It’s the day after Thanksgiving — and today we give thanks that you’re spending a little time with us before binging on leftovers, scouring Black Friday deals, and playing flag football with the fam. (Wait, come back! Football can wait about six more minutes ‘til the end of today’s newsletter!)

Raise a CEO: How the mom of YouTube and 23andMe execs did it. 

Gratitude: Helping others is good for us … and for coworkers.

When it comes to raising successful kids, Esther Wojcicki is three for three. The educator and journalist is mother to the CEO of YouTube (Susan Wojcicki), the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe (Anne Wojcicki), and a successful doctor. So it’s no surprise that Wojcicki’s book on the topic, How to Raise Successful People, was a bestseller.

The surprise is how Wojcicki did it in a world of helicopter parenting where many adults micromanage their offsprings’ lives and pressure teachers for better grades. She gave her kids a ton of independence, let them learn from big mistakes, and even told them to make their own breakfast.

Wojcicki gave b. some parenting tips for the C-suite.

Stop Projecting Your Own Insecurities

According to Wojcicki, the temptation to over-parent comes from the best of intentions. Adults often unconsciously try to right certain wrongs from their own childhoods.

“They think they can prevent their child from making the same kind of mistakes they made,” she says, adding, “We’re making it clear to [kids] that the world is a dangerous place and, unless they get the help that a parent can provide, they’re not going to be successful.”

That’s why it’s important to …

Foster Self-Sufficiency Early On

Wojcicki encouraged her kids to play outside — the internet wasn’t invented yet — and taught them how to find their way home. Inadvertently, they learned the alphabet from street signs in the neighborhood.

“I wanted my children to be as independent as they could be early on,” Wojcicki says.

She even taught them to swim at one year old in case they fell into a nearby pool. (“That was not because I was trying to get them ahead on the swim team. It was because they had to protect themselves.”)

From the age of 18 months and up, they had to get cereal from the pantry. Wojcicki kept milk in a small enough container that they could carry it themselves.

Let the Ivy Leagues Go 

Young children shouldn’t worry about the college admittance rat race, and parents’ “neurotic” status anxiety has a trickle-down effect. As long as kids are passing their classes and learning, Wojcicki says, “Who cares if they get into Harvard or not?”

The more important thing is to model setting goals and learning from failure yourself. “Your kids do what you do,” Wojcicki says. “They don’t do what you tell them to do.”

A degree will only get a person so far in life. Independence can take them anywhere.

(Source: Shutterstock)

Dr. Eden King is a Rice University professor of psychology and former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

It’s the season of thankfulness. That’s a good thing because feeling or conveying gratitude can have positive effects on mental and even physical health. We feel happier when we feel grateful.

What may be more surprising, however, is that helping others can similarly boost our own well-being. Whereas gratitude is about internally recognizing positives in the world around us, the act of helping is an external positive behavior. Evidence confirms that, as Aristotle and Plato suggested long ago, helping others can lead to happiness.

Older adults who volunteer in their communities have better health than those who don’t. Students who tutor peers feel better about themselves. And research shows that when we help our coworkers, we feel more satisfied with our jobs and our lives. 

In a study of workers at a Fortune 100 tech company, those who felt grumpy in the morning reported more positive emotions later that day if they spent time helping their coworkers in these ways:

• Offering to assist others who have heavy workloads or tight deadlines
• Taking an interest in others
• Orienting new workers
• Listening to others’ problems or concerns

You’ll be happier if you take time to be grateful for the good stuff this season — perhaps by keeping a thankfulness journal or listening to podcasts on cultivating joy through appreciation. It also helps if you make time to offer some good stuff back.

(Source: Shutterstock)

We’re deep into autumn, so let’s give the bubbly, bottomless mimosa an appropriate seasonal twist. Here’s what you’ll need:

• A bottle of sparkling wine or champagne (we like a dry prosecco)
• Your favorite brand of apple cider
• Apple slices
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon 
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• Caramel

First, pour some caramel evenly onto a plate. Mix your sugar/cinnamon on a different plate. Dip your glass into the caramel, covering the rim, then dip it into the sugar/cinnamon mixture for an even coating.

Next, pour your apple cider and sparkling wine/champagne into the glass with a 50/50 ratio. Finally, cut halfway down your apple slice and fit it onto the glass for garnish.

(If you want an alcohol-free version, simply go with nonalcoholic bubbly.)

Written by Lauren Vino and Ali Saleh. Comic by John McNamee.