I was reading the book "3 Cups of Tea" today. A fascinating story! I have been to the areas where the book was conceived and I totally relate to the following message:

When you have one cup of tea, you are a stranger. When you have two cups of tea, you are a friend. When you have three cups of tea, you are family. And you would die for a family member! Wow!

The story gives people in the West a different perspective of Afghanistan. Also, it shows how one man with desire can make a big difference.

One of the saddest things in the world is a good, never published novel.

Even sadder -- not writing the novel for fear of that sadness.

I'm not speaking from personal experience here.  Luckily.  Although someday, I may spend the time to write a novel, which may or may not sit in a drawer, or on my computer.

But this morning I was thinking about a friend who wrote a novel -- a good novel -- 15 years ago.  It still unpublished and almost certainly will never be published.

Last week I went to a wonderful lecture by Michael Pollan, author of at least two New York Times number-one bestsellers: The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

If you haven't read his books, I urge you to do so.  They are extremely well-written and witty.  Most importantly, they are eye-opening.

“Tell me a story.”  “Read me a book.”  These are words that every parent has heard.  And a new British study shows us what we already know, and what we probably don’t do as often as we need to.

“Almost two-thirds of children want their parents to spend more time reading to them before bed, and most prefer Mom’s storytelling to Dad’s,” researchers said last week.

I first met Dr. Wayne Dyer when I was asked to introduce him when he was speaking at an event in Vancouver.

He hugged me for 10 seconds on the stage and mentioned four times how wonderful the introduction was.  He was very gracious!  Subsequently, he gave me a quote for our book The Power of Giving, saying it was very impressive and very inspiring!  I admire Dr. Dyer for his down to earth and uplifting messages, which he has shared with millions of people.

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to them what their own riches are.

Every person has challenges – yes some are much bigger than others.  Every person has “riches” too.  Maybe we should spend less time on the challenges and more time on expanding our talents and riches.

One of the things I most enjoy in life is having my stereotypes dashed.  Reading this wonderful book destroyed another stereotype.  I thought most people who are very conservative will never change – in his book, A Deadly Misunderstanding, Mark Siljander proved me wrong, wrong as I have ever been.

For my son Ian’s birthday, we first had a family birthday and then a friend birthday during the school day.  For his friend birthday, he got a few toys, but he also received nine books. 

When I came home from work I asked him what presents he received, he said “A lot of books.” 

“That’s great,” I said. 

His response, “I told Mom you’d say that.  I like books, but Dad, I’m only 9 years old.”

That said, he devoured Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2 that day.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sent a link to a place called the Goodman Center. http://www.thegoodmancenter.com/  It's run by a man called Andy Goodman – who I don't know personally – but who wrote a wonderful book that I read a few years ago.

It is called Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes. Andy focuses his work on helping good causes (environmental and otherwise) reach more people more effectively.

I must tell you of John David Mann, the co-author of a great book The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea (co-authored with Bob Burg).

Over my many travels across the world, I have met many good people but John comes across as one of the best - a genuine, wonderful, authentic soul!

He really practices the message shared in the book The Go-Giver.  Both Harvey and I have been touched by John's generosity and support in our journey, and we have found a kindred spirit in him.