The Origin of The Original "Be" Attitudes

 

Origin of the Book.

The poster arrived first on the screen of my mind after a lazy afternoon of floating in an isolation tank. Yes, the kind you've seen in the cult-classic "Altered States" with William Hurt. I had recently been challenged to state my most burning question in 30 words or less and what I came up with is...

"How do you spark the imagination of the peoples of this planet
to believe in the best of possible worlds;
in a world where hunger is no more,
all people are crew members on spaceship planet earth - no passengers,
all people are considered brothers and sisters of the same family,
and that God is considered our heavenly and divine set of parents;
both a Father God and a Mother God?"

In the early Nineteen Eighties, I managed the local floatation tank rental facility. Over the course of several years everyone and their cousin was approaching us with programs for people to listen to in that environment. Programs such as Neuro Linguistic Programming, Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Super Learning via Georgi Lozanov, Psycho Cybernetics and many others. Sounds like the race to create Artificial Intelligence doesn't it? Anyway, it just so happened that Haley's comet was scheduled to arrive and I wondered... "if it could bring a message to the peoples of our planet this time 'round, what would it be?" This is when the poster burned into my mind with all the attitudes emblazoned like stars on the screen of my mind. I knew that what I was looking at would be the form that would most appeal to people around me regarding things to think about if you could control what you were thinking about. Of course we ARE in control of our thinking... that's OUR prerogative.

Then, in 1990 I started to compile what I thought would be the worlds first Positive Attitude Dictionary based on words found in the English Language. I found an agent who secured a contract with Perigee Putnam.

When I went to New York to have lunch with my editor, I asked her why she had chosen my book to be printed and she replied, "Hunch!" She had a feeling there was something to this book. There was something about it she couldn't put her finger on. And, she was right. The poster is now all over the world in some of the finest offices and churches and other establishments... I know of one being personally delivered to the home of World Renown Anthony Robbins, Speaker Motivator. There are two teachers with copies at the National Academy for Scholastic Excellence in Washington D.C. and a local police officer for the Metropolitan Denver Police Force is using the books and poster in his student anti-gang classes.

Well, after having sold out of 20,000 copies in the first three quarters, Perigee Putnam chose not to reprint. Why? Beats me. My agent was totally baffled as well. For one thing, after the book was well on it's way to print the editor had decided to change careers (after 13 years) and do what she finally wanted to do... New Product Packaging! I was left without an agent and the publisher soon followed. Putnam "dropped the ball."

In 1998 I found another publisher, Great Quotations, Chicago, Ill, who chose to publish the book. So, the books are still available. But, since the publisher at Great Quotations quickly breached the contract I had with him, he is no longer permited to print or publish the book and so there are less than 500 copies of this small blue book left for purchase at this time. May 5, 2005.

The Third Edition is NOW AVAILABLE at

WWW.TheDailyAttitude.com