Did Anna Quindlen
really read Happy Guide?
Yes – and she gave me, with her virtual wand in hand, her “kind permission” to trample all over her good name and book with my grammar mistakes and British “misspellings”. The trivet idea in her review was just so sharp that we had to run with it. If she’s correct and 1 million women buy it, then I don’t care if anybody buys a book. Our wildest fund raising dreams will be met.
So do I really have to read Ms. Quindlen’s book first?
Short answer – NO. You can just read Happy Guide regardless of my “DO NOT” warning. Many people who have only read Happy Guide and several who have read both simply disagree with my “DO NOT” warning on the front cover. They feel Happy Guide can stand on its’ own. My brother even gets more animated about it, saying “It takes me about 3 minutes to talk someone into buying your book and about 15 convincing them that it’s a stand alone read. Please, I’m begging you, take that stupid warning off the front of your book.” The editors hated the warning, the bookstore owners hate it, potential publishers hate it, and a couple of buyers are very disconcerted that they were told to read one book before reading the next. So even though I’m going to leave the warning on the book, you don’t have to read Short Guide to enjoy Happy Guide.
What
makes you so angry and judgmental towards Anna Quindlen?
I promise her book does NOT make me angry. I like it. I’m sure if I ever meet her, I’ll like her. More importantly, I’m not judging Ms. Quindlen or anyone else. What I do attempt to accomplish with Happy Guide, is to play a very low-grade intellectual ping-pong match with A Short Guide to a Happy Life. There are folks who have said, “hey – easy for you to spout off your advice because you have work/play/family & friends. What, do you think my life is less if I don’t have three circles?” If folks have one or one billion circles, it is what it is. I certainly have no education or authority to judge anyone. I’m just a dude who scribbled notes and existential indigestion on the margins of Ms. Quindlen’s little book.
Why didn’t you just write your
own book and leave poor Ms. Quindlen out of it?
Without A Short Guide to a Happy Life, none of my brain waves would have fired to produce/generate Happy Guide. Period. I might go on to add that I have never had a single truly original thought in my life. I believe that the last man to have an original thought was Adam when he looked over to Eve and considered, “Am I the luckiest man in the world or what?” So if you pull out of Happy Guide all the stuff generated by Ms. Quindlen’s book, all that would be left is a bunch of awesome photographs.
How does
Happy Guide compare to Ms. Quindlen’s book?
I can not profess to
know Ms. Quindlen’s motivations for writing her book.
However, it reads like a really honest attempt to encourage folks
to not waste their time on earth.
She is charmingly deferential and self-deprecating for a woman
who makes a living by being known for her strong opinions, and having
the ability to back them up. HappyGuide, I think, is the result of growing up in a time when some
folks still farmed to eat in
So you
really were a dirt-poor farmer?
Actually that was a
typo … I was a poor, dirt farmer.
Suggesting that I grew up “dirt-poor” is an exaggeration.
When I was born, I lived in my Grandfather’s 3 bedroom/ 1 bath
house with my great grandmother, my grand parents, my aunt, my cousin
(who slept in the closed in porch), and my immediate family.
My grandfather worked at a textile plant and raised produce;
chickens, hogs, and cows. I
raised produce from March to November, from middle school until I went
to college. I can plow with
a horse and I’ve suckered tomato plants until I got blisters on my
thumbs. I was a dirt farmer.
If we were poor, we did not know it.
Some of my classmates in High School joined the ROTC so they
would have shoes to wear to school.
I knew families who did not have indoor plumbing and lived at the
foot of the
Can I
direct the proceeds from my purchase to a specific non-profit?
Yes – sorta.
Here’s how it works.
When you buy a book or gift item, simply pick a book from the list of
“approved” charities/non-profits.
At the end of the month, a grant recommendation will be made to
the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina to transfer the
“author’s proceeds” in direct proportion of the units sold.
So, just for discussion purposes, two books were bought with Hope
Found promotion code (HOPE) and three books were bought with
Why give money away?
We were
up in Idaho one Fall and went into the bar that Bruce Willis once owned,
The Mint (http://www.clubbruno.com/
). He came out and gave a
great show. Played his heart
out and had a blast. The
crowd was delighted. During
his show he said something to the effect of , “I never take a dime for
playing music. It’s fun, and
I want it to stay that way.”
This book and the songs we’ve written are the same.
It’s just fun to share and watch folks react.
Why
didn’t you publish Happy Guide as a hardback book?
Ms. Quindlen’s
A Short Guide to a Happy Life is printed in one color which makes it
MUCH cheaper to produce (retail $12.95).
To get the full effect of
Why does
the book have a British scent?
I have a computer science degree and was graciously given a C- - in my English 101 class at NCSU (which by the way has one of the best Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences in the country). My Partners at PCG pay a mountain of qualified people to read my stuff and clean it up before I embarrass myself and the Firm. So, here’s what you must understand: the final editing of Happy Guide was kindly done by my Australian cousins (Michael Bogle & Peta Landman) who are professional editors (they’ve published a ton of excellent books … Google’em). They speak and write the “King’s English.” It is my observation that they punctuate and spell slightly differently than Americans. They did not choose to tinker with a bunch of the “judgment” or “style” issues because it would mess up the flow of the book. Personally, I think anything that makes the book more internationally inclusive the better … put a shrimp on the barbie mate!
Who
reads Happy Guide?
Well we
really don’t know who actually “reads” Happy Guide, but we can offer up
some statistics about who has obtained a copy (bought/stole/gifted) of
the book:
Over 500
copies in print
Over 275
copies sold on Amazon
47% are
Male
53% are
Female
Sold in
21 states across the
Sold in
5 countries (
Oldest
known reader: Lloyd Pat, 98
years young.
Youngest
known reader: Julia B at 11
years old.
99% are
Amazon.com buyers
The First Buyers in 50 States
In
keeping with the goal of reaching the highpoint of every state, here are
the folks who were the first to buy Happy Guide in each state/country:
Michael
B –
Terry C
– TX
Phyllis
P – NC
David B
– TN
Vanessa
M – VA
Denise P
– MA
Jan T –
MN
Jacqueline P –
Victor K
- DC
Dan B –
WA
Tom P -
NY
Jennifer
B – GA
Elizabeth – IL
Martha W
– NH
Adam B -
CT
Natalie
- FL
Is your
name really Tony Brown?
Yep – just like Tony on the pizza box. Do you know how many Tony Brown’s there are in the world? A ton … and it takes them forever to find me at Blockbuster.
I once got a meeting to pitch a song to Tim McGraw’s agent (http://www.caatouring.com/Default.aspx?Page=index ) in Nashville because when my assistant called up and said, “Tony Brown will be in town next week, do you have any time?” they thought, and we later figured out, I was Tony Brown the famous producer (http://www.paradeofstars.com/producers/tonybrown.htm ). Also, every time I’m in NYC, I get immediate car service because the drivers always think I’m Tony Brown the famous journalist (www.TonyBrown.com ). They look at me and say, “You can’t be Mr. Brown … we drive for him all the time, and you aren’t him.” Now with this project, folks are asking are you related to Dan Brown … I say yes thinking about my son, and they are referring to the famous author (http://www.danbrown.com/ ). So, that’s why I use T. McLean Brown at my real job.
Is there
really a Happy Guide diet?
LMHEO (laughing my hind end off). Short and happy answer is that there is no official Guide for dieting. Long answer, there are few middle-aged, slightly overweight, out-of-shape Happy folks who have been able to carve off a pound or two a week this summer by following some basic common sense rules. I’m not doctor, and I’m certainly no professional trainer. However, here’s the guide to happily thinking about taking off a few extra pounds: a) eat mostly fruits / vegetables during the week, b) drink a ton of water, c) work out/sweat for a sold 30 minutes every day (mix it up), d) instead of those two beers/wine each night – read one chapter of a book, and finally e) think about reducing portions. Tracking daily weight, food/booze intake, and exercise seems to be a good way to pick out what drives the weight up or down. There’s some interesting details to the banter like “for every beer run a mile” and “eat like a cow … little portions/often”. Proteins have to come from beans and peanuts… which I think are vegetables? Still lmheo.
Are you
happy?
Yes. Am I content with the status of all aspects of my life? No. For me, my happy switch is easily flipped by the well-being of my children. If they can articulate what is important, prioritize their lives to focus on what’s important, and stay organized … I’m as happy as I need to be. My opinions regarding happiness are largely shaped by a book my Mom gave me, and I read in the 7th Grade. It was written by a wonderful lady, Ms. Corrie ten Boon, entitled The Hiding Place. As a Jewish woman, she suffered the worst World War II had to offer and survived. While sleeping in terrible conditions, her intense faith in God and her unrelenting positive attitude was startling to me. Punch line, “Thank God for all things no matter how small. You are blessed.” She was SO HAPPY to have the lice in her bed because it kept the guards out of their barrack so they could worship. Powerful reminder that my grumblings are quite petty.
Do
you think folks who are devout Christians or Jews ... real believers ...
will agree with your book?
Fred the Preacher at www.FAUMC.com told me on Sunday ... "Whether God
chooses to make multiple highways to heaven, that's his business.
Fred, as a Methodist preacher, knows of one super highway to
heaven. That's the one way
he wants to talk about."
That really spoke to me.
So, my book does not tell you WHAT to believe ... it just asked the
reader to BELIEVE. So, if
you are a Methodist, then believe 100% in that.
If you are a Jew, then believe 100% in that.
What I think is a precious waste time is not being able to decide
... not having faith ... not demanding of yourself to think outside of
yourself. I ask that readers
of my book consider that long before we judge other religions as right
or wrong ... we love. We
love the Muslims, Buddhist, and Cherokee.
We start with love.
Interested in Scheduling a Book Discussion and Signing?
With a minimum order of ten (10) books, ten coffee cups, and a sponsor
guarantee of five hundred ($500) dollars contribution to one of the
seven (7) Happy Guide non-profits/charitable organizations, Tony Brown
will hold a one hour event (30 min presentation, 15 min Q&A, 15 min book
signing). Based on location
and timing of event, scheduling will need to be coordinated with prior
commitments. Please note:
we have found that discussions will cover the range from happy,
sad, almost angry, a bit emotional, and possibly out right funny.
Book discussion and signings are made possible by the generosity
of our school safety partner
www.LobbyGuard.com. Every
elementary school in America should have a LobbyGuard kiosk.
Period.
FRIENDS/FAMILY
Who is
Taylor Adam Swift?
www.TaylorAdamSwift.com …. A couple of years
ago, when Happy Guide was just a word document that I was going to share
with some friends, I sent out a spam-ish email to folks in my family
asking for “nature” photographs.
My cousin Taylor fired back a couple of nice shots that he’d
taken around the house. I
said thanks and cut/pasted them into the Word document.
About 24 months later, when the idea for self-publishing
Happy Guide got real, we
decided that we needed some more photos.
Fortunately,
Why Community Foundation of
www.cfwnc.org
… Our family has been working with CFWNC for a couple of years now.
They are e-Harmony for charities.
What I mean by that is their mission/purpose is to bring together
folks who want to help with folks who need the help in WNC.
Warren Buffet (I think) said something to the effect of, “it’s
really hard to give away money well.”
CFWNC makes it really easy to find folks/organizations to help.
Here’s how it works:
our family donates money to CFWNC, they hold it in a “donor-advised”
fund, a % of the income from the funds goes to
Who is
Ms. Rimmer?
www.CannonSchool.org … Ms. Rimmer is my son’s
English teacher, who might very well be one of the best teachers he has
ever had. That is high
praise because the
Who is
PCG?
www.PublicConsultingGroup.com … I’ve been working at PCG since 1990. Story is on the website. Great people. Great clients. I’m blessed to have spent over 20 years with Bill Mosakowski and Stephen Skinner. While they aren’t biological family, “Friends” doesn’t come close to defining the clarity of purpose in our relationships. These guys compel me to work harder and smarter everyday without speaking a single syllable. They expect my best, and I’m happy to have people around me who care so much about helping others.
Who is Rebecca Siero?
rebeccas@aefktdesign.com.au
… Happy
Guide has been a happy journey for me.
I’ve met and worked with an industry-wide group of professionals
in the publishing business.
Becca is one of them!
Michael and Peta have worked with Rebecca (a professional book designer)
on a few projects and have known her for years.
When I sent Michael the poorly formatted Word document, he
immediately responded, “You need help.
Real professional help.”
No insight, but constructive advices.
So he talked Rebecca into taking on the
Happy Guide project.
It was an awesome thing to witness as she worked her craft.
It was like watching a Bob Ross painting show on PBS … she
started with a clean canvas and viola … now there this luxurious little
book. I can brag on the
“look and feel” of the book because I didn’t have anything to do with
it. That’s all Team
Who is
David Merck?
www.DavidMerckStudio.com … Commissioned on
behalf of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
(www.cfwnc.org), David Merck has created the Happy Guide Sculpture,
which embodies the essence of A
Happy Guide to a Short Life.
Is this little girl at work or play? Is she in the moment or
planning her very next movement? All things important in her life are
in focus and her priorities are clear while she confidently organizes
her mind, body, and soul. Truly great art for a great cause. Mr. Merck
has generously agreed to donate twenty percent (20%) of all Happy Guide
Sculpture sales to the important work of The Community Foundation. Go
make a circle.
Please note: Only 100 signed and numbered originals of the Happy
Guide Sculpture will be crafted. Since each piece is individually
created, please anticipate a four to six weeks delivery time.
What is
the Jewelsmith?
www.jewelsmith.com … Commissioned on behalf of CFWNC, Ms. Linda McGill and her talented team of “jewelsmiths” have designed rings that capture the essences of the Happy Guide Evolution Set. One piece of art has been developed with the full Evolution Set carefully place around a beautiful metal band. The alternative ring celebrates the joy found in the command “Go Make a Circle.” The decisions surrounding the designs as well as the choice to only produce “comfortable hand jewelry” was deliberate and symbolic.
Please note: Since each piece is individually crafted and engraved, please anticipate two to four weeks delivery time.