Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen

The Original #1 New York Times Bestseller, more than 8 million copies sold! Rediscover the power of inspiration with timeless stories about the everyday miracles that illuminate the best of the human spirit. Whether you're discovering Chicken Soup for the first time or are a long time fan, this volume will inspire you to be a better person, reach for your highest potential, share your love and embrace the world around you. Each carefully selected story in this classic volume provides models for what is possible in life and illuminates the path we all walk. Whenever you wish to gain perspective, inspire a friend, or teach a child, you'll find just the right story in the heartwarming treasury that is Chicken Soup for the Soul. Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Review It's like homemade chicken soup that warms the chill and heals the ill. This collection of 101 stories is based on the belief that true testimonies of goodness and loving transformations can nourish us to the bone and heal the cynicism in our hearts. Indeed, most every story seeps in deeply. It's hard not to shed a tear of gratitude, feeling thrilled to have been touched and soothed so easily. Some of the authors are famous, such as Dan Millman, who writes an exquisite vignette on Courage, and Gloria Steinem, who writes of The Royal Knights of Harlem. Many, however, have a short, simple story to tell about an event, a person, an everyday miracle that exemplifies the best of the human spirit. --Gail Hudson Review sure to restore you faith in the human race and inspire you to improve your life. Easy to dip in and out of, it is full o bite-sized wisdom on everything from relationships and parenting to learning to love yourself and overcoming obstacles. It will make you laugh, cry and marvel at the power of the human spirit Spirit and Destiny --Spirit and Destiny Review After interviewing hundreds of rich and famous people, it is clear to me that money and fame don't automatically make people happy. It has to come from within. I'd rather have a million smiles in my heart than a million dollars in my pocket. Chicken Soup for the Soul will help you put a million smiles in your heart. --Robin Leach, TV personality and author (Robin Leach ) About the Author Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, have dedicated their lives to the personal and professional growth of others. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Glenna's Goal Book In 1977 I was a single mother with three young daughters, a house payment, a car payment and a need to rekindle some dreams. One evening I attended a seminar and heard a man speak on the I x V = R Principle. (Imagination mixed with Vividness becomes Reality.) The speaker pointed out that the mind thinks in pictures, not in words. And as we vividly picture in our mind what we desire, it will become a reality. This concept struck a chord of creativity in my heart. I knew the biblical truth that the Lord gives us the desires of our heart (Psalms 37:4) and that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). I was determined to take my written prayer list and turn it into pictures. I began cutting up old magazines and gathering pictures that depicted the desires of my heart. I arranged them in an expensive photo album and waited expectantly. I was very specific with my pictures. They included:

A good-looking man A woman in a wedding gown and a man in a tuxedo Bouquets of flowers (I'm a romantic) Beautiful diamond jewelry (I rationalized that God loved David and Solomon and they were two of the richest men who ever lived) An island in the sparkling blue Caribbean A lovely home New furniture A woman who had recently become vice-president of a large corporation (I was working for a company that had no female officers. I wanted to be the first woman vice-president in that company.) About eight weeks later, I was driving down a California freeway, minding my own business at 10:30 in the morning. Suddenly a gorgeous red-and-white Cadillac passed me. I looked at the car because it was a beautiful car. And the driver looked at me and smiled, and I smiled back because I always smile. Now I was in deep trouble. Have you ever done that? I tried to pretend that I hadn't looked. Who me? I didn't look at you! He followed me for the next 15 miles. Scared me to death! I drove a few miles, he drove a few miles. I parked, he parked . . . and eventually I married him! On the first day after our first date, Jim sent me a dozen roses. Then I found out that he had a hobby. His hobby was collecting diamonds. Big ones! And he was looking for somebody to decorate. I volunteered! We dated for about two years and every Monday morning I received a long-stemmed red rose and a love note from him. About three months before we were getting married, Jim said to me, I have found the perfect place to go on our honeymoon. We will go to St. John's Island down in the Caribbean. I laughingly said, I never would have thought of that! I did not confess the truth about my picture book until Jim and I had been married for almost a year. It was then that we were moving into our gorgeous new home and furnishing it with the elegant furniture that I had pictured. (Jim turned out to be the West Coast wholesale distributor for one of the finest Eastern furniture manufacturers.) By the way, the wedding was in Laguna Beach, California, and included the gown and tuxedo as realities. Eight months after I created my dream book, I became the Vice-President of Human Resources in the company where I worked. In some sense this sounds like a fairy tale, but it is absolutely true. Jim and I have made many picture books since we have been married. God has filled our lives with the demonstration of these powerful principles of faith at work. Decide what it is that you want in every area of your life. Imagine it vividly. Then act on your desires by actually constructing your personal goal book. Convert your ideas into concrete realities through this simple exercise. There are no impossible dreams. And, remember, God has promised to give his children the desires of their heart. Glenna Salsbury ¬1991 Salsbury Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Soul© by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.