With the name Heidi, it is quite fitting to receive this reader picture of When All Balls Drop at Hohenzollern Castle, Germany. Not only is the picture beautiful, but the reader is also pointing up, communicating the book's take-away, which is the mantra #LookUp.
For those of you that haven't read When All Balls Drop or heard of #LookUp, get ready to be inspired by a powerful post-traumatic growth story. On a normal fall day in fall 2009, a thousand pound tree limb struck me breaking my neck and leaving me unconscious for days, all while taking out the garbage 
and last night's pizza box.
Let's just say that taking out the trash, changed my life.
That fall, that tree sparked a ripple effect of tremendous loss: health, marriage, and career. I lost everything that I held dear. With a lengthy recovery, I had time to reflect and find the upside of losing everything, which is the power of perspective.
That's why I created the mantra #LookUp to share with the world through my books, events, and posts a tool that you can carry with you each and every day to quickly shift your perspective and take control of the power of your mind. With these two wise words, you can quickly do two things:
1) Get into the moment by appreciating the beauty around you as well as the hazards. Be in the moment and mindful.
2) Positively spin each situation. There are NO wasted experiences, only opportunities for growth, learning, or a good story.
The next time that you find yourself overwhelmed with your to-do list, in a traffic jam, or frustrated at the TSA line, say out loud or to yourself #LookUp, #LookUp, #LookUp.
I use #LookUp as part of my daily meditation, but I have an entire recipe book of activities that shift my perspective to keep myself in check. In my second book, With New Eyes, which was released earlier this fall, I explain why I keep adventure and travel in my life. I go as far to say that, "Adventure is my meditation."
Thank you Renee for sending these beautiful pictures. I know you are already embracing adventure by backpacking across Europe.
I love to see how far the powerful message of my books travels. Please send your pictures of where you are enjoying my books via email or social media just like these readers from these far-flung places and situations:
NYC, Russia, Fort Lauderdale, Beantown, Wisconsin, Kauai,
Rome, Tuscany, with our fury friends, on the go,
amongst the Fall colors, Canada,Down Under, Fiji, Cabo San Lucas,
New England in the snow, Maui, Cuba, Panama, Santa Monica,
Puerto Vallarta, Destin, Boca Raton, Seattle, Oahu, Big Island of Hawaii, Lake of the Ozarks,
taking a break on the farm, kayaking, in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, lakeside in a hammock,
by the Mighty Mississippi, during multiple layovers in many airports, in the garden, and from my hometown, Trempealeau, Wisconsin.
Until our paths cross, here's to looking up!
