I started this Substack in November. Now we’re nearly halfway through January (!), and it’s still going strong. I’m proud of that.

More generally, though, I’m proud of the Substack itself. And human awesomeness is a big part of the reason why.

Back in December, I wrote a post called “The Importance Of Passion Projects.” I made the point that side hustles — even (especially!) side hustles you don’t intend to profit from — are super important. After I shared that post, a couple colleagues reached out to tell me how much they enjoyed it.

I’m neither bragging nor humblebragging here, by the way. But one of the comments I received was: “Thanks for sharing. It’s something I personally haven’t given myself time for lately, reading your post really helped.”

What made that comment so meaningful to me was that it was sent from a Wondery colleague who honestly I didn’t and don’t know very well. A second Wondery colleague wrote, too.

I love giving compliments and sharing praise. I’m human, so I love hearing it too.

I promise, this isn’t a cry for you to heart this post and tell me how wonderful it is. Rather, it’s a reminder of the power of sharing — of radiating — positivity. When you see people do or create or share things that you like, tell them so. The mood boost I got from those comments absolutely served as a push to keep writing. And every time I sit down with a blank screen to write another post here, I think about what those (now-former) colleagues would want to read, and what others would want to read.

I think about what posts I could write that will affect people enough that they’ll want to tell me that they were affected. Their compliments improve my mood, so I’m surely a nicer, happier person that day. Maybe I close more deals. Maybe I delight more clients. And if my posts really inspired/delighted/reassured them, maybe they’re having the same kind of positive impacts with their own interactions that day.

I guess it’s the “pay it forward” mentality. If you see good work, say so. Be awesome. It’s awesome to celebrate awesomeness. It’s good for everybody.