Start Where You Are

"Start Where You Are" is the title of the latest book by Chris Gardner (in collaboration with Mim Eichler Rivas - which most likely means the latter penned the book as told to by Mr. Gardner, but that's not the point of this post), who is also the author of "The Pursuit of HappYness" that was made into the inspiring rags to riches movie of the same title, starring Will Smith. Whew, long sentence and not quite my style.

Anyhow, "Start Where You Are" is an inspirational book about taking the BS out of life, flushing lame excuses down the toilet and simply rolling up our sleeves and getting on with it. 

Gardner does not tell us that by thinking positive thoughts and by visualizing that our bills are checks in the mail, we will in fact receive checks for thousands of dollars just because! He states that if you don't actually DO something to get wherever the heck it is you want to get to, NOTHING will happen, which is the truth. Big surprise, huh? 

While I started reading the book because I could relate to some of the hardships that caught my eye as I flipped through it, I continued because I could NOT relate to many of the really hard and out-there experiences that hopefully my kids and I never have to live through. If people who have been raised to think that regularly looking into the barrel of a shotgun is normal can make a difference and do it in style, so can I!

No magical thinking, just plain old common sense and passion drive "Start Where You Are" but let us not forget that common sense is, unfortunately, the least common of the senses. Gardner seems to have plenty of it. 

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