Before You Leap, a frog's-eye view of life's greatest lessons by Kermit the Frog (2006)
Whilst hopping down the stacks, looking for Aristophanes "Complete Plays' which of course includes his best work: 'Frogs', I happened to spy my dear friend Kermit's picture on the spine of a book of wisdom, not just for frogs, but for everyone, amphibian or, purely land-dwelling, and maybe even flying, swimming or other creatures of the earth. To jump at the chance to check out such a font of wisdom was the work of the moment. I produced my Berkeley Heights Public Library card at the Circulation desk and the staff that work there very kindly came around the desk to put it in my backpack after they checked it out to me.
Here are some of the bon mots I have gleaned so far from this book:
In the very useful, and strangely familiar sounding chapter, 'The Seven Dreams of Highly Effective Amphibians.' Kermit tells the reader, "It always starts with a dream" (75) and goes on to enumerate 'Kermit's Seven-step dream identification system' (77). The reader can use this system as a blueprint to success in or out of the swamp.
Addressing the common fear of public speaking, Kermit advises:
"Imagine the audience is naked. If this doesn't help, do what I do and just work naked yourself." (89) Now there's a bit of advice you won't find just anywhere.
As for "Fear of Pigs. This is just good sense. Go with it." (89)
Again, I can't find anything wrong with that advice.
In the chapter, 'The Wealth of Frogs', Kermit starts by saying, "Money is not a big issue with frogs." (97) If, like me, or any other frog, you agree with that, you could just skip right over this chapter and go to chapter 11: 'Finding Your Inner Tadpole, a frog's spiritual journey.' (139) If you don't nurture your inner tadpole, you will have to face your outer toad, (140) so it's best to attend to your spiritual self before you turn into a toad.
For other self-help books, take a look at this aptly-titled blog post: Self Help Books
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