The Noticer Project - What is it?

Last week I received an email from Amy at Phenix Publicity about participating in The Noticer Project.  You can bet I was intrigued!  I have received requests to do book reviews for Phenix, but this was different, I could tell.  There's a book to review, so how can it be different?  I mean, that's what this blog's about, right, books?  You're right, but there's more to this than just a book and a review.  One, I don't even have the book yet, so why am I posting?  Two, the blog tour is not until the end of the month, so what's going on?  It's a teaser, to get you interested, so you'll participate.  Participate in what?  Well, let me introduce you to The Noticer Project.  Here is the press release, that explains it much better than I ever could.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Noticer Project: Who will you notice?
Movement invites people everywhere to recognize five inspirational people in their lives

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In the current climate of economic strife and social strain, it has become more important than ever for people to take a step back and realize just how fortunate they are. On April 7, 2009, a viral grassroots movement called The Noticer Project (www.TheNoticerProject.com) will answer the need for a little hope and a fresh dose of perspective by calling on people everywhere to "notice" the five most influential people in their lives. What better way to count our blessings than by recognizing the special people who inspire and encourage us every day?

Based on the central message in The Noticer (Thomas Nelson | April 28, 2009 | 978-0-7852-2921-1 | Hardcover |$17.99) by bestselling author Andy Andrews, The Noticer Project is meant to encourage people to step outside their busy schedules to take notice of five special people who have made a positive impact on their lives. As a result, participants in The Noticer Project not only acknowledge the contributions of other people on their lives, but they also gain a fresh perspective on their own journey.

"In times like these, it's important not to get wrapped up in what we don't have or what we're lacking, but instead to focus on the simple things in life that give us hope," says Andrews, an internationally renowned speaker and author of The Traveler's Gift. "It is most often our friends, family, teachers, spiritual leaders and heroes who truly inspire us. With The Noticer Project, I want to encourage folks everywhere to give the gift of noticing someone today, and gain perspective on their own lives in the process."

Andrews says noticing five people can be as private (just a letter or email) or as public (posting to a Facebook page or joining The Noticer Project Facebook group) as participants choose. Whether thanking a high school English teacher in an email for the motivation to pursue the dream of writing, or posting a note on Facebook recognizing Martin Luther King for his historic civil rights legacy, participants in The Noticer Project utilize the "pay it forward" concept to offer hope and encouragement through the simple act of recognizing someone significant.

Andrews' new book, The Noticer combines the author's true life story, fiction and allegory to reveal the healing power of perspective. It follows "Jones," a mysterious older man who enters into the lives of people in the midst of crisis - on the brink of divorce, on the verge of financial ruin, about to give up on life - to impart sage-like wisdom on how to change their view of the world to move past life's biggest challenges.

"When we notice things about ourselves and other people that allow us all to regroup, take a breath, and begin our lives again, the best is surely yet to come," writes Andrews in The Noticer.

Andrews, whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide, resides in Orange Beach, Ala., with his wife and two sons. His popular book The Traveler's Gift is an international bestseller with more than a million copies sold. It was an ABC "Good Morning America" book-of-the month selection, the subject of a two-hour PBS special and landed spots on The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. Learn more about The Noticer Project and The Noticer at www.TheNoticerProject.com.

Are you teased?  Well, come back tomorrow to see my public post about the 5 people I am going to "notice."  Who will you notice?  What will you do to let them know?  I encourage you to join in with me tomorrow as I take on this project with many other people.  If you are choosing to participate, let me know in the comments, then come back tomorrow and in the comments of that post, leave the link to your post or just a description of what you did to participate.  In a world where so many notice the negative, let's turn it around and choose to notice the positive.  Are you with me?