Been There, Done That – Christopher Reeve

“Want to fly to New York for the weekend?” my friend, Cindy Burkert asked me.

I was three years out of college, and still not completely financially solvent, but I had a teaching job and a little bit of money, and this sounded like a trip too good to pass up. A group of people Cindy knew had put together a Broadway excursion and one of the members had to drop out right before the event.

Theater tickets had already been purchased for the two main events—Peter Pan with Sandy Duncan at the Lunt-Fontaine and something about a Sunday morning that I think starred a woman named Maureen. Hotel arrangements had been made, and airline tickets were reserved for the entire group.

“Sure,” I said. The travel package wasn’t too bad price-wise and the trip itself sounded too good to pass up, so the next Friday we were on our way.

I’d not been to New York before, and it was incredible to see. Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and Broadway were all so much more, so much bigger than I had ever imagined. Even though it was a weekend, the hustle and bustle of people on the street was more intense than I’d ever seen in my entire life living in Indiana.

After some sight-seeing and a little shopping, we were off to the matinee of the Sunday play. It was a good play, but our seats were clear in the back balcony. It was hard to stay focused on what was happening so far away on the stage. Maybe that’s why the name and who starred in it have escaped from my memory.

An early dinner, and we were off for Peter Pan. This one was much better because out seats were smack dab in the middle of the theater. Of course I was familiar with the play, having seen the television version starring Mary Martin a couple of times in my youth. Being in the theater when Peter (Sandy Duncan) flies was truly magical, and I thought that performance alone was worth my coming all the way to New York to see it.

After the show, we decided to go to the top of the Empire State Building. You know how romantic that seems in the movie Sleepless in Seattle? Let me tell you, it’s not so romantic on a cold fall night when the rain is lightly tapping on the city streets. At the top of the building, the frozen stuff that hits you with gale winds isn’t rain at all, but more like sleet! And it was COLD!

We stayed just long enough to walk around to all sides of the building and glance at the lights below then headed back to the elevators and down toward the street. It took us several minutes to find a taxi back to the hotel, but at last we made it, frozen though we might be.

The next day we were on our own, away from the tour group. Our only requirement was to be at the airport in time for our evening flight back home.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“Let’s just talk a walk and see if anything looks interesting,” Cindy suggested.

I was game, so off we went. It wasn’t long before we discovered one of those kiosks where people can buy discount tickets for the shows that have not already sold out that day.

“How about another show?” I suggested, after all, we were on Broadway!

Cindy and I looked over the options and decided on a play we’d never heard of, starring a man we’d seen a few times before on TV, in an old soap opera called “Love of Life,” where he’d played a character named Ben Harper. Oh, and there was that other thing—a little film called Superman: The Movie.

The play was called The Fifth of July and it was running at the Circle Theater, which was considered Off-Broadway.

We got to the theater early and, with nothing better to do, we just sort of hung around outside. After awhile, we saw a tall man heading directly toward us. The walk looked familiar, even if the scruffy beard and shaggy hair didn’t. It was Christopher Reeve!

As he got closer, and seemingly from out of nowhere, a small group of girls appears, rushing toward us, cameras in hand. Flashes started going off and Christopher stopped to talk with all of us. Somehow in our blind luck, we had stopped in front of the stage door where he needed to enter to get ready for his performance.

He chatted for just a moment, signed a couple of autographs, then he said, “I have to go get ready for the show, but I promise, if you meet me right here afterwards I’ll pose for pictures and sign more autographs.” 

Somehow I hadn’t even thought to take a picture!

We chatted for a couple of seconds with the girls who were there, but then like they had appeared, they were off, seemingly disappeared into the recesses of the city streets.

Cindy and I went around to the front and entered the theater lobby. I hadn’t really thought much about the location of our seats until we got there. Second row! And for a play starring Christopher Reeve, the man we had just met and discovered in person that he was gorgeous!

I was so excited for the play to begin and enthralled by the whole thing as it progressed, until. . .this incredibly good looking man who I had just had the chance to talk to and drool over did something few people had ever seen in a play, movie, or on TV in 1978. He reached over and kissed another man full on the mouth! Suddenly it hit me, his character was gay, a word that didn’t even have the same meaning at that point in time. And it was certainly the first time I’d ever thought about, let alone seen anything like that.
I remember being sort of stunned throughout the rest of the play, but that didn’t quell my desire to meet with Christopher again after the matinee.

The only problem, by the time the performance was over, Cindy and I had to rush—and I do mean rush—to make our plane! Our luggage had already gone over as part of the tour group, so we got dropped off and literally ran through the terminal, boarding just seconds before they closed the door and taxied toward the runway.

Not only did we not get to see him again, but we also hadn’t gotten to take any pictures, sort of our proof of what had happened that day.

Fortunately for me, I was talking about this experience one day to some Osmond fans I knew and fate brought luck my way. Two of the girls who appeared out of nowhere at the stage door turned out to be fans that I’d heard of, and even written to, but had never met. Sue and Nancy Carlson had come up to the theater that particular day from Westwood, New Jersey, hoping to meet Christopher Reeve. They did, and they took pictures, which, once we connected, they were happy to send copies of to me. (see above)

The first thing I did when I got back to Indiana? I went to the video store to rent a copy of Superman and thought about how Clark Kent had actually spoken to me!

Wisdom Keys: Change Your Focus

Have you ever taken a photograph that turned out to be blurry? Maybe your hand shook as you snapped the shot. Perhaps there was a smudge on the camera lens. If could be that the film speed wasn’t set right and that became the culprit. In any case, no matter what you do in the post-editing, you simply cannot change the focus of that photo once it’s already been taken.

Like that blurry photo, sometimes our lives become too far out of focus. We forget the goals we once had in the process of living from day-to-day. The dream career, perfect home, wonderful children, and life filled with traveling all become a boring job, a house that needs a good cleaning and lots of small repairs, kids who sometimes appear a little more dirty that we might like, and the last thing even close to taking a vacation was the drive from home down to the grocery without a screaming kid parked in the back seat of the mini-van.

Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that scenario, other than the fact it wasn’t quite what we thought we wanted. If we let ourselves sit around a think, “I hate my life,” then guess what—it will never get better.

You probably all know someone who never seems to have a good thing to say about anything. Complain, complain, complain. If you let yourself listen to the things they say wither one of two things will happen—you will start to feel so uncomfortable listening to them that you will leave, or you’ll just right in, sharing woes of your own.

And what happens if you take the second course? Pretty soon you become the person everyone knows who does nothing but complain about life.

Is that the way you really want to be? Somehow I don’t think so. We have higher aspirations in life. We set goals to make ourselves better. We look far into the future to help us keep out end results in mind. The simple truth is, losers focus on what they are going through, they are the whiners of the world. While champions focus on what they are going to do, then get themselves busy and do it.

What can you do it you find yourself a whiner and headed toward being a loser as a result? Look at the people you regularly associate with and make a change. Thomas S. Monson suggests, “Associate with those who, like you, are planning not for temporary convenience, shallow goals, or narrow ambition, but rather for those things that matter most—even eternal objectives. Choose your friends with caution; plan your future with purpose; and frame your life with faith.”

Like preparing for the better snapshot, you need to get your life in focus.

Champions find their inner determination, make themselves work with discipline, and use that burning desire to get them moving. They are not satisfied to sit around a wish that someday their dreams will come true.

Champions enjoy hard work and love the game. They plan for success. They are competent and optimistic. They visualize success, for themselves and are willing to help others. Champions are consistent, creative, and focused. Champions never quit.

Losers can’t hold it together for any of these things long than for a short period, usually less than a season of their lives.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t change. If you want to become a champion, you’ve got to change your focus. Find new friends. Change you job if its taking you nowhere. See yourself as the best in your field, then work hard to be there.

When it comes to being a winner, it’s up to you to make, then take the better picture.

Home Cooking: The Most Successful Un-Diet Ever

Clear back at the beginning of the year, I started what I hoped would be a regular Saturday feature here on my blog. Although the stories I told were about food, I hadn’t quite focused on where I wanted these entries to go. I’d been inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, and I knew I wanted to tell about my own family food traditions, but after three entries, I wasn’t sure exactly where I needed to go.

The past few days I’ve been considering what I should do with several aspects of my blog. Trying to clean up the horrendously long list of labels among them, I decided to revisit the regular features I wanted to share. (If you read this blog on Thursday, you’ve already figured out that I came up with an entirely new series directed toward my family and genealogy.) When I looked at the feedback from my earlier postings for Saturday, I discovered that people really were interested in my stories about home cooking, so that’s where the new name for this blog feature has come from, and that’s where the focus will be.

Sometimes I’ll share stories. Others I may offer favorite recipes. I hope that somewhere along the way I’ll offer something that will whet your appetite. btu with that said, I think I need to say that I understand anyone who has a need to be careful about what they eat.

Back in April, I offered a post for another blog where I occasionally write (Pushing Past the Pounds) about the most successful un-diet I’ve ver been on. I thought maybe I should share that here with you, my regular readers, as well, so here goes.

ve known for a long time that I needed to be losing weight. My clothing size had grown. I could hardly walk from my car into my classroom each morning. When I looked into the mirror, I found a truly round face to match my round belly. I felt like Santa Claus, without his jolly.

The problem was that I was too tired to do much of anything about it. Ever since I had the radial head replacement surgery two years ago, I was having trouble making myself move. My arms hurt; my knees and legs still hurt from the fall; and my back was a constant source of ache and pain when I stood for longer than a few minutes.

My doctor told me to lose weight—but she didn’t have any advice how I could do it when I couldn’t walk, exercise, or breathe without thinking I was in the middle of a serious heart attack.

Then I found the answer. I’ve long been a fan of Dr. Wayne Dyer so when I saw him on QVC, offering an incredible price on his new book, DVD and CD series The Shift, I placed my order immediately.

Three weeks ago I was driving our sons to Big Water, Utah, to visit my husband on the set of a film he’s working on. Forget the advice we are given to spend time in the car talking to our kids. Mine don’t even consider it, and within seconds of starting the drive, DVD players and iPods were turned on, headphones in, and kids either watching, listening or sleeping, so I took advantage of the time and starting listening on my own to Dr. Dyer.

Much of what he talks about has to do with finding joy, creating spiritual wealth, and releasing our need for owning things, but one of his stories struck me as especially important. Dr. Dyer has recently been diagnosed with leukemia, and he felt it was important that he lose some weight to help with his treatment. He had spoken with a friend about a way to change hiss eating patterns and in less than 30 days, Dr. Dyer has lost 25 pounds.

Lost 25 pounds? That sounded like a great way for me to drop at least part of what I knew I needed to lose, so once home from the trip, I started the most simple and successful un-diet I’ve ever been on. Are you ready? Here it is:

Keep your sugar intake to less than 25 grams per day.

All I do is write down how many grams of sugar the food labels say are in a serving of a product, make sure I really am only eating one serving, and when I’ve gotten to 25 that day, I stop eating anything with additional sugar.

That doesn’t mean I’m necessarily done eating. I can still eat fresh veggies, fresh fruit, meat, cheese, eggs, and lots of things. I just don’t eat anything else with grams of sugar.

The result? By the end of the first week, I was walking into school without feeling exhausted. I could stand longer without my back killing me. My slacks weren’t quite to tight anymore. There was suddenly definition in my cheeks and neck, and my wedding ring could actually come off my finger without me having to pry it.

In the second week, my tummy was flatter and the upper portion of my arms weren’t as large and didn’t feel so tight. I could feel the bones in my cheeks and my thighs looked smaller.

You have to know, this had started to happen without any exercise. The only thing I had changed was counting the grams of sugar, and that in and of itself had been a surprise. The first day I had picked up my usually cup of healthy yogurt for lunch, only to discover is had 33 grams of sugar! WHAT?! Bread? 3 grams per slice. I looked at the skim milk I drink—6 grams per cup. I won’t even tell you what a glass of chocolate milk contains.

Just how much sugar had I been taking into my body that I hadn’t been aware of? I’d seen Dr. Oz haul out a wagonload of sugar on the Oprah show and say, “This is how much sugar we now eat in a year,” but I didn’t really believe him. I was trying to imagine adding that much sugar to my cereal in a morning and the thought made me sick. But once I started looking at the grams I was secretly taking, I was amazed.

And that alone was enough to convince me to stick with this program. But the bonus came when I visited the doctor.

I had been experiencing some symptoms that pointed to Type II Diabetes. My father had it; my mother had it; and both my older brother and sister had been insulin dependent. I was at a huge risk. Four weeks ago I had gone to the lab for a series of fasting blood tests. The results were not good and the diagnosis was in—I had also become a diabetic.

Of course, I didn’t know that yet until my actual appointment last week when my doctor had the blood tests rerun while I was in her office. And guess what, two weeks into my new way of eating, and all my levels had dropped enough to take me back into the pre-diabetic stages, and I’d lost at least 10 pounds since my last appointment in November.

With the addition of an hour a day exercise (okay, so I’m working up to that, but I’m already doing much more than I’ve done for the past two years!), and the continued change in my diet, my doctor thinks I’ll have this situation under control.

And I’m sure it certainly won’t hurt my figure!

It remains to see if I’ll make Dr. Dyer’s 25 pounds in 30 days, but so far I feel like that’s a reasonable goal, and after that—who knows!

That was my posting in April.  Now, here’s the good news. The un-diet worked! At my latest visit to the doctor, we discover that I had not only lost and kept off over 40 pounds, but my sugar levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure had all returned to the levels that were normal!

And I’ve done all of this while still eating plenty of food. So, I know we can do it, if good healthy eating habits is what we actually choose to do. More thoughts on that in the weeks to come.

Week in Review: Summer Movies Part Deux

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that my summer started off great with the time to see ten movies within the first few weeks of being on break. I had high hopes to have as many films ready to review for this time, but unexpected circumstances and family trips put the brakes on my efforts. In any case, I did manage to see five movies since the last time I wrote reviews, so I’d like to share my thoughts now on those with you. Like before, I’ll be careful not to include spoilers, but I’m also warning you—I WILL be honest.

 Inception. I guess I’ll start off with the biggest movie, not only in the terms of box office receipts, but also to our family because my husband—the set medic—worked on the L.A. construction crew a few days. Inception is somewhat of a guy’s movie, although as a writer, I did enjoy the premise. To understand the movie, you really have to think, every single moment! Do not let your attention stray or you will be more lost than you thought you were. Despite the fact I paid very close attention, I still sat in the theater at the end of the movie asking, “What happened?” The movie is worth seeing for the concept alone, but in asking people who’ve seen it the greater number of positive responses seems to be from the man, rather than the women. My sons have seen the movie three times and loved it every time. Of course, Chan and Kent also loved the photos we took of them from the visits we made to a few of the actual film locations. All part of why these boys are destined to make movies.

 Knight and Day. Another one of my favorite movies from this summer, and looking at that cute, cute smile of Tom Cruise didn’t hurt this one for me in the ratings. It’s been a long time since I thought Tom was really just plain cute in a movie, but this one put that to rest. Of course, my husband enjoyed seeing Cameron Diaz and comparing how she looks now to back when he worked with her on A Life Less Ordinary. His judgement: she’s still looking pretty good. Knight and Day completed what Killers only tried to do. I totally believed this story and thought the end was the perfect solution to the couple’s life. Oh, and if you decide to see this one—be prepared to laugh. It really is a comedic-romance and not the action/adventure flick it might appear to be.

 Dinner for Schmucks. Although the premise of the movie didn’t quite match what we had expected from the trailer, and despite the fact the story itself took a little longer to develop that I might have liked, once the humor got started it was absolutely non-stop. Warning: there are several scenes that are not appropriate for kids, despite the PG-13 rating. Like Knight and Day, this one tied everything up with a perfect ending and left me completely satisfied. If you’re uncomfortable laughing right out loud in a small crowd, you might want to go on a night when the theater looks packed, because you WILL laugh out loud. It can’t be helped.

Despicable Me. Another vehicle for the wickedly funny Steve Carell, although I had a hard time remembering it was him because his voice was so different from what is expected. Super bad, or superdad? This movie left me feeling good. Move over Boo, there’s a new, darling little girl who wants to share the animated stage with you. Take a tissue with you just in case, and know you’l laugh in this one too.

The Last Airbender. Okay, this one was a real sleeper. Literally! I fell asleep about ten times during the film. And it wasn’t that I was so incredibly tired; I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief to attach to the characters. The kid who played the airbender was horrifically awful. Honestly, I’ve seen better performances on Saturday morning kid shows or at the junior high theater productions. It’s really sad when I couldn’t even stay awake for the climax and when the movie was over, I had no idea what had happened, other than the fact the director left the thing open for a sequel. Say it isn’t so!

So, I go back to work this week, but don’t mistakenly believe my summer moving going is over. I still have quite the list of want-to-see movies on my plate—The Expendables, Eat Pray Love, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Charlie St. Cloud, and Nanny McPhee Returns among them.

All in the Family

The loss of both a brother and a sister, and the fact that our remaining family members are so spread out across the country, has reminded me how important it is to share our family stories with each other, and with the next generations. I have those coming generations now as my nieces and nephews are old enough to have children, and some of those are nearing the ages to soon have children of their own.

With the advent of the internet and social networking, I now have contact with the family members of my parent’s generation, my own generation, nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews—many of which I hardly knew or hadn’t seen since they were babies. I’m even in regular contact with cousins, both first and second, who I haven’t seen in years and years.

Many of these people are begging to hear more about the family members who have passed before them. A few years ago, I started a project to collect a one page history for as many of the members of my pedigree chart as I was able to do. I shared those pages with several of my family members via email at that time, but just keeping track was sometimes unwieldy to do.

So I’ve decided to start a new series here on my blog, with it’s automatic feed to Facebook, et al. I now that this series will not be important to all of you who read me regularly. You don’t know these people—well, there will be some you do! Just know I won’t be offended if you don’t read the Thursday posts.

But if there is one hope I would have for all of you who are not my family, it would be this: Know your family. Find out where you came from (you might be surprised, as I know my mother would have been if she only knew.)

For the rest of you, especially the ones who are related to me, I hope you learn something about the wonderful people who came before us and the legacies they gave us. Our pedigree is deep and varied, with one line dating all the way back to just after the life of Christ. Of course, I don’t know stories for all of these people as that would be impossible to do, but I hope to bring you as much insight as I can to those who I do know or were able to discover something about. 

I hope my family will send me additional stories, and feel free to print or save what I have written to pass on to their own future generations. As a great prophet once said, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead."

Next week, we’ll get started, so pass along the word.

Writing Wisdom: Richard Paul Evans

I’ve worked with New York Times Best-selling author Richard Paul Evans now for around three years, and because of that I’ve had the opportunity to hear him given many, many presentations. Although some of the content is familiar, I still leave each and every presentation having learned something new. And Rick is someone worth listening to. After all, every one of his books has hit the Times list, and what newbie author could have a better mentor than listening to someone who has already been there multiple times.

Rick spoke at the Bookwise conference this weekend in Salt Lake City. This is an organization he began with the intent of helping people who wanted to become authors find their book inside them and have the chance to actually see that book on paper, ready to sell. Although Rick no longer owns the company, he is always there to present at its conferences gratis. Wow! Do other authors of Rick’s status continually support new authors, completely free? Somehow I doubt it.

Rick’s topic this time: The Power of A Book.

What makes a book something that someone wants to read? His philosophy is that the book must somehow connect with the common man. Books start revolutions, they bring about change. Its our turn to be a part of that. He considers it a privilege to be an author, and he is touched by the feedback he gets from his fans.

One means of obtaining that feedback that Rick really loves is through Facebook. “Facebook has brought me closer to my fans and given me a way to respond directly to them. I love it,” he says. It you want to be an author and you’re not one of Rick’s FB friends, I suggest you go over and sign up. You will learn not only about Rick’s writing, but also the craft of marketing. When it comes to marketing, Rick is the master.

He suggests three things that will make you a best-selling author. Without these three elements, you will be sure to fail.

1. Write about what matters to you. Stop chasing things you don’t care about. It doesn’t matter that everyone this year is publishing vampire books, or dystopian, or whatever the latest trend might be. Write what means something to YOU. Those books that are on the shelf today were likely bought by the publisher as much as two years ago anyway, and those publishers and editors are already onto something new, seeking the authors who have the vision to see into the future.

2. Remember: your book is a PRODUCT. Your purpose is to SELL. Know your market; understand your customer. If people aren’t willing to put money down to buy what you’ve written, the neither will a publisher.

3. Take chances! Rick likes to tell the story of how he once ‘crashed’ an autograph table at a big booksellers conference. The security person almost threw him out, but relented at that last minute when she saw the hope in Rick’s eyes. The next year, Rick was the #2 seller at the same show. He was an invited guest, and The Christmas Box had hit the New York Times. He believed in himself enough to get there. “Pay the price to make it,” he says. “Don’t be afraid to fail or you will.” He says to be grateful for the No, because that might simply be part of the process. He would never have gotten to where he is today if Deseret Book hadn’t told him No on that first book.

In his concluding remarks he says, “You need to write the book. It will change your life.”

Speaking of which, I’m signing off right now because I’m hard on work my own new book, and I’m setting the goal to make this one a best-seller.

Been There, Done That: Elvis

In the summer of 1977, I was a hard-working post-graduate student living in Bloomington, Indiana, where I had attended Indiana University. Because I did not get a teaching job right away after graduation, I took the next best offer---becoming an administrative assistant at McDonald’s.

Now, I won’t go too far off topic here, but let me just say, a job like that isn’t nearly as nasty as some of you might think it could be. Most of the time my job kept me away from both the counter and the grill, spending my time instead, counting the money! I got to leave the store every day for an hour while taking the money to the bank to be deposited. If only the contents of that bag could have found its way into my account each day. . . Alas. I digress.

Another perk for this still-starving ex-college student---during the hours I worked, I got to eat for free. Those free meals sure saved my budget, especially the days I worked both the breakfast and lunch hours. Even with all those free meals, I never grew tired of the fare, and believe it or not, even today, McDonald’s is my favorite place to eat food.

I guess I need to say it may have also been a favorite for someone else---someone who was famous---because one night, we served up Mickey D’s to the King himself. That’s right, Elvis stopped by my McDonald’s in Bloomington, Indiana, the store on North Walnut.

The Day: June 26, 1977. The time nearly midnight. For some reason I was in the store, maybe covering a weekend shift for another employees. I don’t remember the exact specifics of that night’s reason. I do know that a few weeks earlier a friend and I had discussed going to Market Square Arena to catch the Elvis Presley concert, but as I said, I was post-college poor and decided to skip the opportunity.

I hadn’t really been all that into Elvis anyway, and thought it wouldn’t upset me to miss the show, although I did have a tiny twinge of regret when the night of the show actually came. Of course, there was no way to know this would actually be the last opportunity I would have ever had to see the King of Rock & Roll perform in person.

Right before midnight, the evening crowd of hungry college students had slowed, and I was at the front counter, taking a minute to actually get it wiped down. We didn’t have many sandwiches made, the earlier bin count completely wiped by the last mad rush.

A car light flashed across the store window, and I realized a white limousine had pulled into the parking lot. This was something new. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a limo in the McDonald’s lot. Packed school buses yes, but a limo? Never.

A minute or so later, the driver of the limo came into the store, walking toward me at the counter.

“May I take your order?” I said, like a good little McDonald’s employee.

The Memphis drawl was unmistakable. “Yes, ma’am. I need two Big Macs a couple of large fries and two of the largest Coca Colas ya got there. And Elvis, he wants two Quarter Pounders with cheese, a large french fry, and a chocolate milk shake.”

Elvis! I had trouble making my hand work to write down the order. “El–Elvis? As in THE Elvis?” I stammered.

“Yes, Ma’am. He’s in the car and says he’s hungry,” the limo driver said.

“Oh, we’ll get that order ready right away,” I said, as I called back the order to the grill cook, who was standing behind the order window, with his mouth hanging wide open. I sort of snapped my fingers and he got busy. “Any pies with that order?” I added, knowing the script of the up-sell quite well.”

“Sure. Toss in a couple. How much we owe you, ma’am?” the driver asked and somehow I managed to punch in the correct items before giving him a total. He handed over the cash---maybe I should have traded it out with someone and put their money in the till. After all this money was only one step away from Elvis himself---and I gave him his change.

Someone else made the shake and drew the sodas from the fountain. By then the food was ready. I placed it in the paper bag and handed it over---food fit for a King.

The driver tipped his hat---yes, he wore one of those limo driver’s hats like you see in the movies—picked up the food order and exited toward the limo, leaving a store filled with employees who couldn’t believe what had just happened. A few minutes later, the driver---and Elvis---drove away.

I guess you could say the rest was history. The Indianapolis concert was the last Elvis ever gave. And on August 16, 1977, the King was dead. Yet here, these thirty-three years later, I still remember the night I almost met the legend, the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley.

Long live the KING!

Writing Wisdom–Mark Victor Hansen

I spend a great deal of time involved with writing. Sometimes as an author, others as a reader, occasionally as a teacher to adult writers, often as a teacher of student writers. You’d think I should already know everything there is about being a writer, but I still like to learn from others who have themselves had successful writing careers. Each year I attend writer’s conferences both as a speaker and as a student. Regularly I listen to conference calls or teleseminars about being a best-selling author. Because I know that one of the best ways to internalize the things we hear is to teach them to someone else, I thought I might use my Tuesday blogs to share some of the important lessons I’ve learned about writing and publishing with you, my readers. That way perhaps we can both benefit from thinking about the things I’ve heard. Hopefully, you’ll find something in these messages that sparks an idea that gets your career going, author or not, into a path of success you never dreamed about before. And as for me, I hope reviewing the things I’ve learned will add to my motivation to complete the hundreds of projects I have on my list of things to write. Here’s to a great start for all of us!

Today I’m going to write about the Wealthy Writer’s Seminar I listened to today by Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup). Mark has written 305 bestsellers, many of which are multi-authored books. His books have regularly made the New York Times lists, taken him around the world, and given him voice in a variety of venues. I’ve read books co-authored by Mark before, but even with that previous experience, I learned some new things from him during this teleseminar.

Mark describes himself as a book addict. He can’t go into a bookstore without leaving the store with several new purchases. (Boy, do I understand that idea.) His favorite types of books to read are biographies where he can learn about the lives of other successful people. Among those people he most admires is his long-time friend and mentor Buckminster Fuller who once said, “A book is your baby and will outlive you.” Look at your own bookshelf. How many books do you find there that were written by authors who are dead? I guess we’d have to say he is right.

Mark tells us that we should set 101 goals, making a list of book titles we intend to write. We should astonish ourselves by writing too many titles, pre-selling them, then get busy and write. Books do not have to be long to be books, and with today’s electronic age, we should rethink the way we look at writing, promoting, and learn to market to the world instead of just our own backyard.

George Lucas once told him, “Don’t write anything that you can’t sequel or prequel.” When you think about it, Lucas has followed his own advice to the tune of millions of dollars, sometimes without writing a word of it himself. Every time another author uses his Star Wars or Indiana Jones characters in a book, comic, TV series episode, or feature film, Lucas makes money. Branding is the key to marketing success.

Another superstar of branding that Mark quotes is Oprah Winfrey. He tells the story that Oprah writes in her journal every day, not only to record what she is doing, but to express her feelings and to find out more about herself. In addition, Oprah reads two books a week, which gives her even more to write and talk about. The things she writes in her journal often become the basis for the “What I Know” column in her own O Magazine.

A magazine that is targeted to women–who Mark Victor Hansen says comprise 88% of the book and magazine buying audience. If you want to sell lots of books, that’s the audience you need to also target, but he emphasizes you’ve got to be original. A book is a business, and your purpose is to bring the audience to yourself and your book. He adds, “It takes no more effort to think high, grand thoughts in life than it does to think poverty, so why not set your goals high?”

You have a story to tell, and you are the only one who can create it. A lot of money is sitting out there with your name on it that just needs to be released to flow to you. He tells about comedian, songwriter, musician, author, and television personality Steve Allen who, despite his battle with dyslexia, wrote over 50 books and 14,000 songs. He never experienced what many term writer’s block because he always had around 28 projects in the works at any given time. His philosophy? “How can you have writer’s block on twenty-eight things at the same time? It’s impossible!”

As an author, Hansen says, “You are the wealth of the world. Successful people decide fast and change their minds slow.” Will you decide today to become an author? What changes will you take to catch up to the ever-changing fast-paced publishing world? I know where I’m headed, and I plan to world hard to make it there.

Will I see you at the top?

Been There, Done That—Bruce Willis

My husband is a set medic. For those of you who aren’t familiar with film crew jargon, that means he is on call on film, television, or commercials sets for any medical needs and emergencies. The job sounds glamorous and exciting, but in reality he spends most of his time sitting around, waiting for someone to have a headache, stomachache, or get a splinter that needs to be removed.

Sometimes he has an exciting moment—like the day he resuscitated Hillary Swank’s dog who had electrocuted itself by chomping on a live wire, the time he had to convince Shirley MacLaine that he did understand the concepts of holistic medicine but all she really needed was to be helped up from where she had fallen, or the hours he spent massaging Liza Minelli’s legs to keep them from cramping—but most of the time the days are long and he is far from home.

Back in the days when we were first married, and before we were raising a houseful of boys, I used to travel to be on set with him. And that’s how I happened to see a different side to both Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte from what I ever expected as my husband worked on the set of Breakfast of Champions.

We had a long weekend from school, and I drove to Twin Falls, Idaho, to meet up with my husband for a few days together. After wrap the first evening, we just chilled at the hotel, enjoying the hot tub and talking about our week. The next two days, he didn’t have to work, but that’s where the real fun began.

On Saturday night, Bruce Willis was hosting a wrap party—something that usually happens before the filming is done, despite the fact it is meant to celebrate the end of the shoot. The location: The Mint Bar in Hailey, Idaho, one of his own business interests.

I had been to wrap parties before, ones that were hosted by either the LDS Motion Picture Studio, other LDS producers, or a bevy of Osmonds, which meant that this party was already going to different—it was at a bar and the L.A. based crew was going to be drinking. Call that the understatement of the year—they were soused by the time we arrived, not too long after the scheduled time for the party.

The place was packed and it was hard for Mike and me to walk around together, despite the fact he was holding my hand for dear life. I knew he needed to go around and chat with these people since they were the ones he was working with, so he sort of “parked” me at a back table, got me an un-spiked soft drink of some kind, then left me there alone to enjoy the music.

Also provided by Bruce Willis—himself. Seriously! He was playing the piano and singing away—if you can call either activity that—somewhere across the room. It wasn’t especially great entertainment, but what can you say. The guy was footing the bill for much of the shindig, so I guess he’s allowed to indulge himself however he would like.

I spent quite a bit of my time looking around the room, trying to scope out if his then-wife, Demi Moore, was anywhere to be seen, but when Mike returned to rescue me, he told me the couple was already experiencing conflict and there was no way she would be there. Somewhat disappointed, but not surprised, I enjoyed a few more minutes just watching the people, catching a glimpse or two of Lukas Haas, and generally being amazed by the drunken state some of the crew had managed to get themselves into.

The next morning we drove around downtown back in Twin Falls, looking for a place to grab some breakfast. That’s when we happened to see Nick Nolte walking down the street, holding a cup of coffee, and dressed in his pajamas, robe, and slippers. He was muttering script lines—something my husband told me the actor often did in the mornings dressed in this very same way. We stopped by him long enough for my husband to call, “Mr. Nolte, do you need a ride?” Nick said “No,” waving us off with his coffee cup—the same thing Mike said he did every day. I guess Nolte is living proof that actors can sometimes be eccentric.

And sometimes that’s the very reason my husband, or other set medics, are hired. Somebody has to be there to deal with the crazies. And you thought actors and actresses were normal people, just like you and me.

Press Release: Coincidence or Purpose: It's All in Your Mind

A thought comes into your mind. You don't know where it originated, but you feel compelled to act upon it. Sometimes you do, and interesting experiences or opportunities come into your life. Sometimes you don't, and you sit back and reflect later about how life might have been different if you had only. . .

Psychic and mentalist Jim Karol believes "everything happens for a reason." Our brains have more capability than we could ever imagine, including the power to show us where we should be and what we can become. "No matter what you want to become in this life, you can do it," Karol says in Psychic Madman, his newest book with co-author Lu Ann Brobst Staheli. "You don't need a special gift if you only discover how to interpret the messages that are already given to you—those bits of inspiration that come into your heart and mind."

Everyone experiences this insight, even if they seem to be of little importance at first. Check the door to make sure it's locked, set the timer before settling down to watch a video in bed, or using the car's parking brake when on a hill may all seem like trivial thoughts that pass through our minds. But what if we didn't follow those prompts of inspiration? Someone breaks into the house, you wake in the middle of the night disoriented by the blank television screen, or the car rolls down the hill, becoming one of those examples in an insurance commercial.

Perhaps your flashes of thought are of more significance. Call Mom, apply for a new job, or write a press release. The positives might be an important moment of time with your Mom, a great new job, or increased sales for your business. If you fail to follow that inspiration, it could be that nothing happens and you wonder why you considered acting at all, or it could turn out to be the last time you spoke to your mother alive, you are let go from your job without any new possibilities, or your company experiences a dip in revenue.

Granted, not every random thought that comes to mind is the key to a successful and abundant future, but you never know. Acting upon them certainly can bring about change in our lives. But what if you still don't believe your psychic moments are anything more than crazy thinking? Perhaps the only way to find out for sure is to test them. Start with something small—call this person today—and see where the results can take you. Karol encourages readers to "Become aware, stay positive and learn to use them."

Maybe these flashes of direction or insight are more powerful than you ever imagined. Perhaps you too have psychic tendencies. "It's possible you have been experiencing psychic moments without realizing it because you never knew it was possible," Karol adds. "Have there been turning points, little hinges that have swung a different way or a little farther, opening doors you never imagined to opportunities in your life that have made a difference in who you are and who you might yet become? If so, maybe it's time you recognized those gifts and talents, just like I did."

And if you do, you never know what will happen because in reality, everything is possible.

If you'd like to know more about Jim Karol and the way you can change your life by learning to recognize those moments of insight and developing your super mind, read Psychic Madman, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sourced Media Books, JimKarol.com or LuAnnBrobstStaheli.com.

(ArticlesBase SC #2811436)

Touchstones: Robert Lewis Brobst

One might think that an eighteen-year age difference would preclude any kind of real relationship—or friendship—between a brother and sister. At least in my case, this is not so. Love between my older brother Bob and I has embraced a series of events—or touchstones—where we have been there for each other in perhaps an even more durable way than siblings who are close in age might ever be.

It was the spring of 1954, and two very important events were supposed to happen almost simultaneously—my birth and Bob’s high school graduation. I won the race and arrived the end of April. Of course, I don’t remember this event, but I’ve heard the stories about how my dad was so happy to have another baby girl that he took me from my mother’s arms and rushed into the house to rock me while my brother Bob and sister Sue helped Mom into the house from the car.

Having been an older brother twice before—Sue was seventeen and Don was nine—Bob knew that babies spent an awful lot of time crying. With graduation ceremonies only three weeks away, he was worried.

“Mom, what if she cries during graduation?” Bob asked. “I’ll be so embarrassed.

"We’ll take care of it when the time comes,” our mother assured him.

But his concern was unfounded. Almost as if I knew the importance of staying quiet for him, I slept through the entire ceremony, well, like a baby.

After his graduation, Bob left home for awhile to attend training camp with the Washington Senators, a baseball farm team. I continued to sleep and grow and do all those things babies are wont to do. By the time he returned I was sitting up and starting to pay attention to the world around me. Bob must have spent a lot of time with me and made a huge impact on my life because my first recorded words that had meaning were. “Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob.”

Never was an older brother more proud than mine.

As a toddler, I spent time with my big brother and must have begun to believe he was mine—mine, mine, mine—like most two-year-olds believe of everything they see. If Bob went on a date with his girlfriend, then he owed me a date, too. Photographs of me sleeping on the living room floor prove that I would attempt to wait up for him for the promised trip to the A&W Root Beer stand once he got home. But gosh, anything after eight was just too late for a little girl like me to stay awake. Soon he learned to take me on my date before he left on another. This satisfied the little girl who adored her big brother.

I was four when Bob got married, but not to be outdone by the bride, I had a brand new blue satin dress made for the wedding. After all, my part was nearly as important as hers. I was the flower girl, and if I didn’t proceed down the aisle, dropping petals onto the white runner—and tossing a few toward the seats of close family—then the organist would never be able to play “Here Comes the Bride.”

The next year, Bob made me an aunt for the second time. (Sue's daughter, Connie, beat Bob's son, Tony, by two days.) I spent some of my own childhood with these two, trying to be a good aunt to babies who were closer in age to me than my own siblings, but Bob moved around a lot for the next several years and family gatherings—holidays, summer picnics, an occasional Sunday dinner, and relatives visiting from out of town—seemed to be the core of most memories.

As time passed, I became a teenager, old enough to babysit for Bob’s three boys for an entire summer, then in high school my summers became filled with marching band practice. Bob’s house was at the end of the practice field, and I often stopped in to say hello. Soon I was a high school graduate myself, with Bob and his family attending the ceremony. His youngest was six so I didn’t have to worry about the crying like Bob did with me. The events of our lives had come full-circle, and now I had at last caught up with the moment where he had been when we first started.

The next few years flew by with me off at college then into a teaching career, but visits home always included a few hours with my big brother. Out next touchstone moment was one of sadness, when in 1980, our dad unexpectedly passed away, and somehow the title “Head of the Family” was passed on to Bob. At the age of 44 he was now the one Mom, Sue, Don, and I looked to for comfort and wisdom. He became more than a brother—now he was like a dad as well. And that was a title he wore when at my own wedding he “gave the bride away.”

Since then, he’s been there through our adoption of five sons—willing to provide insight learned through the raising of three of his own—the death of our sister Sue, an illness of his own, his bright optimism continuing to guide the way for his baby sister as she faces the future that may someday come without him.

Yes, our life has been one of touchstones—birth, graduation, marriage, and death—but never once has the eighteen-year age gap made a difference. There’s something special that happens between brothers and sisters—a bond that doesn’t seem to match the one sisters have together. Maybe brothers and sisters are closer because there was never a need for rivalry. Maybe because they didn’t share clothing, rooms, or even crushes. Maybe because older brothers are a little protective. Whatever the reasons, brothers and sisters have a special love for one another—a love that can span the barrier of time, both in ages and across the years.

Those little touchstone moments—the quintessential parts—provide the safe places that make up the journey of family togetherness, and the basis of love that will last beyond life and into memories of generations though the ages.

October 2009
Lu Ann Brobst Staheli

Week in Review: Summer ‘10

I love movies, almost as much as I love books. I remember the very first movie I saw in the theater with my parents: a screening of the classic Gone with the Wind. I don’t remember for sure how old I was, but I’m pretty sure we saw the film in the Alexandria Theater, located across from Kyle’s Funeral Home. The cool thing about that theater was the soundproof room where parents could take their crying babies so they didn’t disturb the other patrons.

After the last couple screenings I’ve been to here in Utah, I would pay extra to have one of those soundproof rooms so I could hear the movie over the whimpering, chattering, and out-right talking I’ve sat through recently—and most of that was from the parents!

Sorry, I stray away from the purpose of this blog. I’m here to tell you about the movies I’ve seen so far this summer. Since I tend to find myself spending a lot of hours during the summer sitting in the local movie theaters, and since I’ve been known to express my opinions on things a time or two, I thought I should share. I’ll be careful not to include spoilers, but I’m also warning you—I WILL be honest.

So far, I’ve seen ten movies. Of those ten, I’ll likely buy eight to add to our home movie collection. The other two, I won’t even rent. One time watching them was painful enough, or at least satisfied my curiosity. So, here we go, starting with the best movie I’ve seen so far in the summer of 2010.

Letters to Juliet. I am a hopeless romantic. I have had a passion for Shakespeare since I first saw Leonard Whiting walk onto the screen as Romeo. I’ve taught Romeo & Juliet now for 31 years, and the biggest regret I have from my trip to Europe was that our train only passed through Verona on our way to Venice. I had heard the story before about the ladies who write letters to Juliet and leave them under her balcony, so the story premise made sense to me from the very beginning, and since Venice was my favorite stop on my own trip, I was absolutely in love with the scenery. Add all of these together with a totally clean and incredibly romantic plot, and Letters to Juliet was a perfect date night movie with my husband. We both loved it, and shed a tear or two in joy.

Toy Story 3. In 1999, my husband and I were blessed to welcome into our home two little boys to be ours forever. Chan was 6 and Kent was 5, and they loved, loved, loved movies (How appropriate in a home like ours where my husband works on film sets, and I write scripts). One of their favorite movies was Toy Story, and one of the first movies we took them to the theater to see was Toy Story 2. Woody and Buzz dominated everything in our house from toys to Halloween costumes, birthday cakes to home video nights for the next couple years. “Reach for the sky” and “Are you mocking me?” became family institutions. Is it any wonder that the boys have been non-too-anxiously awaiting the premiere this weekend? Today we went to see the movie in 3D, and although Tommy and Zach went with us, I don’t think they quite understood why Mom and Dad blubbered like babies toward the end of the film. These characters are indelibly linked to our years with Chan and Kent, and the idea of Andy moving out to go to college struck a chord that soon we would be seeing our own little boys moving on with their lives as adults. Where did those little boys years go?

Shrek Forever After. After a forgettable Shrek the Third, I didn’t think I’d be able to drag my kids to see this one, but Zach and I went and I actually liked it—a lot! Enough that Chan and Kent decided to finally go see it as well, and the consensus is in—they ALL liked it. Maybe because this one takes us back to the beginning and lets viewers see an alternate outcome, what might have been in Shrek had never made it to rescue Fiona in the first place. The humor still shines for both kids and adults, the romance makes sparks fly, and the ending was truly satisfying at saying, at last Shrek feels like it’s over, and that’s okay. Of course, I cried a tear or two at this one as well. Are we seeing a pattern?

The Karate Kid. Okay, I told myself there was no way I was going to see this movie in remake. How could you possibly get better than Ralph Macchio and Pat Morika as Mr. Miyagi? Besides, why would I want to go see Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s spoiled son Jaden in a role he got simply because Mommy and Daddy were the executive producers for the film? Okay, okay, so it also stars Jackie Chan and his comedies always make me laugh, so off I went. And, WOW, was I surprised. I was on the edge of my seat during the final match, terrified that Dre Parker (the new name for the Karate Kid) wouldn’t make it back onto the mat. And Jackie Chan showed a whole new depth to his acting that totally sold me on him being the new Mr. Miyagi (So he was renamed Mr. Han) I LOVED the new version, and, you guessed it, I even cried!

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I’m not a huge fan of video games, and think some of my kids have wasted too many hours of their lives attached to the PS 3, but what the heck, I decided to go see what the screenwriters came up with in their quest to turn a mindless video game scenario into a two hour film, and I liked it! Jake Gyllenhaal was funny, agile, and even a little cute in his role of Dastan.  I had Ben Kingsley pegged from the very beginning, but his acting was, as always, superb. The movie was filled with action, adventure, and humor, and so you won’t be disappointed, yes, I even found a moment to cry.

The A-Team. You know, I was thinking it was my dad who used to watch The A-Team on television then I checked the air dates on IMBD and realized, my dad was already dead by the time the show was on, so The A-Team fan in my house had to have been my MOM! This strikes me as pretty funny, until I consider how much I liked the movie. The cast provide a perfect bridge between the original actors and today’s action, adventure movies. I loved the humor, and I wasn’t offended by any of the violence. I wanted to stand up and cheer at the end, and hoped that someone in Washington would get a clue and hire this group to work for the defense of our country. I can’t remember if there were any tears on this one, but I do know I left the theater hoping there would be a sequel to this one.

Iron Man 2: If I can keep the theme song out of my head long enough so that I can think, I’ll tell you that I did like Iron Man 2. Oh, maybe not as much as Iron Man 1, but enough that I would recommend it. Once again, Robert Downey, Jr. is looking fine, and it’s great to see him holding his life together to make the string of movies he’s been in the past two years. I loved the romantic elements that continue to develop between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. The only negative about this film was that I thought Tony’s health issues got solved a little too quickly and without enough difficult to sustain the angst the audience needed, but hey, what can I say other than there were still a couple of minutes that made me cry!

Marmaduke. I have a ten-year-old son. That’s what got me to the theater to see this movie, based on a cartoon character I once hated, and that’s why I’m so surprised I actually thought the movie was cute. Okay, cheesy romance and gang fights between talking dogs doesn’t make for high quality entertainment, but Owen Wilson and pleasant memories of Marley & Me helped me get past the faults and see the fun. I’m sure Zach will want to own a copy, which means I’ll probably have to sit through at least parts of this one again. At least it won’t be totally painful!

Killers. I loved the premise. Some of the romantic and action scenes between Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl were enjoyable, but there was much to be disappointed in with this one. I usually love Tom Selleck, but I never really connected with   him in this one. The look was wrong, the lines didn’t seem to fit him, and the usual charisma he shows in his other films was simply missing. My biggest complaint was that it seemed like the producers were worried about running out of money and chopped the movie into ill-fitting pieces. The story arc was missing, and the resolution didn’t feel well developed. If they had added another ten minutes after the wedding in the beginning and after the climax in the end, I think the story would have been better crafted and worth seeing again (this time without the giggling grandmas who could hardly contain themselves every time Kutcher was on the screen!) As it stands now, I’m hoping that Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz bring me a film that is much better at putting it all together.

Robin Hood. By far the biggest disappointment of the summer. Russell Crowe’s mumbling was rarely understandable. Cate Blanchett was the ugliest Maid Marion I’ve ever seen. If I hadn’t already known the back story, I would have been completely lost for the entire three hour movie (it only seemed like it lasted three days!) And, despite its length, never once did we get around to Robin Hood taking from the rich to give to the poor, seeing the Merry Men as his Merry Men, or ever finding Robin Hood to be the kind of hero I would trust to do anything. Boring, boring, boring, and the only tears I cried were those of joy that this painful movie was finally over.

That’s it for this time. I’m sure I’ll be back soon with another ten movies to review. The calendar is already filling up as we await Knight & Day, Grown Ups, The Last Airbender, Despicable Me, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Inception (my husband worked on this one), Eat Pray Love, The Expendables, and Nanny McPhee Returns.

Book Signings: All a Mystery to Me

Annette Lyon blogged about book signings over on her post today, and included this video from mystery author, Parnell Hall. Like both Annette and Parnell, I've been in similar book signing situations. You just try sitting next to Richard Paul Evans at a signing and see how you do. Parnell's signing next to Mary Higgins Clark all over again.

Anyway, after watching the video, I had to know more about him, so I popped over to Amazon where I discovered he has three book series, comprised of over 40 novels, is an actor/screenwriter/songwriter, and is a former President of the Private Eye Writers of America. I love mysteries. Why have I never heard of this guy before now?

Anyway, good book buyer that I am, I ordered the first of the Crossword Lady series (I love to do the crossword puzzles in the newspaper), and I'm looking forward to discovering if I like his novels as well as I did this song. I'll be sure to let you know.

Ghost-Writer

Okay, so maybe it's not quite so bad for me because I've had full cover credit on both of my published ghost-written books so far, but today's comic in the New Yorker made me laugh. Is this where my writing career is headed?

New Yorker

Wisdom Keys: What You Repeatedly Hear You Will Eventually Believe

Perhaps you’ve heard the line often attributed to Adolph Hitler: “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.” Based on the source alone, you might be hesitant to believe it is true, but, like it or not, the idea is sound.

Politicians use repetition all the time to sway our vote. “Vote for me. I’ll solve all your problems. My opponent believes. . .(insert an option here that the people won’t like). Then the campaign runs that commercial repeatedly on every form of media at their disposal, pounding the negative idea into our heads until there is no way we will vote for the other guy, unless we do because we’ve heard the other candidate’s name so often in the negative campaigning that it’s the one embedded into our memory once we reach the polls.

According to the advertising industry, a potential client needs to see your ads at least seven times before they'll act on it. Only seven times and the new information is in your long-term memory forever. Consider the new song you hear on the radio. The first few times you might hum along, catching a phrase or two that sticks with you. Usually the first words you remember are the oft-repeated chorus. Eventually you learn the rest of the words, sometimes whether you want to or not. I’m sure each of us knows the lyrics to a song we can’t stand–“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”–and finds the words stuck in our heads the rest of the day anytime we run across the song out of happenstance.

The things we hear repeatedly bore into our minds and become a solid part of who we are. Too often the things we hear come from our own minds, and they are usually negative. When we assign ourselves negative labels–You’re fat. You’re too stupid. You can’t do that.–we can be guilty of stopping our own progression toward the goals we want and the potential within us. We become our own worst enemy.

But what can we do to turn our lives around? How can we change that little negative voice with so much power into a force for good within our own minds?

Believe.

Think and Grow Rich author Napoleon Hill once said, “Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” Protestant preacher and author Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking) said, “Change your thoughts, and you change your world.” We are even told in the New Testament book of Matthew: “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

Did you catch that? All things. Not just some things, yet how many times have we been guilty of picking and choosing those scriptures we will believe and those we do not? If we believe part of the scriptures to be true, then why not all? As we learn in Proverbs 3: 4-5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”

Change the negative thoughts in your head to those which are more positive, and you will find your life begins to change for the better. Trust and believe that you can lose weight, and you’ll find your actions become more supportive of that goal. Tell yourself you can learn whatever it is you need to know, and you’ll find a sudden hunger for knowledge that can be gained through reading or taking courses. If you want to change an aspect of your life or relationships, you can do that, if you only believe in yourself and you are willing to put forth the effort to do so.

Find those positive affirmations that work best for you and repeat them often. Act as if the things you say are true. Then watch the changes that come about in your life, and perhaps in the lives of the people around you. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish, if you only believe.

Student Book Recommendations

One of the last things I ask my students to do at the end of the school year is to make a list of books they would recommend to their peers. I give a copy of this list to each student as a place to start their summer reading. I'm also happy to share this year's list with all of you. I've read 90 of them already. How did you do?

Recommended Books 2009-2010

13th Reality series – Dashner
39 Clues series – various
Alcatraz and the Librarian series – Sanderson
Alchemist, The series – Scott
Alex Rider series – Horowitz
Aliens series – various
All-American Girl – Cabot
Among the Hidden series – Haddix
Antsy Does Time – Schusterman
Artemis Fowl – Colfer
Bear Dancer – Wyss
Bella at Midnight – Stanley
Body Finder, The – Derting
Breath - Winton
Candy Shop Wars, The – Mull
Charlie Bone series – Nimmo
Chasing Vermeer - Ballitt
Children of the Lamp series – Kerr
Chosen One, The – Williams
Christmas Jar, The – Wright
Christmas List, The – Evans
Christmas Sweater, The – Beck
Chronicles of Vladmire Tod, The series – Brewer
Cirque du Freak – Shan
Cleopatra VI - Gregory
Climbing the Stairs – Venkatraman
Clique series – Harrison
Cold Service – Parker
Counting Stars – Holmes
Courting Miss Lancaster – Eden
Crooked Kind of Perfect – Urban
Cry of the Icemark series – Hill
Cut – McCormick
Daniel X series – Patterson
Dark Hills Divide - Carmer
Darklight – Livingston
Deadly Little Secret – Stolarz
Deathwatch – White
Deep & Dark & Dangerous – Hahn
Deep Down Popular – Stone
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series - Kinney
Don’t Don’t Tell Jokes – Sachar
Double Identity – Haddix
Dragon Keeper - Wilkinson
Dragon Slippers series – George
Dune series – Herbert
Dusty Britches – McClure
Elantris – Sanderson
Ella Enchanted – Levine
Ender’s Game series – Card
Eragon series – Paolini
Esperanza Rising – Ryan
Ever – Levine
Everest series – Korman
Extraordinary Adventures Alfred Kropp – Yancy
Fablehaven series – Mull
Face, The – Koonz
Fairest – Levine
Farworld series – Savage
Giver, The – Lowry
Going Postal – Pratchett
Goose Girl series – Hale
Guardians of Ga’Hoole series – Lasky
Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie – Shaffer
Harry Potter series – Rowling
Heart Only Knows, The – Blair
Heat – Lupica
Heir Apparent – Van Velde
Hoot – Haaisen
Host, The – Meyers
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – Ford
Hourglass Door, The series – Mangum
House of Night, The series – Cast
How to Survive Middle School – Gephart
Huckleberry Finn – Twain
Hunger Games, The series – Collins
I’d Tell You I Love You series – Carter
Ice – Durst
Ida B. – Hannigan
Immortals series, The – Noel
Inkheart series – Funke
Island series – Korman
Jinx – Cabot
Just One Wish – Rallison
Kate’s Turn series – Crane
Key to Rondo, The – Rodda
Keys to the Golden Firebird – Johnson
Last Song, The – Sparks
Lean on Me – Weyland
Lemon Tart – Kilpack
Levan Thumps series – Skye
Leviathan – Westerfeld
Lightning Thief, The series – Riordan
Line, The – Hall
Lord of the Rings trilogy – Tolkien
Luxe, The series –Godberson
Magician Trilogy, The – Nimmo
Maximum Ride series – Patterson
Maze Runner, The – Dashner
Missing series – Haddix
Molly Moon series – Byng
Morganville Vampires series - Caine
My Fair Godmother – Rallison
My Life in Pink and Green – Greenwald
Mysterious Benedict Society, The – Stewart
Notebook, The – Sparks
Number the Stars – Lowry
Old Willis Place, The - Hahn
Of Mice and Magic series – Farland
Once Upon a Marigold – Fern
Out of the Dust – Hesse
Peak series – Smith
Pendragon series – MacHale
Persuasion – Austen
Peter and the Starcatchers series – Berry/Pearson
Predator series – various
Prelude to Glory series – Carter
Pride and Prejudice – Austen
Princess Bride, The – Goldman
Princess Diaries, The series – Cabot
Princess of the Midnight Ball – George
Rag and Bone Shop, The – Cormier
Ranger’s Apprentice – Flanagan
Raymond & Graham – Knudson
Rebel Angels – Bray
Rune Lords series Farland
Running Out of Time – Haddix
Sammy Keyes series – Van Draanen
Santa Maybe – Mace
Secret Life of Bees, The – Kidd
Secret, The – Byrne
Shiver – Stiefvater
Silverfin – Higson
Small Gods – Pratchett
Stolen Children – Kehret
Stop Pretending – Sones
Summer Ball – Lupica
Summer of the Monkeys – Rawls
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow – George
Sunflower, The – Evans
Sunrise Over Fallujah – Meyers
Surgeon, The – Gerritsen
Surviving Antarctica 2086 – White
Switch – Horowitz
Tale of Despereaux, The – DiCamillo
Tantalize – Smith
Teens at War – Zullo
Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series – Heimerdinger
Tower of Strength - Lyon
Traitor -Gray
Tunnels – Williams
Two Little Girls in Blue - Clark
Twlight series – Meyers
Uglies series – Westerfeld
Un Lun Dun – Mieville
Undaunted, The – Lund
Uprising – Haddix
Vampire Diaries, The series – Smith
Vampirates series – Somper
Variant – Wells
Walk to Remember, A – Sparks
Walk Two Moons – Creech
Ways to Live Forever – Nicholls
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town – Holt
Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls
Where the River Runs North – Morton
Witch & Wizard series – Patterson
Witch Child – Rees
Witness – Hesse
Wuthering Heights – Bronte

Press Release: Lu Ann Staheli Wins Best of State: Non-Fiction

Lu Ann Brobst Staheli has been named Utah’s 2010 Best of State Medalist in Literary Arts: Non-Fiction. In the past year, Staheli saw the publication of her first full length book, When Hearts Conjoin, “Which Way—Do-It-Yourself or Traditional?” as a featured cover article for The Writer Magazine, “Bringing the Library Back to Life After the Library Dragon is Slain” in Library Media Connection Magazine, and Fablehaven Teacher’s Guides for Shadow Mountain Publishers. In addition, Lu Ann had articles published in Desert Saints Magazine, Your LDS Neighborhood, and Meridian Magazine, while she continues to write professional book reviews for LMC, The ALAN Review, and The SIGNAL Journal.

A former member of the Spanish Fork City Arts Council and columnist for both the Spanish Fork Press and the Spanish Fork News, Lu Ann is a popular speaker, having delivered workshop presentations for the League of Utah Writers Round-Up, Utah Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, Utah Educator Library Media Association Spring Conference, LDS Storymakers Conference, WriteWise Publishing Book Camp, UELMA Fall Workshop, and two area chapters of the League of Utah Writers in the past year.

Staheli uses her vast knowledge of publication to coach aspiring authors and is a Senior Editor for Precision Editing Group (PEG). Her efforts to teach others the craft of writing has resulted in more than fifty new authors seeing their first books published in the last two years, and a bevy of other authors finding their books best-sellers or as finalists and winners of the Whitney Award since its inception.

Named Best of State Educator K-12 in 2008, Lu Ann recently saw the release of her second biography, Psychic Madman, co-written with Jim Karol. Her upcoming projects include The Business of Marriage with Dino Watt and a biography with entertainer and humanitarian Alan Osmond.

Psychic Madman Released

I am pleased to announce that Psychic Madman is now available on Amazon.com. You can read details about the book and order you copy by clicking on the following link:



Or, if you're feeling lucky, and you don't mind the waiting, we are giving away three copies on Good Reads. See the details on their site:

The Psychic Madman by Jim Karol


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As the co-author of this book, I learned so much about recognizing inspiration and improving my memorization. Jim is a great guy, and I totally enjoyed having the opportunity to help him tell his story and share his insider secrets to memory and magic skills you can learn as well.

View all my reviews >>

Women of the Book of Mormon: Insights and Inspiration by Heather B. Moore

If you’re looking for a perfect Mother’s Day gift, look no farther than Heather Moore’s new book, Women of the Book of Mormon. Don’t let this slim volume fool you into thinking it is light-weight, because it is not. The information is well-researched and documented, yet easy-to-read and interesting.

Despite the fact I had read the manuscript in its early draft form, I still found myself stopping often to ponder the information and insight Moore had provided into the lives of these women. One striking moment for me was the reason why male children were preferred over females—because females left a family to join the family of their husband, and males remain a part of their father’s household. Suddenly, I understood not just these women, but also the centuries-old preference for male children which still seems to exist around the world today.

Another strength with Moore’s book is the chapters devoted to women who are also in the Bible—Eve, Mary, and Sarah—making this an appropriate gift for your Non-LDS friends and family members as well.

The color illustrations add a new dimension to the text, allowing readers to visualize each of these women in their unique situations.

I know Women of the Book of Mormon is a book I will return to reread again during my scripture study, or when I need a moment to ponder how blessed I am in my own life trials. I know I will buy multiple copies of this book to share with my family members, of all Christian faiths.

Psychic Madman

The new cover for the book I wrote with Jim Karol. This one should be available both online and in stores in a couple of weeks.

Jim is a mentalist who uses his psychic ability, great memory, and mind-over-matter to entertain audiences in his stage shows and TV and film appearances.