Book #1

I've started it. The book project. One of the first things Will and I did together in NYC was to get our library card, and that very night I spent some time familiarizing myself with the NYCLibrary website and "putting on hold" (reserving) about 10 of the books you all recommended to me.

Katie Couric's The Best Advice I Ever Got was the first one to come in. I thought it was pretty fitting, not only because I love advice and things like commencement speeches, but also because this one was added to my list by my sweet mama. If you are going to start somewhere, start with Mama :-).

It was perfect for my subway rides to and from my tutoring sessions on the Upper West Side. Read a few inspiring essays from accomplished people, try to light a fire under sweet James, and then read a few more on the way home to Will's bedtime and dinner with my love.

This book is just what the title suggests: a bunch of advice. But no matter how old I get or how often I hear these nuggets of wisdom, I find myself soothed, encouraged, and grateful.

Of course the best part of this collection is the individual stories that accompany the general pieces of advice, but here are some of my favorite reflections:

You are surely afraid: of leaving what you know, of seeking what you want, of taking the wrong path, of failing the right one. But you can't allow any of that to warp your life. You must have the strength to say no to the wrong things and to embrace the right ones, even if you are the only one who seems to know the difference, even if you find the difference hard to calculate.

~Anna Quindlen

For 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience. And on January 15th, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a sudden, large withdrawal.

~Captain Chesley Sullenberger

I need to trust and have faith and believe that if I do things the right way good things will happen. What is meant to be will happen for me, and all I should concern myself with is the things I can control.

~Drew Brees

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

~Samuel Beckett

Think about what is valuable before thinking about what is profitable.

~Biz Stone

There are many kinds of currency in life, not just monetary.

~Dr. Phil

A friend told me that type-A people think they can figure out what to do next while they're doing something, but it never happens. She suggested I stop working and spend the next year figuring it out. How scary is that? One day I was baking a thousand baguettes and running a store with 40 employees, and the next day I had nothing to do. I have to admit, it was the hardest year of my life. But I know for sure that the next part of my career would never have happened without it. And this has been the happiest time of my life.

~Ina Garten (LOVE her)

Learn the trust the feeling of "not knowing." For most of us, most of the time, that is the truth.

~Hugh Jackman

Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.

~William Arthur Ward

Treat others as you would want to be treated. Yes, but also Treat yourself as well as you treat others.

~Gloria Steinem

Take at least twenty minutes every day to be still and quiet. Time to sit in complete silence. Think. Reflect. Dissect your thoughts and feelings. Relive any mistakes from the day before. Decide how to be smarter and tougher, how to be more committed and considerate of others and more sensitive and aware of your surroundings. Choose something you learned that will make you a better person. Choose to be happy and positive. Live like the blessed human you are. Define you. Be secure enough in yourself to base success on personal growth.

~Beyonce

Marry your conscience.

~Jay Leno

Right now my life is about responsibility and accountability nearly one hundred percent of the time. There isn't one moment of a single day that someone doesn't need something from me. I am, in a word, an adult.An adult with a very fortunate set of responsibilities that my years of perfectionism have equipped me to handle. Yet there are moments when I look back on my years at school and wish that I could make a raft of changes. I would make it messier. I would fail more. I would learn to pick myself up from embarrassment rather than becoming an expert at avoiding it, because "real life," I've discovered, is all about compromise, messiness, and, yes, failure. Real life is learning to lower your expectations while not getting completely blown off course. Real life is about showing your kids that abject failure is not the worst thing that happens, but sometimes the best.

~Julie Bowen

There is usually never one "correct" choice. Coming to understand that there are usually a few good choices--and then there's the one you pick, commit to, and make great--is the best way to make flexible, optimal, good decisions in life.

~Marissa Mayer (Google exec)

Life is a series of happy accidents.

~Jane Lynch

The definition of success changes throughout your life. Never try to be something that you're not. Live your life as an honest and compassionate person.

~Ellen DeGeneres

As much as we can, it's helpful to be in a place of gratitude. None of us is entitled to anything. We get what we get not because we want it or we deserve it or because it's unfair if we don't get it but because we earn it, we respect it, and only if we share it do we keep it.

~MIchael J. Fox

Giving makes me feel like I'm living.

~Morrie through Mitch Albom

Never stop learning.

Say yes.

Commit to something bigger than yourself.

Laugh.

Get over yourself.

Do something that will last and be beautiful.

Have faith, not fear.

Listen to your inner voice.