“Don’t get stuck or dwell on negativity.  If you’re going to get stuck, get stuck on happiness.  Dwell on joy, appreciation, beauty, and positivity.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     “To be in a perpetual state of happiness you have to want happiness more than anything else.  It means giving up every kind of self-pity, justification, indulgence, or excuse as to why you can’t be happy.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     “Anytime an unhappy thought enters your mind, you must banish it immediately.  There is no other way to happiness.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     “Happiness is a state of joy, positivity, and perspective.  Happiness is a philosophy, an attitude, a passion.  Happiness is a choice.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     “To realize happiness you must unlearn your old ways of thinking and replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     “You have the power to decide which thoughts occupy your mind and constitute your energy.  With practice, this power grows into habit, which eventually becomes your normal way of interacting with the world.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     “You cannot think unhappy thoughts and expect to be happy.  If you want to be happy, you have to think happy thoughts.”

‒ Excerpted from More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life by Adam Soto

Golden Rule Independent Publications © 2022

     Recently, I wrote a book entitled, More Than Anything Else: Deciding What You Want the Most in Life, which can be found in the Books section of this website and can be read or downloaded for free at any time.

     As I’ve done with my other original writings, I am going to post sections of the book through my blog to share with people every few days.  I am going to limit this to just the Quotes section at the end of the book, but you can feel free to read the entire book at your leisure.  (It’s a fairly short book.)

     Here is what is written on the back cover of the book:

When we are young, we are taught many things.  Some of the things that we are taught are good and helpful like reading, writing, and arithmetic.  We are given lessons in classical literature and history.  We are taught the basics of science and economics.  But one thing that hardly anyone teaches us about is ourselves.  Most of us grow up without the slightest understanding of our own mind and thought processes―and the power that we have over them.

Why is that?  If there is one thing in this world that should be essential for each of us to know, shouldn’t it be our own mind and how it functions?

One of the problems in life is that from a very young age we are taught by the examples of others that it is okay to indulge in anger, self-pity, anxiety, and negative thinking―that it is, in fact, normal to do so!  That it’s a part of what it means to be human!  But nothing could be further from the truth!  That’s not the way that a human life needs to be at all!  By practicing a philosophy of happiness, a person can escape from these kinds of self-defeating ways of thinking and mature into a happy, positive, and fulfilled person.

So what do you want the most in life?  What are your goals?  Why wait any longer to live a life of constant happiness?  Be happy now!

Be happy always!

Thank you for your interest!

―Adam Soto

     Long ago in the forest there lived a fox named Frankie.  He was the most beautiful fox the forest had ever seen.  Yet, for a time, Frankie was unaware of his beauty, and he lived his life like all the others, hunting and playing games in the woods.

     One day, while he was playing a game of hide-and-seek with his friends, Frankie passed under the tree branch of an old black crow.  When the crow saw Frankie, he was immediately impressed by his beauty, and flew over to where Frankie was hiding.

     “Excuse me,” said the crow.  “What exactly are you doing?”

     “I’m playing hide-and-seek with my friends,” replied Frankie.

     “Well, with a coat of fur as beautiful and red as yours, I can’t see any reason to hide it behind a tree!”

     “Gee, thanks!” said Frankie, surprised at what the crow had said.  “But am I really that beautiful?”

     “Oh my, yes!” replied the crow.  “I’ve lived in this forest a long time, and I’ve never seen a fox as beautiful as you!”

     “Wow!” thought Frankie.  “I never knew I was so beautiful!”  And he said goodbye to the crow and his friends, and ran home.

   When Frankie arrived at his family’s den, he found his mother there, resting peacefully.  Frankie laid down beside her and asked, “Mom, am I beautiful?”

     “Of course you are, dear.  You’re the most beautiful fox that’s ever lived!”

     Frankie was amazed.  “The crow was right … I really am beautiful!”  And he thought long and hard about what the crow and his mother had said.

     The next morning, Frankie’s friends came by to see if he wanted to play a game in the woods, but Frankie didn’t want to.

     “I don’t feel like playing right now,” he said.  “I think I’m going to clean my fur.”

     So his friends left and came back later in the day, but Frankie still wasn’t ready to play.

     “Maybe tomorrow,” he said, and he went to the lake to look at his reflection in the water.

     The following morning, Frankie’s friend Joey came by to see if he wanted to play a game of hide-and-seek in the woods, but Frankie wasn’t interested.

     “I’m tired of playing hide-and-seek,” he complained.  “Let’s do something else.”

     So Joey suggested going hunting for a new secret hideout, but Frankie didn’t like that idea either.

     “Nah.  I’ll end up getting sticks and leaves caught in my fur.”

     So Joey tried one last idea.  “We could go running through mud puddles,” he said.  “You always want to do that.”

     “I would,” replied Frankie, “but water makes my hair curl.”

     So Joey left, and all that day Frankie did nothing but admire his shiny red coat.

     The next morning, when his friends came by to see if he wanted to go hunting, Frankie wasn’t interested.

     “I’m sun bathing today,” he said.  “It makes my coat shinier.”  And his friends were very confused.

     “This isn’t like you,” said one of his friends.  “It seems like the only thing that matters to you anymore is your shiny red coat.  Why don’t you ever want to play any games?”

     “I just don’t want to do anything to ruin the beauty of my fur coat,” replied Frankie.

     His friends laughed.  “What makes you think you’re any more beautiful than the rest of us?” one of them asked.

     “My mom told me.  She said I’m the most beautiful fox that ever lived!”

     Joey smiled.  “Everybody’s Mom says that, Frankie.  Why, my mom told me the same thing just the other day.”

     “Oh yeah!” cried Frankie.  “The old crow I talked to in the woods said I’m the most beautiful fox he’s ever seen!”  And Frankie ran into the forest, away from his friends.

     The next day, none of Frankie’s friends came by to see him.  It was the same the following day, and again the day after that.

     At last, Frankie got tired of looking at his reflection in the water and cleaning his fur, so he set out to find his friends.  But when he found them, none of them wanted to play with him.

     “They act like they’re mad at me” Frankie said to himself.  “It’s not my fault I was born this beautiful.”  And he sat down by a tree, sad because he had no one to play with.

     All of a sudden, Frankie heard a voice from above him in the tree.

     “Whooo’s there?” asked the voice, in a deep drawn-out tone.

     “My name’s Frankie,” he replied, timidly.

     “Hello Frankie.  My name’s Oscar the owl.  Why do you look so sad?”

     “Because all of my friends are mad at me,” he replied.

     “Why?” asked the owl.  “What have you done?”

     “Nothing, really.  I think they’re jealous of my beauty.”

     “Who said you’re beautiful?” asked the owl, playfully.

     “My mom … and an old black crow.”

     “I see.  And I suppose you told your friends that?”

     “Yeah, I did,” said Frankie.  “Then they got mad at me.”

     “I think I know what the problem is,” remarked the owl.

     “You do?”

     “Yes.  You see Frankie, when you have a gift such as you have, you shouldn’t gloat about it to your friends because that makes them feel bad.  We all have gifts.  One of your friends might be a really good hunter or a great swimmer.  Perhaps another is able to jump really high or run really fast.  Our gifts should bring joy to ourselves and those around us.  And they should never get in the way of our relationships.         

     “It’s our relationships that are most important in life,” continued the owl.  “Having a shiny red coat doesn’t make you better than anybody else.”

     Frankie smiled.  “You’re right, Oscar! That is what’s most important!  I have to go find my friends and apologize for the way I’ve been acting.  Thank you so much for your help!”

     “You’re welcome, Frankie.”

     And so Frankie found his friends and told them about the owl and the old black crow, and he shared with them the lessons he had learned.  Soon his life was back to normal, and he no longer spent his days admiring his shiny red coat.

     “We all have gifts,” he would sometimes say to his friends.  “But the greatest gift of all is each other.”

Excerpted from Shine Like the Sun: A Collection of Children’s Stories by Adam Soto

     The sun had just come up and was shining through the window when little Johnny awoke.  It was Christmas morning and Johnny couldn’t wait to see how many presents were beneath the Christmas tree.

     In a single motion, Johnny threw off his covers and slid out of bed, then he tip-toed down the stairs to see the Christmas tree.

     When he got there, he couldn’t believe his eyes; he’d never seen so many presents before! He was so excited that he ran upstairs and woke up his parents, and soon they were ready to open up their presents.

     Johnny’s first present was a big red fire truck.  He laughed with glee and tore into his next present.  It was a giant robot, just like one he’d seen at the toy store.  Then he opened up a cowboy hat with a sheriff’s badge, a couple of matchbox cars, and an electronic racetrack.

     “Wow,” said Johnny.  “This is the best Christmas ever!  I got everything I wanted!  I can’t wait to play with all of my new stuff!”

   When they were finished opening their presents, Johnny’s family went to church, and afterwards, they gathered together with their relatives at Johnny’s grandparent’s house to celebrate Christmas.  All of Johnny’s cousins were there, and some of them had brought along their new toys.

     Johnny’s cousin Alex was playing with his Lego’s and was building an airplane.  Tyler had a football.  Keri was listening to a new CD player.  Clint was playing with a Spider-Man toy, and Stacy was admiring her snowboard.

     Johnny looked at all of their new things and said to his mother and father, “Why didn’t I get any Lego’s?  Why didn’t I get a football or a Spider-Man toy?  I want a snowboard, too!”

     But his mother frowned at him.   “Johnny, you got a fire truck, a sheriff’s badge, a robot, and a racetrack.”

     “I know, Mom, but I want what they have!”

     “Johnny,” his father said, reassuringly.  “Look at your little cousins playing with their toys and how happy they are.  They didn’t get a fire truck or a robot.  They didn’t get a sheriff’s badge or matchbox cars.  They’re just happy with what they have.  Before you knew what your cousins got, you said that this was the best Christmas ever, remember?”

     Johnny’s eyebrows went up as he thought about this.  His dad was right.  He did say that this was the best Christmas ever.

     “You see, Johnny,” said his mother, “You’re lucky to have what you have, and your cousins are lucky to have what they have.  Everybody gets different gifts because everybody wants different things.  You said you got everything you wanted, so let’s just thank God for that.  Now why don’t you go over and play with your cousins.  I’m sure they’ll be glad to share their gifts with you.”

     Johnny smiled.  He could see that his parents were right.  This really was the best Christmas ever.

     So you see, there’s always going to be things that other people have that you don’t have.  And sometimes you’re going to have things that they don’t have.  It’s when we share these things that everyone experiences the most joy.

Excerpted from Shine Like the Sun: A Collection of Children’s Stories by Adam Soto