Changing lives through stories

He was recently in India in connection with his book 'The Principles of Success'. CS caught up with him for a chat:

Initial inspiration
In 1991, it occurred to me to put a collection of some of my best stories in a book. That is how the first Chicken Soup book came into being. At the end of that book, we asked people to send in a good story if they had one, with the idea of creating a second Chicken Soup book. Well, we started receiving 50 stories a day and the series was born.

Divine providence
I asked God for a good title and it came to me in a meditation. I said what does Chicken Soup have to do with my book and God said, "When you were sick as a child your mother used to give you chicken soup." I said, "But this book isn't about people who are sick." And God said, "People's spirits are sick." That evolved into Chicken Soup for the Soul!

In high spirits
When I was a high-school teacher I learned that stories are the most powerful way to teach anything. Later I used those same stories to teach and inspire teachers. Motivational stories give people real practical strategies for producing the results that they want in life. There is no theory, only real strategies that are guaranteed to work in life.

On my bookshelf
I do not have a favourite writer as such but some of the books I am reading currently are The Meta Secret (Mel Gill), The Last Symbol (Dan Brown), Zero Limits (Joe Vitale) and The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho). I have a habit of dedicating at least 30 minutes every single day to books.
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