Book review by Dianna Chiow.
TV producer and writer extraordinaire Shonda Rimes – best known for her shows, Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal – recently wrote a book entitled, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person. It’s a personal account of a year where she stopped saying “no” to virtually everything (except work), and instead committed to saying “yes.” No if’s, and’s, or but’s… just yes. Yes to all the scary, uncomfortable, anxiety producing things that take a brilliant introvert like her – and like many of us regular folks – severely out of our comfort zone.
You know the drill: “no” to public speaking, “no” to going out and meeting new people, and “no” to playing with the kids (because there’s work to do). So what happened? Did she go down in flames? Crash and burn? Break out in hives and pass out while giving that commencement speech? Nope. She lived. Not only did she live, but she grew in new dimensions that cracked her world wide open in a wonderful, even mind-bending way. She faced down her fears and gradually the fears lost their power. With her default set at “yes” instead of “no,” it was as though a new paradigm of thinking was allowed to emerge. The new power was in her, and she was liberated. She stepped into the light, got unstuck, lost 120 pounds, found her true friends, played with her kids, found and owned her public voice, and in her words, “became a titan.”
The great beauty in Year of Yes is its brilliant simplicity. It’s free. It doesn’t require special equipment. You only have to remember one thing and one word. And anyone can do it. Are you ready to become a titan? Check out the book on Amazon.