Tag: humor

Now that my breathtaking new office is done, with wall to wall and floor to ceiling bookcases, I’m trying to decide what should be the first book I bring into the new sacred space.

Should it be one of my own books?

One of my friends?

Or one of the many rare, even autographed books by authors I love, such as Neville Goddard, P.T. Barnum, Claude Bristol, Joseph Murphy, Edward Bernays, Jack London, Mark Twain, William Saroyan, Shirley Jackson, Robert Collier, Napoleon Hill or – ?

I have a huge collection of books on marketing, copywriting, publicity, metaphysics, spirituality, fitness, muscle building, magic, hypnosis and more.

But of all these books, which one deserves to be the very first to gain entrance into my new office?

I went out to dinner with friends and told them of my challenge. One of them was an author and of course wanted his book to be the first in my office. Another friend suggested I have a contest and let people vote on the book that should be first.

None of it felt exactly right. We left dinner and went walking. We stumbled across a new art gallery. Inside was the artist showing his work.

It was called “Art that makes you laugh.”

I asked the artist why it was called that.

“Follow me and I’ll show you,” he said.

He brought me to a painting of two sharks swimming, headed to a judge’s bench in a courtroom.

I didn’t see anything funny about that.

“Read the caption,” the artist said.

I looked and read, “Counsel approaching the bench.”

I laughed.

Turns out the artist has been drawing humorous pictures like that one for decades. He’s known for his unique art. He’s a former advertising guy turned artist. Apparently he’s doing just fine.

I bought three of his paintings for my new office.

And a copy of his book.

His book is a collection of his funny art, titled, Are You Laughing At My Art?

I took it home and put it in my office.

Before I knew it, I realized I had finally brought a book into my new space.

But it didn’t feel like the right first book, as I had no previous relationship with it, so I didn’t put it on a shelf.

Instead, I grabbed my signed copy of Napoleon Hill’s famous book, Think and Grow Rich, and a first edition of Hill’s book, How to Sell Your Way Through Life.

Those two books are classics of success literature. They look wonderful on my shelf, too.

Now, what will be the third book I put on the shelf?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — The artist is Jeff Leedy. That’s him in the photo with me. Funny guy. His site is right here. Top photo is of my new office with Food Powers Queen Nerissa Oden posing in it.