Not being much of a fiction reader, I’ve never had the opportunity to use the following line: The movie doesn’t do the book justice (I’ve always wanted to say or write that).
Still, if you really love Jim Carrey, you’ll like this. If you’re not a Carrey fan, then still give it a try. In other words, say “yes!”
The book, on the other hand, is a must-read. Danny Wallace is a man in a rut. He needed a little kick-start and a little fun. One day, a man on the bus tells him that his basic problem is that he says “no” too much. “The people without passion are the ones who always say no. Say yes more!”
So, Danny Wallace starts to say “Yes!” to everything – for a year!
The book is a tremendous and hilarious study in positivity and opportunity and a chance to do something new every moment. As Wallace learns, it’s not necessarily positive thinking that changes your life, but positive doing. It’s a lesson in grabbing odd opportunities that lead to somewhere – even if you don’t know where the somewhere is.
In the book, Wallace offers a “Yes Manifesto” to sign. Here it is:
I, ________________, being of sound mind and sound body, do hereby write this manifesto for life.
I swear I will be more open to opportunity. I swear I will live my life taking every available chance given to me. I swear I will say yes to every favor, request, suggestion, and invitation – the little things that come my way every day.
I swear that henceforth, I will say yes when once I would have said no.
I will do whatever I can to achieve YES. But people who know I’m the Yes Man are not allowed to tell other people or take advantage of my situation… This is a way of life.
Now, in the end of the book and the movie we learn that we must also use discernment in our life and say “no” to some things; however, you’ll at least be awake in the moment to consciously make your decision.
So, will you be the next Yes Knight?
Sir Bowie “trying to overcome the fear of saying 'yes' more often” of Greenbriar
Sooo, Sir Bowie....will you give me $50,000 Bucks?????
ReplyDeleteand your answer is ???.........
really?? well that's not a good start is it?
Let's try again,...Sir Bowie
will you give me $50,000...
what's that?...if you had it you'd give it to me...
okay, fair answer :)
Sir Dayvd ( still saying a positive No, till he has to say Yes, or when Yes is in his best interest ) of Oxfordshire.
Sir Dayvd,
ReplyDeleteYou're trying to take advantage of my situation?
Note, I said "trying to overcome the fear of saying yes more often."
Yes, I'm afraid that I'll have to say "Yes, I won't give it to you!"
But, I do appreciate the opportunity to think about saying yes.
Sir Bowie "NOble" of Greenbriar
LOL I can see you are putting a lot of thought into it...
ReplyDeleteOf course... saying Yes, broke up the Beatles...
In the late sixties, Yoko Ono, who was unknown to the Beatles, was having an exhibiton of her avant garde conceptual artwork in a major gallery in London, and Lennon went along out of interest.
One of the installations was thus: ...in the middle of an empty room stood a pair of tall step-ladders, and on the top step was left a magnifying glass for the ascender to use to peer at a tiny almost microscopic word written on the ceiling.
Lennon climbed the ladder, and looked, and what he read convinced him to marry the artist Yoko Ono before he had met her.
The word written on the ceiling was "Yes".
I'm proud to say she related that tale to me , in 1997 ( on the day Micheal Hutchince from INXS, was found dead which was memorable and spooky ) when I was lucky to have been able to interview her at a private showing of a revival of that exact show, which was put on in The Museum of Modern Art, in Oxford, I believe, 30 years after it originally had been in London.
It was an interview I sold to a few magazines in America too. It was conducted alone in the gallery, after she showed me round and then while we were playing chess on her handmade "peace board"...where all the squares were white and all the Chess Pieces were white. Yep...i figure you can work out the concept going on there.
Sir Dayvd ( saying NO to War ) of Oxfordshire
There are a lot of hard core Beatles fans, of which I;m one, that thinks that John should have said "No" to Yoko. I didn't know the story of the piece of art. Perhaps he fell in love with the creature first instead of the creator? So rock star like! Cool that Sir D got to interview her and hear the story first hand!
ReplyDeleteUnlike Sir Bowie, I have the opposite problem...I say yes to almost everything! My quest has been to learn how to say no, something that Lady Allwinky has been helpful to me in discovering.
So there you have it! Perhaps the key is not saying yes...or saying no...but not giving into fear! I fear that saying no will not please others. People who won't say yes are usually afraid of something new. Either way, fear gets in the way.
Sir Hook Saying No to Fear and Yes Less Often of Warrick
ahhh ... so Sir Hook, will you give me $50,000 ????
ReplyDeleteSir dayvd ( asking before you give up saying yes ) of Oxfordshire
Sure, Sir D! I'll give you $50,0000 in monopoly money, or if I'm feeling particularly generous how about $50,000 in Jamaican dollars?
ReplyDeleteSir Hook the "Ya Man" Banker of Warrick