55 People YOU’VE Tell the Story of the Book GOT That Changed TO Their Life READ THIS BOOK! Jack Canfield Gay Hendricks with Carol Kline This book is dedicated with gratitude to all the authors, past, present and future, whose books make a positive difference in people’s lives. Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction xi jacquelyn mitchard 3 kenny loggins 8 catherine oxenberg 12 jim maclaren 17 wyland 23 lisa nichols 27 rafe esquith 32 chellie campbell 38 malachy mccourt 43 john st. augustine 47 sheryl leach 53 gay hendricks 58 pierce o’ donnell 62 pat williams 67 lou holtz 73 rudy ruettiger 76 danny edward scott casalenuovo 81 farrah gray 87 louise hay 92 rhonda byrne 95 mark victor hansen 100 michael e. gerber 105 iv / CONTENTS tim ferriss 111 christiane northrup, m.d. 118 doreen virtue 123 john gray 128 philip goldberg 132 bernie siegel, m.d. 137 dave barry 142 sue ellen cooper 145 ellynanne geisel 150 earl hamner 157 nancy pearl 161 wally amos 165 jack canfield 168 jim mccann 174 larry jones 179 debbie macomber 184 arielle ford 188 michael toms 192 bob young 198 craig newmark 203 kate ludeman 207 amilya antonetti 212 jim guy 218 gary heavin 222 stephen covey 227 maynard webb 232 marc bekoff 236 max edelman 240 diane wilson 245 gary erickson 251 mo siegel 256 doris haddock ( granny d) 262 lois capps 268 CONTENTS / v List of Contributors and Their Books 273 The Transformational Book Circle 277 Who Is Jack Canfield? 279 Who Is Gay Hendricks? 281 Who Is Carol Kline? 283 Permissions 284 Other Books by the Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher Acknowledgments reating a book such as this is always the result of many peo- Cple’s efforts. First, we would like to extend our most heartfelt grati- tude to our spouses and families: Jack Canfield: I’d like to thank my wife, Inga, first for always being there to support me on my search for more knowledge and wisdom; second, for always being there with love and support for this project, including read- ing stories and always offering her honest feedback; and third, reminding me through her playful nature that there is more to life than books. I also ap- preciate all of my children—Oran, Kyle, and Christopher—for sharing the same love of books and reading that I do. Gay Hendricks: I’d like to thank my wife and creative partner for the past quarter-century, Kathlyn Hendricks, for providing a loving space in which I can think out loud about anything under the sun and moon. Carol Kline: Unending thanks to my husband, Larry Kline, who cre- ates beautiful spaces for us to live, entices me away from the computer to “smell the roses,” and makes all of it worthwhile. And to my stepchildren Lorin and McKenna, for their love of beauty, words, and books. Thanks also to my sisters Barbara Pearson and Holly Zurer, for their enthusiasm about this project and for suggesting people to interview whose stories have added so much to the book! We’d also like to thank the following people for their invaluable input: Lisa Hotchkiss, whose top-notch organizational skills, good humor, and energy made this book possible. Jai Collins for his quick work turning disjointed transcripts into bril- liant first drafts. viii / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Cindy Jevne Buck, a wise and gifted editor and dear friend, for her many hours wading through stories in all stages of completion and mas- terfully structuring and polishing them so that they sparkle. You are a gem beyond value. Our friend, Marci Shimoff, whose insightful comments always im- proved the stories and whose presence in our lives we consider a great blessing. Bonnie Solow, our literary agent extraordinaire, for her assistance in crafting the original vision of this book, and for conveying that vision to our publisher. Bonnie also helped in so many other ways as we created and perfected the manuscript, from helping us locate and enroll many of the contributors to giving us valuable feedback on the title and the man- uscript. Bonnie is also a splendid exemplar of how to bring heart and soul to work. D’ette Corona, for her capable, efficient, and loving assistance with getting all of the permissions that were needed—a huge job for which we are eternally grateful! The following people at Jack Canfield’s office for their help in creat- ing this book and preparing the manuscript: Patty Aubery, for being there on every step of the journey, with her love, laughter, wisdom, and end- less creativity; Russ Kamalski, for his sage advice on several points; Veronica Romero, for assisting the coauthors in keeping everything on track in the midst of their busy lives; Jesse Ianiello, for her insights and logistical support; and Kacie Mutscheller, for her assistance in typing. Gay Hendricks’s magnificent support team of Monika Binkley, Mar- ija Crabtree, Otelia Rodriguez, and Chris Foley. Computer genius David Christian Wolfbrandt, Carol Kline’s indis- pensable “tech support,” as well as Jeanette, Tara, and the rest of the transcribing team at Oldfashionedoffice.com. Our publishers, Jane Friedman, President and CEO of Harper- Collins, Worldwide; Joe Tessitore, Group President, Collins; Libby Jor- dan, Senior Vice President and Associate Publisher, Collins; and Mary Ellen O’Neill, Vice President and Publisher, Collins, for valuing books and reading as much as we do and for sharing our commitment to bring this book to the world. Toni Sciarra, our wonderful Executive Editor at Collins, for her diligent ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / i x work in helping us enroll several of the contributors and for editing this manuscript quickly and efficiently under huge time constraints. And her assistant, Anne Cole, who was always there to help if we needed her. The following people in the marketing and sales departments at HarperCollins for their magnificent efforts to make sure this book gets into as many hands as possible: George Bick, Senior Vice President, Sales; Tony Valado, Online Marketing Manager; Tara Cibelli, Marketing Coordinator; Diane Burrowes, Director, Academic and Library Marketing; and Virginia Stanley, Associate Director, Academic and Library Marketing. Paul Olsewski, Vice President, Senior Director, Publicity, and Larry Hughes, Publicity Director, HarperCollins, for their efforts in getting us radio, television, and print coverage to promote this book. Colleen Houghton, Information Center Manager at HarperCollins, who helped in the research for this book, and who helped us contact some of the more difficult-to-reach celebrities whose stories appear in the book. The following people in the HarperCollins Production Department— Donna Ruvituso, Executive Managing Editor; Diane Aronson, Copy Chief; Amy Vreeland, Senior Production Editor; Leah Carlson-Stanisic, Design Manager; Karen Lumley, Associate Director, Production—for their talent in creating a book that looks, reads, and feels as good as the content it contains. The following people in the Art Department—Georgia Morrissey, Art Director; Victor Mingovits; and Erica Heitman-Ford—for their tal- ent, creativity, and unrelenting patience in producing a captivating book cover. Dahlynn McKowen, for going above and beyond the call of duty to help us in the acquisition of several stories. Shannon Tullius for her help in contacting several authors whose sto- ries we have included. Matt Adams, Paul Gilbert, and Pat Williams, for their efforts in help- ing us contact people in the field of professional sports. Marty Becker, Tom Lagana, Kate Ludeman, John St. Augustine, Ken Browning, Bob Bender, Marci Shimoff, and Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin for their help in securing stories. Tony Esparza, for helping us track down some of the harder-to-find people. x/ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Lastly we’d like to acknowledge the following people who worked with us to share their stories, which for reasons at the end we simply didn’t have the space to include: Carol E. Ayer, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin, Meg Charendoff, Susannah Crowder, Hale Dwoskin, Jo Gibson, Lori Johnston, Dr. Dennis Kimbro, Vice-Admiral Keith Lippert, Joanne Morrison, Laura Murphy, Judy Prang, Hilda Robbins, Bob Scheinfeld, Marci Shimoff, Robin Shope, and Shirley Oscarson Wood. Because of the size and duration of this project, we may have left out the names of some people who contributed along the way. If so, we are sorry, but please know that we really do appreciate you very much. We are truly grateful and love you all! Introduction Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. —oliver wendell holmes e love books, and we bet you do, too. We especially love Wbooks that inspire, heal, and transform lives. It has been our long- held dream to put into your hands a work that carries the essence of what we believe to be most valuable about a book: its potential to change your life. This collection of stories is the fulfillment of that dream. We’ve all found that life becomes richer when we’re reading a great book. You go to sleep at night feeling that your time on Earth is more valuable, your experience here more worthwhile. You wake up seeing yourself, other people, and the world differently. This is real magic—and in this book you will read story after story about the effect of this magic on people’s dreams, goals, careers, and relationships. Working on this book has been magical as well; it has changed our lives profoundly. In the course of bringing it together, we were exposed to powerful new insights and discovered new worlds to explore. It is our great hope and highest intention that this book will do the same for you. xii / INTRODUCTION HOW IT BEGAN It all started with a fascinating conversation.