31-Aug-2005
THE BEST OF US
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”…so began Charles Dickens classic book, ‘The Tale of Two Cities’. Today, in our world, with all its perils, mixed with all its goodness, we could say the same.
Because the news media focuses on the events of our time that too often emphasize the worst of things, and the worst of us, we need the perspective that comes from knowing about the positive, the inspirational, the joy, hope and optimism that co-exists.
As subscribers to this newsletter know, I was originally planning my next book to be called “Looking At The Brightside of the News”.
While gathering stories for my book, I was struck by the people involved in those stories of positive action and inspirational deeds. It came to me one morning that they are truly ‘The Best of Us”.
So I have changed the title of my next ‘good news’ book. It is now THE BEST OF US – 100 Inspirational People Who Are Making the World A Better Place.
You might be interested in how the subtitle came about. After I had decided that THE BEST OF US would be the new title, I happened to be reading the New York Times best selling book list, and saw a new book by Bernard Goldberg, a former CBS newsman. His new book was called 100 PEOPLE WHO ARE SCREWING UP AMERICA.
I was dismayed that someone could actually write a book about people he considered to be ‘screwing up America’. And thus, I was determined to counter that by my ‘100 INSPIRING PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE’.
We diminish ourselves when we focus on what’s wrong, without some plan to make it right. In fact, we lose our bearings, and our focus on solutions, and run the real risk of accepting what’s wrong, as if it is not fixable.
We should not forget, as someone so wisely said, that for every act of evil in the world, there are a million acts of kindness.
The world is made a better place by one thought at a time, one person at a time, one act of courage, kindness, compassion, and inspiration at a time.
The people in my upcoming book, THE BEST OF US are such people. The come from all walks of life. A few are famous, most are what I call “The Extraordinary Ordinary’…who followed their passion… their bliss, to help others, to bring a new idea forward, to shed light on a problem in order to find a solution, share an insight gained through their own journey, a new discovery, a new invention, a better way to do things, or volunteer their time…the common thread is this: They inspire us, they move us, to find the best in ourselves.
A week ago, I placed a request in Dan Poynter’s newsletter at www.parapublishing.com. for his subscribers to send me people they thought would be good subjects for my 100 Inspiring People who are making the world a better place. Dan has spent the past 30 years showing people how to publish their own books, and is considered the leading expert on that subject.
Here is the request that was in Dan’s newsletter and I would like to make the same request for stories to all of you, my loyal subscribers.
I'm looking for stories to include in my new book, THE BEST OF US, 100
>Inspiring People Who Are Making The World A Better Place. Do you know an
>inspiring person who is making a difference with their volunteerism,
>profession, or their abundance of optimism, faith and hope? They can be
>famous, or the extraordinary ordinary. E-Mail to Bill@drycreekpress.com
>Bill Bailey
>The Good News Newsman
I have been amazed at the response. Here’s just a sample of the inspiring people that will be included in my first 100.
A successful graphic designer, who, when she became a mom, moved to a small town in Oregon and started her own business from her home so her children could be by her side. This evolved into a full service book publishing company with a unique program that allows other moms to get their books published in a co-op, called “The Mom-Writer’s Cooperative” which she describes as ‘elevating the brand equity of mom authors with excellence in design, packaging, publishing and promotions’… where all the new authors share their profits, and are able to get published without the upfront expense and with expertise and guidance to promote their books as well. Her name is Nancy Cleary, and her company is Wyatt MacKenzie Publishing, Inc. You can see her website at: www.wymacpublishing.com. She is certainly making the world a better place.
Here’s another one: A stem cell researcher in Europe, in a clinical trial, did something that has never been done with a damaged human heart. Once a person has a heart attack, a portion of the attacked heart muscle is dead, and can never beat again or be restored to beat again. This researcher, using stem cells from the muscle of a heart attack victim’s leg, was able to transplant those cells into the non-beating portion of a man’s heart and get it beating again. This man, prior to this, has been confined to a wheel chair. He is now leading an active life. The research, once approved, holds immense potential for millions of people. A better world, indeed.
There are so many more. And in each of my upcoming newsletters, I’ll be introducing you to more of my 100 inspiring people.
Please look for these kinds of people, and send me your suggestions. I welcome them, and you may even be one of my 100 inspiring people yourself! Email me your story ideas to: bill@drycreekpress.com.
REMEMBERING WOMEN’S HISTORY IS A BEACON OF HOPE
I found this item on the internet at the website daily-inspiration.org, and it represents the theme of people making the world a better place so well, I am including it in this newsletter.
The history of the Women’s Movement through the 19th and 20th centuries stands as a beacon of hope for any group seeking freedom and justice. With patience and vision, women in leadership grew to see attitudes gradually open up over the course of entire lifetimes. Laws would follow, lagging sometimes by decades.
At the Seneca Falls convention of 1848, suffragette delegates debated whether seeking the right to vote would subject them to ostracism and ridicule, making their other work more difficult. They chose to focus first on laws that denied women the right to hold property separately from their husbands, and presumptions in the case of divorce that the man should have custody of the children. At this time, no university in America permitted women to matriculate.
The 1970’s and 80s were a time when US women gained a toehold in professions, and transformed the American Family.
August 26th was the 85th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, granting suffrage to women in the US in 1920.
One person at a time. One action at a time. Look what was accomplished!
LOOKING FOR A UNIQUE INVESTMENT?
OWN A PIECE OF MY BOOK!
I started Dry Creek Press in order to self-publish my first book, America’s Good News Almanac under a new title, Good News About America, Enduring Stories of Hope, Heart and Heroes Behind the Bad News Headlines, and to launch THE BEST OF US.
I decided that in order to raise capital for this venture, I’d do it in a different way.
Instead of the normal selling of shares, or ownership, I’m offering a few small investors an opportunity to own a percentage of the royalties on the future sales of my books. Two books. It’s a very simple formula. If you invest $1,000.00 you will receive 1% royalty on each and every sale of my two books. For as long as they are selling, which I hope will be a very long time, and in very large numbers. You become like a literary agent, sharing in the success and the royalties from that success. As with any investment, there are no guarantees, but I will do everything humanly possible to promote and sell my books. And I believe the opportunity is there for hundreds of thousands of sales worldwide in many editions.
The maximum investment I am accepting from any individual investor is $3,000.00, and the minimum is $1,000.00. Each $1,000.00 investment gives you 1% royalty. 2 wonderful people have already brought Dry Creek Press and me this far through their early investments. Now, for a limited time, I will accept a few more to see the books through the final stages of editing, printing and publication and promotion.
If you are interested in investing, and wish more details, contact me at: bill@drycreekpress.com.
I’d like to leave you with this thought:
“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it..but that it is too low and we reach it!”—Michelangelo
May your days be the Best of Days..for all of you are the Best of Us.
Bill Bailey
bill@drycreekpress.com
www.drycreekpress.com
