Organizing this newsletter

Some plans for the newsletter. Here's what I've been working on.

Screenshot from Taxi Driver. Please note the “I’m gonna get organiz-ized!” sign in the background; it’s thematic.

Today's newsletter is about the newsletter itself. I'll try to make it unboring.

I mentioned yesterday that I hope to reorganize the whole thing into daily sections—both to make it more manageable for me to publish each day, and to give readers a bit more control.

Let's be honest. We're more than five years into this, and sometimes I'm all over the place:

• One day I might write about about Elon Musk and the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution;

• The next day: Hey, here's the surprising thing I found in the transcripts of the most popular TED Talks of all time;

• Then we're on to Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant, or a study I found about diet or sleep and neuroscience, or -- maybe, oh, I don't know -- how the big box retailer Target tried to reinvent Santa Claus ...

It's fun, and all that untreated 50-year-old-ADHD-inspired bouncing around can be a strength … sometimes.

It's also an ego boost when some people tell me they'd subscribe almost no matter what I write. (I have a lot of interests!)

But we all have our limits. Also, the "7 other things" each day has always had a bit of an identity crisis. Especially since -- oh, I don't know; pick a date, maybe November 5, 2024 or so?

(I’ll talk briefly about this in today’s “7 other things” section, below.)

So, here's what I'm thinking. I went back and reviewed all 1,000+ editions of the newsletter, and ( found that most of what I write falls into five big areas:

1. First, I write a lot of health, wellness, and personal development content -- mostly (but not all) focused on people roughly my age or more. Say 40+. (O.K., fine. I'm 54.)

2. Next, not surprisingly since I came to this from writing for Inc.com, I write a lot of business content -- mostly from the point of view of "things you can learn," as opposed to "here's what you should invest in."

3. There's my whole passion project, Life Story Magic, which I talked about yesterday. More broadly, this includes all the times I pose a question and readers share insightful answers and anecdotes.

4. There's Free for ALL Friday, which I thought about dropping not too long ago -- but that readers asked me to keep doing.

5. And finally: The O.G., original Understandably. This is where I'm most topical, or personal, or sometimes even a bit political.

We also have Big Optimism—but this already exists separately and has become its own thing. I think we'll keep it going like that for a while.

So, the idea is that I'll be more organized—and even find a way to brand, or sub-brand each different "bucket," so people know what’s coming, and what they’re reading.

For example, yesterday’s "Life Story Magic" went well. We had a lot of good responses, so we'll keep it going for a while -- and just to be organized, let's say those are going to be on Wednesdays.

(If you haven’t checked that out already, please do! And don’t forget that if you want to participate, you can either leave a comment or call (762) 250-5433 and leave a message.)

As for the other sections or “buckets,” we'll roll them out one at a time. I have little names for each of them, but I'll let you in on those as we roll them out. I think that will make it more fun.

There are more than 150,000 people subscribed to this newsletter, and on any given day about 45,000 to 50,000 people actually read it. That's wild.

It also means I know I can't please everyone. But I do hope this will be a better way forward.

Oh, important note: What do you have to do? Absolutely nothing, at least for now.

Just stick with me, share your ideas, tell some friends -- and keep being my favorite people in the world.

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7 other things worth knowing today

The way I think we’ll do this once we get the sections set up, is that instead of trying to find 7 “things” that are most topical on any particular day, I’ll instead focus on each subject. So, expect more business-related ones on the “business” days, and more health and wellness-related ones on the “health and wellness” days.

That doesn’t mean I’ll shy away from current events or even politics. But it does mean I might be a bit less of an “up to the minute” source, and more of a “here’s what’s worth knowing … maybe with a day or two of perspective” source.

Otherwise, we wind up with situations like the first “thing” today. Sorry, Rome wasn’t changed in a day, but I think we’ll get there. O.K., here goes …

• Perfect example of the problem: During the last 24 hours since I wrote the last newsletter, the U.S. Post Office first announced that it would no longer accept any packages from post offices in Hong Kong or China -- think, everything Americans order from services like Temu and Shein. Reason? None was given, but people surmised it had to do with the 10% Trump administration tariff on Chinese goods. Big story. But then, 12 hours later, the Post Office reversed course 100%, saying it would in fact accept packages from China. (AP)

• Next target for Elon Musk’s "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE): the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which spent more than $1.5 trillion in 2024, around 22 percent of all federal spending. It was unclear which systems DOGE had access to and whether any sensitive medical information was part of the efforts, but the Wall Street Journal reported that DOGE aides had been granted access to key payment and contract systems. (The Hill)

• Thing I guarantee none of us would have noticed last time it happened: Greenland's prime minister announced on Tuesday that the semi-autonomous Danish territory will hold a general election on March 11. The top issues in the election campaign: Greenland's independence aspirations, relations with Denmark and the United States, and the economy -- which depends on fishing and Danish grants. (Reuters)

• There's apparently a market for stolen eggs, now that prices have jumped nearly 1/3 in the last 60 days: Police in Pennsylvania say thieves stole about 100,000 eggs from the back of a distribution trailer in the town of Greencastle. The eggs are worth about $40,000. (NBC News)

• Gen Z are over having their work ethic questioned: ‘Most boomers don’t know what it’s like to work 40+ hours a week and still not be able to afford a house.’ (Fortune)

• A banker working with high-net worth individuals across the Gulf talks fondly about his favorite client. He’s a young sheikh, has a lot of money to invest, and owns a palatial home. He can be seen in all the best restaurants and clubs across the region. But he reserves a lot of his time and energy for his companion at home. He shares this home with... his pet lion. Across the Gulf, cheetahs, tigers, lions, and other big cats have become the ultimate status symbol. (Semafor)

• Mewing, Beta Maxing, Gigachad, Baddie: Parents Are Drowning in New Lingo. Slang is sprouting at a dizzying speed, leaving adults constantly unsure if they’re being insulted; ‘Omega is like the lowest rate you can get’ (WSJ)