The Wow Center

What Is The Wow Center?

The Wow Center is a web site, and in the future, an actual place.

A place where where the domain of human potential and possibility is explored beyond our ordinary conceptions of change, incremental growth and improvement.

This is a shift from a change orientation to a creation point of view and state, experiencing from a space of unlimited possibility, rather than modifying what already is.

It's an exploration and inquiry with a mind and heart open to possibility...one that we don't even expect exists, like beginning any time with a blank canvas, a new start; it is in the realm of pure discovery, hunches, insights, "ahas"...and a return to the rewards of the innocent sense of wonder and "wow" we had as young children. Hence The Wow Center.

"Become like a child again."

Read The Wow Center Vision Statement and Manifesto.

To find out more about Dr. Richard Talsky, read his inspiring story.

Also, read some excerpts of Dr. Talsky's fascinating new book 50 Ways to Thrive and find out how you can order some for yourself.

Any any questions,suggestions or comments? Contact Dr. Talsky.

December 01, 2008

Consider giving copies of 50 Ways to Thrive, Putting the Sizzle Back Into Your Life, as gifts for the holidays. It fits in the pocket and continues to give lasting inspiration and fresh ideas for creating an exciting and powerful life; a life we were born for.
See below.

July 31, 2008

50 Ways to Thrive, Putting the Sizzle Back Into Your Life, my book is now available in paperback through http://www.lulu.com/content/1190018 for $15 per copy for 25 copies or less or through this site for more than 25 copies at a discount, go to "50 Ways to Thrive in the menu, and then click on "ordering information".

The book is now available for bulk sales to organizations, clubs, companies, training groups, teams, schools and colleges, or any group that can use a boost.

You can make a difference in many other lives: You can order one or multiple copies for your family, friends, your congregation, club, organization, company employees...even your community (i.e. gift to the library).

1-25 $15 each
26-50 $14
51-100 $13
101-250 $12
251-500 $11
501-1000 $10
Quantities greater than one thousand, please ask for a quote. Go to "ordering information" in the section in the menu "50 Ways to Thrive".

July 30, 2008

"You can ask for the moon and get it", said a man I knew, Percy Ross, a multi-millionaire, who wrote a book about it, had a syndicated advice column--which was read all across the country on the theme "asking"-- and through the column he gave money or arranged for some of what his readers asked for. He did the same on a live radio show in Minneapolis, where he was living. He died several years ago shortly after giving his entire 20 million dollar fortune in 50s and 100s and 1000s of dollar bequests to some of the people who asked, depending on what they asked for and the manner in which they asked, and why it was worthy of accommodation or frivolous. In his book, his column and on his show he explained the dynamics of asking and why people say yes to someone asking even if the asker is a stranger to them.

What most of us don't realize and why we, way-to-often, don't ask for what we want is we think asking is always an imposition or because we can't handle the idea of being turned down, as if it was a personal rejection.

What very few humans are aware of is nearly everyone wants to say yes, no matter who asks, if the person asked is able and ready to say yes and has some reason to be willing.

Is it possible, even practical to ask anyone--those we know, or are barely acquainted with, or even complete strangers--for anything. Can we move the needle from no certainty in the direction of more certainty, or even near total certainty, and--yes,it sounds impossible--even complete certainty, that the person asked will accommodate us? The answer is a resounding YES! Can we move the batting average from the double digits to batting 1000? Yes, yes, yes.

I assure you the answer is yes, once you see what moves people to accommodate others, even strangers.

By understanding why and when you say yes, you will better understand the motivation of others saying yes, starting yourself on the path to outrageous asking and people complying in the most natural fashion.

To illustrate this dynamic of unexpected accommodation, imagine the collection of possessions that many people have stored and are not using. They likely have already decided to get rid of many of these things, yet they've delayed taking action.
If you, even a stranger, where to learn they had such an item stored and no longer wanted it, then that awareness can support you asking them for the item, followed by a likely or certain yes.

By using your imagination, resourcefulness and exploration, you can expand your awareness of sources like these that you previously didn't expect. Also putting out feelers, networking, communicating with fliers, on-line billboards and tools like Craigslist, are all examples of accessing unsuspected supply waiting for your or anyone's asking.

I suggest you practice your asking in new and creative ways that move you to reach out into areas you've never taken your asking before and then DISCOVER JUST HOW POWERFUL ASKING CAN BE. Continually practicing asking in new ways and new areas will have reinforcing affect that will foster more productive ways of asking. This is a virtuous cycle. Remember people, under the right conditions, want to say yes. They want to make a difference...just as you do, under the right circumstances.z

By sustaining and developing this practice, you can transform your state into prosperity.

Now, let's take it to the next level. By asking a room full of people who have shown evidence, clues, that they would want to say yes, and who've been invited to hear what you have to say, you now expose yourself to multiples of yeses. From such a scenario can you see that you could wind up not just with 100% chance for a yes; you actually could get several yeses. By understanding this power of leverage by asking many at one time, you now can expand your expectations of how much you can ask for.

Let's shift our thinking through imagination, as illustrated with the examples above, and realize just how much more is available for the asking in each of our lives.

Several years ago I coined a term Infinite Economics to identify the result of an inquiry, a sort of mind experiment I did. I asked the question: "What if all of economics had the do with handling wants?" If we were to address wants rather than involving money or the act of buying regarding this issue, than we can focus on the question, "How can anyone get what they want?". I found this simplification useful because then I could focus on only the ways that people can get what they want. So far, in this thought experiment (a method Einstein used), I've been only able to isolate eight ways to get anything someone wants. However, this is not a limitation. This is because within each way (each distinction) there may be an infinite number of ways or possibilities to get whatever someone wants. If not infinite, there are certainly an abundant collection of possibilities for each one, considering the number of people and kinds of situations that can be exploited.

One major reason why this is so useful is, it removes the fictional requirement of having to have money first so that you can pay for what you want. When you realize how many people are available to you and how many different kinds of situations can be tapped to bring what you want to you, you are then not stopped or delayed because you think something is missing to move forward. You can act immediately by using your imagination, ingenuity, resourcefulness to tap into the abundance of sources of what you want and the millions, even billions of people who will readily accommodate you if only they knew of your want.

Each of the eight ways are like lenses to reveal just how many sources are available through each way.

To illustrate, let's ask a person in poverty, "What could you do, or have, or develop, if you weren't stopped by lack of material assets, schooling, experience, contacts, or other seeming lack of advantages?" What does an "impoverished" person have going for them, instead of what's missing? Some people might call this creating anything from "nothing."

What would this kind of continuing inquiry create in the face of income "inequality."
I suggest that looking at the possibility of supply through these eight lenses, empowers anyone, who opens their mind to it, that no one has too little to start on the path to having anything they want out of life, no matter how enormous or complex.

I suggest that Infinite Economics is a model (a paradigm) that can reveal the endless possibility for anyone who can open their mind to it and who has sufficient mental ability to understand this model. (I'd guess that would include at least 90% of humans living today.)

I'd further suggest that spreading this understanding into the mainstream of our world population could very well lead to the creation of social and economic justice.

During this period I've been sharing these ways with many people. So far, very few people have seen the possibilities of the simplicity of these categories. I think that's because it contradicts the beliefs of most people that economics is mysterious, complicated and that what most see as insurmountable social problems would not yield to this simple structured way of seeing economic challenges. My view is that these 8 ways are paths to human empowerment, using any person's integral advantages.

My invitation to my readers is to try on this way of looking at economic challenges. Experiment with one or more of the ways by improvising and experimenting with approaches within each way. Use the example of things you want, yet seem unobtainable to you. You can also use these 8 lenses to look at other people who seem to be stopped in getting what they want. You can then recognize what they're not seeing and you might coach or mentor them, if they are open to it, to discovering what is being overlooked, if only they had the "eyes" to see it.

These are the 8 ways to get whatever you want in life, tangible or intangible, material things, or non-material advantages, qualities, or abilities:
1. Ask for what you want;
2. Trade something you have for what you want;
3. Find what you want. I call this "pick the fruit." Pick the fruit of the abundant supply of things people want and can value, that are lying around, "ready-for-the-pickin' ", waiting for you to develop your perception enough to recognize this abundant supply;
4. Borrow it. Obtain it for use until you bring it back according to the terms of an agreement;
5. Share (like borrow) it. With sharing you use it at the site (i.e. a tool) where it belongs while it's not in use. (by keeping #4 and #5 distinct in your imagination, you will be able to think of many more possibilities for each);
6. Accept a gift (not in response to an ask). For example, some one offers what you want because, say they learn of your want without you asking or even your knowing about them;
7. You create what you want. You write a song, paint a picture, build a radio or house, or create a business from an idea or insight.
8. From a divine source (i.e. God). You ask God for it, you prey for it. This is without question an infinite way.

"You can give a person a fish and they'll eat for a day, or you can [give them eyes to see the way for them] to fish." This is not teaching, this is showing the way.

July 29, 2008

These are some of the topics you'll soon be able to read about here: How is wellness really different than health, and what difference does it make? What is "upside" thinking? What is 'would-working tm' and how can it create impact in our lives. What is 'Infinite Economics tm' and what possibilities does it create for ubiquitous poverty, homelessness, or so-called injustices of unequal income? What makes asking work most optimally? The power of 'What if?'- and 'Why not?'-creativity. What are some of the abundant, commonly-overlooked ways to find what you're looking for...and having it at no cost? The magic and power of observing and recognizing the unexpected (including synchronicity and serendipity).'The Four Strands tm': Shifting the focus from skills to talents, knowledge to understanding, and from doing what's 'in demand' to doing: what you love, what you're good at, what interests you and what you uniquely understand...and then generating demand. What is slavery...and how is it that most of us are unknowingly enslaved...and what can we do about it? (Slavery by another name)

August 09, 2007

Our Deepest Fear
by Marianne Williamson
from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Whenever I approached the moment as an adventure rather than avoiding risk or looking for safety, almost always it yielded so much more.

One of the simplest and most profound lines I've ever read was the title of a book. It said, "Don't Stop at Green Lights." This has been a major theme of my life. My regrets have mostly not been my mistakes in action. My greatest regrets have been an opportunity I didn't appreciate or recognize or one I saw the value of and was too hesitant to act.

I've come to realize that in making a decision to act, I'm able to be surprised by resources or support for moving forward that I didn't see or expect arriving until I was in action. This has been one of my most important lessons. We think before taking on a challenge that we don't know how to do it, or we don't have what it takes, or enough to work with. So we don't give it or ourselves a chance. We don't ask for help. We don't improvise. We don't look at the upside.

Would you like to help me do
the most unique and creative real estate deal in America?
...and create a revolutionary business model in the process!

If you'd like to help me develop this plan you can reach me at my e-mail address dr.richard.talsky@gmail.com.

"Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation
profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit."
--Ansel Adams (American Photographer, 1902-1984)

Once this model has been launched and developed, it can then be used to save a kind of building, of a supposedly extinct architecture, in locations all over North America.
This style of architecture is probably America's most endangered building style and probably also it's most gorgeous.

This type of building, a venue for entertainment, if redeveloped along the lines I propose, can serve to revitalize the downtowns. and small towns that they are centered in, that now remain un- or underutilized all over North America.

This plan actually involves two different kinds of properties, in different parts of the Chicago area. One is a building and the other is an open space, outdoor venue with an enclosed limited access perimeter allowing for admission fees.

They each share the characteristics allowing for the original and creative uses and redevelopment to yield many times the economic payoff from multiple revenue streams in a completely new way.

Both properties can be acquired for just a few per cent of what these properties will be worth once they're producing the revenue streams I've projected in my planned use. Such streams can be realized in each case
within a few months of acquisition.

The open venue has been overlooked by the press and Mayor Daley's advisors in the consideration of the possibilities for a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies for the aspired summer Olympic bid that has been much in the local news lately. This particular property is more than double the size necessary to accommodate the 80,000 or even 100,000 for the opening and closing ceremonies and other competitions.

This would eliminate the need for construction and would save a couple hundred million dollars in construction costs.

It is my intention to acquire, develop and operate both venues for a wide variety of uses.

The larger open venue could be operated by me until, during & after the Olympic Games.

I've developed a method of acquisition, operation and restoration finance for the venue, which is a theater, in a system of methods that's never been done. It's a complete operational and acquisition innovation.

The communities immediately surrounding and near the theater would be elated to see the theater developed and restored for this unprecedented variety of uses.

I've also developed a completely original financing method adapted uniquely to the outdoor venue, that could later be applied to large outdoor venues and stadiums.

Regular readers will often find two posts, one about looking for a center and the other about the theater repeated as if a new post. If you've read them already, please read on for additional NEW posts for that day.

A Third Place
What Ray Oldenburg calls "the third place" as so essential to human life. The first place is where we live; the second place is where we work. And Third places exist on neutral ground and serve to level their guests to a condition of social equality. Within these places, conversation is the primary activity and the major vehicle for the display and appreciation of human personality and individuality. Since the formal institutions of society make stronger claims upon the individual, third places are normally open in the off hours, as well as at other times. The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood, which contrasts with people's more serious involvement in other spheres. Though a radically different kind of setting for a home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home in the psychological comfort and support that it extends.

You can help find a location in Chicago for a center for human potential: Healthy living, personal growth, healing, creativity, conversation, communication, relationships, an expo and The Life Center (See "The Life Center" section on this site) This will be a kind of "third place"--(Ray Oldenberg), a new kind of public place, a social leveler (egalitarian), were people of all walks of life can build community in an open, integrating manner, broadening horizons and perspectives as never before...a kind of cross-cultural, creatve pollination.

This will be a homey, fun, informal place to explore daring, bold, experimantal possibility and test your inborn gifts, and find and develop your purpose, calling, mission..ingniting new passion and freshness in every day life: creating a daily wow experience.

This blog is designed to develop and express my ideas for this new kind of center as a generator of possibility and a creative force for a thriving community and society.

This can produce unexpected answers for a world that works... in the face of prevelant crisis and conflict. You can share ideas and together we can build a community of innovation, creativity, even transformation, in America's finest tradition.

"The real magic is a 'childs' own mind"
or using that unfettered mind as an adult, creating fresh and original vision.

"Discover the magic of recognizing a person you see
as twice their present size (capability)"

"The great leaders are the best conductors--they reach beyond the notes to the magic of the players"--Bruce Lee

"The great leader who exercises power with honor will work from the inside-out...
starting with him[her]self."

This is my vision ... a vision of possibility greater than most of us let ourselves imagine.

Explore and discover a pathway to distinction...and differentiation with me,
unfolding the hidden genius and greatness within you.

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly.
AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." -, Nike ad

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results." -Anon.

"Avoiding the phrase "I don't have time...", will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to accomplish in life." --Bo Bennett, "Year to Success"

"Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power." -Blaine Lee, The Power Principle

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both." -James A. Michener, attributed

Your life, this world can develop beyond your wildest imaginings---once you turn on your creativity. Join me in bringing a more creative outlook into the mainstream.

Beyond opening a center for human potential, I envision The Life Center with member-based programs in neighborhood centers throughout the Chicago and suburbs. Each will be self-contained and autonomous in each community, with resources and an environment for creating thriving humans and an optimal community, together moving toward an optimal world.

The Uptown Theater
As a componant of this vision, for sometime now I've engaged in developing and actualizing a plan to give the 81-year old Uptown Theater at Lawrence and Broadway, new life (on Chicago's North side). I envision a combination of old uses, (film, live shows, even radio broadcasting), rolled together with dozens of activities and attractions never done in a theater of any kind.

The Uptown, probably America's foremost remaining movie palace from the '20's, has been asleep, out of regular use since it closed in disrepair in 1981. It's had two ownerships since, and except for occasional private events has not been active. One ownership ended in sale for taxes in the early '90s and the most recent owner a real estate trust, embroiled in a two-year forced bankruptsy proceeding, is enroute to foreclosure. At that point I aim to acquire it.

To do this, according to my plan, would require community support, involving ordinary folks and some unconventional finance approaches. Using aggressive and creative approaches, existing stakeholders---those who would benefit from its comeback---will provide the resources both monetary and non-monetary.

To bring a new dynamic combination of cultural offerings to a georgeous architectural gem, large enough to accomodate multiple activities at one time and all day and all night, requires the collaborative, creative participation of many unconventional and adventurous and talented souls of all ages.

This plan could easily include a center for human potential, previously described, and a prototype of The Life Center.

Who are the stakeholders, that can make a difference in the creation of this delicious possibility?
Those who love...Culture, Uptown, architectural gems, old theaters, the Uptown Square Plaza (with The Riviera Theater, Greenmill Lounge from the pre-'20s, The Aragon Ballroom, The 12-story bank building, Border's in the newly restored former department store.)...those who love film, theater, live music, showbiz,the arts...and those who'd love to bring back the cultural leadership of Uptown from the '20s. Also, those who'd love a 24 hour place to hang out (see the Third Place), to have conversatioins, to snack, to do creative projects any time. And don't forget, a place to showcase any kind of talent.

I am ready, able, willing and eager to make this happen. I have an exciting plan, never done before, that can revolutionize culture, and serve as a model to save such theaters, hundreds of them all over the country.

I can do it. I can't of course do it alone. It will take the small, medium and large actions of 100s, 1000s of supporters. Are you with me or am I by myself? It won't take large amounts from a small number, instead varying amounts from very many. You can e-mail me at drtalsky@thewowcenter

November 27, 2006

(from the book "Lincoln's Sword"), "In the four years that Lincoln would be president, the American public would gradually discover, much to its collective astonishment, that this unprepossessing politician had remarkable abilities as a writer. It's a constant puzzle to many men of letters how a person growing up without the advantage of schools and books could have acquired the art which enabled him to write The Gettysburg Address and The Second Inaugural." Also he wrote, as this book points out memos, speeches and other communications and correspondance that qulifies as some of the most important literature in America history.

I ask how was it possible for the deaf and mute Helen Keller to become world famous for her eloquent ideas and her leadership in social causes and her unprecedented college graduation near the top of her class and author of important books and other writings...
How was it possible for an uneducated Edison to invent and patent and commercialize hundreds of inventions. I could list dozens of other examples that confound our ordinary and conventional expectations of people.

I say you can ask for the moon and get it.
That anything is possible. You can create alot from a little and even something from nothing.

These questions and the following quotes are the most important and inspiring in my quest to bring a true understanding of what humans and humanity can accomplish:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost."
--Martha Graham
US choreographer & dancer (1894 - 1991)

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the
world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all
meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make
manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just
in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated from
our own fear, our presence automatically liberates
others." --A Return To Love, Williamson

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states
that something is possible, he is almost certainly
right. When he states that something is impossible,
he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the
possible is to venture a little way past them into the
impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic.

"Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing
what is impossible for talent is genius."
--Henri Frederic Amiel

"Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think
it impossible for anyone to accomplish."
--Marcus Aurelius

"Impossible is a word to be found only in the
dictionary of fools."
--Napoleon Bonaparte

"Compared to what we ought to be, we are
only half awake. We are making use of only
a small part of our mental and physical resources."
--William James

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a
human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes."
--William James

November 06, 2006

My daughter Elisabeth has been in a spiritual retreat for several years. In her last e-mail message she said she didn't know I went to art school years ago. This was my reply:

October 12, 2006

Jane Addams, Nebel laureate, started the first American settlement house in Chicago. During the observation of the 2nd 20 year-period, she was quoted as saying, "Our hope of [social] achievement...lies in the complete mobilization of the human spirit, using all our unrealized and unevoked capacity."

This is a wonderful statement summarizing in a sentence my vision of the possibilities for our world and for humanity. With Hull House's founding she decided to focus on "the nurturing of the human spirit", offering clubs, parties and cultural events and college extension classes for working-class people. This mirrors much of my vision for developing the Uptown Theater. I'd add integrating all classes, becoming a classles society. Also we'll have a primary focus on a wide range of daily seminars rather than college-like classes.

You can read about how she started it and her inspiration in a new biography:
Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy by Louise W. Knight (Hardcover - Published and available now at Borders..)

If you read the whole post you'll get much of the flavor I'm aiming for with this whole quest of thewowcenter.com and with all my other related projects to come, and my book.

October 09, 2006

The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality (Hardcover)
by Walter Benn Michaels (Author)
Some unique and extraordinary insights and recognitions:

Judging the truth or validity of anything based on judging the source
On page 191 of this new book, the author makes a remarkable observation:

It's not about honoring differences (not that differences don't deserve to be honored)
On page 192 he points out uniquely that the solution doesn't come from being nicer to homeless people, it's that

I've created a program I call Infinite Economics TM. In this original perspective I boil down all of economics to the fulfilling of wants. I then asked how many distinct ways are there to have what you want. After I asked this question and explored all the possible ways, it occurred to me that money was not any of those essential ways. It could be part of any of these ways but did not have to be for any of these ways to work. By understanding these ways, 7 of them, we could use each way as an abundant pathway to have anything we want regardless of the access to money or not. This recognition I've come to recognize is liberating and be a guide to economic growth for anyone starting from any point. These seven ways are asking, trading, receiving a gift, sharing, finding (what belongs to no one), creating it and last divine intervention (a gift from God, if you will. I've created a seminar to empower people to expand economically starting anywhere, even with seemingly nothing.

If you'd like to learn more about Infinite Economics TM and/or starting a group to develop these ideas, contact me via e-mail on this site.

Remarkably, when you take this approach, an upside approach (optimism) you get supported from within (an optimal result). To quote an article in Parade Magazine,

Learning to focus on the positive (what I call the upside) can do wonders for energy levels.

I have explored this effect for decades and can verify that you can pretty well count on this phenomenon to increase energy.

October 05, 2006

Hospitality has been a continuing theme in my life. Sometimes the lack of it is in my face and sometimes I see when I leap in the opposite direction almost automatically. Yet, I feel so strongly about it and care so deeply.

I grew up in a household were grace and charm and welcome were the usual in social situations at home and out in public. Yet, while driving my dad would emotionally show the opposite, often with aggression and danger. This could be the case at home too from time to time. My dad bought a restaurant, a '50s diner, a grill. Almost always everyone was made to feel welcome, that they were a guest. At times he'd fly off the handle, and the mood was anything but welcome.

When I brought friends or neighbors, growing up, I loved to make them feel at home, to accommodate and to serve them. I enjoyed this in my dad's grill also. As a husband along with my wife, I continued to invite family, friends and my chiropractic patients into the house and often out socially. In my practice was an extaordinary standard of accomodation.
Despite a full schedule, I always made room for another. People would get an answered phone at any hour, and I'd usually invite them to come in right away if necessary.

In a new book, Setting the Table,the Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer, an entrepreneur who opened a restaurant in Manhattan (N.Y.City), with no training or experience in restaurants, and he now operates eleven thriving, famous and honored locations, each a different, imaginative concept.

He says, "hospitality is when something happens FOR you. It's abscent when something happens TO you." He goes on to credit, "understanding the difference between service and hospitality has been the foundation of our success. Service is the technical delivery of a product. Hospitality is how the delivery of that product makes its recipent feel. He continues, "Service is a monologue--we decide how we want to do things and set our own standards for service. Hospitality, on the other hand, is a dialogue. to be on the guest's side requires listening to that person with every sense, following up with a thoughtful, gracious, appropriate response. It requires both great service and great hospitality to rise to the top." The last line in the book about how he wants customers to feel: "This is the place that most makes me feel I've come home."

Other key thoughts: " 'Shared ownership' develops when guests talk about a restaurant as if it was theirs. That sense of affiliation builds trust and invariably leads to repeat business." He suggests, "Err on the side of generosity." And finally, "Wherever your center lies, know it, name it, believe in it. When you cede your core values to someone else it's time to quit."

As I reflected on this distinctive and useful perspective on hospitality, it occured to me to imagine what our lives and this world would be like if this became a standard of behavior and interaction between people in all waks of life,

The Ultimate Life