Amy Newmark - Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes!

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes!

101 Stories about Adventure, Change and Positive Thinking

Amy Newmark

Published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC www.chickensoup.com

Copyright 2018 by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

CSS, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its Logo and Marks are trademarks of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC.

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the many publishers and individuals who granted Chicken Soup for the Soul permission to reprint the cited material.

Front cover artwork of word Yes courtesy of iStockphoto.com/kchungtw (kchungtw) Front cover photo of jumping woman courtesy of iStockphoto.com/wickedpix (wickedpix), photo of grassy field courtesy of iStockphoto.com/mycola (mycola)

Back cover and Interior photo of gallery courtesy of iStockphoto.com/LordRunar) (LordRunar) Yes burst artwork courtesy of iStockphoto.com/wissanu99(wissanu99)

Photo of Amy Newmark courtesy of Susan Morrow at SwickPix

Cover and Interior by Daniel Zaccari

Distributed to the booktrade by Simon & Schuster. SAN: 200-2442

Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Newmark, Amy, compiler.

Title: Chicken soup for the soul : the power of yes! : 101 stories about adventure, change and positive thinking / [compiled by] Amy Newmark.

Other Titles: Power of yes! : 101 stories about adventure, change and positive thinking

Description: [Cos Cob, Connecticut] : Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, [2018]

Identifiers: ISBN 9781611599787 (print) | ISBN 9781611592788 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Risk-taking (Psychology)--Literary collections. | Risk-taking (Psychology)--Anecdotes. | Courage--Literary collections. | Courage--Anecdotes. | Change (Psychology)--Literary collections. | Change (Psychology)--Anecdotes. | LCGFT: Anecdotes.

Classification: LCC BF637.R57 C452 2018 (print) | LCC BF637.R57 (ebook) | DDC 158.1--dc23

Library of Congress Control Number 2018935475

Changing your life one story at a time

www.chickensoup.com

Saying yes means you will do something new, meet someone new and make a difference in your life, and likely in others lives as well Yes is a tiny word that can do big things. Say it often.

~Eric Schmidt, former executive chairman Google

C hicken Soup for the Soul is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Thats pretty old for a book series, but the beauty of our model crowdsourcing our stories from the public is that it allows us to remain fresh and relevant every year. And whats fresh and relevant right now? Saying yes to new things. And stepping outside our comfort zones.

We were inundated with fabulous stories on this topic, so much so that we made two books Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone in fall 2017, and now, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes! In this collection, our contributors report on the many ways they challenged themselves to face their fears and try new things. They report how that changed them for the better, and led to more new things, and a broader, more meaningful life.

Ive been so inspired by these writers, and their powerful stories have motivated me to continue stretching myself whether its something as insignificant as trying a new food or something as momentous as paragliding off a 1,000-foot cliff. Every time I try something new, I feel empowered and more in tune with the broad world out there.

Whether youre looking for love, or a new career; overcoming shyness, or a phobia; spicing up your life with a new sport, or reaching out to make new friends; planning to travel alone, or going on that scary roller coaster, youll find kindred souls in these pages. Just look at these chapter titles, with their positive messages and excellent advice, and youll get a sense of the journey you are about to undertake:

1. Try New Things

2. Embrace Change

3. Put Yourself Out There

4. Fake It Till You Make It

5. Do It Afraid

6. Believe in Yourself

7. Be Daring

8. Find the New You

9. Give of Yourself

10. Go for Adventure

11. Let Yourself Trust

In Chapter 1, about trying new things, youll meet Victoria Otto Franzese, who was turning fifty and wanted to reclaim the excitement of her youth. So she resolved to do something new every single day, for 365 days. It wasnt always easy, and sometimes shed be wracking her brain at 11:45 p.m. to find her new thing for the day. But she did it, trying activities as small as doing a sudoku puzzle, and as big as going dog sledding. She even participated in a Guinness world record event, joining a crowd of people jumping on mini trampolines. Victoria says, At fifty, my life was lush and full of promise. I could continue to grow, stretch my wings, and learn more every day.

Sometimes, we resist change because were afraid of being better, stronger, more famous, or more whatever . In Chapter 2, about embracing change, Sara Etgen-Baker describes the antique secretary desk where she did all her writing. It was so small that when she needed to refer to files and books, they had to be scattered on the floor around her. When she and her husband moved into a larger home, he suggested she get a new, larger desk. He thought her little desk was holding her back in her writing career. Sara resisted, until she finally realized that he was right. She had been afraid to go for it to expand her writing. She ordered the new desk, saying that a bigger desk symbolized bigger projects, bigger possibilities, more challenging contests, stepping out on faith, and leaving my comfort zone.

Sometimes you have to put yourself out there, and dare to make those human connections, as Kate Lemery tells us in Chapter 3. With three kids under age five, and a new home in a new community, she was a busy stay-at-home mom. But she was lonely. So Kate decided to become a room parent in her oldest childs kindergarten class. She also signed him up for soccer. But she still wasnt making any friends in her new town. Then an old friend suggested she throw a party for all those moms she didnt know. Kate was hesitant, but she sent out the invitations, and now she has hosted several of these mommy mixers and finds herself the glue that brings the mothers in her community together.

In Chapter 8, we talk about finding the new you, and I loved Doug Slettens story about doing just that. Doug had a family and a good job as a teacher. He had paid off his student loans and he and his wife had bought their first house. But hed always wanted to be a lawyer. Finally, he talked to his normally staid, conservative father about his secret dream, and said that he would be well into his thirties by the time he finished law school. His father simply said, How old would you be in four years if you didnt follow your dream? That was it. Dougs wife agreed and he went on to spend what he called three of the most grueling years of my life. He says, I practiced law for twenty-five years, and I was always grateful that my father and my family supported my decision to uproot our lives and try something completely different.

Thats what this is all about, trying new things even if were pretty much terrified. Chapter 5 is all about doing it afraid and thats where I put a very relatable story by Linda Holland Rathkopf. Her saga starts as a long line of people is building up behind her on a zip-lining platform. The attendant has just explained that she needs to complete eight more platform-to-platform runs of the zip-lining adventure. Thats the only way to return to her starting point. Lindas asking for a rescue to be arranged. Finally, she relents, and she discovers that with each subsequent run her anxiety lessens and she is able to keep her eyes open and enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna of the Costa Rican rainforest. She says, I had stepped out of my comfort zone and into a wonderland. And she admits that she ended her adventure exhilarated.