Smith - The best advice in six words : writers famous and obscure on love, sex, money, friendship, family, work, and much more

THE BEST ADVICE IN SIX WORDS Writers Famous and Obscure on Love, Sex, Money, Friendship, Family, Work, and Much More from SMITH Magazine
edited by Larry Smith
with Shauna Greene St. Martins Griffin New YorkThank you for buying thisSt. Martins Press ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on the editor, click here. The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. Copyright infringement is against the law. Copyright infringement is against the law.

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I cant get enough good advice. As a kid, I loved hearing old-timey wisdom from my grandparents. Now, Ive never met a graduation speech I didnt love, am a sucker for a promising magazine cover line at the newsstand, and listen to way too many TED talks. And as someone whos spent most of the last decade asking people to be succinct, I appreciate thoughts that get right to the point, advice such as Reading makes you a better writer, Your greatest weapon is your wit, and Stumbling looks like a dance eventually. Besides being good advice, the above examples have one thing in common: they are six words.

Since 2006, Ive been asking people to sum up their lives in exactly six words on the storytelling community I founded, Six Words from SMITH Magazine. We call these short life stories Six-Word Memoirs, a personal twist on the form that, according to literary lore, Hemingway started when challenged in a bar to write a whole novel in just six words (For sale: baby shoes, never worn.). The Six-Word Memoir project has since taken on a life beyond my wildest dreams. Nine years and more than one million stories later, the six-word concept has become a bestselling book series and board game, a teaching tool used across the world, and a powerful way to spur on self-expression for anyone and everyone. Preachers and rabbis have embraced six-word prayers as a way to distill faith. In hospitals and veterans groups, after-school programs, around dinner tables, and (naturally) during speed dates, the six-word form has been used to foster understanding, ease communication, and break the ice.

The six-word constraint forces us to figure out the essence of who we are and what matters mostand works especially well when doling out advice. From the silly (Dont pee on an electric fence.) to the profound (Be the someone they can call.) to the obvious notions that we all occasionally need to recall (Your phone does not love you.) theres a lot of wisdom in these six-word morsels. And there are a lot of morsels. The 1,000 contributions found here are just a fraction of the six-word submissions we received. (The strict grammarians among us will notice that the occasional offering pushes the limits of what is exactly six, but we decided to be open-minded and count contractions and hyphenations as one word.) As is true of all our six-word books, this one is a mix of contributions from the famous and the unknown. Several six worders come from some of our favorite writers, such as Elizabeth Gilbert who reminds us that Chances are, your editor is right, David Baldacci who suggests, Cant say something nice? Try fiction, and Jodi Picoult, who implores us: Dont set your brother on fire.

Were delighted to offer essential wisdom from Whoopi Goldberg, Julianne Moore, Mario Batali, Madeleine Albright, Maria Shriver, and others from the worlds of film, music, food, finance, comedy, wellness, and academia. This book features a half-dozen well-chosen words from a Poet Laureate, Oscar, Emmy, and Tony winners, a couple of MacArthur Genius recipients, and even a few of our favorite professional advice columnists. I always learn so much from others when we put the call out for a new six-word challenge. As I scrolled through the many, many submissions on SixWordMemoirs.com, I recalled a concept called the network effect that says the value of something grows in relation to others who use it. Thats very much true in the six-word world. With each story, our project becomes bigger, stronger, and more interesting.

With that in mind, I hope you too will share your six-word advice or six words on any part of your life at SixWordMemoirs.com. Larry Smith
Founder, Six Words from SMITH Magazine Be an optimist who worries often. SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHTEnthusiasm opens more doors than pessimism.JOHN THORNTON Basic needs: backbone, wishbone, funny bone. RAVEN OKEEFE For a minute, laughter cures everything. KEN STASIAK When in doubt, channel Dolly Parton.ALLISON GLOCK Every experience is another college essay. TWANNA A. TWANNA A.

HINES Simplify your life. Amplify your pleasure. JANA BEATTIE EGGERS Free cheese only comes in traps. ED BOLANDClose the blinds. Dance around naked!ERIN SCUSSEL

trumps all cards dealt. JEN EVANSBrotherhood, having someones back through HELL .CLAYTON JOHNSTON Ice cream: dish best served cold. RONNY PASCALEPanic is more dangerous than Ebola. DR. DR.

ANDREW ROZMIAREK Never forget where you came from! DANIELLE BROOKSA heartfelt apology resolves most conflicts.AYELET WALDMANDont wait
to appreciate your beauty. LAURIE FURBER Always create more than you destroy.MADDY SCHNEIDER

NANCY LEVENSON Do not search symptoms on WebMD. DANIELLE BITNER Just make something every single day. NOAH SCALINLive, write, dream, all at once.ALAN CHEUSE Dreams dont work unless you do. BRANDI VAISEY MARSEYFind freedom in a littleHEDONISM.TONYA MILLER
Sometimes on low, others on high.MARIO BATALI Leave a little for the imagination. DAVID SAX Always wear pants when you cook. HUGH WEBERThrow a stranger an unexpected smile.RACHEL FETRIDGE Breathe one syllable at a time. TINA CHANG No more writing without getting paid. GRAYDON CARTER 100 headlines for one good one. KIRK CITRON Put pen to paper every day. LISA BROWN Write daily. LISA BROWN Write daily.

Submit often. Get published. DONNA REEVE No talking until I say so. DONI WILSONTaketime to spread global peace.MARC BEKOFF Hope, its the last to die. CHRIS GROSSO Listen to the underground radio station. JOHN CARNETT Enjoy the way. JOHN CARNETT Enjoy the way.

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