Mental Floss

Win a Copy of The Book of Awesome!

By Jason English

facebooktwitterreddit

Neil Pasricha's uplifting new book, The Book of Awesome, hits stores today. Not only do we have all new, never-been-posted examples of awesome things to share, we've got a copy of the book to give away! More on that in a moment. First, the awesomeness:

Fixing electronics by smacking them
I mean, for once our instincts work. That doesn't always happen in nature. Slap a bear on the snout when it's picking through your trash and you might get a friendly mauling. Pull your brother's hair when he steals your Xbox controller and you could find your toothbrush tossed in the toilet. But when the CD is skipping in the car, a friendly smack might do the trick, so how about that?

AWESOME!

*
Finding your keys after looking forever
Nearly in tears and on the verge of madness, sweat drips down your face as you suddenly swing open the door with full force and then gasp as you immediately spot them: hanging in the lock.

The audience leaps to their feet and erupts, filling the theater with booming applause, loud whistles and screams from the balcony.

You smile at them and wink, grab the keys, kiss them, and then hold them to the sky. Then you run onto the driveway, jump into your car, and zoom off into the distance.

AWESOME!

*

That friendly nod between strangers out doing the same thing
Gliding down the bike path on Saturday morning, you whip by somebody peddling in the opposite direction and give each other a nod. It's like "Hey, we're both doing the same thing. Let's be friends for a second."

Also applies to seeing someone driving the same car as you, walking their dog past you on Sunday morning, or squeezing the melon beside you in the grocery store.

AWESOME!

*

When you hear someone's smile over the phone
Joking like you're back in the dining hall in college before a long Friday night, chatting like you're sharing a bunk bed and whispering on Christmas eve, and laughing like you're still young and still married.

Sometimes if you listen close enough you can hear those smiles shining through the phone like laser beams. And they tug on your heart as your brain lapses and enjoys some great times with a good friend.

AWESOME!

* * * * * *

For a shot at winning Neil's book, all you have to do is leave us a comment with your own something awesome. Neil himself will pick a winner at random on Monday. If you need some inspiration, check out the blog that inspired the book, 1000 Awesome Things.