Friends news: 19 Things You Can Say to People in 10 Seconds
Hello Reader, from your friend Nick, author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party (on sale paperback, Kindle, or Audible).
In this issue: my public library experiment & send me your local library, Sam Parr's tribute for his best friend, the secret language of ships, LED skin care mask, Sam Corcos podcast interview about delegation, and a bunch more.
Why you’re getting this: I'm Nick Gray and this is my Friends Newsletter. I send this every month to interesting people I’ve connected with and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can un-subscríbe any time and I won't be mad. I won't even be notified!
Random Links
🐾 My best friend died and this is for him
Warning: tear-jerker. My very good friend Sam Parr writes about his junkyard dog passing away. A beautiful tribute that is very well-written.
🎩 Surprisingly Relevant Rules From 1882 on Being a Good Houseguest (and Host)
"No one should accept a general invitation for a prolonged visit. “Do come and spend some time with me” may be said with all earnestness and cordiality, but to give the invitation real meaning the date should be definitely fixed and the length of time stated."
🎙️ Sam Corcos podcast— The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Assistants, 10x Delegation
Legit one of the best deep dives on using VAs, systems, delegation, etc with Sam Corcos on the Tim Ferriss pod.
🚢 The Secret Language of Ships
"Signs and symbols on the sides of ships tell stories about an industry few outsiders understand."
👧🏻 Spaced repetition for teaching two-year olds how to read (Interview)
“A redditor did spaced repetition with his kids. He taught his 4yo daughter to read at a 5th grade reading level and his 3yo son to do times tables up to 12x12.” via @Prigoose on X, article is free on Substack.
🧖🏻♂️ LED Mask Comparison and a Deep Dive into Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT)
Skincare: I’ve heard about these LED face mask things to help reduce redness, inflammation, etc but didn’t know what to trust. A woman I follow online bought one recently so I asked how she picked the hardware. She sent me this guide by a skincare blogger. No affiliation. FWIW she bought the Omnilux Contour for around $400. Maybe I will try it.
🛒 New Zealand family records their first trip to Walmart (YouTube)
“We need a cart immediately” pure joy in the parents and kids. via Trevor McKendrick’s excellent newsletter.
🎵 Jireh | Elevation Worship & Maverick City
Gospel music really slaps sometimes. This is an amazing music video to a 10-minute song that I listened to almost every morning for a few weeks. Originally shared via Danny Miranda.
Do you have a library card in the USA?
I just found out that my book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, is being showcased at the Round Rock Public Library in Texas.
Do you have a library card in the USA? If so, please reply back to this email and tell me which library you are a member of and/or which city and state.
I'm doing an experiment to try to get libraries to order my book like this one:
My book is in ~45 libraries now. But I want to make it available for free to even more people.
If you are a member of your local library, reply to this email with the name and city and state of your library.
I'll do the research on how to request my book. Then, if you're comfortable sharing your info, me or my colleague Ash will email your local library to request the book on your behalf. We tried it for 20 people on LinkedIn and it worked great.
How I Hosted a Mini-Conference
I’ve hosted hundreds of happy hours and networking events.
But now I want to experiment with bigger and deeper gatherings.
So I decided to host a mini-conference: 32 people gathering for 4 hours during a work day.
This is how I did it and everything I learned (continue reading).
| Read my Article |
19 Things You Can Say to People in 10 Seconds That Sometimes Produce Insanely Outsized Effects
Some of my favorites:
- Feeling stuck sucks. Want to brainstorm together?
- What's the twenty-minute version of accomplishing this overwhelming-feeling thing?
- Do you want me to sit with you while you fill out that application or write that email? No? Too bad, it's happening, let’s do it!
- Do you want to set an alarm on your phone now as a reminder?
- Do you sort of already know what you're going to do, or have you made up your mind about this?
See the full list of 19 things here in my Google Doc.
This is based on an X / Twitter thread I saw, then I put them into a Google Doc.
The End
Thanks for reading my Friends Newsletter.
We're going into the Holiday season which can be lonely for some people. Reply back with your phone number if a random call would cheer you up and I'll try to say Hi sometime. Or you can call me anytime for a minute or two.
Have a great weekend.
🤠 Nick Gray
p.s. Here's the About Me on my website if you forgot who I am. We met [HOWWEMET GOES HERE].