I love the color purple, tangerines, anything I can sing, & I have a huge DREAM —That two-leggers, people all around the world, catch CATCH-M too & watch their wildest dreams come true!

My wild dream to write a book came to me at a symphony with my husband ten years ago. I had my eyes closed, taking in the music. I am not sure what you’d call it: divine inspiration or God. But it was like something whacked me over the head that I was meant to write books about the power of a smile to encourage us all to live our best lives.

I think the idea found me because I needed these books as a girl! At a young age, my perfectly healthy brother did not wake up one December morning. The diagnosis was an arrhythmia. The image of the stretcher wheeling him out of our home will be etched in my memory forever. He was gone just like that, never to be laughed with again. Ten years later, my sister did not wake up on the morning of her birthday from the same rare condition, leaving behind her beautiful daughters and husband. How could this be happening again? Fear, questions, and the search for meaning-filled my life.  

How does one rise above the pain? My parents and I struggled. We lacked the life-skills we needed. I had to find a way. I began seeking out people whom had endured profound heartache yet continued to live vibrant, meaningful, and loving lives.

As I listened to their stories, I noticed a common thread—their smile. I call it their “U-SHAPED BRIDGE.”  A bridge connects two points that might otherwise remain separated.  When I watched these people, whom I call heroes: they would use their smile-bridge to connect their heads to their hearts, their hearts to others, and their lives to the power of ‘Something Greater.” For me, this “Something Greater” is Christ. For others, it may be nature, love, God, the universe, the divine spark in our hearts—but connecting to it has been essential. 

Another powerful theme these heroes shared was their capability to BELIEVE—to believe in oneself, in others, & in “Something Greater”. Their power to believe gave them hope, love, gratitude, meaning, and the courage they needed to live with a braveheart and find their “YES”! One of my heroes, Victor Frankl, who survived the concentration camps, wrote a best-selling book originally titled “Nevertheless, Say ‘Yes’ To Life.” He lived his “YES,” and it inspired me to do the same.

Over the years, as I worked on my books, I also lost both of my parents. Could the life-skills I learned from these heroes really work? Could my U-SHAPED BRIDGE & my ability to BELIEVE help me through the heartache? YES! They worked!

Now, I have no doubt that we can come back from any hardship and reconnect with our heart, with others, and do good together! In my Live Big series, these life-skills are revealed through love’s three powerful secrets enabling families, classrooms, and churches to be the heroes of their stories together, no matter what challenges or naysayers they face along the way.

Today, I have the complete joy of sharing my dream, going to schools, orphanages, libraries, and watch children connect to the hope in my LIVE BIG SERIES & learn the skills they need to be the hero of their story. As one older foster girl said to me with tears in her eyes & a smile on her face, “You mean I really can be a scientist.” YES! The belief in her eyes, I will never forget!

A SMILE is a powerful bridge that can bring us all together! So go celebrate your best me, build your braveheart’s treasure, & let’s

 catch CATCH-M together!

Once you do, tell everyone you meet! Give away your books, buy one as a gift, or explain to others about the transformative power of their smiles and their gift to believe. Together, we can start & be part of a beautiful r-EVOL-ution!