This Mother’s Day … Say Those Two Magic Words To Your Mother – “I Promise”
Matthew Cossolotto – Creator of “Make A Promise Day” – Says We Should Start A New Tradition and Make Heartfelt Promises to Our Mothers, Urges Young People To Make A Promise Against Drunk Driving
Cossolotto made a promise to his dying mother and now his mission is to share the power of making a promise with millions of people around the world: Make A Promise. Keep Your Word. Change Your Life. Transform The World.
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY – May 7, 2011 – Matthew Cossolotto – creator of Make A Promise Day and former aide to Congressman Leon Panetta and House Speaker Jim Wright – says we should make a heartfelt promise to our mothers on Mother’s Day.
“This Mother’s Day,” Cossolotto suggests, “start a new tradition and give your mother flowers and a promise. Promise her you’ll do something you know will make her happy and proud of you. That will make for a very special Mother’s Day. For instance, young people should promise their mothers they will not drink and drive and that they will never allow their friends to drive under the influence. They could also promise never to text and drive. Promises like that will have real meaning to your mother, especially on Mother’s Day.”
In Tony’s honor, hundreds of high school students signed this “I Promise” t-shirt promising not to drink and drive or let friends drive under the influence.
In April, Cossolotto called attention to a moving “I Promise” video and anti-drunk driving campaign in honor of Anthony (Tony) McColl. McColl was killed tragically on April 16th by a drunk driver on Highway 148 near Luskville, Quebec (Canada).
“This ‘I Promise’ video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzGhT5hweNM) and the ‘Tony’s Promise’ Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_205770589445576) offer vivid testimony to the power of making a promise,” Cossolotto said. “It’s an inspiring, healing, heart-centered power that can help turn a terrible tragedy into a positive campaign to save lives and restore hope. There is something very powerful about publicly declaring ‘I Promise.’ If you say those two magic words to your mother on Mother’s Day, it will mean the world to her.”
Cossolotto with his mother before her cancer diagnosis.
Cossolotto knows about the power of making a promise from personal experience. He made a promise to his mother on her deathbed that he would finish writing a book he had been discussing with her, get it published, and dedicate it to her memory. The resulting book, complete with Cossolotto’s dedication to his mother, is HabitForce!
Motivated by that firsthand experience, Cossolotto launched the first annual “Make A Promise Day” last May 4th as part of his ongoing mission to share the power of making a promise with millions of people around the world. He’s writing a book about the power of making a promise with a foreword by Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. The book includes stories about people who have made and kept important promises in their lives.
Cossolotto says his mission is to share the power of making a promise with millions of people around the world.
The Westchester County Executive (New York) issued a proclamation designating May 4th 2011 and each year thereafter to be “Make A Promise Day.” Here’s a link to a short YouTube video Cossolotto posted about this Proclamation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fXex1ZjpXs. To read more about the Proclamation, click here (http://wp.me/pSLX3-6W) and read this article on Patch.com (http://pelham.patch.com/articles/may-4-official-unofficial-make-a-promise-day).
Leading up to Make A Promise Day, Cossolotto was featured on Gail Lynne Goodwin’s popular Inspire Me Today website. Here’s the link to the feature story: http://www.inspiremetoday.com/archiveDisp.php?type=0&ref=1126. Also here’s the link to a short version of the “What’s Your Promise?” interview Cossolotto recorded with Goodwin about the life-changing promise she made to her daughter: http://youtu.be/NfsOpV92sB0
To celebrate “Make A Promise Day” 2011, Cossolotto published a new and improved version of his ebook A Promise A Day – 30 Days to a Promising Future. This is a unique collection of personal empowerment promises. Think of it as a Promise Diary. Now available for a nominal amount on Cossolotto’s main website: http://www.ThePodiumPro.com
In addition to making a promise on Mother’s Day, Cossolotto urges people to extend the spirit of “Make A Promise Day” and harness the power of making a promise on other days with special meaning – birthdays, Memorial Day, Valentine’s Day, wedding anniversaries, graduation day, Father’s Day, even Independence Day.
“The key to reaching a goal or keeping a promise is to commit emotionally to the outcome. Making a promise on a special day like Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day, increases your emotional connection, your heart connection, to fulfill that particular promise. Let’s say you want to lose weight, stop smoking, or make a career change. If you say those two magic words – I Promise – to your mother you’ll dramatically increase your chances of following through.”
To underscore the power of making a promise, Cossolotto cites several high-profile examples:
- Oprah Winfrey made a promise to Nelson Mandela that she would build a school for girls in South Africa.
- Entertainer Danny Thomas made a promise to build a shrine to St. Jude. That promise led to the establishment of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
- Nancy Brinker, author of Promise Me and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, promised her sister and breast cancer victim Suzy that she would help find a cure.
- Before his daughter’s wedding, former president Bill Clinton made a promise to Chelsea that he would watch his diet and take care of his health.
- Kody Bateman, founder of Send Out Cards, made a promise to his older brother that led to the creation of this inspirational company.
- NBC’s Al Roker made a promise to his dying father that he would deal with his weight issues.
Cossolotto launched “Make A Promise Network” on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Make-A-Promise-Network/183664501663269?sk=info) and invites people from around the world to join the network and post stories and videos of their promises made and kept. He also invites people to submit short summaries of their true promise stories for possible inclusion in forthcoming books, presentations, and interviews. Send a few sentences describing your promise to: Matthew.Promises@Gmail.com.
About Matthew Cossolotto: Creator of “Make A Promise Day” (May 4th), Matthew Cossolotto (aka “The Podium Pro”) is an author, guest speaker, CEO-level speechwriter, and speech coach. A former aide to House Speaker Jim Wright and Congressman Leon Panetta, Matthew also served as a CEO speechwriter at MCI, Pepsi-Cola International, and GTE. The author of HabitForce! and All The World’s A Podium, he’s working on a new book with a foreword by Jack Canfield about the power of making a promise. Matthew brings his Personal Empowerment Programs — “PEPTalks”– to colleges, associations, and corporations. Visit http://www.ThePodiumPro.com; http://www.MakeAPromiseDay.com; http://www.MakeAPromiseDay.wordpress.com; Follow Matthew and “Make A Promise Day” on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/MakeAPromiseDay. “Make A Promise Day” greeting cards and other gift items are available for convenient online purchase by visiting Matthew’s Zazzle store: www.Zazzle.com/TheCoz
About
Make A Promise. Keep Your Word. Change Your Life. Transform The World.
Here I am with my mother, Virginia Hope Butler, in Paris a few months before her cancer diagnosis and about a year before I made a promise to her on her deathbed that I would finish writing a book we had been discussing and dedicate it to her memory. Details below.
Welcome to the “Make A Promise Day” blog. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Be sure to check out the main “Make A Promise Day” website — www.MakeAPromiseDay.com. You should also check out my main website: www.ThePodiumPro.com. Also, we’ve created some cool “Make A Promise Day” gift items — coffee mugs, t-shirts, poster, greeting cards. More gifts to come! Visit our online Zazzle store: www.zazzle.com/thecoz.
What’s “Make A Promise Day” all about? It’s the only “holiday” specifically dedicated to personal empowerment, integrity enhancement, and goal achievement. This blog and the main website are dedicated to spreading the power of making a promise to millions of people as a way to jumpstart their personal change journey.
Many people are frustrated with gridlock and broken promises in Washington and on Wall Street. In our personal lives we have trouble reaching goals and keeping commitments. We see high-profile leaders, sports figures, and would-be role models embroiled in various scandals. It’s time to increase the level of integrity in society – one person and one promise at a time. That’s one reason I launched the first annual ‘Make A Promise Day’ on May 4, 2010.
One goal is to popularize the idea that we should turn important goals into heartfelt promises. Making a promise to someone you care about unleashes an irresistible force that will help you do follow through. Unlike normal goals or objectives or resolutions, with a promise your integrity is on the line and you’re much more accountable. You have some real skin in the game. As John Assaraf said in an interview for my forthcoming book, “We are neurologically wired to keep our promises.”
Who am I and why am I going on like this about the power of making a promise to someone you care about? Well … in the photo above you see me sitting in a famous sidewalk cafe in Paris with my mother, Virginia Hope Butler. Just a few months after this trip — her first and only trip to Paris — mom was diagnosed with cancer. Within a year of this photo she had passed away.
But not before I made a fateful promise to her. Just a few weeks before she died I promised her that I would finish writing a book she and I had been discussing for some time and that I would dedicate it to her memory. Her face lit up and she said: “You do that, Matthew. You do that.” I knew when I made the promise that failure was not an option, that I had crossed the proverbial Rubicon, there was no turning back or making excuses any more. I HAD TO FINISH THIS BOOK AND DEDICATE IT TO MY MOTHER’S MEMORY! What had been simply an idea or a vague goal had miraculously morphed into a magnificent mission.
I’m proud to say I kept that promise. The resulting book is HabitForce! — “The User’s Guide for Your Personal Operating System.” Signed copies of HabitForce! are available visiting my main website: www.ThePodiumPro.com.
The dedication to my mother in my book HabitForce! reads as follows:
In loving memory of my mother, Virginia Hope (Ludascher) Butler
I did it, Mom! Finally. I can honestly say that this book would never have been completed had I not made that promise to you at home in Gasquet, California, a few weeks before you passed away. This vividly demonstrates the power of making a promise, especially to your mother!
In the spirit of that dedication, I’m on a magnificent mission to spread the power of making a promise to millions of people around the world. I launched the first-annual “Make A Promise Day” on May 4, 2010, the only “holiday” that celebrates personal empowerment, goal achievement, and integrity enhancement. I often say a promise is like a goal on steroids and I encourage people to turn important goals (and New Year’s Resolutions) into heartfelt promises. I sum up my message in four simple, mantra-like sentences: Make a promise. Keep your word. Change your life. Transform the world.
Foreword To My Book By Jack Canfield: I’m writing a book about the power of making a promise with a foreword by Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. The working title is: The Power of Making a Promise. Here’s just a sampling of what Jack Canfield writes in his uplifting and very generous foreword:
When Matthew first told me about the heartfelt promise he made to his mother and that he was launching a special day called “Make A Promise Day” on May 4th, I was hooked. You could say he had me at “I promise.”
There was something very attractive, almost magnetic, about this concept. And I say that as somebody who has been intimately involved in the personal development field for many years. I’ve seen and heard just about everything …
With a promise your heart and emotions are fully engaged. Because of this, a promise is what I call a personal empowerment ‘twofer.’ It combines The Power of Intention with The Law of Attraction. And that is a very powerful combination indeed …
Contributing the foreword to this book and being associated with Matthew’s inspiring “Make-A-Promise” project is totally aligned with my life’s purpose. I applaud Matthew for collecting and celebrating these uplifting stories about promises made and promises kept.
I experienced firsthand the power of making a promise to someone you care about. And now, by launching the first annual “Make A Promise Day” on May 4th and by speaking and writing about The Power of Making a Promise, I am sharing this personal empowerment “secret weapon” with others. In the process, I hope to elevate the level of integrity, accountability, and personal responsibility in society generally. How? It’s a pretty simple formula really. Promises made and promises kept.
Thanks again for visiting and subscribing to this “Make A Promise Day” blog. I’ll keep you updated on developments. Please follow me on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/MakeAPromiseDay. Please submit a true personal story you have about a promise made and a promise kept. What promise did you make to somebody else and what impact did that promise have on your life? Keep your story brief and send it to Matthew.Promises@Gmail.com. The idea is to compile compelling stories about the power of making a promise into a series of books to spread this positive message to millions of people.
PEPTalks and a Promise
On Make A Promise Day (May 4, 2011) I made a public promise to donate 10% of my guest speaking fees to Study Abroad Alumni International to foster study abroad opportunities and global awareness and understanding. I offer several Personal Empowerment Programs (PEPTalks) to a variety of audiences including schools and colleges, corporations, government agencies, and nonprofits.
Here are the titles of my top three PEPTalks:
• The Power of Making a Promise: Make A Promise. Keep Your Word. Change Your Life. Transform The World.
• The Joy of Speaking: Turn Stage Fright Into Stage Delight and Speak Your Way to the Peak
• Success Is An Inside Job: Harness Your HabitForce and Reach Your Peak Personal Potential
I look forward to hearing from you … and speaking to your college, nonprofit, or other organization!
Many thanks for your interest and support. May The Fourth Be With You!
To Your Promise!
Matthew Cossolotto
Creator, Make A Promise Day
A Little Bit More About Matthew Cossolotto
Author … Guest Speaker … Speechwriter … Coach … Matthew Cossolotto spent eight years on Capitol Hill working as a speechwriter and special assistant to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim Wright and as legislative assistant to Congressman (now CIA Director) Leon Panetta. Matthew’s multifaceted communications career also includes senior-level speechwriting and executive communications positions at MCI Communications, GTE, and Pepsi-Cola International. Since 1996, Matthew has been providing clients with a range of executive communications services, including speechwriting, speech coaching, and Podium Power workshops. In the course of his career, Matthew has developed speeches and/or coached speakers for a variety of prestigious venues, including the Economic Club of Detroit, the National Press Club, Houston Forum, Cleveland City Club, The World Economic Forum, and the UN General Assembly. Author of The Almanac of European Politics, HabitForce!, and All The World’s A Podium, Matthew is working on a new book with a foreword by Jack Canfield about The Power of Making a Promise. Matthew offers his Personal Empowerment Programs — “PEPTalks” — to colleges, associations, nonprofits, and corporations. Visit http://www.ThePodiumPro.com.
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"Make A Promise Day" -- May 4th 