I’m 34 and I’ve never been a flosser.

I remember one period of my life that I didn’t even go to the dentist for three or four years, and they measured the gaps between my gums and teeth. I had 6s. I think that’s means the little pick went 6 millimeters deep, but I’m not sure. Bottom line: 6s meant my gums were a Mardi Gras of bacteria. One reason why?

I hated flossing.

Floss (verb): To cut the circulation off in your fingers for a few minutes to awkwardly slide a string between your teeth that makes you bleed.

This is a “deleted scene” from Elastic Habits. My editor and I felt that it was too much of a tangent from the flow of the book. Such is the cost of writing—many of our words are sacrificed in the process. In fact, if I put all of the deleted content of Elastic Habits into its own book, it would be longer than Mini Habits (36k words vs 33k words)!

This particular excerpt may have been a tangent from the flow of the book, but it’s worth reading by itself. It’s about freedom, one of humanity’s most treasured things. I want to share these stories with you to show you what freedom means to us at a very core level.

I’ve spent the last year writing a book. Here it is.

Elastic Habits (ebook) is available to read right now on Amazon!

Money is a good thing to have. It affords many freedoms and perks. But the old adage that money can’t buy you happiness does not go far enough. Money can buy unhappiness if you let it.

One morning, I woke up with anxiety. The tension raised my shoulders and tightened my stomach. I sat down to think for a moment about what was going on, and I realized the root of my problem. I was discontent.