Chicken soup for Chinese women's soul
By Xie Fangyuan |
January 27, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE bookstores are filled with advice books about how to become successful in business, how to make money, how to become more attractive, how to be a good mother and raise a brainy baby.
There are not too many books, however, on inner happiness, self-esteem, personal inventories, and emotional self-help - the kind that flood bookstores in the west. In China, women's books typically cover beauty, fashion, health, home and baby and, of course, how to find and marry Mr Right.
Marci Shimoff, an American motivational speaker and coauthor (along with Jennifer Read Hawthorne and others) of the "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul" series, hopes to find a place on Chinese bookshelves with her Chinese translations. She has also coauthored the "Chicken Soup for Mothers' Soul." Her books, which are collections of inspirational stories and advice, have been listed on the New York Times best-seller list.
"I find women are very eager to grow, they care a lot about their own personal development," Shimoff told Shanghai Daily in an interview after a day of speeches to promote her books.
"I enjoy speaking to them because they are hungry about this information, while sometimes men are more resistant to it, and not that eager."
Her message is that all people can be "happy for no reason" and create "inner wealth" that doesn't depend on owning a car, a house, a well-paying job, a rich man and all the trappings of status that are so important to many upwardly mobile urban women. Inner wealth leads to outer wealth, she said.
Shimoff, the coauthor of six "Chicken Soup" books for women, has delivered motivational speeches around the world for 25 years.
She also has a Sina Weibo account, which is translated into Chinese. She says she has received positive feedback from readers and says some called her messages "life-changing."
This is Shimoff's second visit to China. Last October around 3,000 people listened to her lecture in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
She noted the high level of stress faced by many Chinese to excel in education, to find a well-paying job and marry well but said she specifically wants to help people deal with work stress.
"Looking at working statistics, I understand that people work longer hours in China and there are tougher demands to deliver high results because competition is so high. There seems to be more stress than anywhere else, and I am so curious about this," Shimoff said.
"The news is that science has cracked the happiness code," Shimoff added. "We know what makes us happier." And it isn't material things.
She said she plans "in coming years to leave a blueprint and open a new era of inner peace for humanity here in China."
"China is opening up to new ideas from all over the world, in different areas and in the field of self-growth ... It is the right time for my messages in China."
Asked what she would advise single Chinese women who are deeply dissatisfied with life because they are not married by around age 30, Shimoff said, "Wow. ... I think the same thing. I think I get married and I'll be much happier when I get married ... My professional side would say 'oh no,' but the one thing I would say from the outside is that the biggest predictor of happiness is our social relations, not just with a spouse, but others.
"What's challenging is that if your life doesn't present you with that (a good partner), it's still important to learn how to be happy and find inner happiness."
Speaking of all those Chinese books about how to be rich, successful and beautiful, she said, "Those books are great. I think any book that helps a person develop in any area is useful. The reason you want success or whatever is that it makes you happy. But research shows that no, you (should) go for happiness first because those things will not make you happy if you are not already happy inside.
"My messages are universal messages, which are all-inclusive religious belief for everyone," Shimoff said. "We are all part of the universal energy and affect each other all the time."
Shimoff, who lives in California, graduated from UCLA with an MBA and started training programs for big US corporations in communication skills, stress management and self-esteem.
She said that she heard her first motivational speaker when she was 13 years old, and that experience made a powerful impression. "Something inside of me clicked, and I said, that's exactly what I want to be."
Today she aims to be a transformational leader, focusing on helping women with self-esteem.
The famous "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series was created by Jack Canfield, whom Shimoff calls her mentor. He is one of her coauthors, along with Hawthorne and Mark Victor Hansen.
There are not too many books, however, on inner happiness, self-esteem, personal inventories, and emotional self-help - the kind that flood bookstores in the west. In China, women's books typically cover beauty, fashion, health, home and baby and, of course, how to find and marry Mr Right.
Marci Shimoff, an American motivational speaker and coauthor (along with Jennifer Read Hawthorne and others) of the "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul" series, hopes to find a place on Chinese bookshelves with her Chinese translations. She has also coauthored the "Chicken Soup for Mothers' Soul." Her books, which are collections of inspirational stories and advice, have been listed on the New York Times best-seller list.
"I find women are very eager to grow, they care a lot about their own personal development," Shimoff told Shanghai Daily in an interview after a day of speeches to promote her books.
"I enjoy speaking to them because they are hungry about this information, while sometimes men are more resistant to it, and not that eager."
Her message is that all people can be "happy for no reason" and create "inner wealth" that doesn't depend on owning a car, a house, a well-paying job, a rich man and all the trappings of status that are so important to many upwardly mobile urban women. Inner wealth leads to outer wealth, she said.
Shimoff, the coauthor of six "Chicken Soup" books for women, has delivered motivational speeches around the world for 25 years.
She also has a Sina Weibo account, which is translated into Chinese. She says she has received positive feedback from readers and says some called her messages "life-changing."
This is Shimoff's second visit to China. Last October around 3,000 people listened to her lecture in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
She noted the high level of stress faced by many Chinese to excel in education, to find a well-paying job and marry well but said she specifically wants to help people deal with work stress.
"Looking at working statistics, I understand that people work longer hours in China and there are tougher demands to deliver high results because competition is so high. There seems to be more stress than anywhere else, and I am so curious about this," Shimoff said.
"The news is that science has cracked the happiness code," Shimoff added. "We know what makes us happier." And it isn't material things.
She said she plans "in coming years to leave a blueprint and open a new era of inner peace for humanity here in China."
"China is opening up to new ideas from all over the world, in different areas and in the field of self-growth ... It is the right time for my messages in China."
Asked what she would advise single Chinese women who are deeply dissatisfied with life because they are not married by around age 30, Shimoff said, "Wow. ... I think the same thing. I think I get married and I'll be much happier when I get married ... My professional side would say 'oh no,' but the one thing I would say from the outside is that the biggest predictor of happiness is our social relations, not just with a spouse, but others.
"What's challenging is that if your life doesn't present you with that (a good partner), it's still important to learn how to be happy and find inner happiness."
Speaking of all those Chinese books about how to be rich, successful and beautiful, she said, "Those books are great. I think any book that helps a person develop in any area is useful. The reason you want success or whatever is that it makes you happy. But research shows that no, you (should) go for happiness first because those things will not make you happy if you are not already happy inside.
"My messages are universal messages, which are all-inclusive religious belief for everyone," Shimoff said. "We are all part of the universal energy and affect each other all the time."
Shimoff, who lives in California, graduated from UCLA with an MBA and started training programs for big US corporations in communication skills, stress management and self-esteem.
She said that she heard her first motivational speaker when she was 13 years old, and that experience made a powerful impression. "Something inside of me clicked, and I said, that's exactly what I want to be."
Today she aims to be a transformational leader, focusing on helping women with self-esteem.
The famous "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series was created by Jack Canfield, whom Shimoff calls her mentor. He is one of her coauthors, along with Hawthorne and Mark Victor Hansen.
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