In my wallet I carry a small card John Wooden gave me bearing his father’s “Seven-Point Creed”:
“1. Be true to yourself. 2 Help others. 3. Make each day your masterpiece. 4. Drink deeply from good books. 5. Make friendship a fine art. 6. Build shelter against a rainy day. 7. Pray for guidance, count and give thanks for your blessings each day.”
Of less famous heritage, but no less inspirational, I have another business card-sized memento. It is a “You Are Amazing! And So Am I” card and the brainchild of a friend I will call “Josh” to protect his privacy.
The cards Josh hands out are all the more amazing because he oftentimes feels he is the least amazing person on earth. Indeed, Josh, who lives in another state now, has wrestled with many demons, from mental illness to homelessness, which are often two sides of the same coin, and other hardships as well.
Josh also has an enlarged heart – not medically, but figuratively. He has literally given the coat off his back in cold weather to someone he felt had a greater needed for it. With his last twenty bucks, he has been known to buy groceries or a hamburger and fries for hungry strangers.
And he has given out thousands of his “Amazing!” cards in an effort to lift people up when they are feeling down.
In full, the front of the light-blue card reads in various fonts and bright colors: “You Are… Love Happiness Strength Understanding Beauty Respect Compassion Joy Teamwork Peace. Together We Are The Solution.”
The backside further encourages: “Create Kindness. Make Kindness. Become Kindness. You Are Amazing! And So Am I! Thank You For Being You!”
“I believe that the more someone believes they are amazing inside, the more they will project out their amazing-ness,” Josh told me. “So I began telling everyone around me they were amazing or awesome. Then I thought, what better way to remind someone, no matter what they are going through, than a card and – Bam! – the ‘Amazing!’ cards were born.”
A friend of his who worked at a printing company helped Josh design the card and, showing her own Kindness and Amazing-ness, printed up 2,000 cards at a discount price. He quickly needed a second run, and another, and to date has passed out more than 10,000 ‘Amazing!’ cards.
“I purposely have no name on the cards because it isn’t about the giver, it is about whoever is reading it,” Josh noted. “I believe that as they read these words they are flipping their negative perspective to the positive. I think it’s also awesome that there is no religion attached to the cards – just a belief in oneself, each other, and the kindness that links us together.”
In that vein, in addition to the cards Josh has organized some “You Are Amazing! And So Am I!” outings where community members do random acts of kindness such as cleaning the homes of elderly citizens.
“These acts are a way of reminding people there is hope in one another and in believing in ourselves,” Josh says.
Even during times he has lost belief in himself, Josh says he tries to focus on “spreading love and kindness to others.”
“I love seeing people’s reaction to the cards,” he continued. “People are so encouraged. They really do smile and you can see a change in their heart. People would thank me and even ask (before the coronavirus pandemic) for hugs.”
Coming full circle, when it comes to the “Seven-Point Creed” Josh certainly measures up Amazingly!
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His SIGNED books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.
Personalized Signed copies of WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” are available at WoodyWoodburn.com