Good morning and
welcome to Morning Cereal.
Okay, good morning and
welcome to Friday everyone.
Yet again, we have done it.
And if you are keeping track, we've
reached this fantastic
Friday 51 times so far this year.
Now that's got to count for something.
Pat yourself on the back at the very
least for that perseverance.
All right, for today's quote, we're
turning to actor and advocate, Alyssa
Milano, who once said,
"No matter what you go through in life,
as long as you can laugh your way through
it, you're going to be okay."
Now, in the moment, that can be tough at
times, but keep your
sense of humor handy.
Your ability to smile through tough times
is a kind of quiet superpower.
All right, well, here are your four
moments that matter for December 19th.
On this day, back in 1990, if you grew up
in the 80s and 90s, I know
you know this name, Bo Jackson.
He was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team,
making him the first athlete ever
selected as an all-star in both the Major
League Baseball and the NFL.
All right, well, today's special day is
National Hard Candy Day.
And that's a hard salute to the humble,
long-lasting candy that lives in
grandma's purse and that
little glass bowl on the shelf.
You know exactly what I'm talking about.
Well, the number one song on this date
back in 2000 was Independent Women, part
one by Destiny's Child.
Now, remember, this song became an anthem
of self-reliance, and it dominated the
radio and took over the
Charlie's Angels soundtrack.
Good morning, Angels.
Well, happy birthday to you.
Today is your birthday.
You share a birthday with actor known for
a lot of roles, including Donnie Darko,
Nightcrawler, Spider-Man,
Far From Home, Jake Gyllenhaal.
He's just 45 today.
Actor and activist from Who's the Boss?
and Charmed, Alyssa Milano.
She's 53 today.
And remember this guy, illusionist and
magician, star of the
Mind Freak, Chris Angel.
He's 58 today.
All right.
Well, let's turn to the book review.
And today we are wrapping up chapter 13
of Mel Robbins, The Let Them Theory,
which is pulling together everything Mel
Robbins has been saying about adult
friendships, the great scattering, and
how to move forward with more peace.
So this chapter, it zooms out and it
names the core problem.
Many of us still expect friendships to
work the way it did in childhood.
Back then, the infrastructure did the
work, school, sports, neighborhoods.
But as adults, those
structures fall away.
People are moving, priorities are
shifting, and suddenly it feels like
you're the only one who doesn't have a
built-in group chat.
Now, Robbins calls this season the great
scattering and reminds you
that it's not a personal failure.
It's just how life evolves.
From there, Mel revisited the three
pillars of friendship,
proximity, timing, and energy.
If someone no longer lives near you,
shares your life stage, or has the
emotional bandwidth to invest, the
friendship will naturally change.
And instead of taking every drift as
rejection, Mel wants
you to see it as physics.
In her words, quote, "It's not personal.
It's a pillar," end quote.
A big part of the summary is about
reclaiming your power.
She writes that, quote, "People hold no
power over you unless you
give it to them," end quote.
And the let them theory is how you start
taking that power back.
Let them cancel.
Let them move away.
Let them get busy with kids or career.
Instead of clinging or resenting, you
say, "Okay, that's where they are."
And then you shift your
focus to what you can control.
That's where the let me side comes in.
Let me be flexible.
Let me go first.
Let me check in on
someone who crosses my mind.
Let me accept that some of my favorite
people in life may not have arrived yet.
Robbins encourages you to see yourself
not as someone waiting to be chosen,
but as someone actively building a life
filled with the kind of
connections that you want.
And by the end of Chapter 13, friendship
stops being a painful scorecard
and it starts looking like an ongoing
practice and flexibility
and self-respect and courage.
Now, you're allowed to
grieve what's changed,
but you're also invited to participate in
what's possible next.
All right, here is your Friday takeaway.
When you understand that most friendship
changes are about
shifting pillars, not your worth,
you're free to let people go with grace
and keep building the
connections that fit your life now.
Well, as you head into a Friday,
remember, your life can have more than
one chapter of great people in it.
Let the friendships that
are meant to stay stay.
Let the others drift and trust that you
can laugh, love and rebuild again.
Hey, thanks for starting
your day with morning cereal.
Rest up this weekend. You
have a big week next week.
And we will see you back here on Monday.
And until then, have a fantastic day.
We'll dive deeper into everyday issues,
self-improvement,
well-being, business and finance,
and we welcome special guests too.
So join us. It'll be a
good time, I promise.
Thanks again for
listening. Have a fantastic day.
And we'll see you tomorrow.