The Best Newsletter Yet

Happy S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Besties,

This week was the Scripps Annual Spelling Bee (which ended in a tie-breaking spell-off😮). Unless you’re skimming the 470,000-word dictionary, you probably haven’t heard most of the definitions.

But there are some commonly used words that feel just as hard. Our buddies at WordsTips compiled a list of 350 misspelled English words (by geo). The big commonly misspelled word? “Coolly” which people get wrong 65.9% of the time.

• Get this: In 47 countries “coolly” is the most misspelled English word.

• Here’s why: Cool is an adjective, so to make it an adverb, you gotta’ add -ly. It feels wrong, but that double-L is oh so right.

• Correct = Coolly.

This week’s newsletter is 20% of the best of the pod and 80% things we had to share off the record. 

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🔺Abercrombie & Fitch just had its best quarter ever. Big tech & bank stocks get all the attention — but Abercrombie’s sales rose 29% and the stock price popped 20% last week like a collar.

• For scale: Big, growthy, tech stocks like Nvidia tripled in price in 2023. But retail brand A&F nearly quadrupled as the top stock of the year.

• Real story: Jack’s wife, Alex (low-key trend-spotter) said we should invest last year, we thought it was too late, since the stock had already risen so much… but were wrong. The stock’s jumped another 100% in 2024 (no guarantee it’ll happen again).

• And it’s all thanks to weddings 🔔 A&F finally launched its Wedding Shop — from Friday rehearsal outfits to Saturday ceremony dresses to Sunday brunch jumpsuits. Because these days Bridesmaids & plus-ones are buying 2-4 looks for one wedding weekend.

• Ab’s insight? Wedding days are now wedding weeks… So you’re buying multiple outfits from one brand.

🫎 BTW, bring back the moose for the grooms?

How much will weight loss drugs affect the food industry? Morgan Stanley studied 300 people “early in their weight loss journey” taking GLP P-1 drugs. Based on their diet changes, researchers estimated what the future of consumer food spending could look like… #SaveTheSoftee 🍦

Last week we talked Retail Therapy. There’s been a Work-From-Home Ecommerce Surge in the middle of the workday — And peak shopping online time is 11am on Fridays.

So we asked: Do you shop online more during the workday or after?

And these were the best comments yet…

• 🤝 “Force me to wear clothes at work, I gotta shop on your time, boss. ”

• 😏 “I work in retail, so I consider it “competitive research.” 😉”

• 🙃 “I also shop for new jobs during the workday”

Next week we want to know: When it comes to weddings, are you mostly renting, buying, or pulling an existing outfit out of the closet?

Why Jerry Seinfeld focuses on “Mastery”— Trung Phan wrote an analysis of an Esquire Magazine concept that inspired Jerry Seinfeld 30 years ago (starts page 113).

• Full disclosure: If you read this, be prepared for at least a 30-minute convo with your bestie about it. Nick & Molly had to ask the sitter for an extension when it came up during date night.

2 things to know:

1. Anyone can pursue mastery. It’s not about being special, gifted, fortunate, or starting at a young age. Mastery is available to anyone willing to start and stay on the path…

2. Mastery is Plateaus and Brief Spurts of Progress. Look at the chart up top. Most of the time it doesn’t look or feel like you’re getting better. But Phan says “in the plateau” is where the deepest, most lasting learning takes place.

And 4 traits to look in yourself when finding what you can best master:

1. Enthusiasm: Your 10,000 hours are easier when you love what you’re mastering.

2. Generosity: “Genius itself can be defined in terms of giving-ness.”

3. Zonshin: The Japanese concept of “unbroken concentration” can evoke deep mastery. 

4. Playfulness: The ability to be “childlike” with a craft can amount to a level of genius. Have fun with it.

The Takeaway (according to Jerry): The only thing in life that's really worth having is good skill. Good skill is the greatest possession.

For us, we treat podcasting like a craft — Every nuance in our tone, voice, and cadence is a detail we want to constantly improve. And now we know it’s the skill we want to master.

🐝 What does the winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee get?

Winner Bruhat Soma is 12-years-old, won a $50K cash prize, and earns the best ice-breaker fact for every business meeting the rest of his life.

This year’s winning word: “Abseil” — descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above.

👉 Got a fact you want in this newsletter or on the pod? Submit it here. 

😎 Vacay travel has never been more expensive. In this economy, consumers want bang for their beachside buck…but we don’t want to deprive ourselves of experiences. So the theme of summer 2024 is Destination Dupes.

👉 “Dupe” (noun): A product that looks/works like a luxury one, but is cheaper… So here are the best Destination Dupes — Thanks to all the Besties & Yetis who submitted these.

• Yilan, Taiwan instead of Nara, Japan (famous for its deer 🦌)

• Santa Marta instead of Cartagena (for Colombian beaches)

• Rehoboth Beach, DE instead of Jersey Shore (boardwalk ✅)

• El Salvador instead of Mexico 😎

• La Fortuna, Costa Rica, instead of Phuket, Thailand (pro tip: hot springs)

• Leavenworth, Washington instead of Berlin, Germany (it’s filled with the charm of Germany)

• Isle of Skye, Scotland instead of Reykjavík Iceland (check out the medieval castles)

• Liverpool, UK instead of London, UK (it’s still got the Fish ‘n Chips)

• Puglia instead of Tuscany (the wine are dupes too)

• Lake Iseo instead of Lake Como in Northern Italy (Lovere is appropriately named the most beautiful city on the Lake 😍)

• Leavensworth, Washington instead of Bavaria (for a small town tucked in Cascade mountain range ⛰️)

• Solvang, California instead of Denmark (hit CA up for Julefest in the winter🎄)

• Slovenia instead of Austria (hike in the Alps 🏔️)

• Vermont instead of Austria (Jack insisted we include that — the hills are alive #IYKYK)

• Taipei, Taiwan for Seoul, Korea (Shilin Night market is a must-do 😋)

The Takeaway: Goodbye Miami, hello Rio

• Business: Earnings for Lululemon, HP, Bath & Body Works, Five Below, Dollar Tree, DocuSign…

• Sports: US Women’s Golf Open (this weekend), NBA Finals begin next Thursday (Mavs vs. Celtics), NHL Stanley Cup Finals begin Saturday (hopefully NYR)

And subscribe to our YouTube if you’re a real one:

👂 Monday: No pod, we were OOO for Memorial day.

👂 Tuesday: The best breakup yet… would benefit concert-goers

👂 Wednesday: The best way to see a summer movie… is with your nose

👂 Thursday: The best marketing strategy… is 30 million free waffles.

⭐️ Friday: The best sequel of the summer… is Red Lobster: Part II. 

👀 Monday: The #1 way to get a job right now? Referrals… The data shows referrals get results.

Nick’s Santa Barbara tip: Book the Airbnb next to the luxury hotel so you can take advantage of the hotel’s amenities but at a fraction of the cost (and then spend the savings on cookie dough from Merci Bakery).

Jack’s Long Island tip: If it’s a 6-hour drive and you’re driving with 2 kids and a dog... fly instead. But if you must drive (like Jack just did) stop at the I-87 rest stop to fill up everyone in the car with milkshakes from Shake Shack.

😎😎

—Nick & Jack