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Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  Original Facebook post November 19, 2017
I wrote the post below about my family two years ago. As I reread it this year, I realized it would serve as a fitting dedication to the four people who have inspired me most in life. Nov 20, 2015: Exactly 65 years ago my parents Irene and Charles Maness brought me into this world and into their remarkable family. My parents have been in heaven for a great number of years now, but there are days where I can still hear the echoes of their gentle words of encouragement. My sisters, Norene and Vivian are still my biggest supporters and most respected advisers. Our family didn’t have much materially, but we had an abundance of love, respect, faith, humor and unconditional love. So now when I look back, I realize that God gave me the very best birthday gift I could ever receive upon my arrival – my family. And for that I will be forever grateful. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories 01. Encouraging Words.
02. Dedication: To My Family. 03. Table Of Contents. 04. Preface: Navigating The Road To Encouragement. 05. Acknowledgments: To Those Who Encouraged Me. 06. Introduction: Where Do You Find Encouraging Words? 07. The Power Of Kind Words. 08. Flourishing Despite The Odds. 09. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. 10. I'd Rather Be Sailing. 11. The Secret All Beautiful People Share. 12. Be A Saint. Share The Love. 13. Strong Enough To Help. 14. Butt Prints In The Sand. :-) 15. Listen For An Opportunity To Be A Blessing. 16. Reflections On How To Make A Difference. 17. You Are Smarter Than You Know. 18. It Is Better To Give AND Receive. 19. For All Those Who Care. 20. Learning Can Be A Real Pain. 21. You Can Find Another Way. 22. The Real Skinny On Thanksgiving. 23. Thank You For Your Service. 24. Let Me Say This Tactfully. 25. The Act Of Gratitude. 26. Sometimes The Signs Are There For You. 27. Somewhere Over The Rainbow. 28. Life After Loss. 29. Keeping The Ex Factor In Perspective. 30. Traveling Light. 31. Lead The Charge. 32. The Key To Happiness. 33. The Tree Of Life Encouragement. 34. We Remember. 35. Happy Birthday To America The Beautiful! 36. Is It Time To Mend Fences? 37. It Depends On How You Look At It. 38. Start Where You Are. 39. It's Time To Fly. 40. More Stories From The Road Les Traveled. © 2018 Les Maness. All rights reserved. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  About The Book: Since most people know me for my travel eBooks America The Beautiful and On The Road Again from my website Stories From The Road Les Traveled, this collection of stories might seem to be a big departure. In the strictest sense, it isn’t about physical travel at all – even though some of the posts came directly from my road trip publications. But in the broader sense, it is all a part of the much bigger journey I have been on for many years. So I tend to think of it as the mental, emotional and spiritual road I have traveled, and the uplifting things I have been privileged to observe in the process.
Each chapter of Encouraging Words© has an image and a story. Some chapters are posts I’ve previously made on social media. Some are excerpts from my books. And others are stories I’ve read, heard or experienced that inspire me. They appear in random order because life is random. It is my desire that they bring hope to those disheartened by today's headlines, inspiration to those going through trying times, smiles to those who need their days brightened, and appreciation for all those who are doing their very best. About The Disclaimer: I am not a trained therapist, nor do I play one on TV. So the thoughts, observations, opinion, humor and suggestions given here are strictly from my heart and personal experience and are not meant to serve as medical or psychological advice. And because there are times when hurting people need more than just our caring words and best intentions, it is important to understand our limitations. Therefore if you are not a trained therapist, you shouldn’t try to diagnose or cure anyone as it could become more harmful than helpful. If you feel someone needs outside resources, here’s a list that you might want to offer them as a starting place. About Me: When I'm not authoring Encouraging Words or gathering Stories From The Road Les Traveled, I am a Dad, Granddad, writer, photographer, marketer and trainer who calls Arizona home. To learn more, see my Blog, Books, Gigs and Photos at www.LesManess.com. About The Photos: Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs were taken by and are the exclusive copyrighted property of Les Maness (AKA LesManess.com). To purchase photos or the rights to publish images or content, please contact me at lesmaness at gmail.com. About The Dates: I created this book with Weebly's website builder blogging program, so I had to manually reorder the blog dates so they would read in proper sequence. So please ignore the dates under each header as they do not pertain to the actual start date, November 20, 2017 (my birthday) and completion date, May 20, 2018 (my big sister's birthday). Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  The idea for this book was born early on November 20, 2017. Ironically, I was brought into this world exactly 67 years earlier. It all started when I woke up on my birthday with some troubles on my mind. I kept trying to will them away, but they kept circling back to bug me as worrisome thoughts often do. And just when I thought I might have to deal with that dark cloud all day something wonderful happened. I turned on my phone and fired up my laptop. And there I discovered were hundreds of people wishing me happiness. Instantly my troubles vanished. And in their place, were the incredible words of encouragement that lifted my spirits. So, if you are one of those who checked in that day (see list below - and please let me know if I missed your name), or one of the many that have encouraged me throughout my life, I have just two things to say to you. 1. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 2. See what you started? :-)
 Two things happened in the six days prior to my birthday that inspired me to turn the encouragement I found that day into this book of encouragement for others.
First, on November 14, 2017 I read a Facebook post by a woman named Spring Bowlin. She wrote about seeing a Walmart cashier taking extra time and extra care to help a nervous customer. She then spoke about how it impacted her. My heart was warmed at Wal-Mart during lunch. This gentleman's items were scanned and he was given the total. He looks apologetically back at me and starts taking handfuls of change out of his pockets. He miscounts and starts to get flustered. Gives me a muttered, "I'm so sorry." His hands and voice are shaking. This beautiful cashier takes his hands and dumps all the change on the counter and says, "This is not a problem, honey. We will do this together." He continues to apologize to both of us as we reassure him it's ok. They get his transaction handled and he shuffles away. I looked at this wonderful woman and said, "Thank-you for being so patient with him." She shakes her head and replies, "You shouldn't have to thank me, baby. What's wrong with our world is we've forgotten how to love one another." I want to be more like her. Apparently, Spring Bowlin wasn’t the only one moved by that gentle reminder of how the golden rule still rules. She told me what has happened since that day, “My family and I are in awe of the response to a simple fb post about one sweet lady’s act of kindness… I cannot count the number of news outlets (online, print, and television) that reached out...from across the country and Canada… Even now, I receive hundreds of friend requests, daily, from all over the world! Last I looked, the story had been liked 186,000 times, 100,000 shares, and had 7800 comments.” Second, on November 19, 2017, Actor and Singer, Jamie Foxx opened the American Music Awards with an inspiring message that spoke about the healing power of music. He concluded with these uplifting words… “As this year comes to a close, we look forward to 2018 with hope. For even as we mourn those who are lost, we know this – together our strength will pull us through, together we shall overcome the pain, together we can unite as a people and a nation." So, to answer the question asked at the start of this Introduction, “Where Do You Find Encouragement?”, the answer is this... Everywhere you look for it. It’s the kind, gracious, empowering and uplifting things people from all walks of life do, say and share with each other. And all it takes to be one of those people is to speak and act with love towards others. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  Original Facebook post May 16, 2017
I love words. I love their power to encourage, empower, enlighten, educate and inspire. I feel enormously blessed to have earned a living from writing and speaking them. And I feel very privileged to share some of the powerful, positive, insightful, wise and life-affirming stories with you. It is my hope that you in turn share these and other kind words with others... Because their echoes are truly endless. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  Excerpt from America The Beautiful: Trip News 12: Flourishing Despite The Odds.
I saw this lone tree in Bryce Canyon, Utah flourishing high upon a cliff despite it's very difficult environment. It made me think of all the many people I know - many of whom I will be blessed to see on this trip - who made the conscious, tenacious choice to do the same thing. You simply decided that no matter how rocky your foundation, no matter what harsh circumstances challenged you, no matter where you were put in this world and no matter what - or who - came against you...you were going to flourish. So this post is dedicated to all of you. Thank you for all the hard lessons you learned that made you strong and for your willingness to share your encouragement and inspiration with others. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  Original Facebook post November 24, 2012
I used to be an expert on relationships. If you had a problem, I could give you an answer to fix it fast and easy. Then I got in a relationship and quickly began to learn how little I really knew. Needless to say, it all looks, feels and hurts different from the inside. So now I have fewer answers and a whole lot more grace, patience and compassion for anyone going through a break up of any kind. The only thing I do know for sure is this: If you choose to stay strong, act with integrity, and focus on your future instead of dwell on your past, you will get better, not bitter. And it is my hope and prayer that this message comforts and encourages someone who truly needs to hear it. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories  |