Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and it’s Friend Friday, which means I’m chatting with someone interesting from the Chicken Soup for the Soul world. Today I’d like you to meet Ashonti Ford, who wrote an inspirational story for our latest book about 101 Ways to Think Positive. Ashonti graduated from San Francisco State with a degree in Broadcast Communications, took an unpaid internship at a TV station far, far away, and is now an award-winning journalist who appears on over 100 different television news stations every morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about positive thinking because after all, it’s the new year and it’s time for some new perspective. Our new book about 101 ways to think positive will give you lots of great ideas for adopting a new attitude, a new more optimistic approach to the ups and downs of life—and how about this?—motivation to reach out and make new friends, and be open to even the most unlikely people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. II don’t know about you but I still feel like it’s New Year’s because I’m still making resolutions. When I think about it, I’m actually making resolutions all year as I try to develop better habits. And one of those habits is to try to remember the good every day and not just focus on what happens to be going wrong at any given time. Making a habit of focusing on good things is a common self-help theme that we see in our stories… because it really works. And that’s what I’m going to talk about today, with two stories from our new book about 101 ways to think positive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this month we’re talking about resolutions, and not always the traditional ones like dieting and exercising. There are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about positive thinking because after all, it’s the new year and it’s time for some new perspective. Our book about 101 ways to think positive will give you lots of great ideas for adopting a new attitude, a new more optimistic approach to the ups and downs of life—and how about this?—motivation to reach out and make new connections. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I should be working on making new friends and expanding our social circle or at least remembering to keep up with existing friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. This is the time of year when we are already re-examining our New Year’s resolutions and deciding which ones are actually do-able. I want to share one today that is an all-year resolution for me and my husband, and that is to face our fears and have more fun as a result. We are constantly fighting off that tendency to NOT do something new, usually for some dumb reason like we don’t know where to park there. But we’ve gotten way better about doing new things, eating new things, going to new places, having new experiences. So when you’re thinking about your New Year’s resolutions, you might want to add one about facing your fears or insecurities. And that’s what I’m going to talk about today, with two stories from our new book about 101 ways to think positive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about positive thinking because after all, it’s the new year and it’s time for some new perspective. Our new book about 101 ways to think positive will give you lots of great ideas for adopting a new attitude, a new more optimistic approach to the ups and downs of life—plus it just happens to be very fun read. There are so many ways that our writers found their path to a happier life and there stories about how they got there are pretty entertaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s that time when all those New Year’s resolutions start looking a little less do-able than they did on January first. I’ve learned to be more reasonable and go for incremental changes in my habits. And one kind of resolution that I love is the resolution that you can do inside your mind, one that can work instantly… with no sweating or hunger pangs. So while you’re improving your fitness or organizing your home, you can also do something that will make an immediate difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about positive thinking because after all, it’s the new year and it’s time for some new perspective. Our new book about 101 ways to think positive will give you lots of great ideas for adopting a new attitude, a new more optimistic approach to the ups and downs of life—plus it just happens to be very fun read. There are so many ways that our writers found their path to a happier life and these stories about how they got there are pretty entertaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s time for all those New Year’s resolutions and besides the obvious ones that most of us have every year – eat less and exercise more – I like to throw a couple of painless ones into the mix--resolutions that you can do inside your mind, ones that can work instantly--with no sweating or starving. And what we find is that positive thinking is one of those new things you can do right away, and a resolution that will make an immediate difference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. And today we’re going to talk about the power of saying yes to new things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this month we’re talking about resolutions, and not always the traditional ones like dieting and exercising. There are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we’re talking about the holidays, with two stories from our new bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Christmas. These stories are about Christmas AND Hanukkah, and how plenty of people manage to celebrate both every year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Christmas is just about here, but I know I’m already looking forward to what’s coming in the new year as well. We ended our holiday book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tales of Christmas, with a few New Year’s stories and I’m going to share a couple of them with you today, about traditions you might want to start for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today’s episode is all about naughty and nice as we head into the final days before Christmas. I’ve got two very funny stories to share today, one about a grandma ingesting stuffing made with a very special herb that was supposed to be just for the twenty-somethings at their family dinner, and one about taking a Christmas card photo in a very unauthorized location. Let’s start with that one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. I don’t know about you, but I have to say that some of my favorite holiday stories are about the various disasters that have befallen our family events—whether it was a totally raw turkey, or a power failure on Christmas Eve, or an easy to assemble gift that was anything but. Then of course there’s the golden retriever eating all the dessert while everyone’s in another room, or the natural tree that came complete with natural bugs, or the gift forgotten in the back of a closet. Or the time that I wrote “Mom” on the gift list for my children, then shared it with my mother-in-law and she thought “Mom” was her, not my mother, so the kids got two of everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. You know, Christmas is often a time of reflection and a time for remembering the family members who are no longer with us, and that’s hard. But there are so many amazing memories of those people as well, and we carry those with us into our holiday celebrations. My mother died a few days after Christmas seven years ago, so the last time I saw her before she was hospitalized was at my Christmas Eve party. She had such a good time that she and my father were the last to leave. Every other year they had been the first to leave, so I think that somehow, subconsciously, she knew it was her last Christmas. And now I share all her Christmas gifts with my grown children, mostly the excessive number of Christmas ornaments that she loved to give me each year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we’re talking about Christmas. Now, there are times when you’re not expecting the holidays to be as good as they usually are. Maybe you’re home sick, or your family members aren’t available because they’re with in-laws or traveling, or it’s a tough year financially… Well, I know I’ve been through those less than stellar Christmases once in a while. But there are ways to turn things around. And that’s what we’re going to hear about today in two stories from our Magic of Christmas Coloring Book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we’re talking about Christmas. Now you may think it’s all gotten too commercial and it’s all about getting gifts, but that’s not what see at Chicken Soup for the Soul. We see a focus on families getting together, and people enjoying the giving way more than the receiving, and people looking out for others in their communities. And that extends all the way down to the kids, who demonstrate all the attributes you’d want to see as far as generosity and compassion are concerned. So today I’m going to share a couple of stories about the natural generosity of kids at Christmastime, from our brand-new coloring book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Christmas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about miracles, the ones that seem to abound during the holiday season. We get so many stories about miracles and other unexplained but very cool things like coincidences and answered prayers, and we included a whole chapter of them in our new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tales of Christmas. And what could be better than a miracle involving a puppy that was supposed to die on Christmas Eve but ended up thriving? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about the holidays and those special, traditional dishes that families have every year. I know they’re tradition, but has anyone ever asked if anyone actually likes them? It turns out that sometimes people have been polite—for decades—and no one has ever said anything. I know that happened in my family. We had an Italian grandmother who made these awful, dry, weird cookies that we all hated. But Grandamama made them every year, and every year, after she went to bed, we would hide them in the trash compactor. The next morning she would see they were all gone, and of course she would make them again the next year because we all seemed to love them so much. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and the race is on. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah or something else this month, you’re probably working on your gift list. So today I want to share two stories about wonderful gifts that required a lot of imagination and not a lot of money. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re talking about how to make the perfect Christmas—by accepting imperfection and learning how to enjoy the holidays instead of stressing over every little detail. I’ve always loved that quote about how it matters more who is sitting AROUND the table than what is ON the table, and that applies to all the different aspects of the holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re talking about forgiveness, which I believe is essential to being happy. If you’re carrying around all those resentments and disappointments and anger it can be quite a heavy load. One of the ways to free yourself is to make sure that you understand all the facts before you get angry, and I’m going to share two stories about that from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Forgiveness Fix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with today’s Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration from our bestselling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive, Live Happy. If you’re like me you like being in control, but today I’m going to share a couple of stories about how sometimes giving up control and accepting a different perspective can vastly improve your life. And by the way these stories are from real Type-A people! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about Christmas gifts and spouses and all the kinds of things that can go wrong when a spouse tries really really hard to finally pick out the best Christmas gift ever. I know I’ve had some epic fails myself when trying to find a great gift for my husband. I remember one year I went to the dentist and while I was under the influence of gas I told the dental tech that I had just figured out my whole Christmas shopping list and I made her write it down as I dictated it. And that’s why my new husband got a crystal pair of swans… because they mate for life and I thought it was a very romantic gift… and somehow even when the effect of the gas wore off I didn’t come to my senses. He was not impressed and I think we were both relieved when his housecleaner broke the swans and we had to throw them away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So have you ever been in a line waiting for a store to open its doors for Black Friday? Well Phil Baisley was, and he said that Christmas came early for him that year because everyone in the line banded together while they were waiting, sharing advice, coats, and good cheer. And we have another story for today, from Allison Lynn Flemming, about how a community came together at a church to put on a huge outdoor show, where you could walk from one stage to the next, watching the actors portray scenes from the nativity. It was such a cool idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of fun Christmas stories for you—about The Tree, which of course is a big focus for most of us in December. I never make a big deal out of getting a perfect tree when I’m picking one out at the garden store, because I don’t really mind if it has one bad side that I have to face into the wall. But I do gaze at it a lot at home once it’s decorated. Every year we seem to compliment ourselves on how the tree is particularly nice this year even if I bought a quite obviously flawed one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time for Christmas. I know Christmas is still a couple of months off, but in the meantime we have Thanksgiving, and that usually means turkey, and that often means turkey disasters. So if you’ve ever had a turkey disaster of your own, or you fear that one is coming down the road for you, I have stories for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share two stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. Today’s stories are about miraculous saves, those times when someone or something came to the aid of a person in a way that just can’t be explained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time for Christmas. So I know it’s early to be talking about Christmas, but this book is out now because that’s when the retailers want to see Christmas books hit the shelves. The good thing is that we always put lots of Thanksgiving stories in our holiday books, so they start feeling relevant right away. And today, since it’s only October, we’re going to talk about GETTING READY for Thanksgiving, and how to get your gratitude tuned up for the upcoming holiday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of fun Thanksgiving stories for you as we head toward the winter holiday season. We have a new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tales of Christmas, that has lots of Thanksgiving stories in it, plus a few about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and then of course the vast majority about Christmas. But I was struck by how many great stories we got about Thanksgiving this year, way more than usual. Thanksgiving is traditionally a family event, but it does lend itself even more than Christmas does to inviting non-family members. And that’s what we’re talking about today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today I want to talk about a couple of very cool stories from our latest book about miracles. In one story, a woman prays for her drinking problem to disappear and through a very strange circumstance she is cured. And in another, a 9/11 wish comes true from across the Atlantic Ocean. I love sharing these stories, and the other 99 in our new book, because they just go to show that miracles are happening around us all the time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. I know things have improved but it still seems like women have to be better than men to get the same credit. And our bonuses, or appreciation for our work, don’t seem equal either. We’ve made progress but there’s more to be accomplished. Today I’m going to share with you a piece I wrote for a publication on Medium called The Narrative Arc. It’s called Men Devalued My Work on Wall Street Over and Over Again and you need to listen to the very end to hear the punch line of this story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. Miracles, divine intervention, amazing coincidences—these unexplainable, unexpected surprises really wow us when we read about them at Chicken Soup for the Soul, so we always have a great time making one of these collections. And today I’m going to share two stories about messages from heaven that I’m pretty sure will amaze you, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. You don’t have to be religious to be amazed by these stories. They’re just about awe-inspiring things that happened to our writers, stories that will wow you. Today we’re going to talk about miracles that happen on the way out, when someone you love is dying or has just died. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. These true stories of angels and miracles will strengthen your faith and remind you that good things do happen to good people! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today I want to talk about premonitions and dreams and how sometimes people have the weirdest ability to sense that something is going to happen, whether it’s a sense of foreboding or a vision or a dream. I never believed that this stuff mattered until I spent all these years reading our stories and seeing this stuff in action. So today I’m sharing two stories with you, one about a father having a premonition that may very well have saved his daughter’s life, and the other about a woman who had a whole conversation with her boyfriend in her bedroom the night that he died, not realizing that he was actually still thousands of miles away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called The Narrative Arc, and it’s called Grumpy Stranger? Angry Colleague? Don’t Take It Personally! It’s not about you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m going to share a couple of very cool stories from our new book about miracles and messages from heaven and ANGELS. Everyone loves angel stories because they are so hard to explain and yet so many people experience them. Whether you believe that there really are guardian angels out there protecting us or not, you’ve probably had an unexplained experience or two yourself, a time when someone, somehow seemed to be making sure you were all right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Today we’re going to talk about overcoming shyness, which is something we get a lot of stories about. I think we’ve all had those shy moments in our lives, and for some people it can be overwhelming. The good news is that you can step outside your comfort zone and practice acting less shy, and then before you know it you are not that shy person anymore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone, stories about why you should step out of your comfort zone and reach out and connect with people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from my new favorite book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Whether it’s something little—like trying a new food—or something big—like flying to a faraway country—we feel empowered, energized and proud when we do something that challenges us. That’s why we feel it’s so important to make a policy of saying yes to new experiences, new places, and new people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called The Narrative Arc, and it’s called Me versus the Male Directors of a Private Club and it talks about what I had to do to be able to play tennis on Saturday mornings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. We are having so much fun with our latest book about miracles--because the stories are so surprising, and they are for EVERYONE, not just people who are religious. We have the most amazing coincidences in this book and I love sharing them on the podcast, so today I’m going to do it again, starting with a story from one of our regular writers, Tara Flowers, about the miraculous things that happened to her at a funeral that she didn’t want to attend for someone she didn’t know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today I’m sharing a couple of stories about really cool coincidences from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, Angels & Messages from Heaven. I’m not a religious person but I love making these books because so many of the stories we get are truly miraculous, no matter what your beliefs, and they just go to show that wonderful things can happen when we least expect them. Like the first story in the book – and by the way I always put one of my absolute favorites first in every book. This story by Christy Hoss is about a place that is already miraculous, and that’s Disneyland, but what happened to Christy’s family was particularly inspiring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices