As someone who reads A LOT, I get head-to-toe excited when a really good book is in my hands. A great book makes a ho-hum day wonderful and a wonderful day extraordinary.
Every now and then, an author will produce a work that’s so inspired and so brilliant that I want to dance in the rain…. even before I open the book. That’s the way it was with Roger Emerson Fishman’s What I Know: Uncommon Wisdom and Universal Truths from 10-Year-Olds and 100-Year-Olds (See the books “trailer” below). Mr. Fishman covered 38,000 miles speaking with 10 year olds and 100 year olds. He wasn’t telling them what he knew, he was asking them what they knew.
Think of yourself as a dot on a line. The things behind you are already over, so always move forward down the line. – 10 year old
He then compiled their wonderful and insightful wisdom and created a beautiful little book that’s a total joy to read. I promise you, an evening spent curled up on the sofa with a cup of hot tea and this remarkable cast of 10-year-olds and 100-year-olds will leave you feeling warm from the top of your head to the tips of your toes – and it’ll have nothing to do with the tea.
What I Know is the type of book you’ll read, then return to again and again. It’s also the type of book you’ll want everyone in your life to read – so long as they promise to give it back!
“In life, the one thing you can control is your word.” – 100 year old
I wanted to highlight certain quotes along the way but soon realized that doing so would deface my beautiful little book and produce a phone-book wannabe with yellow pages galore. I would have highlighted just about every single word! I chose to simply write down my favorites in one of my quote-books. Don’t worry, the writer’s cramp will heal soon enough.
Dorothy Kennedy, The Lady in Pink – 100 years young
Amongst the wonderfully inspiring and motivating quotes, Roger Emerson Fishman has included several interviews with remarkable men and women. The advice is golden and you fall a little bit in love with each individual. These interviews include:
- Tan Shui Lee: A Green-Tea Trader tells his secret to living to 100.
- Bill Werber: Major League Baseball player on keeping your word.
- Ben Berke: Mr. Berke talks about reinventing yourself. Is it ever too late? He reinvented himself at the age of 72.
- Ruth Porskauer Smith: The activist talks about the importance of standing up for yourself.
- Dorothy Kennedy: The “Lady in Pink” teaches us how to create friends for life.
- And many more beautiful people!
“If you are thinking about having a baby, you better start now by collecting lots and lots of sleep.” – A 10 year old from Lexington Kentucky who I’m guessing has a baby brother or sister!
One of the things that warms my heart the most about this book (and honestly brings a tear to my eye) is the knowledge of how amazing it must make these 10 year-olds and 100-year-olds feel to be part of a book. They’re each authors! (It’s my fondest hope that this book becomes a Best Seller, making them each best-selling authors.) What’s more, Roger Emerson Fishman has given each of them the most beautiful gift in the world: The opportunity to touch other people. What a beautiful thing to do for anyone, but especially for someone who has lived to be 100 years old. Often their greatest wish is to feel useful and helpful – to share the incredible wisdom they have.
As for the 10 year olds – they finally have what children crave… to be listened to!
I believe that What I Know: Uncommon Wisdom and Universal Truths from 10-Year-Olds and 100-Year-Olds will teach all of us the greatest lesson of all: We all have something to say and are worth listening to, no matter what our age. Thank you, Mr. Fishman and thank you to your many inspirational, colorful new friends.
Get the book. Read the book. Love the book. You’ll never forget the book.
Useful Links:
The What I Know Blog
The What I Know Twitter
Meet the People
Amazon: What I Know: Uncommon Wisdom and Universal Truths from 10-Year-Olds and 100-Year-Olds
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