Authbition Weekly — Games, Gravy, and Growing Up
Arcade tricks, family recipes, and the people who touch our lives along the way
Welcome to the weekly newsletter for Authbition—it’s Authenticity and Ambition. It’s the best of the best, built on vulnerability, non-attachment, caring, thoughtfulness, and whole-mindedness.
🎙️ The Podcast
This week’s episode is a short Autofiction piece I read aloud: Arcade Cheat Codes for Life. It’s a story about growing up in my hometown basement studio, we called The Place, feeding five-dollar bills into a change machine, and realizing that video games held hidden truths about how life works.
The essay is less about the nostalgia and more about what those memories reveal. Those quarters shaped me. The hustle, the flow, the unexpected lessons. There’s something about childhood “cheat codes” that became more honest as I got older. We think we’re learning how to win — but really we’re learning how to struggle, how to break patterns, how to try again.
You can watch or listen here:
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music
🍽️ Featured Story — How to Stuff a Turkey Like an Italian
Every week, I highlight someone else’s work.
This week, that “someone” is my sister.
Back in 2015 — the first Thanksgiving Abby and I ever hosted in the house I’m sitting in right now — the fridge died a few days before the holiday. Total disaster energy. We had never roasted a turkey, let alone pulled off an entire Thanksgiving meal for family.
My sister came to the rescue with an email that can only be described as an Italian-American manifesto. Stuffing philosophies spanning three generations. Romano cheese by the fistful. Cheesecloth engineering. The pope’s nose (yes, that’s a real part of a turkey). And instructions so detailed they bordered on spiritual guidance.
This week, I read that email — almost verbatim — as a bonus holiday episode.
It’s ridiculous, sincere, chaotic, and perfect.
And honestly? That turkey was the best I’ve ever had.
If you want to hear a DiMeo do Thanksgiving the way only a DiMeo can, the whole story (including the recipe) is here:
How to Stuff a Turkey Like an Italian
🧩 Whole-Minded Reflection
There’s a fun connection between arcade cheat codes and my sister’s turkey email. One is a childhood memory about trying to beat games by finding shortcuts. The other is a family recipe that leaves no shortcuts at all.
And both point toward the same lesson.
The real secret recipe comes from the people who touch our lives.
My friends at the arcade built the foundation of what meaningful relationships are all about. My sister helped give us the confidence that we could host Thanksgiving without burning the house down. Both taught me that ambition is easier when authenticity is shared.
This week, I’m grateful for all of it. The past, the people, and the joyful privilege of turning these memories into something new.
Thank you for taking the time to read, listen, and watch Authbition. I appreciate you.
Health, happiness, kindness, respect
for every being and all things.
— Andrew
