ecently I was interviewed for a newspaper article, and the reporter asked me what my life was like during graduate school. (I received my master’s in journalism from Northwestern University.) I couldn’t help but laugh when I recalled my first apartment in Chicago. It was the size of a walk-in closet, with two windows overlooking an alley. The kitchen had a two-burner stove and a half refrigerator. I slept on a backache-inducing futon and ate my meals while sitting on a folding chair at a card table. Those meals were usually something I cooked on Sunday and stretched to last most of the week.
And during it all, I thought I was the luckiest guy on earth. I was living in a spectacular city, making new friends, and learning one of the most important lessons of my life: Fabulousness has absolutely nothing to do with money.
Fabulousness comes from within. It’s about living your life the most conscious way possible. Are the foods you’re putting in your body the highest quality you can afford? Are the clothes you’re wearing telling the world you’re glad you got out of bed this morning? Does your abode make you happy the second you walk in the front door?
You want to be answering yes to those questions. I know you do. If you don’t want to be eating well, dressing your body in a flattering way, and surrounding yourself with things that energize you, you’ve got a problem—and I’m not the guy to fix it. You probably need a therapist.
I honestly believe that each of us, at our core, wants to be a splendid version of ourselves. But modern society is constantly urging us to take the easy way out! Think about how simple it would be right now to grab a triple cheeseburger at the drive-through, go home and pull on a pair of sweatpants, and spend the rest of the day watching a Hoarders marathon from your couch.
And, look, I’m not judging. I have actually done a version of that. Who hasn’t? But it rarely makes you feel good about yourself—because it’s the opposite of fabulousness.
You know you’d be much happier if you ran to the supermarket in a cute pair of jeans, came home, whipped up a cassoulet, and made a terrarium for your windowsill! Omigod, I would so love you right now if you did that.
I’ve written this book with the hope that you’ll be inspired to see the opportunities for fabulousness all around you. If I can do it, so can you!
