Someone asked me once what it is like to hold the heart of a child in my hand.

“It must be so tiny,” he said. “How can you see to put the stitches in?”

I thought for a moment.

“It is tiny,” I agreed. “It is the size of a hummingbird.”

“And sometimes that is what I think of when I listen to some little hearts. The frantic beating, the flutter of a heart desperate to fly freely inside a child’s chest.

“I think, ‘There is a hummingbird in this child’s chest. A ruby-throated hummingbird, desperate to live, desperate for the nectar of life.’

“And I imagine that I must approach it carefully, and hold it gently, but firmly.

“When I hold it I can feel the warmth through my gloved hand.

“I could think about how I hold the future of the child’s life in that hand. I could think about how I hold the laughter, the joy, the tears, the future of that child in my hand.

“But it would overwhelm me to think about all that they could be and I could not do my job. So I ask my assistant to think about those things for me.”

“Who is your assistant?” he asked.

“Why you of course!” I smiled.

“Me?”

“Yes, let me show you. Empty your pockets into your hand.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, everything.”

I watched as he did as I asked. Then I began to remove the items one by one.

I took away his keys. I took away a pack of gum, a breath mint, some loose change. I took away a parking stub and a small charm until the only thing left in his hand was his wallet.

Then I closed his fingers over it gently until he was holding it securely.

“You are my assistant. In your hand you hold the life, the laughter, the love, the future of a child. Her heart is only a little smaller than your wallet.

“I have taken away all the things in your hand that are your life – the keys to your car, the entertainment of an evening, the sweetness of candies. All that is left is what matters – a donation.

“You are the one who truly holds her heart in your hand. You are the one who can afford to think about what her life could be like. Will you do that?”

He looked at me with tears in his eyes and asked, “And then what will you think about?”

“I will think about hummingbirds. I will think about how to slow the tiny flutters and how to stitch the holes. And I will think about what I can do to save her life.

“I can… because you hold the most important part in your hand.

You hold the possibility of life.”

Make a difference. Heal a child’s heart. Click here to see how.

(With deep gratitude to Becky Blanton – for putting into words the feelings that were trapped in my heart!)

Maybe you have little time and want to get right to the point. So, here’s an executive summary of the NAMS4Kids event.

What is NAMS4Kids?

At the NAMS Workshop in Atlanta later this month, we plan to raise at least $10,000 to sponsor heart surgery for kids from under-privileged families through the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation.

How will we do it?

By running a GIFT GIVEAWAY, where hundreds of partners throw in a valuable gift that people can download for free – and inviting them to make a donation when they do so.

Register to pick up your gifts – click here

How can I help?

By contributing a gift of your own to the event. And then, spreading the word about it to your audience.

Where do I sign up to add my gift?

Click here to join now.

Or get more details by reading about the NAMS4Kids giveaway.

Anything else I need to know before I go there?

1. All the proceeds of this fundraiser go to support a child’s life-saving heart operation.

2. The biggest referrers can win cool prizes – including a HP Mini 210-1084NR 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook

Ok, now go on and join now as a contributor.

Or just register to pick up your free gifts – and also tell a friend or ten about it.

My favorite line in a song goes:

 "We may not change the world in one day
 But we still can change some things today
 In our small way!"

I’ve made it my motto, in a sense.  And keep
trying to make SMALL changes every day – that
sometimes make a BIG impact.

Today, I’m inviting you to join me… in one
small change that YOU can make happen -

   To Your BIG Advantage!
 
What will you do?

Give a gift.  

A small one.  That ties in with your business
or brand.

But a valuable one.  That will be of benefit

to people who receive it.

You Get TWO Benefits

#1 – You get to grow your list massively
- or build it up from scratch

#2 – You get to save a child’s life – and
be a part of a very special team

Go here to start now

How does it work?

Sign up.  Get the info.  Create (or select)
a gift you’d like to add to the giveaway.

A short sample or lead in to a product or
service you are selling, or something related
to it, will work well in attracting new leads.

When thousands of people see your gift next
week (when the BIG promotion kicks-in) you’ll

be rewarded with a flood of new subscribers
…and the warm feeling that comes from knowing
you helped save a child’s life.

Who can join?

You can.  Even if your list is tiny.  Even
if you’re just starting out.  Even if you

don’t know the first thing about promoting
it.

Because we’ll show you exactly how to change
something today… in a SMALL way!

It starts here – click

All success
Dr.Mani

P.S. – The cut-off date isn’t very far off,
especially if you plan to create a new gift

for this event.  So join today.

If you upgrade your listing for just $17,
you’ll get better positioning – and can list
TWO gifts in the giveaway.

His bloodshot eyes brimmed with sudden tears. The stress lines that creased his unshaven face relaxed for a brief instant, the muscles twisting in a rare expression of an uncommon emotion.

Sheer joy.

“The operation went well,” I had smiled. With a thrill of surprise and delight, I realized those simple words I had just uttered unleashed a flood of feeling.

And in that instant, I saw disappear, from a relieved father’s face, the collective agony and angst of many thousand parents, all caring for children shadowed by the spectre of congenital heart disease.

I saw a dream come alive.

May 1989

I sat on a rickety wooden stool in Ward 5, at the bedside of my 26 year old patient.

I was a freshly graduated medical doctor, in an internship.

I was terrified.

This was the first time death was so near, so inevitable, so personal.

Jayaraman (I still remember his name!) was from a remote village, so desperately poor that none of his family could afford to travel with him to hospital.

He suffered from a condition called ‘Primary Pulmonary Hypertension’ (a raised pressure in his lungs, with no known cause), which was untreatable.

He was afraid of dying.

He was frightened to be alone.

So I sat beside him, held his hand, as slowly his life ebbed away.

It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my young life, then. To watch, helplessly, as a patient died, putting to death that glowing belief we cherished as medical students that the knowledge we were acquiring would save lives and vanquish all illness.

It was a day I grew up.

* * *

Today, I experienced the same emotions of that endless night twenty years ago. I lost a child. A patient. A little girl we operated a few months back.

She died because her heart surgery came too late to prevent complications.

She died because a defect so easily repaired in early childhood was left unattended for too long.

Her operation was a “success” – but by then, changes had happened inside her tiny lungs that couldn’t be reversed. And they claimed the ultimate price – her life.

It hurts today, just as badly as it did twenty years ago.

With one difference.

Today, I know I can do something about it.

I know YOU can do something about it.

I know that together, you and I, can fight congenital heart disease.

Keep it from claiming too many more little lives.

Give young children a fate better than this one.

Offer them a better future.

Yes, we can do it.

We must.

R.I.P. little one.

.

.
Our goal: to sponsor 47 heart operations this year. You can help – in THREE ways:

• Tell a friend (or ten) about this and ask them to spread the word too
  .
• Join a 47 HEARTS GROUP and help a child live – click here
  .
• Buy the book, “47 HEARTS – How To Live Your Dream With Passion, Purpose & Persistence” (100% of profits go to charity) –

I just returned from surgery. It was the 61st operation funded by the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation. The patient was a 2 year old baby, who weighed just 9 kilos. The surgery lasted 4 hours. Everything else faded into the background.

Two days earlier, I spent all day and night blogging and on Twitter in the Heart Kids Blogathon and Tweetathon. It’s a controlled frenzy of activity that lasts all round the clock… no breaks, for 24 hours. There was no time for anything else.

People often ask me how I manage to tackle so many tasks, projects, activities – and get them done. The answer is ‘Focus’.

But there’s something else that makes it joyous, delightful and fun…

Getting in the zone.

• Ask a musician who’s playing his favorite piece.
• Ask the writer who’s in between blocks, penning lovely, flowing verses.
• Ask the sportsman who just hit his stride and is humming along ‘on song’.

They’re all in the zone.

It’s a magical time. It may last 15 seconds, or 15 minutes, or 15 hours. Time just stands still, in a sense, as you’re completely immersed, involved, engaged in what you do.

It’s at times like this that I live – intensely.

And when these magical moments are tied in with something special, fulfilling and important – like helping a child live – I feel eternally grateful for all that I have and am.

Any worthwhile achievement in history has been made at the cost of a sacrifice. In time. Of assets or resources. Even people’s lives.

“Take what you want, and pay the price” says God – Spanish proverb.

In a nutshell, one can sum up the concept of sacrifice thusly…

Give up something. Make sure it is valuable. Be seen to give it up.

Action

Making a Sacrifice Means That You Care

About something. Enough to give up something else.

Success in career comes at the cost of a life of ease and pleasure roaming the world. Raising happy, healthy children involves an investment in time and attention. Growing a thriving crop needs sustained hard work up front in tilling the land.

Quantum

How Big Is Your Sacrifice?

Giving up your first born at an altar to God was the supreme sacrifice we read about in mythology. In ancient times, farmers sacrificed their fattest cows and goats and pigs to appease what they saw as an angry Nature.

In general, the bigger your dream, the more you should be ready and willing to give up to reach it.

Perception

Does Anyone Care About What You Sacrifice?

This only matters when you care if anyone else sees what you’re giving up. (In many cases, that’s completely irrelevant.) But let’s say you do.

I could stop drinking tea for a day, and call it a sacrifice. A fellow tea-drinker would realize how big a deal that is… but not others.

For an event like the Heart Kids Blogathon, the sacrifice must be broader based, one that others will understand – and appreciate. So, I’m giving up sleeping for a day!

What Makes “Heart Kids Blogathon” Tick?

This is the seventh year I’m doing a “Heart Kids Blogathon“. I stay awake for 24 hours straight, updating my blog every 30 minutes, and more recently, doing it on Twitter too.

Thousands of people watch, participate and tell friends about it. Behind all this interest lies a sacrifice.

A relatively small one, in contrast to the really big ones that are made by families of the kids I treat for congenital heart defects. But a sacrifice nonetheless.

One day, I’ll write a book sharing some inspiring stories that have deeply touched my heart.

Tales and anecdotes of concerned moms and caring dads, loving grandparents and commited uncles, inspired aunts and determined siblings… all of whom engaged in battle against a cruel killer that unfortunately picked their loved one as a target.

They CRUSHED it, beating the odds, and proved convincingly that the human spirit is indomitable.

They bluntly refused to let a bad hand of cards that Life dealt them to hurt their child’s future.

And my small sacrifice is to spend a day every year, spotlighting these real heroes in the journey of life.

To show them off to you. To share their inspiring energy with you. To give you the same treasure I’ve received from them… the ability to trust that

DREAMS COME TRUE – If You Believe In Them With All Your Heart

Dr.Mani’s annual 24-hour event for raising awareness about congenital heart defects.

Learn more about progress of this year’s event and see how much our generous donors have given – click here.

Our goal: to sponsor 47 heart operations this year. You can help – in THREE ways:

• Tell a friend (or ten) about this and ask them to spread the word too
  .
• Join a 47 HEARTS GROUP and help a child live – click here
  .
• Buy the book, “47 HEARTS – How To Live Your Dream With Passion, Purpose & Persistence” (100% of profits go to charity) –

“47 Hearts“ officially launches on February 14th, 2010.

This is how thrilling it feels…

Amazon.com sales rank on February 9th: 1,542,106

Amazon.com sales rank on February 12th: 44,026

And here’s what I hope to see on February 14th:

Amazon.com sales rank on February 14th: 001

Let’s make it happen!

In an earlier post, I shared how launching a print book is not all fun and frolic!

Well, I must be some kind of glutton for punishment – because I went ahead and wrote another book, and am now launching it on February 14th.

“47 HEARTS” is a book about dreams. YOUR dreams. And how to make them all come true, by applying 47 simple, yet powerfully effective tips.

And to power the book launch, I’ve created another series of resources, here are a few of them:

47 HEARTS Book Trailer – watch it on YouTube

47 HEARTS Photo Album – see it here

47 HEARTS Knol – read it here

47 HEARTS on Amapedia – see it here

47 HEARTS Manifesto – download it here

47 HEARTS Facebook Page – see it here

47 HEARTS Blog – read it here

47 HEARTS on Twitter – follow it here

47 HEARTS Launch Website – see it here

47 HEARTS Squidoo Lens – this is it

47 HEARTS Reviews – like this

47 HEARTS Press Release – like this

47 HEARTS Author Site – this is one of them

47 HEARTS Hub Pages – like this

Now… if this doesn’t make you pause and re-consider your decision to write and publish your book, then welcome to the exclusive club of published authors!

Just be prepared to work hard – AFTER you’ve done writing it!

Please wish me luck on February 14th, 2010 – and help spread the word, if you can.

I contacted 124 friends about helping spread word about the Heart Kids Tweetathon (and the launch of my new book, “47 HEARTS – How To Live Your Dreams, With Passion, Purpose & Persistence“) on February 14th.

40 have agreed.

Collectively, they have a reach of over 3.5 MILLION people through their network!

But I’m not stopping with this. Because it concerns the life and health of kids born with congenital heart defects. And there is much more to be done to spread awareness about this deadly killer that claims thousands of little lives every year.

So, this is an open invitation.

An invitation to you, and to everyone who cares and wants to make a difference in the life of a child born with a congenital heart defect.

February 14th, 2010, “A Day for Hearts”, is YOUR day to show how much you care!

On that day, I’m doing 2 things to benefit my non-profit work with heart kids:

#1 – A book launch for “47 Hearts“, a print book with 100% of profits going to charity

#2 – A 24-hour day-and-night “Heart Kids Tweetathon/Blogathon” to raise funds through donations

And I’m seeking your support with this. When you reply to let me know you’re interested, I’ll send you more information (and a review copy of the new book, too).

Here’s a brief outline of the promotion plan.

Phase 1 is underway. The first goal was to get 30 people on the team, each of whom will find 30 people to read and review the book BEFORE launch day (on blogs, forums or ezines). I’m happy to say this is going well, though there’s always room for a few more reviewers.

If you’d like to help find these reviewers, please invite anyone whom you think will fit the bill to visit:

http://47hearts.com/reviewit.htm

I’ll send them a digital review copy at least 2 weeks before launch, so they have enough time to read it and share their thoughts.

Some ideas on how to let folks know are here.

And so is some email copy you can use, if you like.

Phase 2 will begin in the first week of February, and that’s when I’m counting on your help in spreading word about the book launch and the Heart Kids Tweetathon / Blogathon which happen on Feb.14th.

What you can do now – and later?

Now: Invite reviewers to pick up digital copies of the book – if they are willing to write/record a review before launch date.

Later: Let your network know about the Feb.14th event, and invite people to support it by purchasing a copy of the book from Amazon.com or making a donation.

If you’d like to help out with this, please contact me to say “Yes, I’m IN!”

Anything else you want or need to clarify, please ask. You can email me, or use the helpdesk.

Ideas, suggestions and ways to increase reach of this promotion are most welcome – and deeply appreciated.

As is your ongoing support.

Thank you from my heart!