Jack
Canfield, coauthor of the mega-selling
Chicken Soup for
the Soul book series, knows all about the power of the
printed word -- he frequently receives letters from readers telling
him how much his books mean to them. He decided to ask other
successful people whether a book had changed their lives. Here are
some of their inspiring stories, including his own...
JACK CANFIELD
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL
Life After Life by Raymond A. Moody,
MD.
One of my college professors lent me
Life After
Life by Raymond A. Moody, MD. The book’s author had
discovered a compelling pattern when he studied the stories of
people who had survived near-death experiences. Many reported that
they were transported through a dark tunnel toward a “being of
light” that loved them unconditionally. Some of these people on the
edge of death said that they were asked two questions by this being
-- “What wisdom have you gained from this life?” and “How have you
expanded your capacity to love?” I came to view these two questions
as the final exam for life, and they have directed my life for more
than 30 years.
LOU HOLTZ
FOOTBALL COACH
The Magic of Thinking Big by David
J. Schwartz, PhD.
In 1966, Lou Holtz was not yet a famous national
championship–winning college football coach. He was unemployed, and
his wife had to take a job to pay the family’s bills. During this
bleak time, his wife gave him the motivational book
The
Magic of Thinking Big. The book suggested getting back in
touch with one’s dreams by writing a list of goals. Holtz took out
a piece of paper and wrote down 107 goals, ranging from lofty
career objectives to flights of fancy, such as “travel the ocean in
a submarine.”
From the moment Holtz made that list, he felt like a participant in
his life rather than a spectator. Four decades later, he still has
the list -- and he has checked off 102 of his 107 entries,
including traveling in a submarine.
KENNY LOGGINS
MUSICIAN
Siddhartha by Hermann
Hesse.
Before 1971, singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins’s interests barely
extended beyond his music, but he found that he felt anxious much
of the time. Then he started reading
Siddhartha, a
novel about a young man in India on the path to enlightenment.
Loggins stopped feeling anxious and felt calmer than he ever had
felt before. When he reached the final page, he immediately started
reading the book again.
Siddhartha helped Loggins adjust his core philosophy
from “I’m cool” to “serve others.” He discovered that the more he
thought about the needs of other people, the better his own life
became. Loggins was at peace for the first time and now cared about
other people. Consequently, he was better able to connect with his
audience, and his career improved as well.
FARRAH GRAY
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
The Seven Spiritual Laws of
Success by Deepak Chopra.
Farrah Gray grew up in extreme poverty in a Chicago ghetto. At age
11, he read
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, which
helped him become a millionaire by age 14. The book proposed the
“Law of Least Effort” -- the idea that the best way to find great
success is by doing something that does not feel like hard work.
Because these things seem easy and enjoyable to us, we are likely
to be good at them.
Gray considered this advice and decided that what seemed least like
work to him was cooking and spending time with other kids. He
launched Farr-Out Foods, a company that produced foods targeted to
young adults. Farr-Out Foods took in more than $1.5 million in
sales by the time Gray turned 14, and at age 15, he sold the
company to a large food conglomerate for more than $1 million.
CATHERINE OXENBERG
ACTRESS
The Power of One by Bryce
Courtenay.
Catherine Oxenberg had a role on the popular TV
show
Dynasty during the 1980s, but by 1991, she
was a single mother suffering from bulimia, with a fading Hollywood
career. Then she read a novel called
The Power of
One, the story of a young boy living in South Africa during
World War II. The book explored how one person can have a profound
effect on another person’s life, even if their paths intersect only
briefly.
It struck Oxenberg that when she was 13, someone had touched her
life in this way. Actor Richard Burton, then engaged to Oxenberg’s
mother, H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth Jelisaveta of Yugoslavia, had
treated young Catherine wonderfully. He had acted in her home
movies and spoken with her as if she were an adult. Burton helped
boost Oxenberg’s confidence. After reading
The Power of
One, Oxenberg realized that this confidence was still inside
her. She overcame her eating disorder and made a commitment to take
charge of her future.
JIM MCCANN FOUNDER
OF 1-800-FLOWERS
Scripts People Live by Claude
Steiner.
Jim McCann was a student at John Jay College in New York City when
a professor suggested that he read
Scripts People
Live. The central message of the book was that the quality of
our lives is determined by our relationships. Giving to others,
Steiner wrote, makes us richer. McCann gave it a try and discovered
that Steiner was right -- the more love and compassion he gave to
others, the richer his own life became.
McCann eventually opened a chain of flower shops and found that
even in the business world, caring about others is the secret to
success. He tries his hardest to love and be loved by his customers
and to encourage his employees to love one another. McCann’s
business eventually grew to become
1-800-FLOWERS.com, one of the
nation’s most successful flower companies.