Valentine’s Day is behind us for another year, but I’m still smiling. Frank and I (Ginny) took our little granddaughters to lunch and gave them a heart shaped box of chocolates and a set of 8 Disney princess dolls. (I say “little” to distinguish these three from our other three granddaughters, who are in their twenties!)

Annabella (6) took a particular fancy to the Pocahontas doll. Her mother, as a child, had seen and loved the animated version of the Pocahontas story, and years later when she wrote a report on Pocahontas, was outraged when her research exposed a very different version of history than the film had portrayed.

As the girls ate their favorites, mac & cheese with a side of mashed potatoes & gravy, (as grandparents we don‘t concern ourselves with vegetables. That‘s their parents‘ job), Frank told the girls, “Your mother is a bit of an expert on Pocahontas.”

“Yes,” replied Annabella, “I believe Mommy actually met her.”

Children are delightful, which is why we recently jumped at the opportunity to take part in the Rotary Read-in. We were each assigned to a second grade class, and oh my gosh was it fun sharing a book with them. In fact I’m going to volunteer at the school to return regularly as a reader.

When I say, “I may not be very objective, but…” you’re probably expecting me to brag about the kids. Nope. I’m going to brag about my husband. I think he is brilliant. He has, for example, coined the phrase tangential reciprocity. (Yes, he loves big words.) It means that when you expend energy in one direction, the reward for your effort often comes back from a different direction entirely. 

He and I and our Modesto affiliate, James, are busy people, running our own businesses and promoting our book Charming Children. Our shoulders are ever to the wheel; however, there’s more to life than work and we’ve found that when you digress to enjoy a non-work-related event that benefits others, the reward often comes back to you through your business. You may take half a day off to read to kids, let’s say; after which your phone rings more than usual with clients wanting appointments and bookstores inviting you to give a presentation. Try it sometime, you may be surprised. On the other hand:

Frank recently heard someone at a meeting speak about success, saying in part that it’s okay to lie, you’re just telling stories. Hmmm… interesting theory.  It’s easy enough to slip into embellishment of facts and mark that off as a promotional tactic; but personally I’m not comfortable with it. My philosophy is that if the truth doesn’t “do it for you,” don’t misrepresent the truth -- take some action to create a new truth that does do it for you.

 Change of subject. I’m about to begin writing my fifth book. For now, that’s all I’m going to say, and here’s the reason why:  I hear soooo many people say, “I’m a writer, too” or “I’m writing a book,” (only to then hear, “Well, it’s still in my head”).  Fact is, the more you talk about writing, the less you tend to write, and words don’t always mean what they seem to mean. Marketers and self-promoters take advantage of this all the time. They embellish, play fast and loose with words to intentionally mislead others.

A letter that misled me years ago was not intentionally confusing. I simply read into it what I wanted to be true (a human trait). Children believe in Santa, assume their mother knew Pocahontas personally, and feel certain that mac & cheese with a side of potatoes & gravy make a balanced meal. Adults tend to believe promotional spin, or at least pretend to when what they’re really doing is waiting their own turn at it. This is why I don’t do networking. I don’t have the tolerance that Frank has, and he actually enjoys the sport.

I will and do, however, proudly promote our book Charming Children shamelessly! Everything about it is the truth, including testimonials and reviews. (Yes, some authors make those up, and some “experts” will sell a favorable comment for big bucks. A well known radio talk show personality, for example, would have raved about our book -- probably without even reading it -- for only a few thousand dollars.) That aside, we’re receiving wonderful validation from actual readers who have used the book, and I’m pleased to pass on praise from law student Malia Hinman, who recently gave us permission to quote her and her little boy – guaranteed to make you smile! Please click on:

www.CharmingChildren.blogspot.com

 It’s brand spankin’ new and it needs “likes” and Followers. Do it for all the kute kids who are being helped by parents using the techniques taught in our book. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy…. Oh wait. It might be allergies.

Also on the subject of promotion, if you’re on FaceBook please go to the Charming Children FB page and “like” it. Electronically challenged as I am, I don’t quite understand why this helps spread the word or how it works, but I’ve been advised to ask this favor, so ask it I have.

And by the way, thanks for reading this newsletter all the way to its... bottom...