I'm going to the annual conference for Recreational Therapists!

Recreational therapists from across the United States and Canada will be meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the annual American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) conference. It is from Oct. 3rd to Oct. 6th. I’ve not been to an annual conference since 2004 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Updates about the conference will be posted at this blog. I’ll do my best to post some pictures and blog entries each night. I can’t promise anything yet because I know I’ll be very busy.

Here’s a list of the sessions that I’m going to be attending:

Sat. Oct. 3rd
- Education, Economics, and Employment in Recreational Therapy
- Heart-Rate Variability (HRV)
- The Opening Session, which I’ll present the Peg Connolly Student Scholarship Winners!

Sun. Oct. 4th
- General Session with Missy Armstrong
- Pediatrics Network
- ATRA: Standards of Practice for Recreational Therapy
- 25th Celebration of ATRA 1984-2009!


Mon. Oct. 5th
- Professionalism in Recreational Therapy
- Coverage of Recreational Therapy Services
- Working Lunch
- Advocacy 101 [Of course you know I’m all about promoting recreational therapy!]
- NCTRC Recertification requirements [Of course I need to keep up to date on this since I provide continuing education opportunities for recreational therapists]

I’m going to visit the Mall of America after training sessions! I’m going to get my father and almost step-niece who both share a birthday on October 11th. I’m also going to get my nephew Gage a little gift. Hmm, I may need to get several things to bring home for family. I can’t wait to see the Mall of America! How exciting is that!

Tue. Oct. 6th
- Attaining State Licensure for Recreational Therapy – [We working on this in West Virginia, too] I’m serve on the committee for Recreational Therapists pursing licensure in West Virginia. I plan to share information from this session at the West Virginia Therapeutic Recreation Association (WVTRA) conference in November.
- Social Networking/ Advocacy of Recreational Therapy: They’re going to hand out stickers for my myspace for recreational therapists at this session. That is exciting. I hope to meet tons of new recreational therapists from around the U.S. and Canada as a result of this session.
- Lunch and ATRA President address

Then I’ll be driving back. I’ll be singing take me home to the place where I belong…. West Virginia… mountain mamma, take me home.

I attracted a free book into my life

Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao (hard cover copy) by Dr. Wayne Dyer was on the discount shelf at Walden Books. The regular price for this book $26.95. It had been on my list of books that I wanted to have for a good while now. It was marked down to only $4.99. Naturally, I thought, it was meant to be.

Many people have heard of the “law of attraction.” It has became very popular since the hit of the dvd documentary, The Secret.

I go to the register to purchase the book. I use my Borders reward card, which is also good at Walden Books. Amazingly, I had a $5.00 discount. So, not only did I get this book for free, I also received a lucky one cent penny back, too.

The law of attraction is always at work. It works right if a person knows how to work it right. I must admit that I don’t clearly know how to work it fine yet. I’m definitely not a master in this area, however, I do believe in the law and I careful watch my thoughts and feelings.

There was another (hard cover) book on the shelf, too. I almost wish I would have purchased it, too, because it was only $3.99. It was a copy of The Astonishing Power of Emotions: Let Your Feelings be Your Guide by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I’ve already got a hard cover copy of this book, which, I paid about $24.99 for. I was very surprised to see it at only $3.99 and they had several copies of it on the shelf, too.

I’ll keep you posted on the new discoveries that I reveal from Dyer’s book. So, return to this blog later for more updates.

Want to start becoming great? Here's what I learned from Jessica Lynch

Picture: Danny Pettry and Jessica Lynch at Empire Books (Huntington, West Virginia) on Aug. 20, 2009.

Jessica Lynch has had a strong impact on my life. Jessica has always known what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to be a teacher. She cares about children. She didn’t have the money to go to college, so she joined the military to get the money. She knew what she wanted and she found a way to get it. Of course, the army informed her and her family that the United States could go to war at anytime. However, this was before 9/11 had occurred. In general, people in America felt fairly safe.

Jessica served in the army as a supply clerk when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Unfortunately, her convoy made a wrong turn and went into enemy territory. They were attacked. Jessica was injured in the attack and fell unconscious. She had awoken at an Iraqi hospital as a captive.

Jessica was the first female Prisoner of War (POW) to be rescued. The U.S. Marines and a Joint Special Operations Task, and Army Rangers worked together to raid the hospital to save Jessica Lynch and recover bodies of several victims of the war. Jessica had an honorable discharge from the army.



Today, she is completing her undergraduate degree in teaching from West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia). She is pursuing her goal in life to become a teacher.
Earl Nightingale in his audio recording, The Strangest Secret in the World said:





"A success is the school teacher who is teaching because that's what he or she wants to do."





Why I personally feel Jessica is successful:


Jessica served our country. She was a solider and she was injured. She inspires me to be a better recreational therapist. I don’t serve the country as a solider. I do my best serve the children (victims of abuse) who I provide services to. Jessica’s story makes me feel like I should be going the extra mile.

• Jessica is goal-oriented. She could have easily given up on life due to the injuries. She could have dwelled in self-pity, complained, and quit. She didn’t. She always knew she wanted to be a teacher so that she could help children. She is currently working on her undergraduate degree in teaching at West Virginia Univesrity (WVU) in Morgantown, WV.

• Jessica is honest. Media, the army, and a television show made Jessica out to be a girl-Rambo. Her real story had been exaggerated by others. Jessica tells the real story in the book, I’m a Solider, Too, written by Rick Bragg. She tells the real, truthful story, always.

• Jessica is a do-gooder. She has developed a charity called Jessi’s pals, which raises funds to provide stuffed animals for children in the hospital. She wants to encourage these children to not give up hope and to get better. I admire her charity as a recreational therapist for a children’s unit at a hospital.

Study Successful People

I’ve been studying and reading books by and about people who have achieved success in life over the last decade. Here is one tip for becoming great and successful. Study people who’ve achieved success. I had read a research article once that explained that you could feel happier by reading about stories of people who are happy. These results were amazing. I took this study and transformed it. I think you could become successful and great in life by studying and reading about people who are successful in life. Perhaps you should try it.

Click Here to Get a Copy of Jessica's Book
Click Here to Get a Copy of Danny's Book

References
Bragg, R. (2003). I'm a Solider, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story
Nightingale, E. (1956). The Strangest Secret in the World. [Audio Recording.]
Pettry, D. (2009). Discover hidden Secret Wisdom: A Recreational Therapist's System on How to Become Great at Anything!
Wikipedia. (2009). Jessica Lynch. Retrieved Aug. 20, 2009.

The ability to read minds is becoming a reality

Telepathy is the ability to transfer thoughts from one human being to another through some unknown path. It is not sent through any of the primary five senses: sight, smell, verbal communication, touch, or taste.

Many people think that telepathy isn’t real. They think this is only found in movies. Professor Xavier, a character in the science fiction comic books is known for having telepathy.

Brain waves are real. Our brain submits them all the time. Is it possible that human beings could communicate through brain waves? I’m not certain, but I think it could be possible.

It reminds me of a funny joke. Well-respected college begins to offer a course in extrasensory perception (ESP). Students don’t have to show up for class. The professor sends the students the assignments through ESP thought-waves. Everyone laughs. It seems impossible.

Brain waves do exist. The human mind may not be able to translate it when it receives these messages.

Breaking News: Scientist can determine what number a person is thinking based on brain wave patterns. This could be the beginning of a path to discover much more information. At this time they can only determine small numbers. However, I imagine with continued research they’ll be able to determine even more about our thoughts.

Do you think scientists will be able to read people’s minds in the future? Post your thoughts and comments.

Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090925/sc_livescience/scientistsseenumbersinsidepeoplesheads

#50 in overall sales for self-help > success books on 9/23!

Wow.

Thank you so much.

Today (Sept. 23, 2009) my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom: A Recreational Therapist’s System on How You Can Become Great at Anything became an Amazon.Com bestseller! At one point, it was ranked # 50 in the self-help > success books category! It might not have reached #1, but it did make the list and I’m very proud of that.

Again, thank you so much. This would not have been possible without so many people.

It was ranked beside three of my favorite books today. Above it at #49 was Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich. Above it at #48 was The Secret by Rhonda B., and at #47 which is barely shown in the picture, is Awaken The Giant by Tony Robbins.

If you enjoy books like, Think & Groch Rich, The Secret, and Awaken The Giant, then I stronly believe that you'll enjoy my book, too.

I've finally written a best-seller!

I’m pleased to announce that my new book,
Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom:
A Recreational Therapist’s System on How
You Can Become Great at Anything,
was...

• Ranked #9 in Hot New Releases
  for Self-Help > Success Books Today
  (9/22/09) at Amazon.Com!
  

You can get your copy here:

http://astore.amazon.com/hiddensecretwisdom-20/detail/1442105739

The Boy Who Didn’t Like Books

Boy-oh-boy, I love to visit the bookstore. I took my mother to the Walden Books bookstore at the Beckley-Crossroads Mall (Beckley, West Virginia) last Saturday (Sept. 19, 2009). There are just so many fun, interesting, exciting, and wonderful books to read. Who couldn’t love this?

Boy about ten-years-old, who I saw there didn’t like it one bit. He was with an older guy, probably his brother who had driven him there. This boy liked video games, not books.

Pouting, complaining, the young boy kept whining about how he wanted to leave already. He wanted to return to a video-game store. I’m not certain how long they’d even been in the book store. But this young boy was ready to go. The older boy was flipping through a book. The younger one was sitting on the floor. He had his fist up to his chin. He had a bored look in his face. It was obvious that he didn’t want to be there.

Books could have provided the young boy with some type of entertainment. He loved video games. He could have flipped through a book on video game techniques and secrets. He could have found a book on how to win the game. He could have flipped through a magazine for video-game players. He could have found a book on anything in the world. There are so many wonderful, amazing stories and adventures buried in books that this young boy will never have the opportunity to discover. Because he doesn’t like books, he’ll never explore them and their breathtaking stories.

Your Challenge!

I encourage you to go out and get one book this week. It could be any book on anything. Just get one. You could even get a book for a young boy or a young girl in your family. It could do wonders for the child.

The non-profit, First Book provides free books to children in need. They address and promote literacy by providing age-appropriate books for children.

ATRA Conference

Recreational therapists are gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the annual American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) conference. (Dates: Oct 2nd to 6th). It’s the 25th anniversary of ATRA (1984 to 2009). I’ve not been to an annual conference since the 20th anniversary that was held in Kansas City, Missouri. So, naturally, I’m very excited.

Dr. Peg Connolly was a founding member of ATRA and she served as the first President. The “Peg Connolly Scholarship” is granted to students in recreational therapy degree programs. I’ve served on the scholarship selection committee for several years. This year, I’ll get to help work with the students at the conference.

Here is a list of this year’s winners:

Jessica Lawrence, University of Nebraska – Omaha
Stephanie Brown, University of Toledo
David Johnson, California State University – Sacramento
Judith Miramontest, California State University, Sacramento
Rachel Gucwa, Temple University
Amanda Loomis, Grand Valley State University
Tami Enzastiga, University of Nebraska – Omaha
Donna Winfrey, Middle Tennessee State University

I’ll be posting information about the sessions that I attend at this blog.

Will you be attending? Post your comments here.

I'd love to meet up with you at the conference.

They're Brainingwashing Us.

I am currently reading Eldon Taylor’s “Mind Programming: From Persuasion and Brainwashing, to Self-Help and Practical Metaphysics.” It is a new 2009 book. I love all areas of this book: persuasion, self-help, and metaphysics. I was aware that the media and many others attempt to brainwash us. This book has helped to enlighten me more on how they do it.

I’ll be writing a more in detail review of the book soon.

It includes a free inner-talk C.D. I’ve listened to it in my car while driving from Beckley to Huntington last weekend for about 45-minutes. The C.D. has subliminal messages. I’m not certain what they were. I did feel extremely relaxed and calm while listening to it. I was stuck in blocked traffic, too.

Click here for more info. about this book.

More Posts Coming Soon!

I’m going to start posting more blog entries.

I’ve decided to make this my goal (as of yesterday).

So, stay tuned. More good information is coming soon.

Read to Succeed and Become Anything That You Want to Be With This New Book

A Book Review of Danny Pettry’s (2009)

Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom:

A Recreational Therapist’s System on

How You Can Become Great at Anything!

Danny Pettry, a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) with a Master's degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Indiana University has been studying people who've achieved success over the last decade during his leisure. Pettry, a self-described “teacher/healer” has also worked at providing therapeutic recreation interventions to help people to become self-fulfilled.

Now Pettry has put together a book of wisdom to help people reach their highest potential in life based on what he’s learned from reading about success and achievement. It is clear from his new book that Pettry is truly passionate about helping others to become self-fulfilled.

Pettry argues that literacy and reading are the key ingredients needed for becoming successful. His motto is that you must “read to succeed.” Pettry’s new book suggests that he’s read numerous books on a wide variety of topics. Pettry wants others to join him as avid readers because he believes reading is a technique to self-discovery and self-fulfillment.

Books are filled with hidden wisdom that a person will never discover unless she (or he) reads them. Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn said, “The book you don’t read won’t help.” Author, Mark Twain said, “A person who won’t read has no advantage over the person who can’t read.” Walt Disney said, “There are more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island… and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”

Why do so few become great and successful? Maybe people don’t read enough. Jerold Jenkins (Source: JenkinsGroupInc.com) has pointed out these statistics: “70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years. One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.”

Pettry claims that he discovered the secret to becoming great in an old, musty, out-of-print, 1964 book called, President from Missouri: Harry S. Truman by Ralph C. Martin. Many scholars argue that Truman was one of the “greatest” presidents in U.S. history. Here’s the secret to his success: Truman loved reading, especially about his favorite heroes. It was said that Truman had read every book from his hometown, Independence, Missouri public library.

Reading is strongly linked with success.

Pettry has done a great job of integrating literature from a wide variety of sources ranging from self-help authors to scientific researchers in his book. He also weaves together personal experiences with examples from books.

Each chapter in Pettry’s book is a prescription towards wellness, success, happiness, and greatness. Here is a brief overview of each chapter’s focus:

• Chapter 1 helps the reader to understand who she is and what she wants in life.
• Chapter 2 reveals how the reader can use a journal as a self-development tool in her journey to becoming great.
• Chapter 3 reveals the benefits for becoming a life-long reader.
• Chapter 4 reveals wisdom from four of the leading self-improvement authors.
• Chapter 5 reveals the benefits for having a personal teacher/ mentor to help the reader in her mission to becoming successful.
• Chapter 6 reveals how life-changing movies could inspire the reader to become successful. Four must-see movies are presented and reviewed.
• Chapter 7 reveals that the reader must feel happy most of the time in order to become successful. Techniques for becoming happier are shared.
• Chapter 8 reveals how four people have become great at their leisure pursuits. All four people discussed in this chapter have a disability, but they’re still professionals competing with people without disabilities. These stories could inspire the reader to take action.
• Chapter 9 reveals the benefits for having a strong social support network and how the reader can develop her own support system.
• Chapter 10 reveals the benefits for being a “do-gooder” and suggests ways the reader can do more good in the world.
• Chapter 11 reveals that the reader must also stay healthy because she won’t be able to continue her journey to success if she’s not well.
• Chapter 12 reveals motivation techniques to help inspire the reader to take action on her journey to success and personal achievement.
  

Readers could find Pettry’s book to be a captivating approach to self-discovery and self-fulfillment.

Learn more here: http://www.HiddenSecretWisdom.Com

Help Children When You Get Pettry’s New Book

It’s not about the book. It is about the mission to promote reading and literacy. That’s why part of the profits from Pettry’s new book is going to the non-profit, First Book. It is a charity that provides age appropriate books for children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy: access to book.

Learn more here:

http://www.HiddenSecretWisdom.Com