101 of the Best Pieces of Advice You’ve Ever Heard

COS COB, Conn. – You’d never expect that a book about how to pick up girls could be life-changing, but for Darrell Horwitz it was. That’s because the book made a brilliant suggestion: When you’re trying something new and scary, pretend it’s like the preseason in a sport; it doesn’t really count.

That way of thinking worked great for Darrell. If he asked a girl out and she said no, it didn’t count because it was just preseason. In fact, if he tried anything new at all and he failed, it didn’t count. Darrell realized he could go after anything he wanted to pursue without fear of failure. That led to a successful sales job, a sports-writing freelance career on the side, and even a gig teaching a class called “How to Talk to the Opposite Sex.”

Risa Nye certainly didn’t want to strike up a boring conversation with the old lady who sat down next to her at a bar mitzvah. But the lady started asking her questions, and before she knew it Risa was confessing that her boyfriend was unreliable and poorly behaved. She also told the lady there was this other guy, a friend, who was a good listener with good manners. He was always there for her.

That’s when the old lady leaned in and said, “You should never take a back seat to anyone. You don’t let people treat you that way. Not a boy, not anyone. That other boy… he sounds like a better bet. Stick with him.” Risa has been married to that “other boy” for fifty years now.

Have a few wise words ever changed everything for you? Has a piece of advice from a friend, or even a stranger, opened your eyes and caused an epiphany? The 101 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Advice that Changed My Life (March 14, 2023, 978-1-611591002, $16.95) feature the simple advice that helped contributors with everything from strengthening their marriages and friendships, to achieving success at work or at school, to improving their physical and mental wellbeing. There are plenty of stories containing great advice for making yourself happier and healthier, and for pursuing your passions and dreams.

“We’re excited about the book’s potential to quickly and simply create positive change for our readers, as it has already done for us. As we put together this collection, we found ourselves implementing the advice that we were sharing with our readers,” said Amy Newmark, author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of Chicken Soup for the Soul. “We all loved that story by our senior editor Barbara LoMonaco about picking your battles. She applied the lessons she learned in a parenting class to her whole life, and she learned how to be spontaneous and relaxed about making plans… and changing them.”

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Chicken Soup for the Soul publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. With well over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada, more than 300 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, the phrase “chicken soup for the soul” is known worldwide and is regularly referenced in pop culture. Today, 30 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and hope through its books, this socially conscious company continues to publish a new title a month. It has also evolved beyond the bookstore, with a podcast, education programs, dog and cat food, licensed products, and video, television and movies through its subsidiary, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

###

For a review copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Advice that Changed My Life or an interview with Amy Newmark: