Next Steps Extras

Next Steps: Tools for transforming from coping to thriving

Extras and links

ART!	Part Seven: Quotes

I commissioned two works of art for possible use as cover graphics. In the end I chose to go with a conventional photograph and text designed by Chip Borkenhagen of Riverplace Press.
I love these two creations, but covers sell books and I decided the more conventional graphic was the way to go.
These creations by Julie Guth and Christina Hegstad are perfect graphic representation of the concepts of Next Steps. They are included in the Kindle eBook and included here for those of you who listened to the audiobook.

"The Shape of Change"
Created By Julie Guth

"Gilded Scars of a Reconstructed Vessel"
Created by Christina Hegstad

"The vessel has been neglected, treated roughly, cracked and chipped. It has been carefully restored through kintsugi, the process of mending broken pottery with precious metals. The broken, discarded pottery has been renewed and is arguably more valuable than it was when it was in pristine condition. The colors around it are meant to resemble a burst of light that is a symbol of rebirth and the fires of the kiln."

The Kindle ebook has additional sections. For those of you who have the audiobook, these sections can be found here.

“He who made kittens made snakes in the grass.”
Jethro Tull lyrics

“Have you noticed that an angry man
Can only get so far
Until he reconciles the way he thinks things ought to be
With the way things are”
Don Henley, lyrics

“The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. The next best time is now.”
Chinese saying

“Nothing is as good as you hope or as bad as you fear.”
Unknown

“There is a solution to every problem.
Even if you can’t see it now, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”
Unknown

“We see the world not as it is, but as we are.”
Anais Nin

“Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the table with its worst horrors.”
Andrew Boyd

“Understand that you own nothing. Everything that surrounds you is temporary. Only the love in your heart will last forever.”
Unknown

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.”
Carl Jung

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Allen Saunders

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”
Kurt Vonnegut

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
John Lennon

“Love is the absence of judgment.”
Dalai Lama

“Let go or be dragged.”
Zen Proverb

“When we see we have nothing to prove or fix, we are left with quiet space we don’t have to fill. We can just be.”
Unknown

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
Carl Jung

“It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The problem is you think you have time.”
Unknown

“Don’t worry. Nothing is under control.”
Unknown

“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.”
Unknown

“There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own Soul. One does not become enlightened by imaging figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
Carl Jung

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
David Viscott

“This is what you should do:
Love the earth and sun and animals,
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants,
argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people...
reexamine all you have been told in school or church or in any book,
dismiss what insults your very soul,
and your flesh shall become a great poem.”
Walt Whitman

“I had been deceived. The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that there was something wrong with me.”
Glennon Doyle

Part 8: Links

Dan’s Recommended Reading List

The Road Less Traveled – M. Scott Peck
When I Say No I Feel Guilty – Manuel J. Smith
The Four Agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom – Don Miguel Ruiz
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
The Complete Idiots Guide to T’ai Chi and Chi Gung – Bill Douglas
Buddhism for Dummies – Jonathan Landaw

Next Steps: Tools for transforming from coping to thriving

ART!

Part Seven: Quotes

Part 8: Links

Easy Street Productions - Video and still photography, voice work and more