Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration. It’s Friend Friday, and today I’m pleased to introduce you to James Scott Bell, the well known novelist who also has several books to help writers become better at their craft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from a couple of our recent books. I’m trying something new for the summer, and going to a three-day a week schedule instead of five days a week. So on Mondays I’ll be posting a podcast with a couple of my favorite stories for instant inspiration for you, and on Wednesdays I’ll be posting a podcast with a couple of my favorite stories from our latest books. Fridays will remain the same – the day we post a longer podcast when I talk to someone who I think you’ll find interesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi it's Amy Newmark and today I want to share a couple of stories that will help you with your positive thinking. One of these stories has changed the way I look for parking spaces, the other reminds me to count my blessings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and I’m back with two more inspiring stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Best Advice I Ever Heard. Today we’re talking about a resolution that you should be making for the new year, and that is to make sure that you truly understand and act on the fact that you deserve to be treated right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today we’re talking about pets and the holidays. Because some of our best Christmas stories involve our pets, and the crazy and loving ways they participate in decorating, and giving, and eating, and all our other holiday activities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you and today we’re talking about marriage—or any long-term relationships—and how to keep them fresh and loving and healthy. There are some simple little tweaks you can make to your perspective that will instantly work, and with all the little stressors that can arise during the holidays, I thought this would be a good topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you and today we’re talking about how the holidays often bring out the very best in people, resulting in acts of kindness between strangers that truly make for a magical Christmas season. It’s a wonderful reminder, too, that if you’re feeling that itch—that desire to reach out and do something for someone—you should just go with it. Don’t be afraid to do it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple more Christmas stories for you from our new Christmas book about the wonder of Christmas. I’m giving you a tour of the book in the podcast this month, and over time you’ll hear about 20 stories from the book! Today I want to focus on Christmas miracles, because if you keep your eyes open during the holidays you’ll see little miracles happening all over the place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m going to continue my tour of our newest bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Best Advice I Ever Heard. I’m sharing about 20 stories from the book with you, in 10 separate podcasts, because this is a new topic and this book is absolutely filled with great advice that I want you to hear. Today, we’re going to talk about some great advice for maintaining and strengthening your friendships. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday, the day when I introduce you to someone interesting in the Chicken Soup for the Soul family. Today we have a really fun guest—Courtney Conover, who has written something like a dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul stories. Today we’re going to focus on two of them, one that will inspire you to stop spending all that time and money straightening your hair, and another that will give you a great idea for Christmas gifts that will save time and money, too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re going to talk about family and Christmas, and how wonderful it is when we’re flexible and open-minded and we create new family connections during the holidays. We have a number of stories in which this happens in our new bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Wonder of Christmas. I’m going to share a couple of my favorites with you today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and I’m back with two more inspiring stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Best Advice I Ever Heard. Today we’re talking about good habits—ones you can develop that will actually make you an even nicer, better person than you already are. These are habits that will come naturally to you, so you won’t even have that little struggle when you’re deciding whether to do that “right thing” or not—it will just happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to David-Matthew Barnes, who’s going to explain how you can become more successful by treating your career like it’s an airport. You’ll understand why, when he explains how it works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you as we enter the holiday season. Today we’re talking about compromise, just in time for that annual event: the negotiation over the Christmas tree. I’m going to share two stories today--about abandoning perfectionism, being flexible, and creating new traditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you and today we’re talking about achievement: how to get into the right mindset to achieve your goals without changing anything except your attitude—and then what to do if that achievement causes people to treat you differently, sometimes not in a good way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with an exciting new topic for today’s podcast. It’s Friend Friday, and today I’m pleased to introduce you to Dr. Randi Nelson, who has an MBA and a medical degree. We’re going to talk about how that happened and the story she wrote about it for our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Book of Christmas Miracles. This is our book that is supporting the Marines’ Toys for Tots program, which makes Christmas miracles for millions of children. Today I’m going to share a couple of stories from the book about miraculous family reunions at Christmastime, because that’s what really matters during the holidays—getting together with family at Thanksgiving or Christmas, or if you’re lucky, and your kids aren’t far away or juggling in-laws and other obligations—then both holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s time for some Instant Inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. With the holidays approaching, I’m eager to share a bunch of great Thanksgiving and Christmas stories with you, and many of them are about giving… and receiving. Because one of the themes that I come across as an editor is what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that free turkey, or gifts of groceries left anonymously on a doorstep. Many of our writers tell us that during the ups and downs of their lives, they’ve sometimes been the people receiving those gifts. And they tell us how it feels, and how they came to grips with feeling grateful for the gifts and not embarrassed that they need the help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. I’m back today with Tony Romando, who heads up a company called Topix Media Lab that is very big in the world of bookazines. If you don’t know what a bookazine is, it’s that hybrid of a book and a magazine that you usually see near the magazine rack at a newsstand or a bookstore. It’s an interesting product, meant to come out in a very timely manner, like a magazine, but to be kept forever, like a book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Because everyone does Thanksgiving differently. And sometimes we’re forced to compromise too, if we’re like many modern families, and we’re sharing the holidays with exes and in-laws or our kids live far away. So today I’m going to share two stories about two families that do Thanksgiving differently, and wonderfully. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m going to share two more stories with you from our new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Best Advice I Ever Heard. I’m planning to share about 20 stories from the book with you, in 10 separate podcasts, because this is a new topic and this book is absolutely filled with great advice that I want you to hear. Today, we’re going to talk about a couple of great ways to change your perspective and live life fully. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Judy Goss is joining us today. She just put on a three-day extravaganza in Atlanta, the What Women Want conference. I was privileged to deliver the opening keynote at that conference and then another little presentation on the last day before I headed to the airport. We’re going to discuss what we learned at that conference especially in the context of this week’s elections, when so many women across the country won Congressional seats at the federal level and other elected positions at the state level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re going to talk about what happens when you take a risk on someone—like a weird neighbor—and it pays off in a big way. How many times have you been a little reluctant to engage with a person who’s a little different, or who you’ve heard something bad about, and then you’ve done it anyway and you’ve been really glad that you did? That person ends up being an important part of your life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new inspiration for you from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Best Advice I Ever Heard. We made this book because we kept getting stories about how someone’s life was changed by a few wise words, from a friend or a family member, or even a stranger. We decided to ask the public to share that advice and the epiphanies they had. We asked everyone to send in the best advice they ever heard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with an exciting new topic for today’s podcast. It’s Friend Friday, and today I’m pleased to bring back my good friend Kelly Sullivan Walden, one of the world’s leading experts on dreams and premonitions, and just plain weird stuff that happens. We put 101 stories about all these things – dreams, premonitions, and weirdly fabulous coincidences in our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and the Unexplainable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and the Unexplainable. I am very excited about today’s podcast because I have two great stories for you about the power of your mind to find things that you thought were lost. One of the things that I’ve learned from our two Chicken Soup for the Soul books about dreams is how much knowledge we have in our brains that we just don’t access during our waking hours. But when we’re asleep… well that’s when the magic happens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, I'm Amy Newmark here today with two stories on the importance of knowing all your facts before you react. These stories come from our book "Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today we’re talking to Megan Murphy, who accidentally started a huge movement that has spread across the whole country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. And today we’re talking about the joy of giving—and learning to ask for help—and Canadians, who are famous for being nice. They are so famous for being nice that we compiled 101 stories about Canadian Acts of Kindness into a new book and we’re donating a portion of the profits to United Way Centraide Canada. One of the themes that emerged in this book is that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, because people WANT to help, they’re just afraid to offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, followed closely by Hanukkah, and then Christmas. So here at Chicken Soup for the Soul we’re already focusing on all the great stories we have about the joy of giving, and the sense of community that emerges around the holidays. We had so many stories submitted for our newest holiday book that were about neighbors getting together to help each other, or even perfect strangers reaching out to help each other! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. I’m back today with my friend Mike Dow, America’s go-to therapist. We’ve written a great new Chicken Soup for the Soul book that does something different. It takes Chicken Soup for the Soul stories and combines them with Dr. Mike’s easy to understand explanations of cognitive behavioral therapy so that you can actually act as your own therapist and solve some of your problems yourself! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you as we enter the holiday season. Today we’re going to talk about Thanksgiving and how you can get your gratitude on in time for all those get-togethers with family and friends. I read a study that said there are two keys to happiness: getting enough sleep and having gratitude—that is seeing the good in your life and being able to count your blessings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m going to talk about something that we can all use around Thanksgiving and Hanukkah and Christmas… and that is forgiveness. If you’re looking ahead to all those holiday get-togethers and wondering how you’re going to handle that sibling who you’re not getting along with, or that friend who’s been badmouthing you behind your back, today’s podcast is for you! Because I’m going to share two really wonderful stories about forgiveness, and people working everything out— just in time for the holidays. Both of today’s stories come from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Wonder of Christmas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to Julie Hornok, who is a regular writer for Chicken Soup for the Soul and also the mother of a teenager on the autism spectrum. Julie discovered her love for writing when her daughter, Lizzie, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. At that point, she jumped into researching and implementing a home-therapy program. This led to a video blog that Julie made to help other parents of kids on the autism spectrum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Here’s an interesting fact: Barnes & Noble said a couple of months ago that sales of books related to "finding happiness" had climbed 83 percent from a year ago. Well, today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from one of our bestselling books, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness. These stories will give you a couple of quick and easy ways to do just that—find your happiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today we’re going to talk about stress, because vacations are over and we’re back to work and school, and all that stress may be starting up again. We put out a great book called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Stress, and it really helped me put all the stressful things in my own life into perspective, so I want to share a couple of helpful stories from it with you today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday today on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. I met a really fascinating guy a few weeks ago when I was in Chicago, or as they say out there, when I was in the Chicagoland area. And today I want to introduce you to John Elliott, who wrote an amazing, perplexing story for our 2016 book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and Miracles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and the Unexplainable. You may know that we get thousands of submissions for each of our books, and there are only 101 slots, so it allows us to publish truly fabulous stories. We also are sometimes inundated with hundreds of stories on a particular subtopic, and in the case of our new book about dreams and the unexplainable, one of the subtopics that was super popular was love stories – stories about people finding their soul mates in some crazy ways, through a dream, through a premonition, or through a startling coincidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. I want to share a couple of stories from our newest bestselling dog and cat books today, stories that are particularly relevant because they’re about rescues – cats and dogs rescued after hurricanes and floods, who turn around and rescue their humans right back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. I’m back today with my friend Mike Dow, America’s go-to therapist. We’ve written a great new Chicken Soup for the Soul book that does something different. It takes Chicken Soup for the Soul stories and combines them with Dr. Mike’s easy to understand explanations of cognitive behavioral therapy so that you can actually act as your own therapist and solve some of your problems yourself! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m returning to one of my favorite topics—how your subconscious knows things about you that you’re just too busy to realize. It’s only while you’re sleeping that your subconscious can say, “Hey, I have something to tell you.” And it does that through your dreams. So I’m going to share two really cool stories with you, stories in which dreams revealed important truths to two of our writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some inspiration to help you conquer your fears—by exposing yourself to what you’re afraid of. Exposure therapy is a very effective form of behavioral therapy, and it’s one that you can do yourself, without even going to a therapist. Many of our writers seem to intuitively know how to do this for themselves, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you that show you how to do this yourself, no matter what it is that’s holding you back from fully enjoying your life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m excited to be talking with Dr. Mike Dow, who I like to call America’s go-to therapist. Mike and I have made a completely new kind of Chicken Soup for the Soul book together, one that combines Chicken Soup for the Soul stories with Mike’s easy-to-implement tips that show you how you can solve many of your problems yourself, without using a therapist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve been talking in recent weeks about how you can use the power of saying yes to change your life. There’s another great way you can make positive change, and that is to actually pay attention to your dreams—the ones you have while you’re asleep. Why? Because that’s when your subconscious, which actually knows A LOT about you, has your full attention, because you’re not distracted by all the things that are around you while you’re awake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m going to talk about a little word that has a big impact—to change your life for the better. I’m really passionate about this topic—the positive effect of saying YES to new things and the potential to change your life. Yes is a word that I’ve made a policy of saying, and It has re-energized my life and made me much happier. So today I’m going to share two stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes, to inspire YOU to make a policy of saying yes to new things, to adventure, and to positive change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to Paten Hughes, a talented actress and producer who has a wonderful new webseries that I really enjoyed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our latest book—Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes!—about a very common problem: fears and phobias that are holding you back from fully participating in life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today we’re going to talk about reinventing yourself – by saying yes to change and saying no to fear of that change. This is a theme we see a lot in the stories we get – people reinventing themselves – and it was a big part of our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your daily dose of Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration. It’s Friend Friday, and today I want to introduce you to Mary Shores, who has a new book out called Conscious Communications. Recognized as a leader of innovative thought, Mary has spent over a decade teaching businesses and individuals how to inspire others, create new ways of thinking, identify and achieve their goals, and take action to create truly meaningful results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Kind (of) America. One of the topics we’ve always been passionate about at Chicken Soup for the Soul is immigration and the energy and can-do attitude that immigrants bring to America when they join us here. So I want to share a couple of stories with you today about our new citizens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices