Got Goals for 2011? My Journal Could Help.

Click here to get journals.

Question # 1: Do you have a goal for the New Year?

Question # 2: Do you have a new journal for the New Year?

I was fortunate to get a journal as a gift for Christmas.

You can see it in the picture above. It has a picture of puppies on it.

Journals are a powerful tool if used right.

Here is a list of things a journal could help you do:

Get organized

Set goals

Measure achievements

Solve problems

Express self and feelings

And so much more.

Thanks for following and reading my blog. Here is my gift to you...

You’re invited to download two FREE journals that I’ve created.

Journal # 1: A New You in a New Year

Clilck on the book cover graphic below to open a pdf copy of this journal. Print it and put it in a 3-ring binder to help you with your goals in the New Year:

Or you can just go to this link to download it. Please share the link with all of your family and friends, too.

Please share the link with all of your family and friends, too.

http://www.dannypettry.com/check_list.pdf



Journal # 2: Wisdom Revealed: A Journal on Becoming Successful (It goes along with my book Secret Wisdom.) but you don’t need the book to use the journal.

Clilck on the book cover graphic below to open a pdf copy of this journal. Print it and put it in a 3-ring binder to help you with your goals in the New Year:

Or you can just go to this link to download it. Please share the link with all of your family and friends, too.

Please share the link with all of your family and friends, too.

http://www.hiddensecretwisdom.com/wisdom_revealed.pdf

If you want to get a copy of my book, go here:

Movie Rental Stores Are Going Obsolete.

Felt upset that the Movie Gallery in my hometown area went out of business last year.
Since then three local Blockbusters have went out of business. These included: South Point, Ohio, downtown Huntington, W.Va. and Rt. 60 in Huntington.

Went to the Movie Gallery in Kentucky, which is right across the Big Sandy River in the Huntington, W.Va. area.

Told the manager that I was shocked that nobody was in there on a Friday night. There were no customers. The manager laughed and said the store was having a good night because they brought in $600 in sales for the night. Felt shocked at comment because I’d imagine a store like that should be making about $600 an hour.

Returned today to find giant, bright “Closing Soon” signs… Everything must go.

This is very disappointing because I love movie rental stores.

However, I realize that it is a tough business. People can rent movies from their home now with technology. They can use netflix and have videos sent to their home, which I imagine netflix may be the next to go.

People can buy DVDs at Wal-mart for $5 in the large bin. Some of these movies are fairly new based on my experiences. Some of these movies were released within the last year or two.

Purchased a few classic, rare DVDs that were on sale there. These included: To kill a mocking bird, Gandhi, teacher Ron Clark Story, one on the Reagans, and Uptown Girls. As you'll remember from my best-selling book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I recommend Cinema-therapy/ watching movies to learn ways to become great. Think there are some good lessons from these movies and they're worth watching again.

Didn’t need any DVDs, but felt an urge to spend today when I should have saved.

Maybe I would have been one of the children who would have eaten one marshmallow now instead of waiting for two marshmallows later. Will work on patience.

Worried about the employees at this Movie Gallery. These feelings intensified when I logged online to find a story that Blockbuster may file bankruptcy. The end of the “Blockbuster-era” is near. I absolutely love my job and what I do to help children. I’d be devastated if something happened to our hospital or facility or if I were laid-off or fired for any reason.

Change is inventible. Things will be different in the future. My professor in graduate school, Dr. Bryan McCormick had once said, “Luck favors the prepared.” Highly encourage people to prepare today.

Dr. Raymond Busbee was one of the professors who I had during undergraduate school at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Dr. Busbee was the academic advisor for students in Parks Resources and Leisure Services with a focus in Park Management. Remember Dr. Busbee once telling students (approximate year 2000) that the United States Postal Service might not be a good career choice for students after graduation. I scoffed at this idea at first because I had grown-up hearing that government jobs had great benefits. Dr. Busbee informed students that there was a growing use of digital communications through email. He said that there would be less mail in the future. He was right. As you already know there are rumors that the U.S. Postal Service is going to stop delivering mail on Saturdays. This may seem like a minor move to save money, but I’m certain that many positions will be cut in this process.

I pay over 95% of my bills online today. Most days I don’t receive any mail at all. Occasionally I’ll order a book from Amazon and will have a package at my door. However, I’ll be ordering fewer hardcover and paperback books now that I have an Amazon kindle and will be able to download books wirelessly and instantly anytime I want. Again, that may not be a good thing for people who crave instant gratification. Have set a limit to only 2-3 digital books per month.

Morales: Prepare for the future. Save money.

Source:

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109097/bankruptcy-is-blockbusters-only-hope

Public Announcement: My personal goal.

Have been reading an amazing book on my kindle.

It’s called, “59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot” by Richard Wiseman.

Here is the product description:
Richard Wiseman has been troubled by the realization that the self-help industry often promotes exercises that destroy motivation, damage relationships, and reduce creativity: the opposite of everything it promises. Now, in 59 Seconds, he fights back, bringing together the diverse scientific advice that can help you change your life in under a minute, and guides you toward becoming more decisive, more imaginative, more engaged, and altogether more happy.From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to relationships, Wiseman outlines the research supporting the new science of “rapid change” and, with clarity and infectious enthusiasm, describes how these quirky, sometimes counterintuitive techniques can be effortlessly incorporated into your everyday life. Or, as he likes to say: “Think a little, change a lot.”

Here are my comments:

There is so much wisdom in this one little book. It’s no wonder his name is WISEman. Believe this will be in my personal list of top 100 favorite books. He reviews what self-help authors say in their books and then looks at what scientific researches have to say. Real motivation and change is discussed in his book. Several important social psychology experiences are discussed, too. My advisor in graduate school, Dr. David Austin (a foundering member of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association) said that his graduate advisor referred to those of us in recreational therapy as “applied social psychologists.” Social psychology is one of my favorite fields. And Wiseman writes about social psychology, positive psychology and other related topics in an easy-to-read form.

Here is one of Wiseman’s tips. Make your personal goals public. People who do so are more likely to meet their goals. It’s like positive social/ peer pressure. Your peers will provide you with support in reaching your goal. Plus, once you’ve said you’re going to do it, they’ll be more likely to help hold you accountable.

So here it is, my BIG audacious 2010 GOAL: Write a book on “techniques for becoming nice” and have it become a #1 Amazon.com best-seller!
That is my goal. I’ve completed 3/10 chapters and no editing. The full outline for the book has been created.

Goal Planning for the New Year

Started working on personal goals for the New Year.
Of course, used the New You in a New Year Goals Checklist.

Fitness goal: Walk 4 times a week for at least 30-mins. a session until end of Jan. Will have walked at least 8 hours by end of month. This is my starting goal of course. Will re-evaluate in Feb. Walked over 30-mins. today.

Personal goal: De-clutter apt. Organize and clean two things per week. Today, organized all the magazines and books on my in-tables in the living room area. Feels good. Placed a bag of books and magazines for charity. Threw away a lot of needless paper.

Here is a big project. It is a personal goal, career goal, and do-good goal.

To write a book by the end of May 2009. and have $1,000 profits from the book to go to the Habitat for Humanity.

Have written most of the outline for the book alreay. Need to complete outline and start the writing. Enjoy writing, so that'll be the fun part.

What are your goals?

Free goals report

Here is a fun thing to do.

Complete this free goals report.

http://www.freegoalsreport.com/quiz.php?id=2857

Enjoy.

Success Principles Book Review.

A Review of Jack Canfield (2006) The Success Principles [DVD]
First posted Dec. 20, 2006 at Danny's myspace blog

Speaker: Jack Canfield , Producer: Better Life Media (2006) The Success Principles: Seven Steps to accelerate your life from where you are to where you want to be. [DVD].

The big question to ask yourself is: "If you could do anything you love; what would you do?" Then decide, what would it take to get your life to the next level? (Jack Canfield , 2006)



Success is the combination to a lock. It requires a certain combination to get the right result. It requires a system of doing things a certain way.


You must apply this system to get results and not just read them or listen to them.

The truth of the matter is that you can have, do, or be anything you want if you follow these principles. (Jack Canfield , 2006)


"You can't hire others to do your push-ups for you." Jim R.



You are responsible for your own healthcare, medication, exercises, education, and well-being.


You must take 100% of responsibility for all areas in your life. This requires you to give up: blaming, complaining, excuse-making, and whining. (Jack Canfield , 2006)


Here is the combination you must need to know in order to be successful:


[E + R = O] which means Event plus YOUR response equals Outcome. If you don't like the outcome – then change your response. You can't change the event.



This does not mean that every response that you try will work. Maybe your response will work and maybe it won't. You've got to keep trying responses until you get it right.


If you don't like your current situation – or your current outcome, then change your responses. Do not continue to make the same responses, which have gotten you to where you are today. (Jack Canfield , 2006)



If a response does not work – then throw it out. Many people do not try for success because trying new responses is uncomfortable. They would rather stay comfortable than to change and to do what is requires of them to be successful.

We can't change events. They have already occurred. We can change these personal responses: our behaviors, thoughts, and images that we hold in our minds.



Thoughts are very powerful.


Kinesiology studies have proven that our physiology weakens when we mentally tell ourselves "lies or I can't or if we focus on past failures or if we are surrounded by judgmental, critical people." It is important for all of us to eliminate "I can't, I wish, and I'll try" from our vocabulary.
Instead, we should focus on "I can and I'll find a way, focus on past successes and achievements, view past errors as learning experiences opposed to seeing them as failures, and to surround ourselves with people
who are successful in areas that we want to become more successful.



Henry Ford said "Rather you think you can or think you can't – either way you are right." We must eliminate all excuses. Focus on solutions opposed
to problems. (Jack Canfield , 2006)

One successful man without arms and legs was able to write a 200-page book with his stubs. A paralyzed woman was able to paint pictures for greeting cards by holding a paintbrush with her teeth. A boy without arms was able to pitch for team with a lacrosse stick attached to his stub. His team won the state championship. A man without legs was on the University of Georgia wrestling team.

If these people can be successful in their self-chosen areas, then what are our excuses? We must give all excuses up. "I can't" is a terrible attitude for anybody.

In order to be successful, we must have:


• A clear intention. Goals and a Vision.
• We must fully expect to get what we want to achieve
• We must take action – Take initiative.

We must have faith that the rest of the solution will be revealed to us at the right time. This is like driving a car from Virginia to California. We do not need to see the whole road to get there but just enough distance to see
the horizon. As we approach the horizon – more of the path will be shown to us. We must be persistent and not give-up just because we don't see the results we hoped for right away. We won't see the Golden Gate within minutes after leaving from Virginia on our path to California. It takes
persistence. (Jack Canfield , 2006)

We must hold our thoughts in our mind until it happens.



If you want it bad enough then you will do it.


We must drop out of the ain't it awful club. We must move out of Pity City. Even, we, adults need to remember this important lesson:

We are the average of the five people who we spend most of our time. Are those people positive people or negative people? Are they bankers,writers, doctors, or successful people? Birds of a feather flock together.



(Jack Canfield , 2006)


Decide what you want and your brain will plot the course for you like a GPS system. If you hold a vision of what you want then you will see more opportunities.

Groups of people were asked to read a paragraph and count the number of times they could find an "F" while reading the same paragraph for a second time within 30 seconds.

Most people found 3 of them when in fact there were 7 total Fs in the paragraph. By holding a vision – people tend
to notice more opportunities. A Group of people who were asked to focus on F's before the read the paragraph the first time were more likely to find 6 or 7 of them.



(Jack Canfield , 2006)



Walt Disney said "If you can dream it then you can achieve it."



Here are seven areas to set goals in order to have a well-balanced life:


1. Financial
2. Career
3. Leisure/ Recreation
4. Health / Fitness
5. Relationships
6. Personal Achievements
7. Contribution/ Charity/ Life Legacy


(Jack Canfield , 2006)


Only 10% of Americans write personal goals and objectives and fully carry them out. Also know this, only 10% of American controls 90% of the nation's wealth.

Write your goal on a note card. Read it and visualize it when you first wake-up and before you go to sleep. Keep a copy of it in your wallet. Keep your vision strong. Look at 5-6 years into your future. Your goal must be
detailed.

Fair goal: I want to lose weight.


Better detailed goal: I want to lose 15 lbs by March 30th at 8 a.m.


Read it and visualize it every day and you will begin to notice
opportunities to make this goal achievable.


Visualization alone is not enough.

A person must Act and take initiative.


Do five small things every day to make your goal a reality. If you were to write a book, write for 15 minutes a day, interview 1 person a day, etc. If one were to lose weight here are five small things to do in one day: walk 15 minutes a day, eat 1600 calorie diet, take the stairs at work, read about losing weight or health eating habits, or other different daily activities.


The law of probability claims that the more different things you try – the more likely that you will find a solution that will work. How far are you willing to go? How committed are you? How bad do you want what you really want? Just don't continue the same actions that do not get you the results you want.



(Jack Canfield , 2006)

Prepare yourself.



Do the work. Don't just dream.


Equally skilled Basketball players were split into 3 equal groups. Group A did not play ball for one month = and they had no improvement. Group B shot foul shouts for 2 hours per day and showed 34% improvement Group C visualized shooting foul shots for 2 hours per day and showed 32%
improvement.

Visualization is powerful. Imagine a group D that visualized for 2 hours per day and shot foul shots for 2 hours per day. I imagine they would have shown at least a 45% improvement


The 30-day principle claims that it takes 30 days to build a habit. If you stop for just one day after 15, it would still take another 25-30 days to rebuild the habit. This was proven by NASA experiment that had people wear goggles that reverses everything the saw upside down. Those who wore
it for the full 30 days developed new neuron pathways in order to see correctly, which NASA did not expect. The test was used to see how people could handle disillusion in space.

W. Churchill said: "Never, never give up."



We are never too old to start. A Woman won a 10K race at
the age of 83. She started practicing at the age of 55. She ran around her backyard once at age 55. Each day she added one extra lap.

Don't think about it – Just do it.



Remember that the best is still yet to come.

For more information, click this link:



Jack Canfield



I hope this information was helpful.



Danny P.

Recreation Therapy on Myspace

Huntington, West Virginia 25701

United States



P.S. I highly recommend using local, public library to rent a copy of Jack Canfield 's (2006) The Success Principles Book because it is free. If you really want to keep this book, which includes 64 principles on success, then I recommend purchasing it used from Amazon.Com to save money.

Jim Rohn interview

Jim Rohn is my all-time favorite motivational speaker. He’s the “mentor of mentors.” Many of the world’s leading experts, like, Anthony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen and others in the self-improvement industry claim that Jim Rohn was their mentor. Rohn was a self-made millionaire. He came from the small farms in southern Idaho. Today, he is an international phenomenon. He’s spoken to audiences around the world. People from around the world have read his books and listened to him on audio cassette.

Jim Rohn passed away on December 5, 2009. He lived 79 wonderful years. He made the most of his time on Earth. Anything by Jim Rohn gets my attention. Mike Litman has a radio show in the Long Island part of New York City. He interviewed Jim Rohn on his radio show. Wisdom was revealed in that interview. Luckly, anyone can have access to this interview because Mike Litman included it in chapter one of his (2002) book, Conversations with Millionaires. This book is $10.85 at Amazon right now. At this price, you can't afford not to read it. Have you ever heard interviews/ conversations with millionaires? I think the book could use some trim work, a better cover, the same font sytle on the back cover and in the book, and a few more things, but that is a different story. It's about the wisdom contained in the book. That's what is important.

Jim Rohn shares his best wisdom in this interview. Here are some of the secrets he revealed:

a.) Live your life to the fullest and take care of your health. Our days are numbered. We’re not going to live forever. Jim Rohn said that his father lived to the age of 93 and Rohn says that seems “very short.” Rohn himself lived to the age 79. He argues to take care of your own health. This will add years to your life. I’m going to eat a salad with fruit for lunch tomorrow.

b.) Be grateful. Wow, Litman, published his interview with Rohn in 2002. This was four years before the best-selling underground documentary, the Secret, which was released in 2006. Rohn knew the secret, but he wasn’t featured in the documentary. One of the key elements is to be grateful. Be glad everyday. Enjoy it. Enjoy time with your family or time doing a favorite leisure activity like fishing as if it were the last time you were going to get to do it. You’ll only get a few times to do these activities on Earth. Christmastime is ten days away. Enjoy the end of the year holidays with your family as if they’re the last ones you’re going to get.

c.) Improve your life. Rohn says it is easy to do here in America. People don’t know how easy it is. It’s hard in many places in the world. In some places, people make $100 (in a year.). Read that book if you have to. Take that class. Learn that skill. Rohn shares two amazing books a person should read: Think and Grow Rich and The Richest Man in Babylon. I’ve read both of them and I’m writing them on my checklist of books to read again in 2010. Click here to download your own 2010 checklist.

Go to this link for books by Jim Rohn:
http://astore.amazon.com/hiddensecretwisdom-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=43

Go to this link for book by Mike Litman:
http://astore.amazon.com/hiddensecretwisdom-20/detail/1931866007

Therapeutic benefits of stories for children!

“Story Time” always grabs my attention as a headline in a newspaper. As you already know, I’m a strong advocate for reading and literacy. You’d especially know this if you’ve read my best-selling book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, which suggests that a person can become fulfilled in life by reading more books. Even a portion of the profits from this went to the non-profit, First Book. They provide free books to children in need addressing the number one factor facing literacy: access to age-appropriate books.

Laughing, smiling, and attentive children were shown on the front page of the Register-Herald Newspaper (Beckley, West Virginia) on Nov. 21, 2009 with the caption, “story time.”

Puppet show performances were provided for children last Friday at Stratton Elementary (Beckley area). These shows were based on various children’s stories.

I enjoyed the note in the picture caption that read:

“The stories are used to illustrate self-esteem, vanity, greed, tolerance, bullying, and stranger danger.”

It appears that there are several therapeutic values from these stories.

I’m very pleased that these puppet performances are being provided for children in Beckley!

Here are some activity ideas:

a.) Volunteer to read to children
b.) Develop a puppet show for children
c.) Have your kids read books and develop their own puppet show (with use of paper-bag puppets).
d.) Discuss the story with the child. How did that story make you feel? What do you think is the major lesson in the story? What did you learn from the story? How could you use this lesson in your life?
e.) Buy a child a book.

Source:

http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_324230340.html

Beckley basketball

Greatness is discussed in my new book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom: How to Become Great at Anything! Naturally, I like to talk about people who are living their lives to their best.

I had the wonderful opportunity to see my hometown school university’s basketball team play.

Mountain State University (MSU) Cougars (Beckley, West Virginia) beat Salem International University (Salem, West Virginia). I think the final score was 99 to 39. I remember that Beckley didn’t score over 100 points.

MSU is currently ranked # 2 in the NAIA division and they could easily be ranked # 1 in their division after this game. I’ve heard that the # 1 ranked school Robert Morris University (Chicago) has lost a few games recently. So, I’d imagine that Beckley could easily become # 1 in the division!

Beckley also got the tallest basketball player, “Tall Paul,” who is the 5th tallest person in the world and an inch taller than the tallest person in the NBA.

Beckley’s Register-Herald Newspaper claimed that MSU coach, Bob Bolen is ranked #2 among active coaches with over 500 wins. He’s ranked #3 overall among all coaches.

Love and passion is in the players and coaches of Beckley's MSU team. They're dedicated to their interest.

Salem University’s team didn’t give MSU much of a match tonight. Beckley won by 60-points.

Salem is known for one of my favorite all-time people. Former U.S. Senator, Jennings Randolph (b. 1902 – d. 1998) graduated from the former (Salem State College, Salem, West Virginia). Napoleon Hill has given the commencement address at Randolph’s graduation. Randolph had written a letter to Hill about how inspired he was about the speech and encouraged Hill to turn it into a book. Hill had written one of the best-selling self-improvement books of all-time, Think and Grow Rich, based on the West Virginian’s suggestion. The letter Randolph had written is included in Hill’s book.

If you want to become your best then I highly encourage you to read N. Hill’s classic book, Thank and Grow Rich! This book is based on the law of attraction.

Soucre:

http://www.register-herald.com/sports/local_story_325004311.html?keyword=topstory

Need a book to read?

It's True: You Really Can Discover the Secrets to Anything And Here's How...

Read, read, and read if you want to succeed. That’s it. Books are filled with hidden secret wisdom.

However, you must be an avid reader to learn the secrets.

My book, “Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom” basically points out that a person should become a lifelong reader and booklover.

Here is a problem. Have you ever finished reading a book and felt disappointed only because the book was over and you didn’t know what else to read. I’ve felt this way after finishing a great book.

For The First Time, New Breakthrough System Reveals Must-Read Books for Anyone.

I was reading some magazine while waiting for a haircut yesterday. Right before my name was called, I saw an ad for an amazing web-page. Basically, you type in the last book you read and the author’s name. The web-site will generate a list of books that you’d probably enjoy reading.

Here’s the link: http://bookseer.com

I typed in one of my favorite all-time books, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield.

Bookseer recommended tons of books many which I had already read by my favorite personal favorite authors, including: Napoleon Hill, Joe Vitale, Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen and others.

However, I did discover several must-read book that I was not aware of.

The top one on my list is: Instant Analysis by David Lieberman (another one of my favorite authors).
I was not aware that this book was on the market.

Several other book titles grabbed my attention, including: Mindset: the new psychology of success and beyond empathy.

Live your life to the fullest

Life can end in a moment. We’re not guaranteed another day. None of us know how long we’ve got here on Earth.
Death is imminent. It will happen to all of us. Are you ready? Have you lived your life to the fullest? I hope so.

Huntington, West Virginia has been my hometown for the decade. It is home to Marshall University and the Thundering Herd. There is a water fountain in the center of campus. Each year it is turned off on Nov. 14th. This is a symbolic day. It’s in memory of the 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team, coaches, and many residents from the Huntington, West Virginia area.

What would you do if you were on that plane? Would you be scared? I’d like to think I could say, “well God, it’s been great,” but I’m not certain if I’ve reached that point yet.

Right now, create a list of 100 things you feel you must do before you die. Make a plan to start doing these things immediately.

Here is a video:

Recreation and parks in West Virginia

West Virginia Recreation and Parks Association (WVRPA) and the West Virginia Therapeutic Recreation Association (WVTRA) had a join-conference in Charleston, West Virginia last week.

John Perdue (West Virginia State Treasurer) was a key note speaker on Nov. 2nd.

Here is some information that Perdue shared:

West Virginia is fortunate to have natural beauty. The state has beautiful parks: state, national, and community. These parks are possible because of people in the recreation and parks field who’ve had the backbone to crate them.

Parks provide so much for the people in our communities: exercise, interaction, unites the community. Parks can be used as educational tool. They can open doors of opportunity for children in the state.

Leaders in the recreation and parks field make a difference. They allow for kids to come participate and play in parks. These kids could easily grow-up and become something because of their park experience. They may become environmentalists, biologists, or even recreation service providers.

Parks are a legacy. One generation of leaders retires and the next generations of leaders continue the tradition.

John Perdue shares the importance of recreation and parks in his own life. As a young boy, he learned how to play sports at parks.
As an adult, John, asked his wife to marry him at Coonskin Park (in Charleston, West Virginia). They went on their honeymoon at Pipestem Resort State Park (in Mercer County, West Virginia. They go visit the place where he proposed every year at Coonskin Park.

Of course, Mr. Perdue and his wife aren’t the only two people who’ve had wonderful and life-changing experiences at parks. Many other people have had experiences, too.

There have been many great parks built by the past generations. Naturally, leaders in parks and recreation today must bridge that to our current generation. Perdue says that we shouldn’t just maintain our parks, but let them strive. He goes on to advocate for more community involvement and partnerships to create a lasting legacy.

Park and recreation professionals are fortunate because they love what they’re doing. They have passion for doing their work or they wouldn’t be doing it.

Mr. Perdue finishes up his key note speech with an interesting story, which I feel is wroth repeating here. Please note that I, [Danny Pettrty] am not advocating for any religious view. I remain neutral on religious view in my blog. Here is the story Perdue shares:
Statue of Christ once stood in front of a church in Europe. It was hit by a stray bomb during World War II. The statue was broken into many pieces. After the war, the church members decided to rebuild their statue of Christ. They did their very best to put him together, but part could not be done. The hands on the statue of Christ had been so torn apart that it could not be put back. The congregation asked the Priest what to do and he replied, “We are the ‘Hands’ of our community.” It is through our hands that we make things possible.

Mr. Perdue explains that it is also the hands of the recreation and park professionals who go out and make parks possible for the people in our communities.

I regret to say that I wasn’t able to attend the full conference. I did notice a shelf with tons of brochures for parks and recreation in the state of West Virginia at the Holiday Inn (where the conference was held).

Here, are several places that I think you may want to put on your list of places to see in West Virginia:

a.) Tamarak: The Best of West Virginia
http://www.tamarackwv.com
b.) Clay Center
http://www.theclaycenter.org
c.) New River Gorge
http://www.nps.gov/neri/index.htm
d.) Winter Place Ski (and snowboarding) Resort
http://www.winterplace.com/
e.) Pipestem State Resort
http://www.pipestemresort.com
f.) The Greenbrier Resort
http://greenbrier1-px.trvlclick.com/site/
g.) West Virginia Cass Scenic Railroad
http://www.cassrailroad.com
h.) Mountain Creek Cabins
http://mountaincreekcabins.com/

Praise for the book: "Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom"

I'm always pleased to read mail about my book.

Look at this comment. Listen to her. Feel it.

"Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom is amazing!! Seriosuly I am on the last chapter and have used so much of your advice in my life already!! Im sending it to me friend at grad school at Penn State because she needs to read it to help her destress her life through school."

- Ashley, Michigan

Go to this link to get your copy today:

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

Download a free book online!

As you already know, my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom: A Recreational Therapist’s System on How You Can Become Great at Anything was released earlier this year.

I’m pleased to announce that, my next book, Wisdom Revealed: The Complimentary Journal on Becoming Great will be released this month in paperback!

You can download a FREE copy of the complimentary journal
from my web-site for a limited time!

Go here to download it:

http://dannypettry.com/main/page_dannys_contest.html

Enjoy it and please tell your friends, colleagues, co-workers, and anyone else to download their copy of this complimentary journal at the link above.

Complimentary journal is now ready!

The complimentary journal for my new book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom is now available online exclusively for people who’ve purchased the primary book.

You can download and print your complimentary journal.

Go to this link to download it now:

http://www.hiddensecretwisdom.com/bonus

If you don’t have the primary book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, then you’ll need to get it first before you can download your free complimentary journal.

Go here to get the main book now:
http://www.hiddensecretwisdom.com/

Nov. is national novel writing month.

November is “National Novel Writing Month” according to CreateSpace.Com.

I heard that a person is more likely to achieve her (or his) goals if a person writes them down and if they’re shared with others. I read a study once on graduate students at a leading college (maybe Harvard). They asked who had personal goals written and currently on them. A very small percentage of the graduate students had goals written on them. Some of them had them in their wallet or purse. One even had her limited on a card. They checked back on these graduate students ten years later. Each one with written goals were a lot more successful and had achieved a lot more compared to their peers from school who didn’t have written goals.

I love books, reading, and writing. So, here is my leisure goal:

I’m going to write a novel. Not this month, however. It is my long-term goal.

First, I must complete writing the complimentary journal for Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, which is already late. I’m going to have it out in a week or two.

By the end of 2009, I’ll have an outline for my novel and character sketches written.

I plan to have my book written before March 2009.

I plan to have it edit by April or May 2009.

I'll need to get my market team ready for a big release in Sept. 2009!

I'll need to hire someone to do a graphic for the front cover.

I already have an idea for my story. It is top secret for now.

I’m so excited to write my first novel. This is going to be super fun.

Tallest Person from England

Danny Pettry (senior) and Paul Sturgess

Danny Pettry (senior) [My father] is a huge fan of the Beckley, West Virginia Mountain State University Cougars Basketball Team. Of course, I am, too. Go Cougars!

My father (an elem. school principal) had the chance meet Mr. Paul Sturgess as you can see in the picture shown above.

Mountain State University was the 2004 champions in their division (NAIA). They were the runner up in 2003 and 2008.

Paul Sturgess (also known as Tall Paul) who is 7 foot – 7 inches is the tallest college basketball player in history. He’ll be playing for Mountain State University this season. I’ve heard that he’s an inch taller than the tallest person on the NBA and even a foot taller than Shaq.

Paul is from England and possibly the tallest person in England. I’m certain he’s now the tallest person in West Virginia, but I can't confirm this fact.

I [Danny Pettry, II] saw him walking down Kanawha Street in Beckley earlier this summer. He is a giant as you can tell in the picture.

I hope he can play some basketball because I want to see my favorite team win another national championship. I'm really glad my father had a chance to meet "Tall Paul."

Who would you like to meet if you could meet anyone alive? Post your comments below.

Mall of America

North side. Picture taken 10/6/09.

Achieving goals helps a person to feel satisfied.

Chapter one in my new book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, is titled: “Who Else Wants to Discover the First Step to Becoming Great?”

The concept of this chapter is to “know who you are and what you want.”

On page 14, I argue that the reader should create a list of 100 places that she (or he) wants to see in life. On page 15, I claim that I’ve created my own personal list.

Mall of America is the biggest mall in America. It’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I share in my new book that this had been on my own personal list of must-see places before I die.

I’m glad to say that I’ve met another one of my personal goals. I had an opportunity to visit the Mall of American while attending the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

If you could see any place in the world -- Where would you want to go and see? Please comment here.

If you’ve not done so already, go to this link here to get a copy of my new book today:

http://www.hiddensecretwisdom.com/

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.