The bag of chocolates at my door

This morning, I opened my front door to find a small bag of caramel chocolates hanging from the handle.

The apartment management left them for all the tenants.

It's a small gesture and likely didn't cost them all that much… But I felt a little jolt of joy rise into my chest when I saw it.

I've lived in many places where management seems to care very little.

Things that should have been fixed weeks ago still lie broken.

This gesture made me want to stay here longer. This was a tiny moment, but it will not be forgotten.

Tiny moments can have profound effects on people. And often because it's small.

People really do forget what you did, and will not forget how you made them feel.

This is something many creators miss. For example, they believe good writing is about sounding impressive and being informative.

That can help, but it's not why they stick around.

The trick is to write less about sweeping concepts and to highlight small, often emotionally charged details.

That's like catnip for most readers. They zero in on refreshing, personal details like a glass of water in the Mojave.

I'm still learning to do this better, and I aim to write more things like this:

'I counted down from twenty-two as the lift descended, hoping to hit zero just as the doors opened.'

That's what I call the small noticed detail.

This approach makes writing more fun, too.

The chocolates weren't expensive, but they were thoughtful, personal and human.

If you want to quickly absorb all the secrets to online writing that resonates and sticks, Online Writing Alchemy course is your ticket.

You'll learn to write with real emotional impact and create work that's memorable, not just readable. That's how to build a readership that sticks around for decades.

You can learn more here.

Peace,

Alex

"I'm on Secret 5 in my Online Writing Alchemy journey right now, and I have to say: step by step, writing is becoming more and more enjoyable. Which in turn makes it so much easier to show up consistently." - Alexander Granath