🏢 This Harvard happiness hack starts with acting like a broke entrepreneur

Since fear shows up either way, give it a better job to do.

Whether you’re trying to graduate, switch careers, or just survive 2025 (almost there!), the key to happiness might be thinking less like a perfectionist... and more like a scrappy founder with a half-baked idea and big dreams.

In The Happiness Files, Harvard professor and happiness whisperer* Arthur C. Brooks says the secret isn’t fearlessness, it’s strategy. Life doesn’t need to feel safe to be right. It needs a business plan.

In this story by Mark Wales, Brooks breaks down how taking smart, scary risks can spark more joy, purpose, and momentum in your day-to-day life. The happiest people? They jump before they’re ready... but never without a parachute.

* - How do you get that job?!?

Image of the day

And what did we learn?

Yesterday I introduced you all to Gabby, my new pup! It isn’t clear what sort of ears she’ll end up with, so we asked you, and the community seems to think we’re going to have a down-eared Dobby-dog.

• They're staying down. Dobby-looking dog all day! (63.3%)

• Left up, right down. (10.0%)

• Right up, left down. (6.7%)

• Both up. She'll look attentive. (20.0%)

I’ll keep you posted as earvents develop, if only as an excuse to keep sharing cute puppy pics.

🏘️ HOA rulebook gone rogue: no phones, no grass, no mercy

Nobody wants another fire, but I’m gonna need to charge my cell phone.

Once upon a time, somebody painted their house neon pink, let their lawn turn into a tire graveyard, and blasted music until dawn. Thus, the HOA was born: neighbors uniting to keep things nice. But then, the gavel of the HOA President began to call out like the Ring of Power, and what was once noble became corrupted.

In this epic tale by Mark Wales, we meet homeowners trapped in HOA purgatory where the latest rule says you can’t charge your phone. Where fines arrive for cars you don’t even own, and where one mom actually saw the inside of a jail cell because her grass wasn’t green enough.

Once, they thought the HOA would protect them, but they were all of them deceived.  

😁 You can’t fake these universal likability traits, but you can learn them

Three things that will change the way people think of you.

I’ve “you too-d” more than my share of movie concession stand workers who have told me to enjoy the movie. I’ve said nice to meet you to far too many people I already know. It’s a curse. That’s why Amy Lamare’s story on what actually makes people universally likable felt a little personal.

Being likable isn’t about charm, looks, or being the office extrovert. The people everyone gravitates toward share three qualities that signal respect, confidence, and real connection. Once you see them, you’ll never unsee them.

The catch? These traits are nearly impossible to fake, which is exactly what makes them so powerful. But the good news is you can learn them for yourself.

Do you have something GOOD to share?

We’re always on the lookout for uplifting, enlightening, and engaging content to share with readers like you. If you have something you think should be featured in the Daily GOOD, let me know!

💬 From the group text…

OK, landing a plane is impressive, but doing it at 5-and-a-half (she’s insistent about that ‘half’) while holding a stuffy is just showing off!