Leap of Faith

There are things in life that we can’t not do. I have found when I take a leap of faith because something deep inside tells me I have to do it –  it always works out. (Even when I can’t rationalize the decision.) Many times these decisions that I can’t ignore change my life for the better. That’s how I made the decision to get married. That’s how I bought an old historic building that become my “sacred place”. Both decisions enriched my life in ways that overwhelm and uplift me when I think about them. My irrational behavior to publish the first book of quotes had an unimagined outcome on my life.

The Positive 365 book of quotes helped me understand fully how we are all tethered together by a force greater than ourselves. Strangers told me stories about how the book made a difference in their lives or changed a relationship or benefited someone they loved who needed to hear an encouraging word. I realized anyone who reads the book is no longer  a stranger. In fact I realized there really aren’t any strangers in my life. There are only people I don’t know well enough. Abe Lincoln’s quote, “I don’t like that fellow, I must get to know him better.” – resonates with me because of these effects from the first quote book.

I’m very excited to announce there is a new and improved version of the Positive 365 on this day… Leap Year Day. It’s called the Positive 366 Book of Quotes – Leap year edition. This new book of 366 quotes is the result of a chance meeting with a friend of mine’s son who is autistic. As I handed him the book when it was published in 2012, he immediately told me the book was wrong. He read the cover and said, “There isn’t a quote for everyday because there are 366 days this year.” (2012 was a leap year.) We had a laugh about his perspective, but the thought stuck with me.

As I collected and organized these quotes for publication I was struck by what an impact they made even as I read them multiple times. I laughed out loud at the wisdom in these condensed blurbs of reflective thought by some of humanity’s greatest minds. I decided to whittle down the list to the quotes that were my favorites. That experience taught me something about my mind and my attitude. I’ll let you jump to conclusions on what I learned from compiling this new group of quotes. Here my favotites from the new collection:

7) If it can be solved, there is no need to worry, and if it can’t be solved, worry is of no use. Dalai Lama

6) Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it. William Feather

5) The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek. Joseph Campbell

4) We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience. Teilhard de Chardin

3) The melody of our authentic self is within all of us… if we will be still enough to hear our song and brave enough to dance our dance. Sam Wilder

2) I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see — the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are. Jimmy Carter

1) When we want to make another person happy we want to give them something. But the most precious thing you can give him or her is not something you buy from the market. It is your true presence. Thich Nhat Hanh

Positive 366 will be available on Amazon in the upcoming weeks. I’ll let you know through social media and our Positive 365 newsletter so you can get a copy for yourself. My hope it will be something you can’t not do!

Thanks for all you do do. I’m proud to call you one of my own.