I have just finished writing my new book (out in the UK in July). I can’t
say too much about it at the moment, but it follows in the quirky footsteps
of The Luck Factor and Quirkology, with part of it looking at the scientific
basis for quick and effective ways to change your life.
So here is my idea – I thought that it would be fun to offer up a unique
opportunity to write the book’s dedication (the bit right at the start that
reads, for example, ‘This book dedicated to xx’).
If you are the chosen one, you will be free to write any dedication you
like! You might decide to dedicate it to yourself, your friends, a loved
one, a family member or pet.
All you have to do is email me at r.wiseman@herts.ac.uk with:
1) The single sentence that has proved most helpful in your life. It might
be something that a friend or family member has said to you, something you
have figured out yourself, or something you have read in a book or heard in
a film. Either way, send in the piece of life advice that you believe
everyone should know.
2) Your dedication
So, for example you might go with ‘Live every day as if it is your last’ and
‘To Eric’.
A panel of judges will then look at the ‘life advice’ sentences, and choose
the best one. The winner will then get their dedication printed in the
book.
The rules are
http://www.richardwiseman.com/rules.html
Have fun, and I look forward to hearing from you!
Best wishes
Richard
My two favourite nuggets of wisdom are “your true friends are the ones who when you’ve made a total arse of yourself don’t think you’ve made a permanent job of it”, given to me by an Italian vet I once knew. Also “Keep like objects with like objects” an amazingly simple but effective instruction to help me tidy my chaotic surroundings.
I could go on, but I think I keep the self-help book industry afloat all by myself… perhaps I should start actually applying the advice I find in them?
For a moment I though that Coops has written a book and I was like “wow, what the hell?” I would have to chance my description about him if that would been the case, because now for some reason writing books doesn’t fit in the picture I have about him
(Or her… If Phillis is a lady how can we be sure about Coops either…)
I wonder how many entries they will get that are lines from Desiderata?
I’d say
“Ni Haine… Ni oubli”
Dedicated to no one
If I cared to bother over about myopic over-analysis.
Más maith leat siocháin, cairdeas, agus moladh, éist, feic, agus fan balbh.
(If you wish for peace, friendship, and praise, listen, look, and stay mute.)
Mine is:
‘If you really want to love your life, don’t expect it to make sense.’
It’s one of the best pieces of advice for me. I am not a ‘true’ fan of self-help or self-improvement. I reckon that there is nothing wrong with us, and it is the idea that we need to change that gets in our way, not our ‘problems’.
That’s why I am never going to look for anybody else for ‘help’ other than the 2 people I learn from right now. They are the only people who really understand that ‘fake it until you make it’ never works and that lying to yourself is the worst way to know and love yourself.
So if we don’t expect the world to make sense, we don’t expect disappointment… and we have nothing to fix about ourselves or our lives. That is something I’ll never forget.
I also had my dedication say: ‘Anybody who just wanted to be happy’.
And.. erm … hoeveel schuift het? Meaning, does it pay well??? I mean,just giving away my best shot .. for free????? You’re asking quite a lot, chap.
I’ll ponder upon your request and will let you know in due time …
Wiseman …. wise man … hm …
‘Never let the best be the enemy of the good’
Because it’s good advice, plus as an added bonus it makes you look like the sort of towering perfectionist genius who would have produced 4 or 5 Booker Prize-winning novels already if it weren’t that you were constantly striving for something better.
Can I just say, I am LOVING the Richard Wiseman posts- I think the guy is brilliant- been a fan long before I was a fan of Derrens.
…Someone I’ve heard of added an interesting post today on Derren Brown Blog Blog …blah blah blah… grain free no artificial natural balance. Natural Balance Ultra Premium Cat Canned Food comes in 6 oz. Natural Balance Ultra Premium Canned Cat Food Turkey & Giblets Formula…
Damn Spam bots!!!! (Phillis)
@ former post
That’s not funny or wise..man
essen – I see you’ve read ‘the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people’ too.
In spite of being a practical book with many good bits of advice in it, unfortunately I didn’t become an effective person just by reading it. As I say reading it is one thing, applying the information is another. I’m just as useless as I was when I bought it. (it’s still one of the best self-help books I’ve read though!)
Flapjack – actually I did hear that from one of my tutors at college, before I read 7 Habits… which is unintentionally hilarious, like most ‘self-help’ books.
Are you reading it the right way? Lie on your back with the book open on your face and absorb the information. This is how Derren reads things, so it must work.
Essen – Ah, maybe that’s where I was going wrong… I assumed tearing out the relevant pages and eating them would help me digest the information
Flapjack: someone once told me that some chapters of books go really well with chocolate spread. Give it a try.
SGC – are you refering to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” the interactive edition? Why stop at chocolate spread? there must be many books that work better with the right garnish… What about “Silence of the Lambs” with a liver and Chianti sauce?
Actually I was referring to you advising me to try chapter 3 of Tricks of the Mind with chocolate spread. I read it instead. I’m really sorry. However, I am now stuck on imaging books that need flavours. Huh. I want to cover every Stephen King book ever written with a ton of ketchup.
SGC – see I’m that insane I forget things like recommending Ch.3 of “Tricks of the mind” with chocolate spread. In any case I meant to say Chapter 4.
But ketchup for Stephen King works fine, or if it’s ‘the Shining’, you could marinade all the pages in a glass of REDRUM!
I’m also thinking just how many flavours you could pack into a reprint of “Animal Farm”, pork, chicken, beef, and that classic French favourite- horse!
How would you flavour “Make Room! Make Room!”, which the Soylent Green movie was based on? Would “Brave New World” be soma flavoured, and if so, would it have any of the effects in the book? “Charlotte’s Web” is probably the safer option. Unless someone decides to make it taste of spiders.
Fancy some pea soup? Just go grab a copy of “The Exorcist.” This idea could catch on.
I am incapable of typing today.
Until I failed hard, I was going to ask how you would flavour “Make Room, Make Room,” which Soylent Green was based on. And what about “Brave New World?” Has to be soma-flavoured, but what about the effects?
I just thought. Would “Clockwork Orange” taste like oranges, milk or violence?
1) Single sentence that proved most helpful in my life:
My father told me this (might be a quote, I’m not sure) just before cancer took him 2 years ago (feels like yesterday):
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have”
2) My dedication:
“To those who put limits on their ability, and to those of us who seen none.”
Thanks for the opportunity. I’m looking forward to reading your book.
SGC -”make room, make room” would naturally be people flavoured, but it would have to taste like processed people. According to those in the know, the meat taste that comes closest to human meat is pork. Don’t ask me how they found this out. From there on in, you need processed pork products as a rough approximation. Maybe spam coloured green! As for ‘Clockwork Orange’, Miloko is the obvious one… but don’t ask me where you’d get the drugs to put in the milk. It would probably have to be powdered milk if it’s in a book, otherwise it would go off in the bookstore!
OK, have got my entry in. Will be fascinating to see what he chooses as the best life advice.
Flapjack: am feeling slightly ill after reading that last comment of yours.
Katherine – Maybe you’re right, food and books don’t mix. That’s why they have a sectioned off cafe area in bookshops and don’t stick slices of Spam between the pages!
I always ask “what would Derren do?” dedicated to Wiki