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 always works out. These things I just can’t ignore, as hard as I tried to, end up changing my life in significant ways. That’s how I made the decision thirty-five years ago to marry someone who would become my perfect partner in life. That’s how I bought an old historic building in a bad part of town that’s become my hallowed space for creative escape. Both things enriched my life in ways that positively overwhelm me when I think about them. The first book of quotes I published four years ago had a similar 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 uplifted someone they loved who needed to hear an encouraging word. I realized these people who read the book were no longer strangers. In fact I realized that there really aren’t any strangers. 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 the positive personal reactions from people I didn’t know as they commented about the book.
I’m very excited to announce there is a new and improved version of the Positive 365. It’s called the Positive 366 – The Leap Year edition. This new book of 366 quotes is the result of a chance meeting with a friend of mine’s autistic son. 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 a difference they made in my thinking every time I read them. I laughed out loud at some and felt heart felt conviction in others. There is great collected wisdom in these condensed blurbs of reflective thought by some of humanity’s greatest minds.
I decided to whittle down the list to my absolute favorite quotes. The condensing of the quotes that resonated with me at my core taught me something about my mind and my attitude. I’ll let you jump to your own conclusions on what I learned from compiling this new group of quotes. Here are the quotes at the top of my list:
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
The all-new Positive 366 Leap year Book of Quotes is available on Amazon. These positive quotes delivered a positive thought to me in a meaningful way. My hope it is that reading this book is something you can’t not do! I know it’s a leap you won’t regret-
Here’s the link to the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Positive-366-Sam-Wilder/dp/0692618872/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459973503&sr=8-1&keywords=positive+366