Remember as a kid when it was rainy or snowy or hot outside and you felt trapped inside and couldn’t have your normal fun? Then your mom would say, “Why don’t you read a book?” Mom was onto something.

Over the past several months I have read a lot of books. The job I held was eliminated in early August and the job search (and increased reading) began. I was blessed with a new job with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (a nearly impossible to believe, truly exceptional organization) a month ago, and with the current Wuhan Virus situation I have returned to books in the evenings. Mom was definitely onto something.

I have re-engaged my relationship with three wise men: Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale and Og Mandino. Consider the trying times in which these authors learned the lessons in life and business that they then shared as authors and speakers. They listened to life. We can, too.

Just their book titles suggest important, timeless wisdom that is certainly appropriate to the challenges and changes we face today.  How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, How to Win Friends and Influence People, The Power of Positive Thinking, The Positive Principle Today, The World’s Greatest Salesman, and more.  I leave it up to you to track down which title applies to which author.

We all have access to good books. Your list may be quite different than mine, though I heartily recommend the cited authors. (Want more ideas?  Send me an e-mail!)  Personally, I prefer paper so I can mark up key phrases and thoughts which helps me remember and apply the wisdom shared in ink. This sight can also be very helpful:  www.GoodReads.com.

No matter what is going on, others, including your relatives, lived through worse. Much worse. Remember, all the joy, courage, strength, happiness and success you desire is available to you because of the live you’ve lived, not despite it.