Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen
Introduction
We know everything we need to know to end the needless emotional
suffering that many people currently experience. High self-esteem and
personal effectiveness are available to anyone willing to take the time to
pursue them.
It is difficult to translate the spirit of a live presentation into the written
word. Stories we tell every day have had to be rewritten five times to
work as well in print as they do live. When you are reading these
stories, please forget everything you ever learned in your speed-reading
classes. Slow down. Listen to the words in your heart as well as in your
mind. Savor each story. Let it touch you. Ask yourself, what does it
awaken in me? What does it suggest for my life? What feeling or action
does it call forth from my inner being? Let yourself have a personal
relationship with each story.
Some stories will speak louder to you than others. Some will have
deeper meaning. Some will make you cry. Some will make you laugh.
Some will give you a warm feeling all over. Some may hit you right
between the eyes. There is no right reaction. There is only your reaction.
Let it happen and let it be.
Don't hurry through this book. Take your time. Enjoy it. Savor it.
Engage it with your whole being. It represents thousands of hours of
culling the "best of the best" from our 40 years of combined experience.
One last thing: Reading a book like this is a little like sitting down to eat
a meal of all desserts. It may be a little too rich. It is a meal with no
vegetables, salad or bread. It is all essence with very little froth.
In our seminars and workshops we take more time to set up and discuss
the implications of each story. There are more explanations and
explorations of how to apply the lessons and principles to your everyday
life. Don't just read these stories. Take the time to digest them and make
them your own. If you find yourself moved to share a story with others, do it. When a
story makes you think of another person, call the person it brings to
mind and share it. Engage these stories and let them move you to do
whatever comes up for you. They are meant to inspire and motivate you.
For a lot of these stories we went back to the original source and asked
them to write it or tell it in their own words. Many of the stories will be
in their voice, not ours. We have attributed every story we could to the
original source. For all of those that are from fellow speakers and
