Gumbo for the Heart

Success

When you remember who you are and where you are from,

God allows you to run

And run and run.

—Dianne Andrews

When preparing for this book, my intentions were to interview quote “successful” people for this chapter. The Oxford Dictionary defines, “Success,” as an outcome of undertaking, accomplished of what was aimed for; attainment of wealth or position.

I was reaching for the stars when thinking of potential names for this chapter, i.e., Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Peyton Manning, Christina Applegate, Bobby Jindal and Bill Gates. All of these people have reached a level of public notoriety for different reasons—some politicians, some billionaires and some actresses. Do we equate fame and money, or just money or just fame with success?

Then I had an epiphany while reading the completed interviews of all the great people compiled in this book and how amazing their lives have been. They all represent the true meaning of success. You don’t need to be a millionaire, although some are. You don’t have to be a doctor, but again a few are. Many of these people were born into poor conditions—some without family support systems, some middle class, but no one was born into wealth. These are examples of people who turned lemons into lemonade. Some have been given much, some much has been taken from them, mentally and physically and still they rise and smile.

People are searching for positive change that can give them hope for the future. That is how a relatively unknown, first term U.S. Senator named Barack Obama became president of the United States of America in 2009. His platform was, “Change you can believe in.”

In this unpredictable world, filled with confusion and chaos on one end and endless possibilities on the other, many people are searching for their place, for their purpose. They are facing job layoffs, losing their homes, facing health problems, fighting world wars and many other horrific situations. These people are forced to change their status in the world. Most people, especially men, measure themselves and their success by their job titles and material wealth.

That is why I knew Gumbo for the Heart had to be written to assist people with realizing those endless possibilities of this world even today. My meaning for the word, “Gumbo” is a mixture of unique ingredients that ignite your heart and synergize your mind to reach your goals.

You must believe that you can become greater than you thought you could become. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote forty-six books, including the well known best seller, The Power of Positive Thinking decades ago, which has demonstrated that a change in a person’s attitude will change his or her life. And that takes a lot of heart. Keith Harrell makes seven figures yearly lecturing clients on attitude. One of his books, titled Attitude Is Everything, provides techniques to maintaining a positive attitude and shows how negativity affects you and your success.

In 1993, Jack Canfield, who was not a writer, but history major turned motivational speaker wrote “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” After one of his speeches, he jotted down the foundation for his first book showing people how to heal. It took three years and more than one hundred twenty-three rejections to find a publisher. Through many sleepless nights and never giving up, now “Chicken Soup” is one of the most successful titles in history. Eight million copies were sold the first year. Currently, there are one hundred fifty titles with more than one hundred twelve million copies sold in forty languages.