Author: Dan Zadra

If your ideas are worth having, they are worth recording.

Every day hundreds of hunches, intuitions, inklings, premonitions and fleeting ideas fly thru your consciousness. Some hold the seeds of pure brilliance. Write them down. Use a pencil, or a sharpie, or a white board or a laptop, or the back of your business card, but don’t let them get away—write them down.

If you do, you’ll be in great company. Einstein, Agatha Christie, Lewis Carol, John Lennon, Leonardo Da Vinci, Steve Jobs—so many gifted thinkers, inventors, artists and product developers have all been avid note-takers, doodlers or journalers.

Note-taking and doodling are both forms of visual thinking. The simple act of drawing spontaneous, free-flowing shapes, squiggles and words jump-starts the right side of your brain, sparking creativity and unlocking the door to new possibilities. Continue reading →

If you wonder if angels are real, just walk the corridors of any hospital or hospice facility at Christmas, and you’ll become a believer.

I am on my way today to spend some time at Seattle Children’s Hospital, a place where beautiful baldheaded children sing Christmas carols, and random miracles seem to happen almost every day. I am bringing gifts for the angels: the Doctors, nurses and caregivers who care for these brave little kids, and who fill the hospital corridors with spirit, hope and courage all year long.

No one goes through life without being touched by the angels. We all have caregiver memories and stories:

Someone soothed your father’s fears in Intensive Care, or held your daughter’s hand when she chipped her tooth.

Someone brought your baby into the world, or massaged your back,or saved your life.

Someone wheeled your mom outside the hospital for some sun, or fixed her broken stitch, or mended her broken heart.

Someone sat with your family, broke the news, and led a prayer. Or made you laugh when you thought you would cry; or gave you hope when you thought you would die.

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One of Oprah’s “Behind the Scenes” videos shows her rising at her customary time of 5:55 a.m. The morning sun is just peeking over the horizon.

Still in her pajamas, Oprah walks downstairs to the kitchen and scoops out a nice little snack for her dog. From there, she heads for a quiet alcove in her living room. This cozy little place is where she goes to start each day.

The camera pans the alcove. There are three candles on a wooden table, along with a few of Oprah’s favorite books of inspiration. Suddenly the camera zooms in on one. It’s an old familiar friend of mine—a bright yellow quote book called Love Life that I compiled several years ago.

What a fun and welcome surprise for me—to think of Oprah curled up on the couch in her PJ’s, starting the day with one of my books.

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We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.

 A Zen story tells of a prosperous man who awoke on his birthday with a mission in mind. With tears in his eyes and love in his heart he informed his wife: “I must travel back down the road of life to thank those who have helped me along the way.”

“Don’t go,” his wife said softly.

“But why?” he asked.

“There are so many,” she replied. “You will never return.” Continue reading →

Life-changing advice from a six-year-old girl.

Twenty three years ago I was sitting at my kitchen table, hard at work. I was compiling a book of quotations from some of the world’s most inspiring women. Rosie, my six-year-old daughter, was sitting quietly on the other side of the table, scribbling with crayons.

“What are you up to?” I asked her.

“I’m writing quotes for your book,” she answered. “Here’s one.” And she handed me a scrap of notebook paper. On it, she had carefully printed in green block letters this thought: If you love someone, hurry up and show it.

I didn’t say anything for a moment, I was letting her quote sink in. I liked it. It was just nine little words from the heart of a child, but I remember thinking, “Geez—what a world this would be if all of us actually lived by those words.”

Six months later the quote book rolled off the presses. We decided to call it Brilliance, and there on page 93, nestled among the great quotations from Emily Dickinson, Margaret Mead, Maya Angelou and others was that beautiful reminder from Rose Zadra, age 6: If you love someone, hurry up and show it.

Over the next 20 years, the Brilliance book was reprinted nine times, and Rosie’s quote took on a life of its own. The Nordstrom Company included her quote in a line of inspiring bookmarks by famous women. The Salvation Army used her quote as the core message in one of their most successful fundraising campaigns ever. Today, 23 years later, I still see that quote circulated on blogs, Facebook and Pintrest.

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