The legendary escapologist Harry Houdini was obsessed with the afterlife.

I see a little boy. He is in a happy place.

Join me, Tim Harford, for a Cautionary Tales trilogy on the world's most famous magician

and his campaign to ban mediums, a mission that would cost him friends and leave him fearing for his life.

They're going to kill me.

Listen to cautionary tales on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeartRadio.

Good morning.

This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is to figure out what has given you joy or been meaningful recently,

and then build more of that into the coming week or month.

Today's tip comes from a New York Times article where writer Lori Leibovic explained that every year

she reflects on what made her feel good the previous year. If she feels stuck, she said she looked

through photos on her phone to trigger her memory. Live performances, traveling, walking with

friends, and running a 10K were some of the things that enriched the last year for her. So she

wrote she was aiming to get more of that on the calendar

for this year, too. I love that approach for a couple of reasons. First of all, she's focused on what

made the previous year good. So many people look ahead to a new year and then loaded up with

obligations and rules, things

I won't be doing, things I can't do, things like that.

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