WEBVTT - Press the easy button when you can

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that there is nothing wrong with pressing the

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<v Speaker 1>easy button when you have the opportunity. Solutions aren't always

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<v Speaker 1>better just because they are hard. Figure out lots of

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<v Speaker 1>easy buttons in life, and you just might have more

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<v Speaker 1>mental space for what really matters. Before Breakfast listeners of

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<v Speaker 1>a certain age may remember the ad campaign from the

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<v Speaker 1>office supply store Staples. A small red button labeled easy

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<v Speaker 1>miraculously solved all kinds of challenges, from pens that run

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<v Speaker 1>out of ink, to hardmouth problems to changing twin babies diapers.

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<v Speaker 1>At the same time. The idea, of course, was that

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<v Speaker 1>Staples made getting office supplies is easy pressing a button.

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<v Speaker 1>The fantasy of having an easy button was so powerful

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<v Speaker 1>that Staples even started selling an easy button desk toy. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure that the desk toy will not solve

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<v Speaker 1>any problems for you, but you can find all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of metaphorical easy buttons in life. Weeknight dinners can be

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<v Speaker 1>pasta one night Taco's, another make your own pizza breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>for dinner, and a store bought rotisserie chicken with a

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<v Speaker 1>bagged salad. Brilliant. I just mail planned for an entire

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<v Speaker 1>week for you. If you want variety, you can cook

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<v Speaker 1>elaborate meals on the weekends and then maybe have the

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<v Speaker 1>leftovers as a dinner in the middle of the week.

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<v Speaker 1>Or do you take out some night you have pressed

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<v Speaker 1>the easy button and still had a satisfying string of dinners.

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<v Speaker 1>You can choose a kind of wine you like and

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<v Speaker 1>always bring that as a hostess gift. Seriously, just order

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<v Speaker 1>a dozen bottles, and if you get invited to more

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<v Speaker 1>parties than that in a year, I'm thrilled for you,

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<v Speaker 1>but most of us probably won't be, so it will

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<v Speaker 1>all work out. Cash can be a very easy gift

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<v Speaker 1>for a wide variety of occasions, and for a solid

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<v Speaker 1>percentage of those occasions, the person will prefer cash to

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<v Speaker 1>whatever you might have picked out, So go ahead and

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<v Speaker 1>press the easy button. If it's going to be appropriate

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<v Speaker 1>for my female listeners. A simple black dress can be

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<v Speaker 1>your easy button outfit for any event. Unless you are

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<v Speaker 1>the sort of person who is frequently photographed for the tabloids,

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<v Speaker 1>no one is going to notice that you are wearing

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<v Speaker 1>the same thing on more than one occasion. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are supposed to bring a homemade dessert somewhere, bring slice

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<v Speaker 1>and baked cookies. They worked us fine. Have a go

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<v Speaker 1>to karaoke song Paint Walls and Benjamin Moore White Dove

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<v Speaker 1>have a restaurant you always suggest to visiting out of

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<v Speaker 1>town guests. I believe that part of adulting is knowing

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<v Speaker 1>about a certain number of easy buttons and availing yourself

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<v Speaker 1>of them whenever the situation permits. When we are young,

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<v Speaker 1>we often think that everyone is watching and judging us,

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<v Speaker 1>and so we need to impress people with our command

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<v Speaker 1>of a wide variety of things, places, outfits, meals. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you get older and realize no one is noticing. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>people tend to be happier with surefire hits than with

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<v Speaker 1>experimentation that can go awry. At six o'clock on Tuesday,

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<v Speaker 1>your crew is going to be happier with pasta than

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<v Speaker 1>with some elaborate new seafood dish that your gourmet magazine

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<v Speaker 1>said was amazing. Maybe it is, but you can find

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<v Speaker 1>that out when you make it on Saturday. On Tuesday,

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<v Speaker 1>press the easy button. I don't like the phrase taking

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<v Speaker 1>the easy way out because it's pejorative. In many cases,

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<v Speaker 1>the easy way is not only fine, it might be

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<v Speaker 1>preferable to something harder. Save your time and energy for

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<v Speaker 1>situations where it matters or might truly improve things. With

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<v Speaker 1>most other things, pressing the easy button is perfectly fine.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.