There's joy in letting yourself feel deeply, honoring your memories, and finding beauty in your emotions! Here's why…

Monday: MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Hi, everyone! How are you? I hope you’re all having a great Monday. Let’s start this week by continuing on with my Summer Happiness Challenge series. For 10 Mondays, we’ll talk about finding and achieving happiness through understanding various cultural traditions across the globe. Today, I’ll share my insights and learnings about the Portuguese sentiment of happiness. Continue reading below to know more about this paradoxical concept of finding joy through embracing longing and nostalgia. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

There's joy in letting yourself feel deeply, honoring your memories, and finding beauty in your emotions! Here's why… Have you ever experienced a feeling so profound that it defies direct translation—a sentiment that weaves together the deepest threads of love, loss, and remembrance? Think of a moment from your past, a cherished memory that brings both a smile and a tear, an ache in your heart mingled with warmth… This emotion, elusive yet universally felt, captures the essence of what it means to be human. It is a beautiful paradox, where happiness intertwines with melancholy, and joy coexists with longing. In fact, in Portuguese culture, this complex and bittersweet sentiment has a name. It is one that resonates through music, literature, and daily life, offering a unique lens through which to view poignant experiences. I’m talking about… “Saudade!” “Saudade”: The Portuguese Sentiment of Happiness Through Embracing Longing and Nostalgia In the heart of Portuguese culture lies a word that encapsulates an entire universe of emotions: “Saudade.” This uniquely Portuguese term, which has no direct translation in English, weaves together threads of longing, nostalgia, love, and melancholy. “Saudade” is a testament to the depth and complexity of human emotion, embracing both the beauty and pain of remembering something or someone cherished yet absent. Furthermore, “Saudade” is not just a feeling but also an experience that captures the soul’s yearning for a lost moment, person, place, or era. It is the ache you feel in your chest when you think of a loved one far away… … the bittersweet smile that comes with recalling a beloved childhood memory… … or the gentle sorrow of reminiscing about a time when life felt different, perhaps simpler or happier. Unlike simple nostalgia, “Saudade” carries with it an acceptance of the ephemeral nature of life, a recognition that time moves forward, taking with it pieces of the heart. A Cultural Cornerstone In Portugal and Brazil, “Saudade” permeates daily life and culture. It finds its most poignant expression in Fado music, a genre that sings of love, loss, and longing, with haunting melodies and soulful lyrics. The “Saudade” expressed in Fado is not just personal but also collective. It reflects the shared history and experiences of people who have known both the joys of exploration and the sorrows of separation. What’s more? Portuguese and Brazilian literature also teems with “Saudade”! Writers like Fernando Pessoa and Clarice Lispector have delved into the depths of this emotion, exploring its multifaceted nature and impact on the human condition. In these writers’ works, “Saudade” is not merely a backdrop but also a central theme, a force that shapes characters and narratives. The Paradox of Happiness At first glance, it might seem contradictory to link “Saudade” with happiness. After all, how can a feeling rooted in loss and longing contribute to a sense of well-being? Well, the answer lies in the richness of human experience! “Saudade” teaches us to appreciate the transient beauty of our lives, to hold dear the moments that slip away, and to find joy in the act of remembering these moments. In embracing “Saudade,” we acknowledge that our lives are made meaningful by the connections we form and the experiences we cherish. Besides, the longing that comes with “Saudade” is a testament to love and passion, a reminder that we have lived deeply and felt profoundly. This recognition can bring a quiet, reflective happiness within us, a contentment born from the understanding that even though moments pass, they leave an indelible mark on our hearts. Now, some of you reading this right now might be having reservations about adopting this principle in your life… Let me tell you this: “Saudade” is not a feeling to be feared or avoided; it is an integral part of the human experience—of your experience. This means to live with “Saudade” is to live with the awareness that life is a continuous dance of holding on and letting go. This then encourages you to savor the present, knowing that it will soon become a cherished memory. In practical terms, embracing “Saudade” means allowing yourself to feel deeply, to honor your memories, and to find beauty in the full spectrum of your emotions. It is a call to be present, connect with others, and appreciate the fleeting nature of time. Overall, “Saudade” is a word, feeling, and cultural touchstone that speaks to the universal human experience of love, loss, and remembrance. It is a reminder that happiness is not just found in the presence of joy but also in the acceptance of longing and nostalgia. So, open your heart to the richness of life, finding peace in the knowledge that even as moments pass, their impact endures! In this way, “Saudade” becomes not just a sentiment of sadness but also a profound expression of happiness and gratitude of what was, is, and will be. I hope this topic is able to speak to your heart! Stay with me next week as we move to Germany and discover this country’s warm tradition of happiness through “Gemütlichkeit”!     Hope you’ve found this week’s topic interesting and helpful. EVENT ALERT: AI has ushered in the biggest tech mania since the 1990s and has created 500,000 new millionaires—roughly 587 per day—since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. In fact, Nvidia is already up more than 783% in the past two years and just last week, the S&P 500 made a new all-time high, driven mostly by AI stocks. While this may sound like good news, the world elite are already preparing for an AI crisis that could trigger a major catastrophe in the stock market. When this crisis happens, it could impact your money—whether you own AI stocks or not. If you want to protect yourself from this impending crisis, it is crucial that you join Professor Joel Litman on Thursday, July 18, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time in an urgent AI stock summit. During this AI Panic Summit, Professor Litman will tell you everything you need to know about the impending turmoil on AI stocks and what you can do to avoid massive losses and seize huge gains. Register now through this link to secure your spot at the summit. This event is completely free of charge, all you need to do is confirm your attendance. See you there! Stay tuned for next Monday’s Marketing Marvels!