Happy Valentine’s Day! Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the method of modern love. Because love is the most powerful, valuable and positive emotion in our treasure chest. I have had daily reminders of how short life really is. (And not just for Kevin Hart.) So you need to make the most of your time on Earth. Spend as much time as you can doing the things you love, in places you love, with people you love. Like Doc, Isaac, Gopher, Julie and Captain Stubing.
To take stock of the things I love, I have created this list. I encourage you to take an hour to write down 100 things you love, too. Not only will it force you to think about your favorite people, places, and things, but it will also help serve as a map to live a life you love.
I did this exercise a few years ago. You can see my 2021 list here. I didn’t look at it before writing this list. So it will be interesting to see what did and didn’t make both lists.
Here’s what I came up with in 2025. There are many more things that could be on this list. Because there is so much to love in life. Never forget that.
Things I love in 2025, In A Particular Order.
- My wife Dawn
- My kids Ava, Johann and Magnus
- My parents, Robert and Jill Albrecht
- My sisters Heather, Alison and Donielle (that’s not a typo). And I love our crazy birthday story!
- Waking up before my alarm
- Creative ideas
- Putting a smile on my face when I first wake up.
- Making grumpy people smile.
- Helping my clients grow their businesses
- Reading graduate level books
- Skiing with my son Magnus
- Listening to my son Johann play piano or saxophone
- My home weight room. I can blast my own music and yell. It has a great vibe.
- Running my Ariens snowblower through a fresh snowfall. This line has been brought to you by Ariens.
- The taste of maple sap form a galvanized bucket. (Real Vermont Boy Stuff.)
- Mountain Biking
- Pizza
- Compound interest
- Hummingbirds
- Northern lights
- Boogie Boarding
- Printing photos from my adventures and hanging them on my wall as a reminder to really live
- Writing newsletters, blog posts, and books. Oh My!
- Seeing my people in real life
- Making a new friend on an airplane
- G-Shock Watches
- American Giant Hoodies
- My Topo Design Mountain pants (they don’t make them anymore.)
- My hiking boots
- Moonlight cross country skiing with my Dad in Vermont
- A Paris dinner cruise
- Floating down the Aare River in Bern, Switzerland
- The crazy traffic in Bangalore, India
- Bryce Canyon
- The Narrows at Zion National Park
- Seeing Bears in the Wild (when I’m not holding a salmon)
- Laughing until I cry
- My Jeep Rubicon
- The Weaponry
- The color red.
- Trucker hats
- My Halo pizza oven
- Making minds sparkle
- Giving keynote speeches
- Family reunions
- Guys trips
- My home theater
- Frozen bananas
- Getting upgraded to first class on Delta flights
- The Salt Lake City Airport
- Coaching my daughter Ava in track and field
- Coaching my son Magnus in football
- Buffalo (the animals and the wings)
- When things go wrong and you get a good story out of it
- A good comeback, in sports and in life
- Chocolate milk
- My wedding day (But once was enough.)
- My Grandparents
- My Aunts and Uncles
- Cousins (The relatives. Not the subs.)
- Black olives
- Grilled Cheese sandwiches
- Music Concerts
- Snowmobiling
- Chicago
- Hilton Head Island
- A great photo I was lucky enough to catch
- My Atlanta friends
- My friends from home in the Upper Valley
- Turks and Caicos
- Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk
- Vermont
- Ginger Beer
- Breakfast burritos
- Sunrises and Sunsets
- Great Comedians
- Great Churros
- Long road trips
- Baseball and football cards from the 1980s
- My Gerber tool
- Throwing the discus
- My Mack Weldon Atlas Bag
- The Republic of Tea Ginger Peach,
- Darn Tough Socks
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Connecting dots
- Simon Pearce glass
- Being totally present
- Roller Coasters
- The Last Dance documentary series
- Yahtzee (especially when I get Yahtzee twice in one game)
- The museum of memories I am building in my mind
- My John Deere lawn tractor.
- Mt. Rainier
- Sweet Tea
- A New York Strip (The steak. Don’t be pervy.)
- Fishing in the rain
- Maui Jim Sun glasses
- Luftballoons
- Someone else having hiccups
- Dalmatians
Key Takeaway
Fill your life with the things you love. The people, places, activities, feelings, foods, and drinks you love will lead you to a life you love. And life is too short to fill with anything else.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.
Adam Albrecht Blog 