WEBVTT - Follow your fancy 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to follow your fancy. If you find

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<v Speaker 1>yourself getting into a topic, go ahead and pursue it.

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<v Speaker 1>This can make your leisure time feel more meaningful and fun.

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<v Speaker 1>Last fall I went on something of a Neanderthal reading streak.

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<v Speaker 1>I've long found the idea of this extinct human like

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<v Speaker 1>species fascinating, and I've been looking for some good books

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<v Speaker 1>on the topic. When the Wall Street Journal ran a

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<v Speaker 1>review of Kindred, popular science book on the under Falls,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought this sounded like just what I was looking for.

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<v Speaker 1>I read it, learned a lot, and of course, then

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<v Speaker 1>Amazon's I'll Rhythm began suggesting other early human evolution books that,

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<v Speaker 1>for some reason, I hadn't really found in my searching earlier.

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<v Speaker 1>In the space of a month, I read close to

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<v Speaker 1>a dozen books on this topic before I exhausted most

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<v Speaker 1>of the offerings. During this time, I was never without

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<v Speaker 1>a book to read, and I was quickly becoming aware

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<v Speaker 1>of the different theories and what was known and not known. Lately,

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<v Speaker 1>I've been on a different sort of kick with puzzles.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a good activity to do at night after

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<v Speaker 1>the toddler goes to sleep and I'm tired and don't

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<v Speaker 1>always want to read. It feels better than just perusing Twitter.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I've done a handful of thousand piece puzzles

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<v Speaker 1>since January. The more I do in a row, the

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<v Speaker 1>better I get at it, and I learned which brands

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<v Speaker 1>of puzzles I like and which are more frustrating. I

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<v Speaker 1>have started eyeing a few I planned to buy in

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<v Speaker 1>the future, including a flight of Chris Smiths puzzles. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>happy to report that some of my kids are getting

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<v Speaker 1>into the idea of following your fancy too. One of

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<v Speaker 1>my children is really into Survivor, watching all the old

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<v Speaker 1>seasons and learning various trivia about the show. He'd read

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<v Speaker 1>anything he could about some of the contestants, their lives

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<v Speaker 1>before Survivor and after he started inventing his own reality show,

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<v Speaker 1>in a narrative about the different characters who would play

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<v Speaker 1>on it, including the alliances they would make. When something

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<v Speaker 1>strikes one's fancy, that means it is intriguing or of interest.

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<v Speaker 1>To follow your fancy is to note this intrigue and

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<v Speaker 1>to act on it. It means taking your leisure time seriously,

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<v Speaker 1>which I know sometimes sounds like a contradiction, But even

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<v Speaker 1>the busiest people do have some leisure time. We just

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<v Speaker 1>often treated mindlessly. Things aren't connected. We miss an opportunity

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<v Speaker 1>to really learn and to figure out and indulge interests

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<v Speaker 1>that might be entirely different from the work and family

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<v Speaker 1>months we spend so much time on. I make my

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<v Speaker 1>living writing and speaking about time management. There is pretty

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<v Speaker 1>much zero connection between the Neanderthals and modern time management.

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<v Speaker 1>But so what I love to learn, and sometimes regular

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<v Speaker 1>adult life feels like it is bereft of opportunities to

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<v Speaker 1>learn new things. Follow your fancy and you can be

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<v Speaker 1>like a kid in a favorite class, again, one perfectly

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<v Speaker 1>tailored to you and your interests. So when you notice

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<v Speaker 1>yourself becoming intrigued by something, or seeking out articles or

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<v Speaker 1>shows on a topic, pay attention. See if any other

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<v Speaker 1>books are experts are mentioned. Seek these out, getting these

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<v Speaker 1>new books from a bookstore or at the library. Research

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<v Speaker 1>what is out there. Yes, you might eventually spend some

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<v Speaker 1>money on all this. I've been trying to use gift

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<v Speaker 1>cards to feed my puzzle addiction, but I do think

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<v Speaker 1>there are worse ways to spend money. People spend a

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<v Speaker 1>lot to make themselves happy, or just on convenience. Getting

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<v Speaker 1>dinner delivered the other night cost enough to buy three puzzles,

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<v Speaker 1>each of which might entertain me for ten hours or so.

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<v Speaker 1>It's good to see these things as we make our choices.

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<v Speaker 1>Scrimp on other things, but spend on your enjoyment, because

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<v Speaker 1>when you follow your fancy life can feel a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more fun. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Yeah, hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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