Potato Wedges for the Heart

By Wolfgang Riebe

INSPIRATIONAL STORIES, THOUGHTS & INSIGHTS THAT COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Chicken Soup of the Soul is a world best seller and phenomenal book! Well, here is it's brother... Potato Wedges from the Heart!

When you picture a potato wedge, what comes to mind? Something warm, tasty and cosy?

That's what this life-changing book is... a collection of short, tasty inspirational stories collected from all over the world, by unknown authors. They will not only touch your heart, but also feed your soul. Careful consideration and deep thought has gone into the selection of stories, insights and life lessons that are shared in this book. Wolfgang also shares his interpretation of all the thoughts shared, in order to expand on the meaning and give you real value from each story.

Most stories are only one page long, yet have so much depth that just reading one insight per day will give you a new meaning to life. All stories are expanded upon with many more anecdotes, personal experiences and quotations.

If you want to put your life back into perspective, be inspired, and find the magic within yourself again, this book could just the answer!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wolfgang Riebe
• Release date: May 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301031252

Wolfgang Riebe

Wolfgang began his career as a magician on British television on BBC & ITV, later traveling around the world as a headline act on cruise liners before tackling expeditions throughout the Arctic & Antarctic where he performed world-class illusions to thousands of international passengers. In later years he relocated to Cape Town from where he focused on the EMEA market combining strategically planned illusions with speaking in order to reinforce corporate messaging throughout Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He completed a thesis in Complexity Thinking and its affect on Innovation amongst leadership in multi-national organisations at the York St John university in the UK. In 2012 the National Speakers Association (NSA) awarded Wolfgang the CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation, which is the highest award given to any professional speaker in the speaking world. This designation is currently only held by less than 800 professional speakers globally. His passion is to share life truths and connect people through logical thinking and fun, as can be validated through his You Tube channel (inspiringtheworld) with over 1000 videos. In 2015 he appeared as a TEDx speaker and is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland where he focuses on the English Speaking meetings & events market and has performed in over 165 countries during the last 30 years. From symposiums, conferences, strategic planning sessions, cruise liners, television to expeditions, his vast variety of incredible life experiences make him the perfect host as your Keynote Speaker, Master of Ceremonies and Celebrity Comedy Entertainer, turning your whole event into an unforgettable sophisticated experience where creates Memorable Magical Moments for everyone.

Book preview

POTATO WEDGES FOR THE HEART

By Wolfgang Riebe

Published by Mind Power Publications at Smashwords

This book is available at www.mindpowerpubications.com

Copyright © 2013 by Wolfgang Riebe

www.wolfgangriebe.com

ISBN: 9781301031252

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This E-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment

only. This E-Book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

*****

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to all the 'Unknown Authors' whose stories appear herein. You have made a difference to many people's lives and may the universe bless you in return for the purity of spirit in which you have shared these touching stores with the world.

*****

CONTENTS

Foreword

Attitude

A Farmer and His Donkey

A Piece of Cake

A Walk in the Mountains

A Wise Old Man

An Obstacle in Your Path

8 Gifts That are Free

13 Rules to Change the World and Your Life

From Weakness to Strength

Life as a DIY Project

Never Give Up

Optimist or Pessimist?

The Hospital Window

The Plumber

Today You have Two Choices

Change

I Wanted to Change the World

My Story by Sabrina

The Power of the Word, No

Children

A Letter to Santa

For My Grandchildren

The 'I Can't' Funeral

Contentment

Happiness is a Voyage

My Shoes, They Fit

Friendships & Relationships

Choose Your Friends Carefully

Friendship

Show Someone That You Care

The Farmer

Two Brothers

Funny Side of Life

Sharing

The Old Indian Chief

Integrity

What Does Integrity Mean?

The Emperor and the Seed

The Law of the Seed

Lateral Thinking

What is the Solution?

Cracked Pots

Think!

Lessons from our Furry Friends

If a Dog was a Teacher

Puppies for Sale

Struggle a Little, then Fly

The Donkey

The Mouse Trap

Life in perspective

What is Wealth?

The 7 Wonders of the World

Don't We All?

Love

Love

Love from a Child's Perspective

The Perfect Heart

The Rose Within

The Ugly Cat

What Hurts the Most?

Opportunity

Go for It!

Opportunities

The Pink Dress

The Real Treasure

The Vase

Parents

My Father

Being a Mother

Not 'Just a Mom'

Respect

Stevie

The Beggar

Responsibility

Turkish Sales Secrets

Grow Yourself

The Hired Hand

Thankfulness

The Blind Girl

The Brick

Time & Life

3900 Saturdays

About Growing Older

Are You a Banker?

Just an Old Lady?

Just for Today

How Old is Grandma?

Old Age is a Gift

Time – by a Little Old Lady

The Cab Driver

The Daffodil Principal

Tomorrow is Not Promised

Wisdom of the Ages

100 Years Ago

Great Truths

Life

Life Explained

Life Tips

Maybe

Parable of the Pencil

Points to Ponder On

Put the Glass Down

What is Success?

*****

FOREWORD

Welcome to 'Potato Wedges for the Heart'.

This is a complete re-write and huge update of my original book, 'Life Lessons for the Heart.' Why the change? Well, the title didn't quite do it for me and even though the book contained incredible inspirational stories, people just weren't buying the book. Those of you that know me personally, will understand when I say that for me inspiration is a calling. I want to touch as many hearts as possible It's not good enough for me that this book just churns over – it must fly – it must touch thousands of lives. I firmly believe that the stories herein can and will change lives. Hence this total revamp and tons more additions.

Although the original book was great, I felt the need to add more content and make the title way more catchy. So my wife and I sat down and brainstormed some titles – in the end it was my wife that came up with the 'Potato Wedges' idea.

In recent years I have found that 'potato wedges' have become a popular addition to menu's in restaurant chains as well as fast food outlets. I don't know about you, but when given the choice between 'fries' and 'potato wedges' I opt for the wedges – they are just tastier, warmer and more appealing to the senses. In fact, a potato wedge is one of those food items that I really savour and make the most of every bite. Peri peri spicing helps as well!

Hence the title – warm, tasty and appealing stories and anecdotes that will warm your heart and soul. I would recommend enjoying one or two stories at a time and savouring the essence of their meanings. It's something you can use as a reference guide for many years to come and re-read many of the stories for positive reinforcement.

I have also grouped the stories under headings so that you may chose a theme so that you can tackle single topics at a time.

This book contains a collection of stories, sayings and anecdotes, some are my own, (all in italics) and others I have collected from various sources via the internet, or have been passed onto me by friends via email. I have not been able to source the originators, and hence have included them in this book as 'Unknown Authors.'

Let me clearly state that even though I have done extensive research on the net, I have not been able to find any of the originators of these stories, at best it always comes up as 'Author Unknown.' Hence I am merely the editor of parts of this book and am sharing with you what I believe to be absolutely touching and deep insights into life. I have also grouped the stories under themes so that you can decide what to read and when. The idea behind these stories is to inspire you whenever you need some positivity in your life.

I love books and even have my own library. I respect books and don't believe in defacing any publication. However, this book is different. I want you to write in it! I want you to make notes in it! Many of these stories are so powerful that when you read them the first time, they will bring out feelings and emotions in you that you need to capture on paper. These are emotions you need to come to terms with and accept. By using this book as a workbook for self discovery, you will be able to understand yourself and your life far better and grow in self discovery.

Hence at the end of many stories, I have added my own notes and then left a dedicated section for you to write your own feelings. By doing this I am hoping that the regular reflection and looking back at your comments will guide you on your life path to fulfilment.

So without further ado, enjoy and may you be inspired!

Warmest wishes

Wolfgang Riebe

*****

A FARMER AND HIS DONKEY

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.

The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Every adversity can be turned into a stepping-stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.

What happens to you isn't nearly as important as how you react to it.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred

2. Free your mind from worries

3. Live simply

4. Give more

5. Expect less

To recognise an opportunity and use it is the difference between success and failure.

How many of us actually turn a negative into a positive? It is said that for every problem, there is a solution. How often have you admired someone that has done exactly that – solved a problem and made tons of money from it! All they did was sit down and analyse the problem objectively, and look at various options to solve the dilemma. It's all about shifting your focus from the negative to the positive.

When last have you sat down and thought of solutions, rather than ponder on the problems. A change of attitude results in a change of life. Remember that in life it is not so much a matter of position, but of disposition. The right attitude makes all the difference! If you are faced with a dilemma, and don't do anything – nothing will change! Therefore, it is only logical that even if you take the smallest – it is better than doing nothing at all!

Impossibility is an opinion, not a fact.

In my Keynote with the same title as this book I use a very powerful example to portray the importance of your life. Normally I will show a €100 note and ask the audience who would like to have it.

Everyone raises their hands. I now take this mint money note and I scrunch it up into a ball, roll it between my hands. Upon opening it out again the note is now distinctly wrinkled. I again pose the question to the audience, who wants this €100 now? Again, everyone raises their hands.

I scrunch the note up once more, and this time I throw it onto the floor and jump on it. In fact I grind my shoe into the note making sure to rub the dirt from my shoe onto what was once a pristine clean note a few minutes ago.

Again I unfold it and once more ask the audience who would like the €100 note now? Amazingly, everyone still raises their hand. Not to be out-done, I now wipe the note on my butt and for the last time ask the audience if anyone now wants the money. Once again, everyone raises their hand.

Why? Easy... no matter what I did to the €100 the value never changed. Whether it was a mint new note, or a dirty, wrinkled and smelly note, the value was still €100. Isn't that very much the same with our lives? No matter what we endure, no matter what life throws at us, whether we are young, whether we are old and wrinkled, and even if someone wipes their rear end on us – our value as a human being never changes! If anything – it increases!

Therefore, no matter what life throws at you – always know that you have value!

A person who doesn't know where his next dollar is coming from usually doesn't know where his last dollar went. Moral of the story: Take control of your life and plan what you want to do, thereby you know where you are going and what you have done.

Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes.

What are some of my greatest qualities that you can be proud of?

*****

A PIECE OF CAKE

Sometimes we wonder, What did I do to deserve this, or, Why did the powers that be have to do this to me. Here is a wonderful explanation!

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter eagerly replies, Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.

Her mother offers the daughter some cooking oil to eat; Yuck, says her daughter. How about a couple raw eggs? Gross, Mom! Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda? Mom, those are all yucky! To which the Mother replies, Yes, all those things do seem pretty gross all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

Now isn't that just the most effective short story ever? That is exactly how life works. It is all those bad experiences, stress and turmoil’s in our life that build our character. Most of the time people question why they must go through bad and difficult times. These all build character and make you a better person.

No one finds life worth living; you must make it worth living.

I have always believed in simplicity and this story, in my mind, must be one of the simplest explanations that also explains life, to a child. I feel we waste too much time trying to make sense of everything, when we should be living in the moment and experiencing life to the fullest. Even the negatives!

One we understand why we need to go through all the ups and downs that life throws at us, it makes it easier to deal with them, as suddenly we understand the reasoning behind this.

We are made strong by the difficulties we face, not by those we evade.

I have always believed in simplicity and this story, in my mind, must be one of the simplest explanations of life - even to a child. Often we cannot understand why things have happened in our lives, but sooner or later, as we get older, suddenly all the puzzle pieces start falling in place and everything starts making sense.

I will never forget back in the early 90's I was working as an entertainer on a cruise liner, and the night we left New York for Southampton, I lost a front tooth from biting into something hard in my desert at dinner. To cut a long story short – we had a 7-day Atlantic crossing, plus I could only go to a dentist in a port we would be visiting twice. I would have to go for an initial consultation with the dentist who would have to order the crown that replaced my tooth. Hence a second visit would be necessary for the fitting.

In the end I waited over 6 weeks to get the whole matter sorted out. However, the problem was that I was young, a headline act and extremely conscious of my self-image. To make matters worse, as it was a front tooth I had lost, I couldn't speak properly and developed a lisp. If anything, my world had come to an end. The photo below with fellow entertainers makes it all very clear!

My dilemma at the time was how to explain the situation to my audiences. Up until this point in my career on the ships I had a production show with dancers and did most of my stuff to music, focusing on high energy and an elegant performance style.

This new 'toothless wonder' persona image didn't fit with what I was trying to portray! In the end I had to come up with a joke about the missing tooth and learn to be comfortable with my situation – as there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

So I came up with a joke where I mentioned the facts that I lost my tooth while eating desert and swallowed it. From here I made up a long story where I said that the doctor onboard had sent me to a dentist in the next port, who then suggested I see an ENT specialist, as the tooth could be stuck in my throat. The ENT specialist found nothing and sent me to a stomach doctor who suggested I go see a proctologist. In the end, bent over and embarrassed at the proctologist, he suddenly looked up and said to me, I know what your problem is, you have a tooth up there – you should see a dentist!

The joke received many laughs and looking back, this was my entry into comedy and being comfortable with myself. Today I have no issues about my self image and really know how to make people laugh at my own stories without feeling embarrassed. If anything the reason for that whole experience was to prepare me for a career many years later. Today I understand that and am grateful for the experience. Back then I didn't!

What are some of the experiences from your youth that have made you the insightful person that you are today?

*****

A WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS

A son and his father were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams, AAAhhhhhhhhhhh! To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the distance, AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!

Curious, he yells, Who are you? He receives an answer back, Who are you? Noticeably angered at the response, he screams, Coward!

Again he receives the same answer back, Coward!

He looks to his father and asks, Dad, what's going on? His father smiles and replies, My son, watch me, pay attention and learn.The father now proceeds to scream to the mountain, I admire you! He is answered with, I admire you! Again he shouts, You are a champion!

And the voice answers back, "You are a champion!

The boy is surprised and confused, and still does not understand. Then the father explains, People call this an ECHO, but in reality, this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.

If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life will give you back everything you have given to it.

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!

This story is pretty much a confirmation of what comes around goes around. In my life I have seen this over and over. What you put in you, get out. This doesn't just apply to actions, but your thoughts as well. If you are constantly negative and have a bad attitude, that is what you are attracting towards yourself.

Most importantly, you need to learn not to allow yourself to be influenced by negative people around you. Think about it... anytime there is an economic recession, you get the media and economists who predict doom and gloom. Suddenly companies cut costs, hold back marketing and even much needed training