Have you ever read a book so inspirational and relatable that you wish you had written it yourself? That's how deeply I felt every word in Chasing the Bright Side.
Jess Ekstrom manages to take her experiences and use them to connect to her readers in their own journey of growth and dream chasing. So many times I found myself so inspired in fact, that I put the book down and got to work on marketing plans or business models of my own. How could I grow more, challenge myself more, test my own comfort zone and limits more?!
As a self-published author, it's easy to forget how big your accomplishment is, because to the world you're a small fish. The fact is, when you're a self-published author, you're doing, learning, and teaching yourself more skills than a traditionally published one. You're making mistakes in your formatting. You're editing isn't up to professional standards. You totally forgot to wrap that secondary plot point up with a clean little bow and not leave readers guessing. But, whatever you're not doing right, you're doing it all on your own most of the time, and that's no small thing. Plenty of people have taken rejection from traditional publishers or literary agents and said, well, looks like that's the end off the road for me. I clearly don't deserve the chance to prove myself. What I have to offer is trash and I'm not worthy of outside recognition for it.
This book, for me, was the delivery of a complete opposite message. This book said, you're tall enough to ride this ride. You've earned your place in the game, and you can do this. Don't be afraid to be ignored, turned down, or negatively received. All of that is better than standing still in another person's impression of what you've achieved.
I bought this book because I suspected it was a good time to sprinkle some positivity into my life. And boy was I right! It has been eight years since I last published a novel. My recently published novel The River House was sparked by my mother's unexpected passing in April 2020, a time where my personal grief was overshadowed by a loss of normalcy and security that the whole world mourned together. It's a literary achievement for me that means so much more than just getting my name as an author out there. This novel mended my soul. So, needless to say, I was terrified to trust such a creation in the hands of critics. Or worse, people who would choose not to bother reading it at all because of who I am, or more accurately, who I'm not.
Whatever your dreams are, whatever stage you're at, whatever your fears or doubts may be...you've got this, and you've got to get this book, because Jess sums this very mantra up so well, providing such rich and raw examples as to WHY you've got this, because she too has been in the position of believing otherwise. She proves to the world that believing in your vision IS enough, and eventually they will see it too, but only you can deliver your gift to the world, so don't give up, and keep chasing the bright side.
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From the Publisher
Stop wishing for a better world. Start creating one.
Success is not born out of skill, school, where we're from, who we know, or what we scored on the SAT. None of us was born ready. None of us started life knowing how to fly a plan or launch a company or knit a sweater for our dog.
But we are born with something more important than skills. We're born with optimism—the initial seed for success. Optimism fuels the belief that you can be the one to create the good the world needs. But you've got to hone it. And practice it. And determine to live from it.
-Marc Randolph, Netflix cofounder and first CEO
It's the book I wish I had read before starting my own entrepreneurial journey, but luckily it's not too late for everyone else. I'll be recommending this book to my own children, to the aspiring entrepreneurs I work with, and to everyone I meet who aspires fo find more purpose in their life. It's a page-turner that you won't be able to put down until you've finished but holds lessons that will reveal themselves to you for a lifetime.
-Marie Forleo, author of Everything Is Figureoutable
Three things you can control in life are your attitude, your effort, and your actions. If you're ready to see challenges as opportunities for growth, Chasing The Bright Side is the guide you need.
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Reviews with images
March to the Beat of Your Own Drum!
Chasing the Bright Side details the amazing and comical journey of how CEO and Founder of Headbands of Hope, Jess Eckstrom, achieved her undeniable success and created change--great change. It’s about how realistic optimism, relentless individuality, and big dreams can pave a path where no one dared to traverse.Jess does a phenomenal job exposing success for what it is: raw, organic, and hard! No perfectly manicured Instagram pictures here! But, in spite of her many trials and encounters with negative naysayers who didn’t believe enough in her and her vision, she had one thing that no one could take away from her: unyielding faith in the change she could bring about.Jess believed wholeheartedly in the solution she could bring to the table: the creation of a company that donates headbands to children with pediatric cancer; something that had never been done before! She summarizes every figurative fall off her ladder to success. But, with every fall came a lesson, embedded with humor, and optimistic beliefs that you have to keep pushing forward toward your progress.Through “She Made it Work” anecdotes, Jess does what most successful people don’t do: actually talk about the “OUCH, WHACK, OOPS, OH CRAP!” moments that got them to the success they have today. No one is born living at the top. It’s a series of steps: sometimes baby steps, giant leaps, and everything in between. Jess highlights that failure, although not easy to accept, is not your enemy, but rather what propels you into being successful. If you fall down in the mud because your shoes keep getting stuck, do you stay down and quit, OR do you take your shoes off and keep going?True success isn’t about having all of your ducks lined up in a row and you certainly don’t have to have it all figured out (because who really does?!) The magnitude of your success is attributed to your fortitude, tenacity, and resourcefulness.I came out of reading Chasing the Bright Side feeling empowered, equipped with a new perception on life, and with even more fervor in continuing to work towards making my big dreams a reality. I loved every word on every page of this book and found it to be so relatable! I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you add this to your reading list!Life isn’t perfect, nor should it be! Life is about your experiences and the stories you create from them. What’s your story?
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2019
Chasing the Bright Side details the amazing and comical journey of how CEO and Founder of Headbands of Hope, Jess Eckstrom, achieved her undeniable success and created change--great change. It’s about how realistic optimism, relentless individuality, and big dreams can pave a path where no one dared to traverse.
Jess does a phenomenal job exposing success for what it is: raw, organic, and hard! No perfectly manicured Instagram pictures here! But, in spite of her many trials and encounters with negative naysayers who didn’t believe enough in her and her vision, she had one thing that no one could take away from her: unyielding faith in the change she could bring about.
Jess believed wholeheartedly in the solution she could bring to the table: the creation of a company that donates headbands to children with pediatric cancer; something that had never been done before! She summarizes every figurative fall off her ladder to success. But, with every fall came a lesson, embedded with humor, and optimistic beliefs that you have to keep pushing forward toward your progress.
Through “She Made it Work” anecdotes, Jess does what most successful people don’t do: actually talk about the “OUCH, WHACK, OOPS, OH CRAP!” moments that got them to the success they have today. No one is born living at the top. It’s a series of steps: sometimes baby steps, giant leaps, and everything in between. Jess highlights that failure, although not easy to accept, is not your enemy, but rather what propels you into being successful. If you fall down in the mud because your shoes keep getting stuck, do you stay down and quit, OR do you take your shoes off and keep going?
True success isn’t about having all of your ducks lined up in a row and you certainly don’t have to have it all figured out (because who really does?!) The magnitude of your success is attributed to your fortitude, tenacity, and resourcefulness.
I came out of reading Chasing the Bright Side feeling empowered, equipped with a new perception on life, and with even more fervor in continuing to work towards making my big dreams a reality. I loved every word on every page of this book and found it to be so relatable! I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you add this to your reading list!
Life isn’t perfect, nor should it be! Life is about your experiences and the stories you create from them. What’s your story?
Jess does a phenomenal job exposing success for what it is: raw, organic, and hard! No perfectly manicured Instagram pictures here! But, in spite of her many trials and encounters with negative naysayers who didn’t believe enough in her and her vision, she had one thing that no one could take away from her: unyielding faith in the change she could bring about.
Jess believed wholeheartedly in the solution she could bring to the table: the creation of a company that donates headbands to children with pediatric cancer; something that had never been done before! She summarizes every figurative fall off her ladder to success. But, with every fall came a lesson, embedded with humor, and optimistic beliefs that you have to keep pushing forward toward your progress.
Through “She Made it Work” anecdotes, Jess does what most successful people don’t do: actually talk about the “OUCH, WHACK, OOPS, OH CRAP!” moments that got them to the success they have today. No one is born living at the top. It’s a series of steps: sometimes baby steps, giant leaps, and everything in between. Jess highlights that failure, although not easy to accept, is not your enemy, but rather what propels you into being successful. If you fall down in the mud because your shoes keep getting stuck, do you stay down and quit, OR do you take your shoes off and keep going?
True success isn’t about having all of your ducks lined up in a row and you certainly don’t have to have it all figured out (because who really does?!) The magnitude of your success is attributed to your fortitude, tenacity, and resourcefulness.
I came out of reading Chasing the Bright Side feeling empowered, equipped with a new perception on life, and with even more fervor in continuing to work towards making my big dreams a reality. I loved every word on every page of this book and found it to be so relatable! I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you add this to your reading list!
Life isn’t perfect, nor should it be! Life is about your experiences and the stories you create from them. What’s your story?
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Top reviews from other countries
"CFL"
Her story started with a headband. How will yours begin?
Reviewed in Canada on May 20, 2022