It's been mythologised that Steve Jobs wore the same outfit every day because he didn't want to waste time and energy deciding what to wear.
I have taken Steve Jobs's approach and given it a rainbow twist.
I have the same sweatshirt but in 11 different colours, and when it comes to choosing, I close my eyes and let the Universe decide what colour day it is going to be.
Very often the colour will affect the way my day flows.
On days when I need a lift, orange or yellow always makes me feel energised.
When I'm feeling a little hyper, or anxious, lilac always calms me down.
I've learnt to trust the flow of whatever colour I get each day.
The other week I attended a workshop in London, and it was clearly decided by the higher powers that this was going to be a bright green day.
I hadn't been to London for two years, and I didn't know anyone I was going to be attending the workshop with, but my green jumper was going to do all the heavy lifting for me.
From the moment I stepped inside the station in Manchester to the time I arrived back in Manchester, after a long day in London, I received compliment after compliment.
That green jumper broke the ice for me more times than I ever would have dared to myself.
Complete strangers stopped me to chat and compliment me on the jumper.
In the workshop, three or four people came over and asked me about it, and I had some beautiful conversations from there.
Every single person said the same thing to me too, “I love that colour green, it makes me happy."
It made me realise a few things.
The first thing is that it's nice to receive compliments, and I intend to compliment more people when I'm out and about.
The other thing was that just by wearing a brightly coloured sweatshirt, I somehow managed to make other people smile and feel happy.
We should never worry about the difference we can make in the world.
Sometimes we don't even know we are doing it, we're just wearing the difference, unbeknown to ourselves.
And other times we can actively go out and make that difference.
A simple smile to a passing stranger, or holding the door open for somebody as they rush in from the cold.
Did you do anything today to make a difference in somebody else's life?
If not, there's still time.
Here are a few things I felt were worth sharing this week:
I went to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Factory International. It was amazing. Check out her work, she’s fascinating. And the new Factory International space in Manchester City centre is also incredible.
I finished Better Call Saul recently, it’s the prequel to Breaking Bad about the character Saul Goodman. I would go as far as to say it is one of the best television series I’ve ever seen, up there with The Sopranos. I then stumbled across this article about the ending of the Better Call Saul series - spoiler alert!
This film, To Be Frank, is beautiful, inspirational, and funny. And it leaves you wanting to be Frank, or to at least be friends with Frank.
If you haven’t watched the Gary Neville interview with Dele Alli, then you should. It’s a powerful and important conversation about mental health and how men deal with it.
Here are some lesser-remembered songs that I came across this week, from my favourite year in music, 1984.
Thanks for reading!
My new book, B7965 - A boy called Szmulek: A man named Sam, is out NOW!. It’s a powerful memoir of my unexpected year-long journey with a Holocaust survivor. I’m super proud of it and very passionate about sharing Sam’s incredible story and getting it out into the world. I truly believe this is a very important story and one that the world needs to hear more than ever right now.
Also, if you like great music, please check out my radio station, The Buzz Mcr. We don’t do ad-breaks, news, weather, and travel. The music never stops. We have a thing called our Three Song Trust Policy, it’s like the old Pepsi challenge only with music. Try us, I think you’ll like us.
With love
Rik
x
It's the small things ❤️