents, coaches, and athletes.

Chris Fowler on the job of a coach. 🔥

Bookmark and share.

[Eric Austvold @EricAustvold]

@matt_gray_ Concerned about your intellectual property now uploaded to a public AI LLM?

[Dave Kline @dklineii]

As a manager, it took me far too long to learn that meetings aren't actual work. I thought meetings drove output. Turns out, most meetings are about control, not collaboration. About signaling ambition versus pursuing it. If you can't pass these three tests, cancel the meeting:

[Simons @Simon_Ingari]

My biggest disappointment at work was realizing that it's not enough to do your job well, to love what you do, to want to be there.

If you don't fit in, if you're not well-liked, or if you don't align with the ego of your leader, you'll lose out.

Even if you're competent, even if you give your best effort, even if you have a sense of belonging, even if you fulfill all your obligations, it won't be enough.

[Eric Austvold @EricAustvold]

@Zechman741 @drdenwalker What is a brand without maltodextrin?

[Sheila of the Most High @sheilatebra]

Anonymous

Bought a jacket at Goodwill last Saturday. Ten bucks. Leather. Looked barely worn. Figured it was a steal.
Got home and checked the pockets before washing it. You know, making sure there's nothing in there. Found a folded piece of paper in the inside pocket.
It was a letter. Handwritten. Started with "To whoever finds this." I sat down on my couch and read the whole thing.
It was from a guy named Tom. The letter said he was donating all his clothes because he was moving into a care facility. Alzheimer's. Early onset. He was only 54. The letter talked about how this jacket was his favorite. How he wore it on his first date with his wife. How he wore it the day his daughter was born. How he wore it to his dad's funeral.
At the end, he wrote: "If you're reading this, you're wearing my memories now. Take care of them. Live a good life in this jacket. Make it mean something again. -Tom, March 2024"
I just sat there holding this letter from a stranger who gave me his memories because he knew he was going to forget them.
The letter had his wife's name. Linda. And a phone number. "In case someone wants to know the stories."
I debated for two days whether to call. Felt weird. Intrusive. But something told me I should.
I called. A woman answered.
"Hi, is this Linda?"
"Yes, who's this?"
"You don't know me. But I bought a leather jacket from Goodwill last week. Your husband Tom left a letter in the pocket."
Silence. Then I heard her crying.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you"
"No. No, you don't understand. Tom passed away three weeks ago. I donated his clothes last month. I didn't know he left letters. He left you a letter?"
I read it to her over the phone. Every word. When I finished, she was quiet for a long time.
"That's so Tom. Even at the end, even knowing what was coming, he was still thinking about other people. Still trying to make someone smile."
She asked if she could see the jacket. I drove to her house that afternoon. Brought the jacket and the letter.
She held it. Smelled it. Started telling me the stories. The first date. The day at the hospital. The funeral. All of it. We sat in her living room for three hours while she told me about a man I never met.
Before I left, she hugged me. "Thank you for calling. Tom would've loved knowing someone cared enough to find out the stories. Wear it. Live in it. Make new memories. That's what he wanted."
I'm wearing the jacket right now. It fits perfectly. And every time I put it on, I think about Tom. About Linda. About how a ten-dollar Goodwill jacket became the most meaningful thing I own.
Because last month, a man dying of Alzheimer's decided his memories deserved to find someone who'd care. 🤍

[Gaudreau Family 5K @Gaudreau5K]

“When we were first invited to Milan for the Olympics, we said no. It felt like more than we could handle. But we kept thinking about what John and Matty would say if they knew we turned it down. We knew the answer.

John loved representing his country. From the time he was little, he dreamed of competing at the Olympics. In that final summer, he was working harder than ever, pushing himself with everything he had to earn a spot on that roster. He was going to be there.

Sitting with that knowledge while watching these Games was not easy — but being present for them, surrounded by people who truly cared about John and Matty, made it something we will always treasure.

Every person we encountered took the time to ask about the boys — who they were, what they meant to us, the kind of people they were away from the ice.

What struck us most was realizing that John and Matty's impact reaches so much further than we sometimes see in our own grief.

They are carried by so many people — in locker rooms, in conversations, in quiet moments we will never even know about. That means everything to us.

And then Team USA won gold. When Zach, Auston, and Matthew carried John's jersey around that ice, we were overwhelmed — they made sure he was there. And then to see Noa and Johnny — on Johnny's second birthday — carried out onto the ice to be part of that gold medal photo — there are no words for what that felt like.

John and Matty should have been there, and in that moment, they were.

Thank you to every member of that team for loving John & Matty - and for making sure they were part of something historic. And thank you to everyone at @NBCOlympics and @usahockey for your kindness, your generosity, and for bringing our family to Milan to witness it.

You gave us a gift we didn't know we needed.

With love and gratitude,
The Gaudreau Family"

[Brett Boettcher @brettboettcher1]

40 sentences that will teach you more about nutrition than a $400,000 medical degree.

40) Meat, eggs and animal organs are the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.

39) Bone broth is loaded in collagen and helps repair the gut so you can heal from the inside out.

[Ryan Fournier @RyanAFournier]

This is hands-down, my favorite State of the Union moment… 🥺🙏🏼