By Annette Cole Mastron,
Communications Director for Southern
Writers Magazine
Are you “jingle belling,”
yet? Do you feel the spirit of the holidays, yet? Have you had the taste of a delightful cup of peppermint
mocha, yet? How about a candy cane, which evokes the scent and taste of the season? Come
on, change that frown of the Grinch into the season of giving, kindness and smiles.
I travel with a basket of fresh
(not the ones from last Christmas) candy canes in my car and pass them out to
those I come in contact with throughout my day. It makes me feel good to give a
candy cane to those who I work with, bring groceries to the car, drive-up Target orders, dry cleaners, etc. The candy cane
recipients leave with a smile and a shout of “Happy Holidays.” A win-win for
sure and it feels good in your soul.
The many lessons of
kindness learned from Mr. Rodgers are numerous. What am I talking about? Humble
Fred Rodgers impacted a change on the youth of America and the world through
his “little” underfunded PBS children’s show, “Mister Rodgers’ Neighborhood.”
Fast forward to December, 2019. The release of the new Tom Hanks movie, "A
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” highlights the positive influence Mr. Rogers
had on people, both young and small, even now. According to a CNN article Tom
Hanks just learned through a DNA kit, he was actually related to the character
he portrays in the movie, Mr. Rogers. “Fred Rogers and Tom Hanks are sixth
cousins.” How cool is that to know as you watch the movie.
One of my favorite Mr.
Rodgers quotes is, “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first
way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be
kind.” Kindness to your fellow writers definitely will fuel your own
personal writing success.
In my job with Southern
Writers Magazine, I’m on the email list of a number of publishing houses. One
of those is Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Anyone can sign up to
receive their offers which include some free book downloads. Here is where you can sign up to get your own email from LPC. In their email yesterday
it started by saying “Help our authors BE the Light! Forward this email to one
friend and post your reviews on Amazon & Goodreads.” A simple request.
Anyone has the power to show kindness to others. Merely, forwarding one email to
one person, sharing an authors information and leaving positive reviews, will
help fuel your own success especially if you sign your name and list your book
title after your name. In doing so, this is your way to give a virtual candy
cane to a fellow author.
Enjoy the Holidays by
passing out many virtual candy canes and real ones, too. Kindness makes you
feel great!
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