We are defined by the story we tell ourselves. I have often noticed the pessimist lot in my proximity continually weave a long ‘sorry’ story which saddens them and blows out their candle of hope leaving them helpless and marooned.

I remember I was descending the Prospect Mountain above Lake George Village on my long board dodging porcupines on the way down the road. My colleague was with me and I was having a great time until he started making a list of doom and gloom. He created a story which turned our adventure into a mishap and suddenly I started losing my zest.

We were to hike the summit with a group people who did not turn out at the last moment. We missed our bus which was to take us down the mountain. He was hungry and tired and he kept including me in his list of complaints while I was on a different trip, I was happy that even though my friends didn’t turn out, I could make it to the top and I was enjoying the longboarding down the slope. I was not feeling ravenous for food yet because I was too excited to be creating yet another memory for myself.

Just then I paused and reflected upon what had transpired in the moment and to my amazement I realized it was just the story I chose to believe in which changed my experience and I turned his volume down in my head and amplified my story of adventure and recovered my state of joy.

That is the power of a story. Do you have a powerful experience which could add vibrant hues to the drab lives of people? Do you believe in celebrating life despite all its unevenness? We at 123greetings.com surely do. We give you reasons to be merry, motives to enjoy every single day along with your friends and family. We encourage you to fall in love and be true to your feelings. And now we want you to join us and our community of 95 million annual visitors by contributing your stories of joy, love, festivities, family, smiles, laughter, tears and lessons with us. We welcome the writer in you. Just send in your experiences and stories and don’t worry about perfection, we have editors who will shape up your pieces for you.

Stay away from controversies and dogmas as much as possible and remember your story is to be a tale of hope and not a saga of helplessness. Highlight the lessons in the challenging times you’ve had. Be a light-worker.

Originality is the key here. Our team works day in and day out to put creativity and novelty to the fore.

Unlike the limited words of a post in the social forums we let you stretch your imagination and pour your heart out, express your opinions without being too contained in the limitations of fewer words. You can stretch from 400 to 1600 words.

Here’s what to do:

• Email me at bob@123greetings-inc.com with ideas you have for specific articles or the draft of your story/ article along with a brief (one paragraph) description of who you are and what you do.

• In the subject line, write a short title of the story (60-80 Characters) for example “What Makes My Mother My Best Friend” or “Confessions Of A Working Mom”

• If you have other writing samples, send them along or refer a friend you think has the skills.