More Change

What's the Secret?

Thursday’s USA Today featured an article about the new, controversial - according to them, self-help book called The Secret. It hit No. 1 on their Best-Selling Booklist. Published in November, the book, a favorite of Oprah, Larry King, and Ellen DeGeneres, wants people to understand that the Law of Attraction governs getting what you want in life. As defined in Carol Memmott’s article this Law states, “If you think positively, you become a magnet that pulls everything you want to you.” The book has sold 1.2 million copies and a DVD released last March has sold 1.1 million. Not much of a secret any more!

I haven’t read the book nor have I decided if I will, but I do know one thing already. The tough part of this secret, like so many other self-help concepts, won’t be in the doing but in the believing. Unless a person can change their belief system to bring it in line with this so called secret, it will never work.

I believe in the Law of Attraction – some days more clearly than others. Unless I, like so many others, am willing to change my mind after reading the book - my $23.99 won’t be much of an investment.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Most of us aren’t willing to take a step until we’ve seen the whole staircase AND the certificate of inspection declaring it built to code.

I guess I’ll have to read Rhonda Byrne’s book after all and see if she includes my Law of Change. “If you want your life to be different, you’re going to have to change the way you think – day in and day out.”

Want Some Wisdom With Your Coffee?

Along with what I suppose was millions of others, my weekend included a trip to Starbucks. We could have gotten coffee in any number of places, but there is something about the experience under the green and white sign that makes it a first choice for me. Lately I’ve been enjoying the coffee cup messages.

Just in case you’ve spent the last several years on a deserted island, never drink coffee, or live in a town sans Starbucks, allow me to bring you up to speed. For a while now, Starbuck has printed an editorial of sorts called, The Way I See It, on their cups. They are short philosophical statements by people -  famous and ordinary. It is the first thing I do with a Starbuck’s cup – read rather than drink. Imagine my reaction this weekend when I realized the message on the cup I was reading had been written by a person I actually knew.

(Good thing my husband, Frank, was with me so I could show off to him and avoid embarrassing myself by running around the shop, pointing to the cup exclaiming, “I know her, I know her!”)

Bonnie St. John, the first African-American Olympic ski medalist and National Speakers Association (NSA) member wrote the following as her The Way I See It #165.

 

I was ahead in the slalom. But in the second run, everyone fell on a dangerous spot. I was beaten by a woman who got up faster that I did. I learned that people fall down, winners get up, and gold medal winners just get up faster.

 

Not only do I know her, but I think her message is TERRIFIC! When faced with a change, we all need to be reminded that we’ll fall down; we’ll win if we get back up, and we can triumph if we get up fast.

P.S. This message might have even more meaning if you knew what I know. Bonnie is the second fastest AMPUTEE skier in the world. Talk about credibility for the subject and situation.

P.P.S. Go to Bonnie's website www.BonnieStJohn.com and you can get your own autographed copy of the cup - cool!