5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
5 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Say YES more

by Phnx
4 replies
One book that had a profound effect on me was "Yes Man" by Danny Wallace. It's not a self-help book, but it may as well be because there is an underlying message in it we should all pay attention to.

In a nutshell after his first book 'Join Me' (highly recommended, he accidentally starts a worldwide 'cult' - check out Join-Me.co.uk). I fell in love with humanity after reading that! So he's depressed as his girlfriend then dumped him. He was turning down offers to socialize and well, do anything. Stuck at home feeling sorry for himself. One day his mate offered some sage advice to getting out of the rut: just say yes more. In typical Danny style he started saying YES to everything, with hilarious results. He actually did win the equivalent of $50,000 on a scratch card, and ended up with a presenting job at the BBC!

Wallace epitomises for me the "become as a little child" and teaches us to view life from a different angle with joy and expectation. When we do, surprising things can happen.

While it wouldn't be wise to take it to the extremes Wallace did, just saying YES more may make a huge difference in your life. How will you know, unless you try?

A customer review from Amazon.com (there are more Americans on here so I'll use the .com one. However he's a Brit so you'll also find it on the UK Amazon - and probably other countries as well):

"I am a huge admirer of Danny Wallace! His unique way of handling the tribulations of modern life, and the impersonal world we live in is both challenging and hilarious. Wallace, like the great surrealists, tries to keep seeing the world from an new angle. He tries to keep the experience of like fresh and unjaded, and what's even better, he tries to be kind to people as he goes along on his unusual adventures. In this book, Danny is led to explore the possibility of a life of active positive thinking. In other words, he makes an agreement to say "yes" to any new experiences that come his way, and put aside his fear and trepidation about it. This journey brings him into a world of new experiences from which he learns and grows. Danny is both likeable and funny, and I really think his books can help us all to see the world a little bit differently...if we just try to be more open. I highly recommend this! "

Amazon.com: Yes Man: Danny Wallace: BooksAmazon.com: Yes Man: Danny Wallace: Books
  • Profile picture of the author DNAforAbundance
    That is hilarious... I can imagine what happens in his life, by saying YES to everything...

    I will check it out. Thanks for the advice
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[59275].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author David Campbell
      Consciously working to say "Yes" more to members of your immediate family also does wonders for their lives as well as yours. Kids especially seem to blossom with this. Just try to say "yes" when you can, when you might unthinkingly tend to say "no" or otherwise squelch what they're doing. Or to smile when you might otherwise not bother. It's real easy to squelch with tone of voice or with facial expression regardless of where the core of your heart is toward another person.

      Every now and then I'll walk into a room when one of the kids is doing something out of the ordinary - like pulling the cushions off the chairs and using them to build an imaginary playground, totally taking over the room and making it hard to get through. The child looks a bit guilty. Yeah, they're making a mess, but not really hurting anything. So I just make eye contact, smile, and maybe say something freeing like, "Hey, that looks like fun!" Or, "Go for it!"

      Saying "Yes" to the events and people around you is a bit like taking responsibility for the situation you have CHOSEN to be in. It's a bit like finding the joy in what IS rather than carping about what's around you or trying to change it to suit your own weird idea of what it ought to be but isn't.

      It's like accepting the whole package when someone gives you a birthday gift. You don't pick through it, keep the tiny bit you like, and give the rest back. It's all part of the gift. (And if there's something in the package you really can't say "Yes" to, well, you can say "Yes" to passing it on to someone who'll appreciate more than you do!)
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[69124].message }}

Trending Topics