Here at Life is good, we are blown away and humbled by the amazing letters that arrive each day from people who have had powerful experiences that they would like to share with us. Some are funny and light, others are deeply meaningful stories from people facing life's inevitable challenges. This steady supply of inspiration keeps our engines running, and that's why we call it FUEL. We're happy to share these with you and hope that you can send us a note with your own story of optimistic inspiration.

-The Crew at Life is good.

Got your own story to share? Email us at FUEL@lifeisgood.com, join us on Facebook, or write to us at:
FUEL, Life is good
283 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02115

I wanted to take a moment to share my story with you about how Life is good has changed my life. About three years ago I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that changed my whole world. I was at the peak of health. I had lost a lot of weight and after years of being a couch potato, I was running, cycling, swimming, etc. I was in love with how great my body looked and felt. Then suddenly something changed. I woke up one day and was exhausted. I figured I had overdone it the day before, so I took a day off from work. As I was sitting at home, watching bad daytime TV, I noticed that some spots on my leg were numb.

To make a long story short, after months of testing and more exhausted days than good days, I finally had a diagnosis. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I would later be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia as well as I developed a lot of pain over time. My days of running and cycling ended. Most days I am lucky if I can sustain myself for a 20-30 minute walk. And when I do I usually come home and nap for a couple of hours. I have gained a lot of weight back. I went through a terrible period of depression. And then I was given a gift — a t-shirt from Life is good that said "Half Full". Aside from being the most comfortable t-shirt I own, it quickly became a representation of how I wanted to look at the world. I have nearly worn it out (and have patched it a few times). It reminds me that I am alive, that my life is different, but it is not over, and that I can change the world simply by being me and sharing my experience. It's a perfect reminder that life truly is good... and that goodness can come from life's unpredictability. I saw an anonymous quote today that sums it up: "Just because it's not what you were expecting doesn't mean it's not everything you've been waiting for".

So my message is simple (and borrowed) - Life is good. And remember that every situation, every day, can be half-full if you let it.

Thank you for reading my story.

Karen

I am currently a licensed practical nurse (LPN) and have returned to nursing school for my RN year. I knew full well going into this program that I would have to sacrifice, and not just financially. My family and friends rarely see me without a book in hand or a speedy hello/goodbye as I grab some coffee and head to clinical. I have come to truly believe that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a food group. In addition to school, I also broke up with my boyfriend of three years this past May. While many would see this as a distressing time I have actually seen it as a positive experience. Life has been good in so many ways. I have my first apartment on my own, a wonderful, supportive family and friends, and a renewed sense of identity.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. It's hard not to get caught up in the magic of the season. But there I sat on Christmas Eve day feeling down and out. I stared at an unadorned Christmas tree that I had put up a few weeks prior in the hopes of making it something special. It would be my first Christmas on my own. Each day, however, I grew a little less and less enthused when I saw the tree, knowing that I didn't have the money to decorate it or buy presents for my family. It was actually starting to be a reminder of what I didn't have. And so I started to take down the tree. But as I did, I noticed the Life is good Book on the shelf in the corner. I had jokingly told a friend a few days earlier that if all else failed I would use my favorite images from the book to decorate my "Charlie Brown" tree. As I stood there with tree limbs in hand I thought "why not?".

Imagine a 33-year-old woman sitting on the floor in her living room with tree limbs scattered about (its an artificial tree), bandage scissors in hand, cutting feverishly, with paper everywhere. I'm sure it was truly a sight to be seen. That was my moment! My defining moment! I have more than I ever thought. It's what you choose to do with what you have that makes the difference. I quickly got in my car and drove to the store to buy glue, poster board, and ribbon. It took me nearly four hours to complete the decorations. I went back through them and chose six that best depicted each of my family members. I took each decoration and wrote a personal message on back. I wrote the title of the picture based on the LIG tees and added a personal message from me and what each family member means to me. As I stood decorating my tree with favorite quotes and images from Life is good, I felt like a little kid. It was an amazing feeling. I called my mom and asked her to stop by because I had something to show her. We both cried.

Thank you for inspiring me!

Trish

Note: We received this story after Christmas last year. We thought it was an inspiring one to share this holiday season.

Dear Life is good,

My story is a story of love, hope and acceptance. In May of 2010, my husband and I met the most amazing person who has changed our lives forever, our son Eamon.

In April of 2010 my Mom became a Foster parent in order to give respite to babies who have been taken from their parents with the hopes of reunification or adoptive placement. My sister adopted both of my nieces from the Foster Care system and my Mom decided that holding and loving babies was her calling. We are really happy she did for you see Eamon was placed with her when he was only 9 months old. It was his 4th home in his 9 short months of being on our planet. Upon returning from an overseas business trip, my husband and I met Eamon and that night we knew we wanted to adopt him. Having met later in life, we had given up hope of having a family when this beautiful little soul entered our lives. We became certified and worked at transitioning him into our home. He was very shy and delayed in many areas, but through the gifts of love and patience, Eamon grew into a confident and happy little boy.

Almost 18 months from the day we met Eamon, this past Tuesday, we finalized our adoption and our forever family was created. Life is good is our family's official weekend attire and we have a tradition that every Christmas we all get new Life is good tee shirts. The attached picture is of my son and husband from a camping trip we took to Sequoia this past June. It happens to be one of my favorite snap shots of them together.

Thank you for letting me share our story and our love of Life is good!

Warm regards,
Tanya, Brad and Eamon

"You sometimes think you want to disappear, but all you really want is to be found."

I read this quote on your Facebook page today. You know that feeling you get, when you're walking up the stairs and you think you have another step to go, but you don't... and your foot goes down. There's this sinking feeling at first, and then you realize you're okay. That's the feeling I got when I read that quote. I went through some traumatic things as a child, and to deal with it, I developed anorexia. I struggled with it from the time I was eight until I was in my twenties. I'm in my early thirties now and am doing well, but it took a lot to get to this point. I thought I wanted to disappear. To wither away into nothing. To just die. It took a long time for me to realize what I really wanted was for people to realize I was there. That I wasn't dead. That even if I didn't verbalize it, I was in a lot of pain and needed somebody to see it.

I think what helped me most was being surrounded by people who realized Life is good. People who were full of life and living full lives. And I'll never forget the evening that I went to bed, and instead of hoping I didn't wake up the next day, I couldn't wait to wake up. I finally had an excitement about life that I had never experienced before (or at least hadn't experienced in over 20 years). It's easy for me to live each day and not think of my past anymore, but every now and then... such as tonight... something somebody will say, or a quote, will remind me how things once were. I'm so grateful Life is good now.

I've always loved your products, but ever since I've realized you raise money for Playmakers, I've bought even more. I wish I had somebody when I was a child who could have taught me how to smile, how to play. I think it's awesome you are helping kids be able to do that.

Keep spreading the optimism.

Tara

My name is Bob and I live in the Netherlands with my beautiful wife Nicole and a lunatic black and white cat named Poemel, and we're trying to complete our family by having a child. I had always lived according to the rule "Work hard, play hard". When I began experiencing what I thought was just a flu a year ago, I thought I would keep working and pay it little attention and since we were about to go on a summer holiday, I was sure a little fever would not stop me. Wrong ! It turned out to be a severe Legionella infection and to make a long story short I ended up lying in a coma for four weeks at the intensive care unit of the local hospital. Doctors called Nicole twice to come and say goodbye because they were sure I would not make it, but somehow I did. I guess I have some unfinished business on this planet :) All the cliche's are true about "just making it"; I have a whole new perspective on life now. Working, money and business are still important to me, but they don't stand a chance versus love, friends, enjoying life and just being a human being!

It took a whole year to recuperate with amazing support from Nicole, parents and my friends. The weird thing is that nobody wants such an experience but in the end it "gave" me more than it cost me. To celebrate that everything was okay we decided to head to the Dominican Republic two weeks ago for sun, beach and sleep to close out an interesting year. One day when we were out shopping in a mall, we stumbled upon a Life is good store in Punta Cana. I read the "how it started" story that was on a leaflet at the door. I turned to Nicole and said : "I want a t shirt" because our lives are good! Yes we left with t shirts and a book, but what made this event so special was talking to the shop owner, Thom Scheele. We instantly connected and he infected us with "The life is good virus". We had a great laugh, found each other on Facebook and something wonderful happened. I can't explain it really, but the t-shirt worked, and it shows that what is really important in life is seeing the world, meeting people, getting inspired and doing some good, little or big! Life is not only good, but it keeps on surprising me.

Keep up the good work, Life is good.

Bob

I discovered Life is good last year in a very unexpected and uplifting way. One day as I was working as a housekeeper in a hotel, I came across one of the Life is good paper tags that come with LIG products. The message on it was simple: "Do what you like. Like what you do. Optimism can take you anywhere. Life is good". The back told the inspirational story of Bert and John's creation of Jake. Their positive story combined with a great mantra kept me looking on the bright side of things for over a year; I kept that Life is good tag taped up in my locker at work. The daily influence of LIG's message encouraged me to aspire to greater things. Since then I got a new job that I loved and applied to go back to school. I eventually lost the tag from my locker, but the message remained on my mind.

In the same year I also had the good fortune to attend the Bonnaroo music and arts festival in Tennessee where Life is good had a booth. I had not looked into the products of LIG since finding the tag, so I was ecstatic to see their merchandise and incredibly friendly staff in person! As I was browsing the selection I told one of the salespeople my story. When I returned to the booth the next day (I couldn't get enough!) the same gentleman was working, remembered my story and introduced me to Bert! What an amazing experience; I was and still am absolutely convinced that the people working for Life is good believe their messages of optimism one hundred per cent. What an impressive group of people. These days, as I venture into the unknown territory of returning to school and moving to a new city, I keep my mantra in mind: Do what you like. Like what you do. Optimism can take you anywhere. Thank you Life is Good, you've inspired me.

Sacia

I am a huge believer in the healing effects of positive affirmations. After all, who doesn't need to read or hear positive things today? As a brain tumour survivor and facilitator of a support group for other survivors, I preach the importance of humour and positive affirmations for everyone and especially those battling a health condition. So, it is little wonder that I am a long time fan of the Life is good T-shirt line.

Recently, I purchased a great pink Life is good t-shirt with the word "Love" emblazoned across the chest. I have other Life is good t-shirts with humorous yoga statements and general health/activity ones, but I have to say that my new "Love" t-shirt is becoming my prized possession.

Not only does it look and feel good, but I swear, people treat me differently when I am wearing it. More strangers on the street are speaking with me and not at or to me. People standing at the bus stop are starting conversations and even my coffee clutch of friends at my local coffee shop has expanded. I think that the shirt has played a very pivotal role in this ever-increasing group of friends and acquaintances. Wearing this t-shirt is almost like a sociology experiment and, above everything else, it makes me feel great.

As you can see in the picture taken on the beach in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, even Fritzie, my dog, is moved to action by this t-shirt. Love takes many forms. Thanks for helping to "spread the Love" Life is good!

Yours in Optimism,
Ingrid

Hi all,

I just wanted to share with you how much I appreciate Life is good. We lost our home in a horrendous fire two weeks ago. Everything we owned is gone. However, our lives were spared due to two heroic dogs, Tucker and Chloe, our border collies who woke us at 1 a.m. and got us out. We were in a fifth wheel and it was totally engulfed in flames. It turned out that our refrigerator was on a recall and we had no idea it was a fire hazard. Long story short, I had numerous T-shirts, diner mugs, the Life is good book, and my husband Joe's favorite Life is good hat. It was the one with Rocket hanging out the car window which reminded me of our dog Tucker, whose ears go straight back when he sticks his head out the window.

Of course all of those things were burned in the fire, or so I thought. Bits and pieces weren't. My Life is good "half full" shirt was burned with only that phrase showing. Many of my Life is good shirts only had the logo left. I just thought it was so ironic that in the face of a catastrophe, those positive notes were left for all to see. And we pick up the pieces and go on. I drank coffee every morning out of those mugs, but now the simple lines stated mean so much and have such a powerful impact on our lives today. Both of us are so grateful for all you do for so many and so very grateful for the positive impact you have had in our lives. You all are a gift. Because of those simple powerful statements, I know we can go forward.

See, those are not just shirts that I had, they were inspirational notes to self to keep going. I have read many letters from many people on your website. Many have had things happen much worse than this. But all bounce back and remain so positive. We feel that by sharing, we all get through our tough times, our speed bumps in the road. I read the fan page often as all of those faces, those stories, bring such joy and hope. Those people inspire me. If we could say anything to anyone else who is suffering from whatever challenge or loss they are going through, it would be not to give up. We are all in this together and no one has to be alone. The hope and encouragement of other's stories is the inspiration and strength to help us move on.

I just had to share this and tell you again thank you for what you do. Today my glass is half full and Life is good:)) I have included a picture of Tucker and my husband Joe. I just smile when I think of that hat. I still think Tucker and Joe look so much like Jake and Rocket. Ok, maybe not quite like stick people, but darn close!

Blessings to you all,
Joe and Shelley

Our family has a unique story and Life is good has always played a great part of our history together. My husband's first wife, Patricia, died on September 11th, and he was left with a broken heart and three children to raise on his own. A few years later, Kevin saw me wearing the Life is good American flag fundraising t-shirt that came out after 9/11 at the elementary school that his daughter attends (I was a teacher there!). We started talking more and more...and the rest, as they say, is history!

We are now happily married and raising his children BriAnna and Dylan (his oldest, Kiefer, is in college right now), along with our daughter together, Kelsey. Life is good has played a huge part in our relationship. I have always been amazed at Kevin's ability to look at the bright side of life, despite the hardships he has faced. Life is good is not just a catch phrase for us, it's a way of life. We appreciate every day we have together and always remember to appreciate our family, including those we've lost. Everyday is a new adventure and we always try to remember that no matter what, life really is good!

Since we love Life is good's message, we were really happy to find out about the Life is good Kids Foundation. Hardships at a young age can have a devastating effect on a child. We are really fortunate that our children have handled the loss of their Mom so well and that they're on their way to becoming wonderful, responsible people. We hope that through the LIG Kids Foundation other children will have the same chance at turning their misfortune into something positive in their lives. Thank you for all the work you do!

We are currently planning our first trip to the Life is good Festival and without wishing our summer away, we just can't wait for it! We Want to do something to help raise money for the Foundation and have the children participate in something that can help others the way they've been helped in the past. We welcome your fundraising ideas since we're hoping to raise enough money to become "VGP's". We hope to have fun trying to raise the money and to feel good donating to a great cause.

Thanks for all you do. We will see you at the Festival!

Sincerely, Amy

Hi, my name is Aidan Johnathan. I was 4 months old when this picture was taken. Am I not the cutest baby boy ever, especially wearing my Life is good hat? I live in St. John's Newfoundland. My grandmother who often visit my aunts (her daughters' Laurie and Kathryn) who both live in Boston bought this hat for me in your Newbury Street store.

Life is good! I was born into a family that really loves me more than you can imagine. I have a half brother Nickolas, a dog called Angel and a cat named Tigger. My parents are amazing and have had a few struggles in life so the fact I am here is truly a miracle and means that Life really IS good!! My mom, Beth, had to work really hard in school because she has learning disabilities. People said she would never finish school, but she didn't listen to them. Now she is in college working hard trying to complete her Early Childhood Education Degree. My Ganny —her mom- has also worked hard advocating for my mom to receive the support she needs in school.

She met my amazing Dad, Brian, six years ago. My Dad also had trouble in school and found that without an education life is not so good. But things changed when he met my Mom and they started dating. Then, four years into their relationship my Dad got hit by a bus. He survived, but after a few months he started to get really sick due to liver failure and required a transplant. Everyone who knew my family prayed for my Dad while a nationwide search was made to find a liver within 48 hours to keep him alive. The prayers were answered, a liver was found, and the incredible doctors did a transplant that saved my dad's life!

Two years later my Dad is now doing very well. He is still trying to finish school and start a trade to help look after us. Then early this year along came me! I think I am the best thing that ever happened to this family! My mom and dad love me so much and think I am the most adorable baby in the world, especially when I am wearing my Life is good outfits. This is their favorite hat on me. I lost it a couple of weeks ago but my Ganny went back to Boston and bought me another one so now Life is SO good!

Thank you for promoting a great approach to life —after all that my family has been through, it is mine too! Life is good!

Love, Aidan

I have been a major fan of Life is good for several years now and have an almost insane numbers of shirts, fleeces, and bottoms to account for my love of your positivity spreading, optimism inducing, and supportive, encouraging messages. I have dealt with my fair share of health problems over the years and have always worn a Life is good shirt to every appointment, procedure, and test.

Last December when I developed a serious gastrointestinal disorder, gastroparesis, my life was flipped upside down. My condition progressed to the point where I was not even able to eat solid foods. I certainly got down at times, but I carried on my tradition of wearing a Life is good shirt to any health appointment so that I could remember that life is indeed good, and somehow I was going to make it through this. I also wore your shirts to remind my care team that I was still going to be positive and I wanted them to carry that same attitude of hope.

This summer I have had two separate surgeries to have feeding tubes placed, a change that has certainly challenged my persistent, positive nature. I keep holding onto the hope that I will get a treatment that will make things better for me and at the same time, I hold onto my motto, "Life is good!" Without ever meeting me or knowing my name, I still say thanks for all the support you have given me over the years! (The picture is of me in the Life is good shirt and a best friend, Jackie, making me smile by wearing the hospital gown. She was going to "become a patient" so she could stay with me.)

-Jessica

I just saw you guys on "The Boss" on NECN. I always loved your stuff and have eyed it longingly at REI but to tell you the truth, I thought you were some California company just cashing in on the snappy graphics. Every new message that you came out with rang true to my heart but I clung to my hardened cynicism. I know better now. In fact, I see that my attitude only served to make me feel holier-than-thou. I'm humbled (one of many such lessons in my life). I want to thank you for that.

The one piece of merchandise that I did end up buying a couple of years ago was a mug with Jake and Rocket sitting at a campfire. I couldn't resist. I love my dog. I love my dog like I never knew I could love an animal. My dog was abandoned on the roadside in Tennessee, found by a good Samaritan, brought back to health by a shelter, fostered and eventually adopted by me. Technically, I rescued her. The truth is, she saved my life. I had become a shell of the person I was supposed to be and hadn't even realized how much I had withered away. Because of Nanny, I spend three hours a day outdoors. I've rediscovered my love of trees and animals and open spaces. I've learned that, no matter what -- and I've been through some incredibly hard times in these three years since I've had Nanny -- life is truly good.

I love to watch my dog run. I love it because she runs sometimes just for the sheer joy of it -- because she can. I try to be more like her in this. My next purchase is going to be a T-shirt with your message, "Run Like a Dog". It will remind me that freedom and joy aren't things that can be bought or sold or given or taken. The goodness in life is always there. It's up to us to be with it.

Thank you for your perseverance.

Jane

I just wanted you to know that our family has adopted three times, and each time on our child's "Gotcha Day"(the day that we receive our new family member), we always wear our Life is good shirts! For our son Asher's adoption, our girls were older and understood what we were doing, so they had to have their own Life is good shirts as well. And if the girls were going to have their own shirts...well, Asher would need to have his own shirt! You can see all five of us wearing your shirts in this family photo of us in Taiwan last September picking up our son!

We are just about to travel to bring our fourth child, Lucy, home from China. We just purchased HER a Life is good tee! Thank you for being a part of each of our children's stories!!!

Y'all rock!
The Farleys

I have had a Life is good hat for about eight years now. It has been on my head almost the same amount of time. It has many holes and tears, the color is faded, and it has been with me through the best of times and the worst of times. My Life is good hat has been wet, dry, buried, frozen, sun-baked, shot, painted, taped, on fire, kicked, stolen, rescued, muddy, lost, found, used as a Frisbee, traveled to nineteen states, blew off my head at the Grand Canyon, been on eight whitewater rafting trips, countless backpacking trips, and thousands of campouts, seen better days at Put-in-Bay, helped save a beer in Lake Erie, been in my back pocket for thousands of miles riding on the bike, fielded a ground ball, been the only piece of clothing worn skinny dipping (bear watching), was run through the dishwasher and a car wash, was run over by a semi truck, chewed by a dog, helped scare away a snake, swatted and killed a billion flies, held all kinds of salamanders, got dropped in a porta john, sucessfully stayed on my head through a kayak roll, has a hidden four leaf clover inside, makes a great sun blocker while lying in a hammock, and has helped wave Nascar drivers to victory. It is by far my most prized possession. It has never let me down.

Doug

Hello Life is Good,

I wanted to enclose a picture of my new born son and I. This picture was taken within minutes of his birth. When we headed to the hospital at 11:00 p.m., I simply reached for the most comfortable shirt I could get my hands on. It turned out to be my Good Moved Triathlon shirt. Little did I know it would help to keep me calm, cool, and collected during a long night and morning waiting for our little surprise to arrive. It also kept me in a good state of mind during two emergency scares during the labor.

After baby Patrick David arrived I truly understood the full meaning of Life is Good. Our doctor and nurses made regular comments about my shirt being extra appropriate for the occasion. Patrick already has a few Life is Good outfits, but he needs to grow a little before he can sport them proudly. Hopefully one fits for his first trip to a A Placid Life, the Life is Good store in Lake Placid, NY. Again thank you for keeping me calm, cool, and collected during the most amazing moments of our lives.

Tim Rowland

From the first time I saw your products I knew they were made with me in mind.

At 42 years of age I've been blessed with what my wife calls "my nine lives." By our count I've used up 4, starting in 1987 when I survived being thrown from the bed of a pick-up at 45 MPH. In 1989 I survived a rollover accident in which I sustained a major head injury and various other injuries. In 1997 I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and was treated with six months of chemotherapy and 31 days of radiation treatments. Still I survive. And finally on June 18, 2009 I was nearly killed when I was hit on my drivers side door at 70 MPH. I sustained a severely broken ankle, two broken vertebra in my back, a broken shoulder, a shattered elbow, and severe nerve injuries to my right hand — and yes, I'm right handed.

After all of things that have occurred during my life, I've always known I'm a blessed soul and that many have lost their lives when just one of these things have happened in their lives. I know my Life is good every morning when I wake up and draw breath. I have the Life is good logo everywhere. I want to remember, every moment, of everyday, how I'm the luckiest person I know.

My Life is good because I GET TO be here. I share my joy of life in many ways, but the one that generates the most comments is my Life is good tattoo. People see it and share how much they enjoy it and also love the products. I love spreading the message and living the message.

Life is good!!

Joseph

How do you maintain optimism when the world is literally crashing down around you? September 11, 2001 changed the world forever as complacency was replaced with a heightened awareness of evil in the world. For our family, September 11, 2001 meant that we would never see my brother Daniel, my nephew David and my friend Ron again, as they were on the second plane to hit the World Trade Center towers.

For several years afterward our family lived in a sort of fog, cocooning ourselves from the media, as it was a constant reminder of our grief. The pessimism in our hearts and surrounding us was like a cancer, eating away at us. For my mother, who was already battling lymphoma, it proved to be too much and she surrendered to the cancer in 2004.

Shortly after my mother's death, I began noticing that every time I saw my sister she was wearing a Life is good t-shirt or sweatshirt. Really? This person who used to respond to my "Woe is Me" with "Sucks to be You" was wearing a shirt expressing optimism? I realized that even though our brains were telling us things were awful, our hearts persisted in believing that Life is good. For this reason I began wearing Life is good t-shirts and being more mindful of my perspective. True, life can be hard and bad things happen, but in the end Life is good. I volunteer at Gilda's Club, a cancer and grief support organization. I make it a point to wear my Life is good t-shirt when I volunteer. Often times when people are grieving they don't want to hear platitudes intended to make them feel better. But a simple message on a t-shirt can inspire hope and affirm that truly Life is good.

Dawn

In April of 2009, my wife Cindy was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. All she could think about was overcoming this challenge so she could get back to our wonderfully hectic lives with our four children. Somewhere along the journey, Life is good became our family motto. My wife, myself, the kids, grandparents, nieces, nephews, everyone close to us took on this motto as well. Cindy and I would always wear our LIG shirts to doctors appointments, and there ended up being too many of them! [Her first surgery in June wasn't successful, so she had to have another in July. This picture of her was in her room during recovery after the second surgery with her Life is good hat.

LIG shirts, stickers, socks, and other products were, and still are, the gift of choice for birthdays, Christmas, or any other reason we can think of to spread the word. No matter how bad things can seem to be, there are always more reasons to be happy and optimistic than there are to feel down and alone. Our thirteen-year-old daughter reminded us of this with her speech in her county fair queen pageant this summer. She made it clear to us all, and maybe a little teary-eyed as well, that Life truly is good!

It's been a year and a half since my wife's surgery, and she is still cancer-free, but the motto lives on. I just hope she keeps me in mind as well this year when she is giving out more LIG gifts for Christmas! Thank you all and keep up the good work!

Joe

I am 61, a single mother who raised two lovely children, went to college, worked and worked, and helped my daughter raise three beautiful grandchildren. During these long years, I never had the time or the money to take a vacation until this past Christmas when I went to Peru. In Peru there was no past, no future, only the present and peace. I went to Machu Picchu alone and climbed to the top of this mountain site that overlooks the beautiful Inca ruins. When I made this journey I made sure to pack my Life is good cap. I'm attaching a picture that expresses my joy and gratitude.

Thank you for the simple, invaluable reminder that yes, "Life IS good."

Renée

Dear Life is good,

I have personally been a Life is good supporter for nearly 13 years. I purchased my first LIG product (a red hat) in 1998 and have been hooked ever since! I currently teach 5th grade students at Westfall Elementary School in Williamsport, OH and I thought a "Spreading Good Vibes" campaign throughout our school would be a great way for students and teachers to share positive stories with people that have had a positive impact on them. I was awarded a grant through our Field of Dreams Foundation and the campaign grew from that support.

The campaign included many classrooms. Students wrote letters to positive impact people, shared those letters, and further asked that person to "Spread Good Vibes" by sharing with a positive person in their life. Students chose one Life is good sticker that best represented who they are as a person, then presented the positive impact person with two stickers — one sticker for that person to keep and one sticker for that person to pass on to another positive impact person. I saw great stories written, had other teachers share stories about how powerful the project was for the students, and had parents tell me what a strong impression it left on their child.

My most memorable story from this project was from a student in my homeroom. He wrote to his father with thoughts from his heart. He shared his letter with his father and presented him with stickers. A few days passed and the young man came into my classroom with a two-page letter from his father, expressing to his son the positive impact that his son has had on him as a father. I found this story especially touching because sometimes we do not tell the most important people how we really feel about them!

Thanks to Life is Good for providing such optimistic views and a great sense of humor. I will continue to support you and do my part to Spread Good Vibes! Also, a BIG thank you to the Field of Dreams Foundation at Westfall Elementary for making this vision possible!

Angela Ware
5th Grade Teacher

Here in Northeast Kansas I first saw Life is good items at Kathy's General Store just south of Holton. I thought the simple thought and logo were awesome so I picked up a shirt, bag and cap a couple of years ago never imagining what it would come to mean to me.

In August of 2009 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, which had taken my mother and her sisters years before. Knowing how other family members had died of this, I found my usually hopeful, happy self in deep despair and frequent tears. I hit bottom and thought what is the use. During this time when I went to get dressed I would look at my Life is good items and think, "No it's not, and it's not fair either." Still the words would cross my mind every time I saw the clothing or the ball cap hanging on the corner of my rocking chair, and a small corner of me that I was trying to keep shut up would keep returning to the saying, "Life is good".

Through a friend I was led to a doctor who looked at my case and family history and suggested a bilateral mastectomy which would remove the cancer, and if it had not spread to lymph nodes, cure me so I would not require chemo or radiation. She also had a doctor she knew of who would do reconstruction at the same time. I chose to trust these women and take a chance that Life could be good again.

Today, just a bit more than a year later, I am not only cancer free, but more positive and embracing of life and the opportunity to help others than I have ever been. I again wear my Life is good shirts, my ball cap (with my long pony tail hanging out the back) and carry my green Life is good bag with me frequently. I am wearing the cap in this photo at a breast cancer fundraiser, accompanied by my wonderful grandchildren, Olivia and Eli. Every time I read the logo, Life is good, I am reminded what a miracle my life has been and what a miracle it is that you guys created such a simple positive message that, unknown to you, would help pull me through the darkest time in my life.

Joyfully,
Joyce

I'd like to tell you a brief story of how I have learned to enjoy EACH day. My younger sister Ann was struck suddenly with Multiple Sclerosis twenty years ago. While most people who suffer MS experience a gradual deteriation of their body, my sister was hit so hard that within months she was unable to move any of her limbs or smallow food. It took some time, and hard work, but she can eat regular food now and has minimal use of one hand. She is able to move a mouse to work a computer.

As if that wasn't enough, five years ago, she lost her first born in Iraq. Most people facing what she has faced would turn sour and probably go fetal. Not Ann. She is so grateful for every little thing! She continues to be sweet and loving. Because she now lives in a convalescent hospital, her variety of food is quite limited. Watching her experience bliss while I feed her a peach that I bring on a visit really clarifies my perspective.

I am struck everytime I leave Ann by how lucky I am to be able to get in my car and sit in traffic. To have to clean my home. To make myself a simple sandwich. To walk my dog and let the sun hit my face. We take SO MUCH for granted. I am able to stand back and say, is it really worth getting upset about? Life is so good!

Thanks for listening.

Jeannie

My father was a lot of things: a loving dad, a devoted husband, a proud grandfather, a friendly neighbor, a funny lifelong pal, a writer, a teacher, a test pilot, and a decorated war hero, to name a few. When he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2001, we were reminded he was also an eternal optimist. Through his struggles with cancer, he would update friends and family with upbeat emails, always ending with "Life is good." Asked how he was doing, he would often answer, and add with a wink, "Life is good."

So, yes, we bought him mugs and T-shirts. "Life is good' became his motto.

After several remissions, the cancer came back and was now resistant to treatments. He spent the majority of 2009 in and out of the hospital. He was visited by so many people because, well..., he was a very likeable guy. Family members would come to see him and comment to us how he never boasted about his many accomplishments... whether they were medals from his tour as an Air Force rescue helicopter pilot in Vietnam, a PhD, or the autobiography he wrote and published for family and friends. He had more friends - and they were true friends - than anyone I know. At age 69, he remained in regular contact with his hometown buddies, going on golf outings with fraternity brothers, attending reunions and always he was the hit of the party. He lived the saying, "Life is good." He made it real.

When he finally succumbed to the disease on September 11, 2009, he was buried with honors at a national military cemetery. All the tombstones are uniform and appear the same. But, if you look closely, you will see one that stands out. Sure, you will read his name and may be impressed by his medals; but, the last line simply states, "Life is good." We knew that of the many things we could say about my Dad, "Life is good" summed it up the best.

This was the second Christmas we spent without my dad. My mom sent out Christmas cards this year, explaining how we try to live his motto. It is hard when someone larger than life isn't here anymore...there is a huge hole in your heart. But, we just keep trying to honor him by remembering what he taught us: "Life is good."

Mary

Howdy from Texas!

A few years ago I received a lovely lavender long-sleeved Life is good T-shirt from a friend as a birthday gift. It was too small for me, so I passed it on to my mother. She loved it! Long sleeves are important to her because she has had skin cancer and the shirt was so soft and comfortable! It was quickly her favorite shirt.

Waiting in line with a few items at a discount department store, my elderly mother, happily wearing her Life is good shirt, was behind a middle-aged man. He looked at the picture of a smiling Jake in a yoga pose and the motto Life is good. The man turned to the cashier and said, "Put her items on my bill." The cashier said to my mother with astonishment, "He wants to buy your things for you." My mother was also astonished and thankful for the man's generosity. She is on a fixed retirement income and has had the cost of many surgeries, including more than a few on a brain tumor. The man was clearly inspired by your optimistic motto.

The shirt became rough around the edges from so much wear, so I bought a different design for my mother as a Christmas gift. The worn shirt is still in use, though. During hard freezes here in the south we put the Life is good shirt on one of our tender plants to protect it from getting burned by the cold, just as the long sleeves have protected my mother from being burned by the sun.

We're thankful to LIFE IS GOOD for spreading good vibes. It has brought smiles to our faces and touched our hearts. We'll keep sharing the message.

Happiness to All,

Mickey

To EVERYONE at Life is good,

I want to say thank you for all that you have done for me over the past year. Just over thirteen months ago, when I was 20 years old, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was something completely unexpected, and for me, remaining optimistic was the biggest part of my battle. Those of my friends who know me say that I am a very optimistic person, never with a negative word for anyone. When the news of all of this became real, my light-hearted nature took a big hit. But Life is good was there for me and the people I cared about. I bought a Life is good hat so that I could show my mindset even when my face didn't match it. I took the chance to choose a different passage from Jake and Rocket's book. I wear my necklace that reminds others to enjoy the little things in life. No matter what was going on, I had a Life is good product in my hands and your mantra in my heart.

Throughout the past year, I have progressed from Stage II to Stage IV, lost the man I loved AND his mother, and I've been given 6 months to a year left if treatment remains ineffective. And still, Life is good has carried me through these times. Now, whenever a bad day happens, I get out a particular page from my Life is good" Coloring Book. (No one is ever too old to color). The page I am sending along is a special page from the back of the book. The paper before me is blank with only your company's simple phrase at the bottom. I take a moment and think of WHY my life is good. I take my time, forget all my troubles, and invest myself in putting on paper what brings a smile to my face, what got me through that day, what makes life good.

And so, I thank you for giving me peace of mind and a constant reminder that no matter how dark things may seem, Life is ALWAYS good. Attached is the picture I've associated with this experience in my life. All it takes to heal is a little love. "One ounce of care is worth one pound of cure." Life is so good.

Many, MANY thanks, CG

My daughter has a hair loss disease called alopecia areata. She was diagnosed with this disease at five years old. At age ten she was completely bald. One day we stopped to get her some ice cream. A man came in and while waiting for his order, he asked me what was wrong with my daughter and I proceeded to explain to him that she did not have cancer, but that she had a hair loss disease and she recently lost all of her hair. He talked to Alaina for a few minutes and then said he would be right back. He left and went to his truck and came back with a khaki hat with your logo on the back of it and a graphic of Jake on the front of the hat. He said he wanted Alaina to have the hat. He chatted with her and asked her how her friends were treating her, and she told him that it was really difficult and kids were making fun of her. We got his name before he left, and he told us he lived near Alaina's school. We saw him drive away in a white truck.

Alaina was really touched so the next weekend, we went down the street where he said he lived, talked to some neighbors and asked if they knew anyone by his name, description and white truck. No one had ever heard of him. Still to this day, no one knows who he was. Alaina says he was her angel because from that point forward, her attitude changed at school and in her life. His act of kindness had a profound effect and will forever stay in the hearts of our family and friends. My daughter is now twenty years old and has helped many children with this disease and is truly an inspiration to many who have to overcome issues with self-esteem and of course, the burning question "Why did this have to happen to me?"

Thank you for letting me share this story.

Connie

Hello, Life is good,

I'm writing to tell you about my daughter, Becca. She is 16 and has a Mitochondrial Disease. This is a life-long disease she was born with, and it will make her life a lot shorter than it should be. The fact that she has made it to 16 is wonderfully amazing. She is frequently hospitalized for life-threatening infections, but almost always has a smile and a song to sing.

Some of Becca's favorite pieces of clothing are her Life is good tee shirts. She has 6 or 7 in her collection. Her favorite is a pink one with a horse that says "Hold your horses." She giggles every time she wears it. Becca is autistic and loves music and playing on the computer, and, as you can see from her picture, we make life in the hospital as good as we can. The "flock of Docs" that come through for rounds always comment on our positive attitude, and they love the sticker on our laptop. Thank you for making such comfortable clothing and positive messages that make Life is good our family's favorite things to wear.

Eileen

Dear Life is good,

Our son, Aidan, was born last February 15th, the day after Valentine's Day, with prenatally-diagnosed CHD - that is, a congenital heart defect. He required open heart surgery when he was just three days old. He spent his first eight weeks in the Cardiac ICU at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). During that time he suffered from difficult fluid accumulation in the lung cavity that sometimes happens after major trauma like heart surgery. He needed chest tubes to remove that fluid. One month after he was born he was also diagnosed with hydrocephalus and required neurosurgery to place a VP-shunt in his brain that controls the pressure and the accumulation of the cerebrospinal fluid in his ventricles.

We finally got to bring him home on April 12th, 2010. He came home with seven different medicines and a tube for feeding through his nose. He was very fragile, and for weeks we had both local pediatrician visits to watch his weight, and cardiology and neurosurgery visits to CHOP to monitor his heart and shunt. He also began to receive both physical and occupational therapy.

Aidan is now 11 months old. He is a happy, healthy and very mobile baby. He crawls super-fast, climbs stairs, stands up, puts blocks into a shape sorter, makes raspberries and says "dada". And he always smiles! His big sister Abigail gets the extra special smiles that only brother and sister share with each other. He is off of all of his medications.

The reason I am writing this letter is that this past fall I found Abigail's brown Life is good knitted hat that has a heart in the front and I thought to myself, OMG, what a perfect hat for our perfect little boy. So ever since, Aidan has been wearing that hat, sometimes with the heart in the front and sometimes with the Life is good logo in the front.

We had a very tough year with Aidan. It was stressful, scary, nerve-racking, devastating...and so much more that words can't express, but we made it through and began to see life differently. You begin to appreciate little things more. And what is the most important thing of all, he is here with us and he is perfect! Now that Aidan is almost one year old and we are feeling stronger than ever, we are sharing our story in the hope that other children and their parents can get that same feeling of strength and keep hope alive in their hearts, believing that LIFE IS GOOD, no matter what happens. We have begun fundraising for CHOP in gratitude for their great work with our son. And we want to thank you for your help and for letting us share Aidan's story with others.

Sincerely,
Aidan's mommy and daddy

Life is good has been a staple in my wardrobe for many years now. Since I was 15, I have been fighting a life-consuming eating disorder. My anorexia landed me in the hospital several times which led to depression. I decided that I needed to surround myself with things that make me happy, and Life is good seemed like just the prescription. I quickly became the Life-is-good- girl. People would ask me if I was okay if I was not wearing a LIG shirt! I now have a large selection of your shirts that always brighten my day.

I am at college now and living on my own in a... cozy... apartment. It is not the ideal place to live, but, hey, I'm a college student! From the drippy ceiling that flooded my kitchen to the roaches that eat my toilet paper, it wasn't hard to convince myself to start looking for a new place. Well, two nights ago, my puggle (Banjo) and I were suddenly awakened by a loud crashing noise. I walked into the kitchen to find that the kitchen cabinet had ripped from the wall and crashed to the ground... shattering all of my dishes... I went back to bed. The next morning I decided it was time to tackle the mess and to begin sifting through the glass to see if anything had survived the fall. I was extremely disappointed to find that not one thing was still in one piece. That was until I lifted the third shelf... To my delightful surprise, this shelf had been hiding my only surviving dishes... 2 plates, a bowl, and 4 mugs... all bearing the name Life is good! It could have been a sign, meaning that Life is good even in the midst of trouble and despair, or even if you feel like the world is crashing down, don't give up, because you can and will survive. Or it could just be that Life is good makes high-quality, durable dishes... Maybe both? No longer was I upset about the cabinet or my deteriorating apartment. Life is good.

Thank you so much!
Love,
Alyssa

I got to know Jake and Life is good because of my brother. I think he is Jake! He is the most positive, thankful, happy person I have ever met. Today our whole family breaths Jake, from my 46-year-old brother down to our littlest one who is just two years old! Jake's smile is contagious and so is the philosophy of Life is good. We live in a world full of not so nice vibes, and Jake is stronger than that! I wish the whole world could live in your world, because I am sure it would be such a better place. Thank you!

Angela
Bogota, Colombia

Life was exceptionally good. A long and very happy marriage/partnership, kids who had grown up, found their way. A family expanding through marriages, grandchildren, lots of friends. Troubles and good times shared, a life of hard work, richness and love. And the center was Denis. Husband, father, grandfather, friend, character. Life was exceptionally good.

Then one November day, an anniversary weekend in New York, as the sun was shining deliciously around us, our world stopped turning. We never knew that a monster had been growing inside his head. The first signs were deceptive and clever, a weakness, confusion. Finally the ice pick headache announced that he had a brain tumor. The journey began.

Denis lived and loved and surrounded us for three and a half years. Each day became more precious and exponentially sadder. We learned so much through our journey. We learned to pay attention.

Somewhere along the way he acquired a Life is good shirt at a store in Chestnut Hill. Roomy, comfortable, but more importantly, he loved the message. Life is good is how he lived his life, and now it became his motto for fighting his brain tumor. And he did fight: surgeries, radiation, chemo, therapies, meds, exercise, research, fundraising. Most of all, living. Every day became a good day. More shirts appeared. He would order them online, first for himself, then for his grandchildren, carefully selecting each shirt to match each grandchild's personality. An indulgence, a statement, a comfortable shirt that was roomy enough and soft enough not to irritate skin that was becoming more fragile through treatment.

And then in November 2008, after yet another surgery, to hospice. The Life is good shirts became his uniform, his message to all of us to remember what was and always will be most important. And so the journey ended. Denis died on February 19, 2009 at the age of 62. But the story continues.

The summer family beach vacation in 2009 became Life is good themed. As did the baby shower for the grandchild born in the fall of 2009 just days before Papa's birthday. There is a stuffed penguin chick named Einstein who was Papa's special friend and companion through the entire journey. Einstein has his own Life is good shirt bought for him by two adoring grandchildren. Denis carefully crafted his journey to include concrete reminders for us of how good life was and is. He lived his good life in love and surrounded by love. He made those shirts a meaningful part of that love.

We are grateful. Thanks for caring.

Judy, wife, friend, partner of Denis

"Ring in the new!"

Jake Michael Thames, 2 weeks old.

Hello, LIG,

With the holiday season in full swing, I explained to my class the importance of thinking positive thoughts not just at this time but throughout the year as well. We discussed how many children are not as fortunate as they are, and they should learn to be grateful for all they have, such as a roof over their heads, clothes on their back, and the ability to get a solid education. (with a fun teacher :-) )

We added to our room decorations with Life is good Winter pictures that we colored in, and we want to share them with you and your wonderful company.

As you can see from the photo, Life is good at Glenolden School!

Sincerely,

Christopher
2nd Grade Teacher

Hello Life is good crew!

The other day at swim practice someone asked me, "What do you want to be known for when you die?" Without hesitation I said, "Life is good!" She looked at me, slightly confused, and asked, "That's it?..." With a smile, I responded, "that is exactly it."

Life is good has been a huge part of my life for the past few years. I've had my fair share of stressors and struggles, but Life is good always reminds me that things will work out all right. I have a Life is good tire cover, coffee cup, t-shirt, water bottle, screensaver, and a bunch of stickers that I love to give to everyone from my closest friends to complete strangers. But it's not just the merchandise that's important to me. I write Life is good just above my knee facing me every time I compete in a triathlon so I can look down when I'm on the bike and have a friendly reminder. I also write it on my thumb. You would be amazed how many times you look at your thumb in a day (especially if you are a college student!). Still, Life is good is more than just words; it's a way of life. I believe that you can make the very best out of any situation with a little optimism, and it will not go unnoticed. Your optimism will spread to your friends, family, and even complete strangers.

I had a swim meet this weekend and a surprise cheering section showed up, just for me, sporting Life is good shirts. They know I'm a Life is good fanatic and have adopted the Life is good lifestyle for themselves. Friends have randomly texted me to share something happy in their life and end the message with a big ole' LIFE IS GOOD! I've had conversations about my Life is good infatuation with my parents, siblings, relatives, co-workers, teammates, classmates, friends, and strangers. What started out as something just for myself to help me get through life's little struggles has now spread to others and helped them as well.

So yes, Life is good IS what I'd like to be known for and, as you can see, I already am.

All smiles,

Kyle

For as long as I can remember, Life is good has always popped up in different places. I'd pass a Jeep with its wheel cover or a random person in a grocery store with a t-shirt, or my mom with her favorite Life is good pajamas. I always thought it was a cute saying, but it really didn't hit me as anything special. Then at the start of this year I put an end to what was a bad relationship and dangerous situation. I got a whole new perspective on life, not long after I met Dave... and Life was good. I was suddenly experiencing this whole new world full of constant happiness, support, and love, and I was (and am!) thankful for every second. I saw a car on my way to work with a LIG bumper sticker one day and for the first time it hit me differently, it meant more to me than just a company logo, and so I got one and a week later it was on my car.

Summer started with a continued feeling of thankfulness and excitement until the first week in July, when Dave was in a motorcycle accident. We almost lost him that day, and that reality is still sometimes too scary to admit. BUT! We didn't, he is still here and doing better than ever now. He had some brutal surgeries and lots of PT to follow, but he kept a smile on the whole time. And once again I discovered a whole new meaning to those three simple words. Everyone in Dave's circle had a very hard time at one point or another, but it hit his dad especially hard, and so every time I caught him in a downer, I'd remind him "life is good, we still have Dave, and he's going to be okay!" Before I knew it he'd be saying it just to say it. It became a sort of motto for the summer for everyone, and hopefully it will last forever.

Each day I see Dave smile as he continues to push himself to be even better than he was before his accident. He is my hero, with his strength, determinaton, and optimism. I am so lucky to have him and I love him so much — Life is SO good! There isn't a better way of describing it. It' so simple and yet means so much. So thank you LIG for your constant optimism.

Hillary

To everyone at Life is good,

I have been battling Post Traumatic Anxiety & Bipolar Depression for over a decade. I was on so many prescription medications for so long, I can't begin to list them or state how long I have been on them. In January of 2009, I purchased Jason Mraz's CD "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things." I immediately fell in love with his smooth style, calm voice, and positive lyrics. I found myself using his CD in anxious times. Eventually, I found myself forgetting to take the medication. I decided to wean myself off them. I figured, at best, it would help to get it out of my system, even if I had to start taking them again. I am happy to say that November 16th will make one year I have been off all prescription medication!

I was more than thrilled to go to the Life is good Festival this past September. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to go to this event actually believing that Life IS good! It was the best event I've been to all the way around. I could feel the positive vibes even in the parking lot. I purchased my first Life is good shirt there, and I believe I have truly earned the right to wear it! It was such a great place to feel good about myself and life. And to watch Jason perform only five people in from the stage was the perfect way to end an amazing day!

Thank you so much for all the hard work everyone did to make the Life is good festival an I'll-never-forget-that-day day! I am already looking forward to going again next year — this time for BOTH days!

In gratitude,
Maureen

I thought you might like to meet Beau. Beau is your biggest fan.

Somewhere in his third year of life he began pointing out your gear and logo whenever and wherever he saw it. This often involved pointing at a stranger in an airport or at a festival and yelling "Life is good!" And hey, we were okay with that, as it sure beat some things our other kids have yelled about strangers. Some kids get excited about trains or semi's on cross-country road trips. This kid got excited about wheel covers that said "Life is good." (Keep in mind, he wasn't reading at this point and this little trick made us feel like he was a genius!)

"Ah, but kids are fickle," you might think. Nope. Not this one. Souvenir for a trip? "Life is good" he would request. Birthday? Christmas? "Life is good." And on and on. And now he is six. Birthday party theme? "Six is good." When it was time to send him off to kindergarten I guess we realized just how ardent a fan he was. He wears a Life is good t-shirt to school EVERY DAY. He brought his Rocket and Jake book to school for his first show and tell and shared them with the uninformed, explaining "Life is good.". He proudly totes his lunch in a Life is good lunchbox and gives Jake's face a pat before he gets on his way each morning. And just recently, he requested Life is good pants for Christmas.

So, when one of his first journal entries for his teacher was "Life is good because there is sunshine" we should not have been surprised. But you might like to know she almost teared up when she showed it to his proud parents at parent-teacher conferences, as she told us he is one of the kindest little people she has ever had the privilege to teach (sigh), and tends to be one of the most positive influences in her small classroom - helping others and sharing happily.

In a world full of violent and aggressive role models aimed at young boys, I want to thank you for giving Beau Jake and Rocket. And I just wanted to let you know, your mission has been taken to heart by one little guy who believes wholeheartedly that Life is good.

Chris, Beau's Mom

P.S. Beau's teacher gifts just happen to be Life is good mugs filled with candy this year. What can I say? The kid is loyal.

To all who will read this,

Life IS good in 2010! And nearing the end of this year is I can say this with all certainty. Early in the year I was diagnosed with breast cancer just two weeks before a close friend lost her battle with cancer. We spent her last night in the hospice center and the next night in the birthing center for an emergency c-section and the birth of our fourth beautiful and healthy granddaughter. Just a few weeks later, the day before going in the hospital for my masectomy, our niece passed away, taking most of my family out of state for services the day after my surgery. Shortly after they returned, a rare blood disorder reared its ugly head and its complications kept me in the hospital the better part of three months, including time in ICU. Doctors actually gave up on me and asked my pastor to prepare my family for my passing (but God...) and here I am.

While in ICU my oldest son (the one with the new baby girl) was deployed to Iraq. We are proud of him but miss him a lot and all long for the day he is back home. Now when I went in the hospital I was the only member in my family to have cancer but while still in the hospital my father was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. He has now completed chemo and surgery and is currently in the radiation phase of his recovery for which the prognosis is very good. But then just before I got out of the hospital my mother-in-law had a stroke, went in the hospice hospital, and finally passed away the week I came home. I was not able to make the trip to her funeral either and my husband barely made it because during that same week he fell at work and broke a rib. His sister was not able to make it because she was in another hospital out of state preparing for a lung transplant. Today my husband is back at work after being out for six weeks and, several surgeries later, I am home but not back to work. I still have a couple more surgeries to go. Minus six months salary and with numerous extra medical expenses, I still just had to have that Life is good tee I saw at the hospital gift shop. It was the 2010 Festival fundraising tee. No matter what...I really do want to declare it to all...Life was good in 2010!

By the grace of God I have beat breast cancer, a blood disorder, obesity, and some say death; my husband has his health back; we are the parents of a safe soldier; we have a beautiful new grandchild (with another on the way!); my dad is on his way to health; we have hope for my sister-in-law; we have precious memories of our friend, our niece, and our Mom; and...I am the proud owner of a t-shirt that says...Life is good!

Sondra

Hi,

My son Bryce is nine and is a big fan of Life is good. He got his first shirt when he was four and really loves them. As he has grown older he really has gotten into the meanings of the shirts. Now they are all he will wear.

When it came to choosing a Halloween costume this year, he said he wanted to be himself and wear his LIG shirt. I told him no one would give him candy as himself, so he said he would like to be Jake. We created a Jake costume and everyone loved him in it. He even won the Halloween costume contest at his school. Thanks for making clothes with positive messages for our kids. I love that he can help to spread positive messages to others. Please keep up the great work. Maybe we can change this world one shirt at a time!

Allison

PS: Bryce is such a big fan, at Christmas time he even decorates a little tree in his room with the tags from his Life is good shirts!

Dear Life is good,

At the end of September 2009, my husband Tom was diagnosed with Leukemia (AML). He was transferred from our small town hospital to Medical City Dallas, admitted to the Stem Cell Transplant Unit and treated with chemotherapy immediately. We were told that if he survived the first few weeks of his treatment, that his odds of survival were pretty good (about 60%-70%). We were guests of the hospital for nearly 3 months straight. This was a very stressful, painful and frightening time for us and our family.

Tom's birthday is October 11th, so I was trying to think of a great present for a person who was just two weeks on the Leukemia roller coaster, and I came up with Life is good. I went online and ordered a blanket and a hat because I thought they were things that he could use while battling his disease. I got an email noting the date his gifts would arrive — a date that was after his birthday. I was very upset — I was thinking that this could be the last birthday Tom ever celebrates. So I called Life is good and you guys had his presents rushed and they arrived on his birthday at the hospital. What a blessing!

Life has been difficult for Tom and me, yet it has been through this hardship that we now see that life truly is good. He is still on chemotherapy and other cancer fighting drugs and will be for at least another year and a half — but he is still here.

Thanks for making a difference. Life is good (in real life!)! ?

Lisa

Dear Friends at Life is good,

We feel compelled to share something very special with you. August 4, 2010 will mark five months since our Mom's stroke. In these past five month, Life is good has played an immense role in our wonderful Mom's recovery from a rare and potentially life-threatening Pontine (brain stem) stroke that paralyzed the left side of her body and drastically obstructed her speech.

Please understand that our 70 year-old mother has had to learn to speak, walk, use her fingers, hand, wrist, arm, foot, toes, ankle, leg and nearly all muscles on the left side of her body again, along with teaching her mouth and facial muscles how to form words and her brain how to connect those muscles within her body. Understanding the seriousness of this situation will help you understand how much Life is good has meant to our Mom.

During the first few weeks of her 48-day hospital stay, Mom would be dressed in the typical patient uniform, a blue and white hospital gown with ugly yellow socks. She hated it. She hated it because Mom's typical "uniform" is a Life is good t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. She is the proud owner of 70+ shirts and numerous other LIG items. She loves Jake and Rocket and would correlate her t-shirts (EVERY DAY!) with the seasons, the holidays, her mood, what's happening in her life and sometimes in the world around her. Life is good matters to our Mom. She truly feels a connection with what your company represents. So, when the stroke happened and she was restricted to the hospital gown and ugly socks, it had a truly negative emotional and psychological impact. There was no Jake. There was no Rocket and life was definitely bleak. She found it difficult to comprehend how she was going to manage any kind of pathway back to being her normal self. No matter what we as her family said or did, Mom was scared and completely out of her element.

However, there was one tangible turning point — the first time she was able to wear her own clothes — celebration … Life is good t-shirt … the tears flowed, she was so happy. Her spirits were lifted and her mood began to change. Her motivation increased in her therapy sessions. Her attitude became more determined. She began to request that we bring in certain shirts from her collection. Life is good mattered that much. Here was our Mom working to regain her ability to speak, and what does she want? "Bring in my Life is good daisy shirt. Bring in my Life is good shirt with the flower pot on it." During her recovery and rehab, the hospital staff became accustomed to checking out which shirt she had on each day. The topic of conversation would often revolve around the image or saying. Mom took pride in this and loved to tell us about the compliments and conversation later in the day. Mom's choice of LIG tee is the barometer of her day's mood and activity. If she is feeling overwhelmed, she wears "optimism". If she is feeling proud, she will select her flag shirt. Rocket is always a "pick-me-up", and Rocket and Jake even adorn various spots on the van Mom now rides in to and from rehab and therapy three times a week.

During times when she was really struggling in her recovery, we would order a new shirt and wait for the call from her telling us that she received the package. Often a new LIG shirt is still the ONLY guaranteed "pick-me-up" for her when she is frustrated or depressed as day-to-day challenges and obstacles overwhelm her. She still has rough times and knows this is going to be a long recovery.

We tell you all this because we want you to know that your company does more than make people happy. It inspires. There is a woman in a small town in Western Pennsylvania counting on you to continue to create and use your imaginations to invent wonderful, positive, beautiful t-shirts and products that motivate and encourage her to KEEP TRYING. She will continue to count on you and we are so grateful for Jake and for Rocket. Please tell Jake thank you and give Rocket a big treat from us. We don't know what we'd do without them, and we're certain our Mom's looking forward to what will come next from Life is good, just as we are looking forward to helping her persevere through these demanding times. But we know with some help from us and the confidence she gets from Life is good that she will be successful.

Sincerely,

Noni's Family

Let me start by saying "Thank you" to each and every one of you who work for Life is good. I absolutely love your messages and products and find them to be very inspirational. Although I do not live on peanut butter and jelly, nor sleep in a van, I recently had a tremendous miracle happen to me. Last month, I received a kidney and pancreas transplant.

For the last seven years my husband has bought me Life is good hats, bags, and t-shirts to inspire me to never give up and always be positive. Over the years, I would come home from work and treatment to find a pair of socks, a sticker, or a mug just to make me smile and to know I was in his thoughts. Eventually, it turned into your clothing apparel — hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sleepwear. He even got me a backpack for my medications. It became a symbol to let me know that Life is good and that I am going to be okay to enjoy it. Just like Bert and John, my husband and I found Jake's contagious grin full of optimism and hope.

My recovery time has been smooth sailing, but overall the grin and simplicity helped healed all. I know a smile can make the difference and for that I am grateful to all of you for sharing your work and ideas. You all are AMAZING. Please keep up the great work!

A Life is good Optimist

Here it is, all true … your logo saved my life.

Life is good truly saved me. I lost two brothers six years ago, one to murder and one to a car accident. As a result I was left heart-broken and with two little girls ages two and five at the time to raise. I had to work, take care of them and breathe somehow. It was a mere existence is all I can say. I was sitting at work one day when a friend brought me a present. It was a Life is good coffee mug. I would look at that mug every day, reading it over and over. Pretty soon, I realized its truth — life is good! I dropped the pitty party and that became my mantra. From that day forward, when things were tough, I'd say it in my head over and over.

The man that murdered my brother was finally arrested and went to trial. I wore a Life is good shirt or something with Life is good visible on it to every hearing and throughout the trial. I wanted that man to see he didn't break us, that we knew life was going to go on and, despite tragedies, it was good and we were still standing and giving it our best every day! Now, I have life is good everywhere — even tattooed on my back! I thank you for Jake and Rocket. They have carried me through hell and back. I know now that Life is always good, it's just that some days you have to dig deep to find the ways. You all remind me to keep digging.

A thankful fan

I first encountered smiling Jake and Life is good through an online story originating in Boston shortly after Jake began to have a following there. It was love at first sight. I emailed the link to friends, told strangers to check the story out and patiently awaited the day I could have my very own Life is good shirt. When I saw others wearing my favorite gear, I'd ask if they liked it or lived it. Those who lived it understood my question immediately. Life is good had been my favorite line since I was a kid.

In January of 2010, I began a series of events that led to a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I began chemotherapy in late April and attended a "Look Good Feel Better" workshop through my local chapter of the American Cancer Society in May. There I learned how to make t-shirt turbans: comfortable, inexpensive headgear to cover my soon-to-be naked scalp. I almost didn't learn this neat trick, due to the temporary lack of a t-shirt for the demonstration.

I loved the t-shirt turban idea, and even sacrificed one of my oldest Life is good shirts to make my first turban. The Life is good colors were beautiful and the cloth was so very soft to my tender head. Any t-shirt will work, but to me, Life is good shirts work better. And the philosophy of Life is good is so right for people who may need something positive to grab hold of during their frightening journeys through Chemoland. It really bothered me that for lack of a t-shirt, others might not learn this trick. Being the life-long Girl Scout that I am, I decided to do something about the lack of available t-shirts locally. I tapped my network and in a very short time, I had my first one hundred shirts, and many more are on the way. The effort has become a Council-wide service project here in Eastern Oklahoma, and the instructions for making turbans are now part of the information given to all chemo patients at my treatment center.

So I ask you, dear Life is good fans, customers and believers, when your favorite t-shirt finally wears out or develops a hole under the arm, please don't toss it in the rag bag. Please donate it to your local American Cancer Society or to another local organization. In Girl Scouts, we believe that we can make the world a better place. It doesn't take millions of dollars and a slick ad campaign. It takes you and me, people who believe "Life is good" and are willing to make a difference. Thank you all so very much for helping my dream come true.

Gale

Dear Life is good,

My name is Reagan, and I live in Newburyport, MA. I visit your Life is good store all the time! I love your products, but even more so, what your products stand for. Optimism, humor, and humility. Doesn't that just sum things up??? Well…for me it means the world…

I am a special education teacher, and I work with students with Autism. I am extremely passionate about providing these students with an education experience like that of their peers. It's a tough job, and there are days when the challenges seem too much to handle…but then I remember your motto…"Life is good"…It really IS good!!! I am able to rise to the occasion, and conquer those challenges with optimism, humor, and humility.

Being optimistic has given my students not only a fighting chance in public school, but also a fighting chance for a "good life." Sometimes life throws us curve balls, but it's how we handle that curve ball that truly shows our character…our "Inner Jake!"

So keep up the good work and thanks for inspiring me.

Sincerely,
Reagan

Hello all,

About a week ago I got called back at the breast imaging center because they found some small calcifications on my right breast. Reading the stories from FUEL about how people wear their LIG apparel as a way to send positive thoughts and be hopeful, I decided to wear my "Hold Your Horses" LIG tee for the 2nd exam. I love that tee because the horse that Jake is hugging strongly resembles my horse.

I'm happy to report that the calcifications were benign and not life threatening.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Sincerely,
Joann

Dear Life is good,

I'm on my way out to buy my dad a replacement of a LIG tee I gave him for Christmas last year. I wanted to drop a line first to share my story with your team.

For years my dad's mantra has been "life is good", so when the LIG line emerged in the mid-90's, I was psyched to pick up apparel that donned his words! I gave him a kayak tee, as he and my mom had just invested in anticipation of retirement recreation. This past Christmas season, I saw the Half Full shirt and grabbed it immediately. "The glass is half full" is another of my dad's favorite phrases.

This past Friday, my dad's glass was definitely more than half full. He was in a very bad car accident, having been rear ended by a woman going 80 miles-an-hour in a 35 mile-an-hour zone. He was pushed across two lanes into a crane and guardrails lining an embankment. The entire back end of the car was smashed into the interior up to driver's/front passenger's seats. To the amazement of witnesses, the ambulance crew, and doctors, Dad emerged from the scene relatively unscathed (a fractured thumb, a sore back and neck pain, soreness associated with the jolt).

Dad was wearing his Life is good "Half Full" tee shirt during the accident. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance team had to cut it off to examine for internal injuries. We all think it's more than a little ironic that he was wearing it. I'm off to buy another and I'll get one for my mom while I'm at it. And maybe one for my brother, sister-in-law, niece…

No doubt all of our glasses are half full, and that life is even better when you're counting your lucky stars.

Thanks for capturing the sentiments on cool stuff. You can be sure that our clan will be sporting it with extra meaning.

Best regards,
Tara

I wanted to send this photo of our group of 27 participants in our family's Life is good Day celebration held this spring in Isle of Palms, SC.

We initiated the event last year with 12 family members, all sporting Life is good T-shirts. This year we got up to 27 vacationers involved and 24 had LIG t-shirts. For the remaining 3 we put LIG stickers on their shirts so they could meet the required "dress code" !!

We had signs all over our beach house reminding us why Life is good, and we all had a blast. We love your t-shirts and love that they give you a good feeling "inside" too. Our family, like so many others, faced some difficult challenges this past Winter, so it was especially nice to shake that off somewhat and remind ourselves that Life, though sometimes very hard, is indeed Very Good !!

Keep up the Good Work -
Janet

Big Jake,

Got to tell you this. True Beans. A few weeks back I was riding my bike out in the Hamptons on a deserted country road. Going as fast as my spindly 42-year-old legs would take me, cruising along, enjoying the sunshine, listening to Interpol on my i-Pod…and wham, I was slammed by a huge buck deer streaking across the road. Knocked me silly. I broke my collarbone, twisted my back…a mess. But what I wanted to tell you is the first emergency guy who showed up on the scene was wearing a Life is good t-shirt. Despite my pain, I had to smile.

Anyway, I'm healing well, back to work, and all's well that ends well. Hope things are good your way.

Your pal,
John

Greetings and Salutations,

First let me ‘splain that I was not born an optimist. Far from it. In fact, when I held up my "Life is good" mug today, someone who has known me for years naturally finished the statement he expected from me with "Then you die." And it's true, I was always of the "Life sucks, then you die."

But I've been on a mission to replace my negativity with positivity. To cut out the destructive thoughts and replace them with constructive thoughts. To become a born-again optimist. For me this has been an uphill journey.

I was at Dick's Sporting Goods list night shopping for shoes. It was late and my Memorial Day had not been the epitome of rest and relaxation. Suffice it to say that by the time I got to my shoe shopping, I was not in the best of moods. When I walked into the store, there was a display of sunny yellow mugs that read "Life is good." I pondered them for a moment, decided I shouldn't be spending $10 on yet another mug, and proceeded to try on running shoes. But "Life is good" just stuck with me.

On my way back, I spent some time in the section of the store dedicated to your merchandise and ended up leaving with two shirts, a mug and a hat. I've been showing them to everyone today and smiling just to look at them. And why? Because LIFE IS GOOD!

Last night, in my not-so-good mood, I needed something to remind me of that. And there was your sunny yellow mug to remind me.

I can't really express with words how moved I was by that. But I found you just at the moment I needed something to snap me out of the blue funk that was about to have its way with me. So I thank you.

Amanda from Illinois

Dear Life is good Folks,

I want to thank you for your fantastic product.

I am the mother of a 12 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome, a type of autism. My son is VERY choosy about his clothes. Any rough fabric, uneven seams, etc. will truly distract him to the point where he can't function. He also refuses to wear any clothes that advertise anything and feels strongly about not being a walking billboard. Finally, his clothes have to look cool for a 12 year old. Your tee shirts are the only ones he will wear. Period. End of discussion. I am so grateful to you for your fine products. Parenting a special needs child is rewarding and challenging, and sometimes small things make a huge difference in our lives. Your tee shirts are one of those things!

With gratitude,
Betty (and Ian!)

Hi!

On August 4th, 2006 my family lost a very special mom and grammy. She was a testament to Life is good. My mom passed away at home in a LIG t-shirt. The funeral home disposed of her shirt before we knew it, so we bought her a new one to be laid to rest in.

Now each year we celebrate my mom's beautiful life by coming together as a family, each wearing a LIG shirt or hat, and all of us remembering that LIFE truly is GOOD. Our 2010 Life Celebration Day was this past Saturday, August 7th with a gathering of family from South Carolina and Florida. Mom was an amazing person who taught us to live life to the fullest. As our family grows, so does our love of life!

Thank you for all the great work you do for people and for our communities.

Lynne

Hi!

Just a thank you for the very inspirational and motivating clothing! I helped my husband pack his duffel bags for Afghanistan this weekend...BUT, not without his Life is good t-shirts! Between the two of us we have approximately 40 articles of LIG. I wish that I could convey the great life that my husband and I share, and when we "wear our life" we are in harmony with each other and spread that cheer with others. And what better connection can we have than to both have our positive tees while he is deployed, knowing that we are communicating through our clothing!

Thank you for all the great work you do for people and for our communities.

Best wishes always,
DiAnne

Hi! I would like to share this beautiful photo of my daughter, Ada Joy! She is why my Life is good! A few years ago, before she was born I lost my best friend, my mom, to cancer. She was my inspiration and a "joy" to be around. After she passed away I was very sad and didn't know how I was going to enjoy life anymore. I had a few Life is good shirts and I always liked getting Life is good items for gifts and giving them as gifts. Once my mom was gone, I decided I needed to make Life is good's motto a part of my life and share LIG with all those I love around me. I began to do what I liked and like what I did...

I began buying shirts for presents and buying more and more LIG stuff for myself. Then when my daughter was born, I began collecting for her as well. It always brings a smile to my face when I see someone wearing LIG. I feel like I know something about that person before even talking to them. I miss my mother every day and I miss that she doesn't get to spend time with me and my family and her only granddaughter. I know how precious life can be and I know that I can either be sad about what happened to me and my family, or I can think of how great it is to be happy, healthy and have a wonderful family. Life is good. That message is how I intend to raise my daughter, and it's the message my mom always tried to instill in me. She would be glad I had a beautiful baby girl and named her Ada (meaning Happy) Joy! How can someone named "Happy" and "Joy" not enjoy life! Thanks Life is good! Keep on inspiring us all!

Shannon

My dear Friends,

I have to start off with that, as even though I do not know you, you have been a big part of my life over the past years.

I have been a foster parent for more than 10 years, to more than 60 children. Most of them are drug addicted, medically fragile newborns. Some of them have gone on to adoptive homes, some back to their families, but none of them have ever left my heart.

I was lucky enough to find my "Jake", a wonderful man who loves the babies as much as I do, who carried me through one of the most difficult experiences of my life, and who introduced me to Life is good, the brand and the spirit.

In May, almost three years ago now, a baby who we had come to love very much died of SIDS while at the babysitter's home. I got the call at work and somehow my husband got to me and we were at the hospital when the doctors decided there was nothing more that could be done.

Because of the fact that she was in foster care, there was some worry about media attention, and we were forced to leave our home. My poor husband drove his sobbing wife for nearly two hours until we finally found a hotel that was not fully booked with college graduation celebrants. In the town, we walked quietly around, holding hands, crying sometimes, and generally feeling stunned that something so precious could be taken so quickly.

I had no interest in looking around until my husband pulled me into one shop. "Life is good, sweetheart", he said. And for whatever reason, I found something to embrace. I bought a shirt and a hat that day and did not stop there. My gym bag, my socks, and the shorts my husband hangs around in are all Life is good....

We each wore Life is good shirts after our wedding. And when, after a long journey, we had to seek a doctor's help in having a baby of our own, Life is good t-shirts became my talisman. I wore one to every single appointment. We finally got pregnant, and when I was hospitalized at 32 weeks, I wore Life is good shirts every day in the hospital to remind me why I was there. Max, of course, came home from the hospital in Life is good, and sports it regularly.

We continue to be foster parents, and many of the babies leave our home with at least one Life is good shirt or hat. Sometimes, Life is difficult. But Life is Always Good....

I want you to know that your clothing is more than a brand in our home, it is a belief that has gotten us through hard times in our own lives as well as those of the abused and neglected babies we care for. And it enriches the good times which are always a part of any Good Life.

Take care!
A grateful fan

I am one of your fans who wears only Life is good tees. They have become my trademark. I found them after my 35 yr old son died from brain cancer. I went shopping for new clothes and was evaluating how I wanted to live my life - cancer up close has a way of making one look at life differently. I saw your tees and read your story and "do what you like and like what you do" became my mantra. Every morning when putting on your tees I read those words and know I will not waste time doing anything I don't like to do. Thank you for giving me direction in living life.

Mary

I had never heard of the Life is good brand until about six years ago when I found one of your baseball caps in a shop while on vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine. I bought the hat and acquired other hats and t-shirts over the years.

Then, a few years ago when I was laid off after 25 years as an engineer and scientist, I found myself wondering what to do next. My career had been successful but somehow always less-than-fully-satisfying. After some soul searching and self-exploration, I decided to go back to school and change careers. I am proud to say I am now a Physical Therapist Assistant working in an outstanding sub-acute rehabilitation facility. I get to help people recover from strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, falls, fractures and a wide assortment of other life challenges. In one year, I have met some great people and felt more reward and satisfaction from my work than I ever knew was possible.

Every morning I drink coffee from my Life is good mug and read the words "Do what you like. Like what you do." The other day, looking at the image on the mug of Jake relaxing in the Adirondack chair, I realized that Jake was me ... or I am "a Jake", as the photo of me in my chair in the backyard shows. Thanks for encouraging me to pursue a passion.

Mike

Thank you so much for your sense of humor and inspiration. Here is my life is good story.

I was at an airport in California when I was first introduced to your brand. A friend of mine insisted that we stop at your store to look around. At that time I was going through the hardest time of my life. Everything I thought I knew in my life was gone. MY plan for MY life was coming apart. My family life and marriage were falling apart, and I just seemed so lost. I didn't know what or how I or we had gotten to the point of just giving up. I couldn't even remember when was the last time I had smiled, truly smiled.

Then I started looking at your t-shirts, and I loved the simplicity of the message. The one item that caught my eye was the phrase "not all who wander are lost" on Life is good sandals. I loved it. It meant so much to me. I couldn't find a t-shirt with that saying so I got the next best thing — a cap. It made me smile for the first time in a long time. I came to realize in that moment that I was given a wonderful opportunity. I was allowed to rediscover myself. I was able to "wander" and fall in love with all the simple things in life all over again, like playing with my son at the park, rediscovering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, wearing flip flops all year and making animal shapes with the clouds. Your t- shirts help ground me, give me perspective and help me realize that even though life isn't going according to MY plan, Life is good.

Sincerely,
Sheila

Dear Life is good,

On January 13th of this year, just a day after the earthquake, my amazing father called me and asked, "When are we going to Haiti to help rebuild?" Neither of us had ever been to Haiti before and we had no connection to the country. But my father saw a need and wanted to help.

We found a service trip that was going to be run in part by my brother-in-law and began to plan. In the meantime, Dad was going to be turning 70, and I found the "Optimism has no borders" Haiti relief shirts on the Life is good website. I've always been a fan of Life is good for both your products and your philosophy. It was the perfect gift to mark our trip.

The three of us, along with twelve other willing volunteers, traveled to Port-au-Prince on May 21 and worked for eight days, helping a tent camp level an area for a future school and building a wall and a latrine for an orphanage which houses up to 64 children. The people were welcoming and friendly everywhere we went and the children were smiling and eager to work and play with us. The devastation from the earthquake is epic in scope and the poverty is heartbreaking.

Imagine my surprise one morning when I arrived at the orphanage and found one of the little boys wearing a Life is good shirt. From my perspective, it didn't seem like life was good for them since they had no electricity, no running water, no working sewage system. But as I saw the delight in their faces when balloons were passed out or they each received a lollipop, or caught the shy little smiles at the touch of a hand or a playful pat on the head, I realized that, at least for one week, life really was good.

If I didn't realize it before, I realize now everyday that we are blessed with so much and that we must never take it for granted. This has been my first trip to Haiti, but it will not be my last. Thank you for your shirts and your continuing message of optimism and hope.

Kelly

Hello LIG,

As our year came to a close in 5th grade, the message was loud and clear. LIFE WAS GOOD IN 5th GRADE.

I purchased your coloring book and had each student pick their favorite. They had to write a short essay on what made 5th grade great. NO negatives.

The message all year was "Life is good. What can you do for others today."

As students quoted LIFE IS GOOD all year, they smiled more, reminded themselves of others, and worked maybe just a bit harder. Life is good has been a message in my class for eight years. I have a small display with pictures, a banner, stickers, and of course I wear a great tee now and then.

Thank you for sending positive messages to our youth and me.

Deb Steffeck
5th grade teacher
Northridge Elementary
Bismarck, ND

Dear LIG,

On December 26th, 2008 I left Poland on a one-way ticket, with 35 pounds on my back, a childhood friend, and no plan. It was my dream since I was 15 years old, and after 10 years of just dreaming I was about to start the adventure of a lifetime. It was an adventure that lasted 360 days and during which I travelled almost 40,000 miles. An adventure that changed my life and during which "Do what you like. Like what you do." finally became reality.

Equipped with my Life is good cap I hitchhiked through Mexico, sailed along the Belizian coast and from Panama to Colombia; I climbed an active volcano in Guatemala, and biked down another one in Ecuador; I scuba-dived in the Bay Islands and West Indies, surfed with sea lions in Galapagos, and walked through the Amazonian jungle. Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid I rode a horse in Bolivia. I learned to kite surf in Brazil and ate termites and guinea pigs; I danced salsa, punta, and forro. I volunteered at a kids shelter in Peru and worked at a bar in La Paz. I saw a Brazil vs Chile soccer game, biked down the Death Road, and witnessed a cocaine smuggler being arrested. I participated in shamanic ceremonies in Colombia, and went rafting in Honduras.

"Optimism can take you anywhere" was the motto of our trip, especially when we climbed Huayna Potosi (a 20,000 foot mountain). This was the best year in my life -- filled with sun, delicious food, challenge, freedom, laughter, hope, new friendships, and shooting stars! So when the trip came to an end, I knew I couldn't go back to the life I used to lead. I had to do what I like, and like what I do. And I had to do it with my partner in crime, my travel buddy, my best friend. We are opening a travel-oriented restaurant this summer, and we couldn't be happier because our Life is good.

Thank you,

Olga

I have been meaning to write this letter of appreciation for some time now. Today I decided to after I was asked: "What experience in my life had been changed simply by changing my perspective?" I have had quite a few, but the most life-changing for me has to do with my Life is good hat.

For several years I was having serious health issues and depression that made it almost impossible to get through each day and added stress to all of my business, family and personal relationships. I was to the point of sleeping many hours away when I could get away with it because I was drained in every possible sense - physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.

One of my best friends lived with me during part of this time and would laugh because before my feet would hit the floor I would put on my hat that had the Life is good logo on the front and it would stay on my head until I put it on my bedpost when I would lay down. What she didn't know at the time was that one day during this lowest point in my life, I remember looking at that hat and desperately thinking "I need to make this my mantra. I need to remind myself that no matter what is happening, no matter how bad I feel, that Life IS Good."

I wore that hat every single day for many months. In my worst moments of trials and tears in my depression I would force myself to remember the message on my hat. It truly became my lifeline and I believe that by holding on to what at times was the only positive thought I could muster-life is good- it enabled me to start waking up and noticing the glimmers of light that were shining all around me.

That was about ten years ago and its been quite a journey in self-enrichment from that single moment of clarity. Those three little words helped bring me back to life. As my mind and heart opened up I knew it was the power behind those three little words that helped awaken me, and so I promised myself that I would not let myself sink into that dark hole ever again, but that I would eagerly search out and devour everything I could on self- enrichment and spirituality. I have had amazing family, friends, teachers, therapists and guides throughout each path of my journey -- a journey that started with those three little words that I have come to live by with deep appreciation - Life is good.

It is now my wish to give back and share that message and my journey with others to inspire and light their path, just as others have done and continue to do for me. Thank you for spreading the good vibes and giving back in the positive way that you do!

Vera

Perhaps only one or two will read this and if so I hope they smile. I have been a mother for 21 years to two now grown kids and a military wife for a large majority of that time. When my world fell apart along with my marriage I had two choices and the one I chose was optimism with a dose of humility. My parents allowed me, my 20 year old, my 18 year old, 2 dogs, and one cat to move in with them in Georgia so I could finally finish college. At nearly 40 the prospect of losing your house, your identity, your pride, and your familiar surroundings seems daunting. Yet with my parents and family — those I am related to by blood and my friends by love -- it was the happiest thing I had done in nearly a decade!

I began to find myself again in the simple pleasures and simple truths - money of course was (is) tight but love was vast and is still growing! One of my pleasures in life is Life is good T's and stores when I visit a new city. I have been all over the east coast and some of Canada, and I seek out the Life is good stores when I travel. There are two Ts that sum up my life now: "One Tribe" is so self explanatory to anyone who knows my family now and "Half Full" is how I got to overflowing.

This summer I graduated from college before 40, my daughter graduated high school and my son is graduating in August this year, so to see your graduation Ts I have to get them!

Thank you for your messages that make a difference in people's lives and for honoring my family and our community.

With appreciation,
Jen

Dear Friends at Life is good,

Throughout my daughter Grace's treatment for a malignant brain tumor, we looked for silver linings. Yes, it stinks to be in the hospital … but you do get to spend time with the therapy dogs and make art projects from the medical supply closet. Yes, the medicine makes you nauseous and weak ... but it will also destroy the tumor. Sometimes silver linings were hard to come by, but we always looked for them.

A friend gave me one of your shirts - HALF FULL — and it entered heavy rotation in my wardrobe, so much so that I had to buy a second one, less holey than the first. Grace loves the softness of the shirt — which was particularly nice against chemo-sore skin.

Though only 5 at the time of her diagnosis, Grace understood fully the meaning of the shirt, and declared, "But Mommy, you're not HALF FULL, you're ALL THE WAY FULL!"

And so ALL THE WAY FULL is how we're getting through cancer. This June 2010, Grace will be two years beyond the end of treatment. That's HUGE. We can begin to exhale.

We wanted to make sure you knew the significance your positivity has played in our lives. And we wondered… if you might be producing an "ALL THE WAY FULL" shirt anytime soon?

With appreciation,
Rebekah

Hi Life is good,

This past Thursday, my dad went in for routine rotator cuff surgery. Early the next morning, he almost died of severe complications. It was an all-hands-on-deck moment, and, between bilateral pneumonia and flash edema, one that not many people would have survived.

My mom called me and my sisters from the emergency room. I jumped on a plane, shaking like a leaf and unsure of what I'd find when I landed. I thought about my father's journey. About twenty years ago, he gave up a successful surgical practice to work full-time as the medical director of Hospice Buffalo. It's no exaggeration to say that he's made the lives of thousands of people more comfortable and more peaceful at the most difficult times imaginable. Would he now be the one in pain? Would he be wasting away? Would life, broadly construed, ever be the same?

As soon as I walked into his hospital room, the answer to that last question came clear. The answer wasn't in a hospital chart or on a monitor. It wasn't even in the face of my dad, whose medical turnaround that day was nothing short of miraculous.

The answer to the question was in the circle of family and friends thronging my dad -- the people who built a wall of love so tall and so mighty that, on this day at least, nothing was getting through. My mom, my sisters, two of my dad's best friends, laughing and enjoying the realization that the real miracle is in our time together. No life could ever be the same after seeing that, after feeling that.

The equation struck me right then as so simple: to love and be loved is to live life. Life is good.

Which brings us to your role in this story.

The morning of the complications, like so many other mornings, dad was wearing a Life is good t-shirt that said, "Not all who wander are lost." When the EMTs arrived, they had to cut off dad's clothes. One of them had the good sense to save the swatch of fabric where the Life is good emblem is printed. It's that swatch of fabric that my dad -- now home from the hospital and showing no ill effect from what transpired -- holds in the attached photo.

That swatch is now being mounted at the framers as a powerful reminder that every day we spend together is to be a great day, and that, yes, Life is good.

With love and thanks,
Michael

Hi Life is good,

I just wanted to tell you a true story. I spent 22 years working for a package delivery company. It was a very stressful job. Whenever I was in one of our facilities and the job was just overwhelming and stressful, often I would look at the packages flowing down the belts and on my worst days I would sometimes see the Life is good boxes flowing down the belt... and they would just make me smile. And change my mood. I left that work many years ago, but I recalled those days when I bought a LIG t-shirt last week. I had to write to say thanks. You can't imagine how much you have helped through the years.

Tom

Hello folks at Life is good,

Last year at the end of a long summer of strange headaches, I found myself whisked off to the neuro unit of a hospital two hours away from home, eventually diagnosed with a rare form of meningitis and a small brain bleed to top it all off. It was all very odd and scary. Once they were able to stop the headaches, I felt pretty normal, but I had to stay for two weeks and endure lots of testing for some very frightening illnesses. My vision had been affected and I was very scared that it might not resolve. And to date, we still have no clear answers as to what caused all this.

The Flight Care helicopters landed outside my window at all hours of the day and night bringing people who were in serious life-&-death danger. All around me in the unit were people who had suffered strokes or had been in serious car accidents with horrendous head injuries. Some of these folks will never recover, will never be the same again. I counted my blessings daily that I know who I am, that I'm not blind, and that I can think and walk and talk and function. It was all very sobering.

My Doctors and nurses were all so wonderful to me, and after about the first week were kind and indulgent enough to allow me to ditch the embarrassing hospital gown in favor of my jeans and my favorite nice soft Life is good t-shirts. When you're being poked and prodded sometimes on an hourly basis, everything hurts. Let me tell you how comforting it was to have my shirts and how they just helped me feel more normal in the middle of all that strangeness. My wonderful hubby would take my shirts home, wash & dry them and bring them right back so I could wear them again. They were my daily reminder that I have so very much to be thankful for and also to think about how quickly one can lose the very essence of yourself. And when I get discouraged with the lingering after-effects of my illness, it's become my mantra and reminder to stay positive. Some people aren't as lucky as I was.

You touch the lives of very ordinary people in very extraordinary ways. Thank you for the opportunity to tell you so. And thank you for all you do!

Jan

Dear LIG Crew:

Dharma didn't have a chance when she was born into a puppy mill in September of 2008 with a blind and bulging eye that would prevent her from being sold out of the puppy mill life. It seemed that she was sentenced to a horrible life of confinement to a small cage while being used for nothing but bearing puppies. Luckily little Dharma was probably too petite to be the ideal mommy to the amount of puppies that a puppy mill desired and she was sent to the puppy mill auction where breeders trade and sell dogs. That's where Southern Illinois Pug Rescue found this sweet puppy and bought her as fast as they could.

When I found Dharma on an adoption website for pets, I knew I had to give her a forever home. Her bulging eye had been removed and she still wasn't the flawless dog that many people require when adding a pet to their family. She may only have one eye, but I think she is as cute as she could be and has more than enough personality to make up for it. She makes me smile every time I see her perpetual wink and I know that giving her a forever home also gave me a forever friend. Even though Dharma has been through a lot in her one and a half years, life is good now! I hope Dharma can show people that adopting a dog from a rescue is definitely the way to go.

Thank you for your inspiration and continued commitment to appreciate the simple pleasures in life that would normally go unnoticed. Attached are pictures of Dharma enjoying the good life at her new home with some of her Life is good gear.

Bhrett
"Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it."

Dear Life is good,

I would like to take a moment on this Thanksgiving day to share our Life is good story. My husband, Pete, wears a Life is good tee shirt every day of the week. He is my Good Catch, my Peace, my reminder that Not all who wander are lost (sandal version) and we will always Stick Together. He is a good man who is inspired by the simple things in life.

When he was diagnosed with lung cancer just over two years ago he wore his Half Full tee to the doctor and a tradition was born. Now, every time we see the cancer doctor we wear our Half Full shirts as a reminder that no matter what the outcome of the appointment, we are blessed beyond measure with this day, this now, this life. So far he has been cancer free since his surgery and chemotherapy which ended in January of 2008. We give thanks everyday for his health and for the tender reminders that life is truly, truly good.

Thank you for your part in our story.

Jenny

Dear Life is good Crew,

My admiration for your products and motto started years ago through another inspired story from a friend. He had spent the better part of 18 grueling hours in airports with several cancelled flights and arrived at his destination over a day late to meet friends - exhausted, frustrated and annoyed. He collapsed into a cab, only to find a Life is good baseball cap that someone had left behind. He took a sigh of relief, smiled, took in that message and shared it with all of us. I haven't forgotten it since.

Since then, I have collected as many T-shirts, bumper stickers, caps, dog collars and gear as I can afford. One Christmas my whole family got Life is good" T-shirts, matching each of their interests. When I sold my last car and forgot to take the rear window LIG sticker with me, I chalked it off to sharing the message with someone else :) , and promptly bought a new one for my new car. Life is good has permeated my life in such a meaningful way that when I met my husband, we adopted it as our personal lifetime motto, and even included it in our wedding vows this past October! Of course, he has a matching LIG gear collection too.

My inspired story, however, is this. At 36 years old, I had waited a long time to meet my soulmate and start a family. Well, I met my amazing husband in 2007, married in 2009 and discovered we were pregnant in January 2010. Completely ecstatic, glowing and beaming, we waited until it was "safe" to tell family and friends. Unfortunately we never reached that point as we found no heartbeat at our first ultrasound appointment. Shock and grief set in; we were heartbroken.

Doctors' recommendation took us into surgery less than a week later to address the miscarriage and I wasn't sure I could get through it. They said to wear comfortable clothes for after surgery, so I grabbed my LIG yoga pants, LIG sweatshirt and LIG tote bag. Wearing that Life is good message just reminded me that life will always be full of ups and downs. Life may not be perfect, but it IS still good. It reminded me that I still have so much to be thankful for - my wonderful husband, a roof over my head, a job and food on the table. So despite losing my first baby, I was reminded that Life still can be good and was so thankful for my comfy outfit to crawl into afterward. Of course, we ran across a LIG tire cover in the parking lot at the hospital too - so someone was trying to tell me something!

You can be sure that when we do have our first child, I will have a full wardrobe waiting of LIG baby gear for that wonderful day. Thank you for the message you've brought into the world that lifts my spirits daily. I am a truly grateful customer.

Meagan

Dear guys,

My family and I have been hooked on Life is good for many years and have celebrated many milestones by buying a LIG tee from the local shop or online. My son (now four) has all of his favorites, and to top it off, he sleeps with them in lieu of a blanket because they are so soft. He tucks himself into my husband's shirts (XL's) and by the end of the week has all eight of them in his bed. My best memories are of snuggling with him on a Saturday morning as he sleeps in one of his own LIG shirts.

We spread the awesomeness of your gear to my entire family; as our family grew so did your line of clothing which helped all of us to always have something new to send for a birthday or holiday.

My older sister and her husband (and son) are a military family (she in the Navy and he in the Marines) and have been for the better part of 15 years. They recently accepted their orders to Okinawa, Japan, and arrived there August 1st. It has been very hard for our family to be apart from them and not be able to communicate the way we are used to, but if you check out the attached photo, we were able to get some great memories from our summer vacation to Corolla, NC where everyone came in full Life is good garb....from towels to beach hats, t-shirts to frisbees, our mantra for the week was that regardless of where our lives took us, Life Is good for our extended family.

You have always been and always will be the common thread that we have with each other. Every time a new shirt comes out that reminds us of someone in the family, it is immediately purchased and sent to the appropriate member. Thank you for always thinking of our family (even if you aren't) when you create a new way to present Jake and the gang.

You are so much more than a t-shirt company; with our family thousands of miles away, all I have to do is check out our version of a family portrait and all is well with the world....you are so right, Life is good.

Thanks,
Kelly (Orange, "Start Me Up")

Attached is a picture of my best friend "Henry". He passed over to the rainbow bridge on August 3, 2009. How could I sum up the life of my wonderful yellow Labrador other than to say Life is good. Henry was not just any dog. He was an inspiration to everyone that he was around all his life. He could light up a room with his wonderful positive attitude. He loved life, loved people, and loved other dogs. Life was not easy for Henry as he suffered from epilepsy and had grand mal seizures frequently. He competed in agility until he was officially retired at age 10.

I am attaching a photo of Henry holding his favorite Life is good disc. I printed this photo and gave a copy to his veterinarian and it will hang proudly in his office. I have already received comments from folks about the priceless Life is good photo of him.

I began collecting donations for Henry for genetic research for Canine Epilepsy in 2007. In October 2009, I attended Labrador Nationals for the first time without Henry. I wanted to once again pay tribute to Henry. An agility jump was created from the attached photo. It was raffled at nationals along with a tote bag containing Life is good items donated by a friend. When a donation was collected, a Life is good sticker was donated back to the exhibitor. Despite rainy, cold conditions at the trial, $401 was collected in the raffle. Approximately $2,000 has been collected to date in Henry's honor with 100% of the proceeds going to Genetic Research for Canine Epilepsy.

Thank you Life is good company for continuing to inspire us. In the future, I shall wear a LIG item in every trial in honor of Henry to remember his enthusiasm for life.

In Memory of Henry....Life is good!

Martha

Dear Life is good Crew,

I want to thank you so much for honoring my request to donate shirts so that I could make my sister a quilt to use during her cancer treatments. I was amazed at the number of shirts in the box I received and how quickly you got them to me. I could not have picked more perfect shirts! I have enough material left over to make another small quilt to donate to the cancer center where my sister is receiving her treatments.

Not only will this quilt provide my sister with warmth and inspiration to fight through what will the most difficult time in her life, but it provided my mom and I quality shared time while we put this together.

I don't think I could thank you enough for your kindness and generosity.

Donna

Dear Life is good,
My wife and I have to thank you. It was nearly five years ago that I was at a social gathering and wearing one of your shirts — the white shirt with the American flag to be exact. That night a young woman noticed my shirt and we struck up a conversation. She told me that she had a Life is good shirt and we began to talk. We spent the rest of that night talking about ourselves, interests, and even Life is good.

Less than three years later, we were married. We ordered t-shirts and Nalgene bottles for our entire wedding party. We also received two "Just Married" Life is good shirts as wedding gifts. We are wearing them in the attached picture, taken on our honeymoon.

We are currently expecting our first child who is due in May. We decided to wait until the delivery to find out whether it will be a boy or girl, but we already have a Life is good "peanut" outfit and blanket ready and waiting that we bought.

We just wanted to send this letter to say thank you and to let you know that your products brought two people together for a lifetime.

Sincerely,
Ben and Jen

A couple of weeks ago I attended the 4 o'clock Mass. When it was time for Communion I noticed a father pushing a young boy in a high-tech wheelchair. It was one of those chairs that had all kinds of attachments to make the young boy comfortable. He had a breathing tube and I could only imagine the challenges that the child had. I find myself admiring parents who have a special needs child because I know how hard it is simply to be a parent to a child without a disability. I kept on watching them as I waited for the Communion line to move. The boy's father was rubbing his head, as proud as any father could be of a son. They were joined by the boy's mom and when the dad was done rubbing his head, she began caressing his head. You could see the loving touch that only a mother has.

When it was their turn to move towards the altar, the father turned toward me and I could see that he was wearing a sweatshirt with a big Life is good Snowman on the front with that silly grin and "Life is good" written beneath. I couldn't believe it! "Life is good?" I said to myself. "You have to be kidding me! When was the last time life was good for them?" I thought. I kept thinking this and the next thing I knew I began to slide down the wall I was leaning against until I found myself squatting on the floor. I stayed there for only a moment. I took a deep breath and stood up in time to see the family receive communion.

Then it all came to me! I was projecting what I thought their life was like, not how they experienced life. I truly believe that the dad wears that sweatshirt to let everyone know that their life is good no matter what others see. They have each other, they have their faith and the recognition that life is good. I go to church with the hopes of taking something with me to try to be a better person and, with a little help from a Life is good sweatshirt and a loving family, I did.

Gus

My name is Amanda. My husband and I have been Life is good fans for a very long time. I want to tell you about my Papaw, Leonard. My Papaw has been a hard working mechanic all his life. In every family photo, Papaw is usually wearing old faded jeans and some type of buttoned up work shirt.

Last year on a whim my husband and I bought Papaw a Life is good shirt for his birthday. We honestly thought that it would end up in the back of one of his drawers. To our surprise, my Mamaw told my mom that he loved the shirt and it was almost impossible to get it off of him to wash it! From that moment, he was hooked! Good bye buttoned up work shirts!!

2009 has been a very difficult year for my Papaw. He is the baby of 13 children. This year, he watched as his last living sibling, Virgil, died. My Papaw was there constantly for his brother, going with him to the grocery store, doctor's office, and emergency room. We live three hours away, and were not able to physically help. So my husband and I ordered several shirts and hats through the Life is good website and had them shipped directly to Papaw. We often had them gift wrapped, and he always said that it was just amazing. The gifts made him feel special.

We also bought Virgil a Life is good shirt in his final months because he always talked about how stylish Papaw was. The nurses told Virgil that he need to save his shirt to wear when he got to go home. Well, he did wear it home :) We buried him in the shirt and Life is good socks.

The shirt and hat that Papaw is wearing in the attached photo are our Christmas present to him. We were so worried we would not be able to go home for Christmas we ordered it from the website. It was delivered right on time, Christmas Eve!! We made it home on Christmas morning!

Throughout this difficult year, Papaw found smiles and laughs. We kid him and tell him that he finally figured out good fashion. He is a very simple man. He works hard. He loves his family and his Life is good clothes!

Thank you so much for all you do!
Amanda

Dear Life is good,

I saw your letters on the website and after reading a few, decided I had to write. I was first introduced to Life is good merchandise by my best friend Meredith several years ago. She loved to wear it because it was pretty much her motto, no matter what.

About 5 years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. She endured surgeries, radiation, and the dreaded words, "There's nothing else we can do." But true to her spirit, she would not give up. Throughout homeopathic and experimental therapies, she would never complain or stop asserting that Life is good. She lived each day to its fullest, right up until the end.

I lost my best friend on March 4, 2009. However, whenever I wear my Life is good stuff or see it when I am out, it is like a little reminder of her beautiful smile, encouraging me every day to live it to its fullest.

Thank you for continuing to bring such a positive message into the world.
Beth

Dear Life is good,

I am a heart transplant recipient. I've received my new heart on May 11, 2007 and I am doing VERY well. As a member of the organ transplant community, a great many of us use the phrase "Life is good" in regard to the way we see things now that we've had a second chance at living.

My wife initially introduced me to your products about a year ago, when she bought me a Life is good baseball hat. I've been wearing it proudly since. In seeing your products, the red heart that is used on many items is significant to me, due to my heart transplant. So many of us transplant recipients have faced death, only to be given that ULTIMATE gift from a donor. The gift of life.

Please keep up the good work. Indeed, Life is good!!!

Sincerely,
Don

Hi,

My wife and I are big fans of the Life is good product line and the story of Bert and John. There are many reasons to feel overwhelmed these days...the abysmal economy, frail relations with other nations, etc. We personally have had much to deal with this past year and detailing these troubles would take too long. Just know that we've been on the brink of financial disaster due to several circumstances beyond our control. Its easy to get bitter...but we do our best not to with the simple reminders that Life is good offers.

We are reminded at this time of year that the simple pleasures of time with family and friends, having a roof over our head, and for us, playing frisbee with our dog are truly the jewels of life. Sure, its cliche...but it is a great truth and we all need to keep our focus on the fact that Life is good!

We're truly fortunate and this attached pic shines a light on it.

Cheers,
Steven

Hi,

My name is Cheryl and I want to tell you about my son Spencer. When Spencer was born, everything was spectacular! He was a beautiful baby and everything was going right for us! Being new moms, we were so proud to show him off to everyone! Around seven months of age, we began noticing that Spencer was a little different. He was not sitting up or beginning to crawl and get around. We had several tests and couldn't find anything "wrong" with him, so we just dealt with the symptoms by getting him physical, occupational, and speech therapies. He grew and developed, just at a slower pace than other kids his age.

At age 4, Spencer's Aunt Stephanie bought him a "Life is Good" T-shirt. It had a dog on it and "dog" was something he could say that others could understand. He wore it to school every day. He wore it so much that we figured we should buy him some other LIG shirts so people wouldn't accuse us of neglect! He still always chose the dog shirt. Spencer came to be known at his school as the "Life is good" boy!

One day Spencer came home from school and went to his room to put on his dog shirt. He returned and said, "I can read." Then, he pointed to his shirt and read "Life is good". I have never felt like that was a more truthful thing to say than in that moment! I will remember it for the rest of my life.

I have attached a memorable photo of Spencer. When he lost his front tooth, his little sister bought him your hockey player shirt with the missing tooth! It looks just like him! He even laughs at the "Have an ice day." Please consider Pittsburgh if you are looking for other cities to have Festivals. We'd be glad to have you!

Cheryl

Bert, John & Jake,

I love my Life is good shirts and wear them as a reminder of where my priorities in life should be. This past September I was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a liver disease that affects my bile ducts. I had a 12 day stint in the hospital and everyday in the hospital, I wore one of my Life is good t-shirts. The picture below is me wearing my favorite T-Shirt. (I played a little baseball in college.)

This week, I have more tests and follow up appointments with my doctor. There is a chance that they will list me for a liver transplant and that I may be transplanted within the next couple of months (due to risk of cancer).

I have a website where I update my family and friends on my health condition. I am also able to write journal entries to let folks know how I'm doing mentally and spiritually. Here is what I wrote in an earlier journal entry from when I was still in the hospital:

"Those of you who know me and see me on the weekends will often notice I wear one of my "Life is good" t-shirts. For me, it's a personal reminder to always remember that no matter what the situation is or circumstances are, I should remember that Life is just that.....GOOD. This attitude and philosophy of life is what I think will help get me through this."

I'm in an interesting chapter in my life. I'm learning many life lessons through what I'm going through.

Your friend,
Kirk

Dear Life is good:

I have been a strong advocate of your work for years now and so has my husband John. I kept him supplied with Life is good shirts and other things over the years. I would discover some of your things in stores when I least expected them and was grateful so that I could see what I wanted to buy online not only for myself and my husband, but for the rest of my family who had become fans of your merchandise.

Two years ago my husband was stricken with pancreatic cancer in a big way. We were all over the United States visiting doctors and their affiliations with their hospitals. He underwent so many chemo and radiation therapies and all kinds of other treatments that I lost count. But he never failed to wear a Life is good shirt.

John succumbed to the disease April 7, 2009. When he passed away quietly at home, surrounding by his beloved wife and family, along with hospice nurses, he had on a pair of Life is good PJ's and a Life is good T-Shirt, and that is what he had asked to be put on him that day. He still thought that Life is good and he had had soooo many happy times when we wore our matching shirts and went to Harley Motorcycle rallies and rides and soon all the members started wearing Life is good.

My husband wore Life is good clothes under his beautiful suit as he had requested for his funeral. And I knew through talking with him over the long, long suffering months that what he wanted on his tombstone was LIFE IS GOOD at the very bottom in CAPS. It is a beautiful monument and everyone notices and comments on it and then cries. And so do I. It is a beautiful memory.

This Christmas, my journey is to furnish each member of my family — five generations now -- a Life is good T-shirt, and also my husband John's family. You have done a great job and I appreciate your work and the good material that you make your shirts with. I will continue to support you. Keep up the good work and keep our little Doggie on all the work. Thank you very, very much!

God bless you and all your staff,
Wayna

Hello Life is good,

My husband and I had always wanted children, but after many medical discoveries, that wasn't going to be an easy task. Through some medical assistance we were finally able to get pregnant. That happy news was one of the happiest days of my life. After carrying my baby boy for just about 9 months, I ended up in an emergency c-section and my baby did not survive. His name was to be Alex.

After months and months of grief and additional medical attempts to conceive, things were just not working out for us. We decided to turn to adoption, as I was adopted myself. In a short time we were matched with a birth mom across the country. We developed a strong relationship with her while she was pregnant and were then asked to be there for the delivery of the baby boy. Finally a happy ending...or even better, a happy beginning, I was the first person to hold our son at the hospital.

Jackson is now 2 1/2 and loving every moment of life. We are truly blessed to have him. Every time I see a Life is good store it makes me smile and think about just how "Good" my life is.

Thank you for representing that spirit of what we do have to be happy for!

Kelley

Hi Life is good,

In June, I contacted you regarding an idea I had about using a Life is good theme in our first child's nursery. I am an outdoor educator and have always loved your company's images and quotes. I thought what better thing to surround our baby girl with than the philosophy of outdoor recreation, fun, love and acceptance!

With your company's gracious donation of 18 used/damaged t-shirts and the summer off from leading trips in the wilderness (difficult to do while pregnant), I set to work on the "project." Of course, I recruited help from the family and soon it was everyone's project. My father, a talented carpenter, made the 3-1 crib out of rock maple. My mother-in-law turned the LIG t-shirts into bumpers for the crib and made matching sheets, a dust ruffle, and window valences to go with it all. I taught myself how to sew on the 1948 Singer sewing machine my grandmother left for me and made my first quilt with LIG t-shirts, matching pillows, and chair coverings. I painted Life is good images and quotes on canvases to hang in the baby's room.

A summer filled with a fun project and what I have termed "Storking" has kept me busy while I await our little one who is due within the month. Donna in customer service, thank you so much for helping me make this idea a reality. Another thank you to the Life is good company, (Jake and Rocket too) for providing images and quotes of a philosophy worthy of living by!

Jenna

Dear Life is good,

Our family has suffered numerous tragedies in the relatively recent past, starting with the loss of an 18-year old son (Cliff) in February 2005 in an auto accident, the loss of both of my wife's generous loving parents, her only sibling (her sister Janet), and several other family members within a very short period of time. Going to the hospital and funeral home became much too familiar and tiresome to us.

Coming to grips with all this grief has not been easy for my wife or for our family, and only through remaining family and extended family members, close friends, support groups, counseling, faith, our loving pets, and other such avenues, has my wife, myself, and the rest of our blended family been able to cope and go on with our lives.

We saw the Life is good logo one day some time ago and there was Rocket, the happy Life is good dog, on the items we were looking at — we have a Pug/Chihuahua mixed breed dog (Pasquale) that looks very much like Rocket, and Pasquale's biggest gift to our family is that he makes my wife smile each and every day, which is something that the rest of us cannot accomplish as easily. Seeing Rocket made us think of Pasquale and the joy and love he brings us in his own special way. And it made us think harder about what we had been going through — the Life is good motto has become a way for us to reconnect with life and to enjoy things even though some of those we love are no longer with us.

We have purchased many items of clothing, stickers, and coffee mugs with the Life is good logo on them because they help us to remember that although life isn't always easy, it IS good. We hope to never lose sight of that again, and we want others to know too.

It isn't always easy, we still hurt, and life is still throwing us "curveballs" now and then, but with a more positive attitude and Life is good and Jake and Rocket (and Pasquale) to help us along, we feel we might just be okay after all. Every time we see a Life Is Good store in our travels, we have to go inside and look around and soak up the atmosphere.

Thank you for helping to remind us that Life IS good!

Mike

When I met my husband we both loved hiking, the outdoors and Life is good. It seemed only appropriate when we decided to get married to hike to a remote location and get married wearing Life is good hats. Immediately after we were officially married, I snuck behind a rock and changed into my Life is good "Just Married" t-shirt, which I proudly wore out to my wedding dinner when we got back to civilization that night. Whenever I need a little boost of positive energy — all I have to do is look at Jake or put on one of my many t-shirts and I feel better. I've attached a picture — I hope you enjoy it.

Jill

Hi to the Folks at Life is good,

We've been fans of yours for a while now. We lost our oldest son, Jake, to leukemia in 2001, when he had just turned eight. We would try and put on a happy face for his little brother, Linc, but it was a horrible time.

We started seeing your t-shirts around town and talked about how important it was to try and enjoy life, to try and be happy no matter what. Then one day, my husband, Steve, found out that your character was named Jake. It was like getting a secret smile from our boy every time we saw one. We started seeing more of them, quite often, when we were down and needed a smile. I swear, our Jake started using your Jake to make us feel better.

Life goes on eight years later. Steve started running marathons as a fund raiser for the Leukemia Society. He keeps one of your coffee mugs at work to remind him of what's important. Jake's little brother is taller than me and an awesome swimmer. I found out I have hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and have my own challenges, but I'm still here.

Life is going to hand us challenges. The only thing we have control over is our attitude. Thank you for spreading your message. Thank you for helping us recover.

Take care,
Jenny

Dear Life is good folks,

My daughter turned 15 at the end of July and a special friend gave her a Life is good t-shirt as a gift. She liked it so much, she bought some of y'all's socks to match with some money she got for her b'day. Now everyone in our family is a fan!

School started for us on August 6. She is in 10th grade and A & P (Anatomy and Physiology) is probably going to be her most challenging class. She went into class having skimmed over her reading assignment yesterday (8/11) and was greeted by the teacher announcing "Get out a sheet of paper and put your books under your desk."

Uh oh...1st pop quiz of the year!! My daughter felt that sinking feeling, excuses racing through her mind of how she was going to explain this grade. As the teacher walked to the board, she explained to the students that she gives one question pop quizzes. Then she wrote on the board.... "Define life."

My daughter squirmed and thought and then figured she could either go to all the extra effort to unsuccessfully fool the teacher and write a page fully defining the fact that she had not studied, or she could really, honestly tell the teacher what she knew.

She wrote: "Life is........good."
She received a 100 on the quiz..... and a smiley face.:)

Thanks for providing the tutorial service!
Sincerely,
Lea

Dear Life is good,

My daughter Olivia turned 10 this year. To celebrate, we agreed that we would do something different,a more altruistic spin on her big two-digit birthday...and turn it into a better cause. In lieu of birthday gifts, she asked her friends to bring non-perishables for the New Hampshire Food Bank and to do some community service.

I purchased matching T-shirts to support your Life Is good Kids Foundation (thank you by the way for taking the money I spent and investing it in kids!) and we all gave some community time for the area's hungry, handing out donations to them on a very hot and humid day, as well as collecting donations for the NH Food Bank, which are greatly needed right now.

It made quite an impact on the kids to see the faces and to know what a huge difference kids can make. I treated my volunteer girls to lunch and cake afterwards, and I do believe they developed a much deeper appreciation for what they have after their experience earlier that day. I also believe that their LIG Kids Foundation T-shirts made them extra motivated!!

Thanks again.

Martha
Manchester, NH

Dear Life is good,

My wife and I are writing in regard to our nine-month old son Kyle and our 11 year old dog Dawson. By six months old our son was fitted with a helmet to correct his head shape that he has to wear 23 hours a day. Needless to say the immediate impact is one of concern as a new parent seeing a young baby wearing the device. However, Kyle just got on with it and never seemed to fuss too much. After visiting the Life is good store in Town Center Mall, Boca Raton, we got a couple of Life is good stickers to put on the helmet. We wanted to decorate it with a positive attitude and to reflect on our son's demeanor and help us see past the helmet. Coupled with this we recently suddenly lost our 11 year old Weimaraner, Dawson. Kyle and Dawson were best buddies and used to play together, with Kyle often looking for Dawson whenever he heard him coming or shaking. My wife and I have been able to get through this tough period with a smile whenever we see Kyle with his Life is good stickers, as that statement alone really says it all. When we reflect back on Dawson's 11 wonderful years and the future that Kyle has ahead of him we cannot help but smile as Life Really Is Good!

Thanks to your brand for helping us through the challenges that have been sent our way and allowing us to see the big picture! Keep up the good work you are bringing to families like ours.

Regards,
Matthew

JUST A PERSONAL NOTE in the Life is good...Life is Fine...Life is Precious Department.

Yesterday afternoon on Lisa's 25th Birthday shortly before 3 pm I received a phone call from her that on her way home from Las Vegas she rolled her car. The accident happened about 30 miles north of Tonopah. She braked and swerved to miss a critter--species unknown. The accident scene revealed that the wheel caught a side road bump, the car turned, caused it to roll door-to-door-wise once before going airborne for a second full air turn, and then landed on its side to roll two more times before coming to a stop. All windows were busted out except the front windshield somehow, and a small side window with a Nevada Wolfpack sticker.

The 2002 Daewoo is totaled in a fashion that makes the word seem a complete understatement, except for the interior sanctuary that protected all that is precious. So you can see, the BEST news is the call was from Lisa and not a Nevada Highway Patrol person (although I really appreciate the help I got from them also). She met many new friends yesterday who stopped in the fog of dust to help her; I met many new friends yesterday as they called and I called back and spoke to all I could reach who helped her. To all who were there that I don't have a number for, I thank you too.

From the moment of the initial call, I walked out of the office, picked up Jan and we drove to Hawthorne where a nice couple who had stopped at the scene had picked her up with all her things, interrupted their vacation weekend, changed directions and drove her to us. With mere seat belt burn scrape marks seared into her shoulder and a few minor shard glass scratches, she is fine; she and her two dogs have quite a story to tell. Whoever luck favors, she is now counted among them. Today, in my little world, that makes me the most thankful person on the face of the earth. All else pales in comparison.

Things I've been re-reminded of from this incident:

1) Tell your kids you love them every chance you get.
2) Physical things are replaceable, your kids are not.
3) Today is the best day of the rest of your life, make the most of it.
4) Be Happy, Be Thankful, Be Optimistic.

And that is what I view as my "Life is good...Life is Fine...Life is Precious" comment this morning.

Thanks for being friends.

Ed

Hello Life is good folks,

One of the friends that I visited while I was up in Alberta, Canada is a vibrant 36 year old triathlete who has done countless triathlons including a couple of Penticton Ironman Triathlons as well. Well, three weeks ago she had a massive stroke. It has affected her quite a bit BUT she is such an amazing young lady and is making awesome strides on the road to recovery. The best part is her incredible smile.

I was just so tickled to have my own Life is good t-shirt that I wanted to get her one too. I want her to have all of the positive reinforcement she can get. So, I found a long sleeve t-shirt with "Life is good" and a heart on it, and I thought that was perfect because life is good with her still in it and we all love her so much. I had a friend drop it off to the hospital for her to wear while she recovers and gets back to the girl we know.

Thanks so much,
Rebecca

Dear Bert and John, [founders of Life is good]

My name is Alex. I have a brother Nicky and we are ten. We both have some extra challenges in the world but at the end of the day we still have each other. When I was born I had to have my leg amputated. Nicky doesn't see so well since he is legally blind. We were both born early and weighed a pound so we have a lot of work to grow and get better.

I wanted to give your our picture with our best Jake smile. Me and Nicky have all of your shirts with the things we like doing best, but if you asked us what we do best and what makes us happy and laugh most, it is being together just doing nothing. If you ever decide to make a shirt with two brothers can you send us one?

You must have a lot but what my mom says is we're lucky and life is good because we will always have each other. You're lucky to have a brother too. I hope you do fun things together!

Your friends,
Alex and Nick

Dear Life is Good,

I have been working either as a US service member or a government contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan and several other less fortunate countries for the past several years. Life is difficult here and any taste of home is welcome, so I bring a LIG ball cap and T-shirts to all of these places to remind me of home. I came across your ball caps several years ago and I love your motto of "Life is good." It is important to keep this in mind when you are around poor conditions and constant danger.

Recently I had the chance to climb a mountain outside of Kabul, Afghanistan called "The Ghar." It is a trekable mountain that the service members use for a moment of recreation. At the top I was able to snap some pictures and have enclosed them in this e-mail. As a gesture, and paying forward the positive attitude of "Life is good" I give all of the interpreters that have been assigned to me a LIG hat and T-shirt...they love your stuff. Thank you so much for starting your company and helping us keep a positive mental attitude.

Respectfully,

Joseph
Kabul, Afghanistan

Dear All at Life is good,
Attached you will find a photograph of my most adorable 2-year old niece, Kaylee. Kaylee was born with cataracts in both eyes which impaired her vision. In the past 6 months she has undergone 8 operations while undergoing lens replacements in both eyes. As you can see from the photograph she now wears bifocal spectacles. Fortunately it appears as if her vision is good. She is the happiest, most contented, tough and brave little soul you will ever find.

I am a huge supporter of your Life is good brand and have been since first discovering it around 2000. Another interesting part of this story is that I live in South Africa which is a good many thousand miles away from the USA. Every friend that I have who visits the USA gets issued with a shopping list before leaving and this is how I "import" my Life is good gear. I am the truly proud owner of countless t-shirts, cotton shirts and caps, and have passed on gifts of Life is good articles to family and friends. Hence Kaylee is also a proud wearer of a Life is Good cap, amongst other items of clothing. Isn't the photograph a winner?

Please never stop producing your awesome range of Life is good articles.

From an ardent, far-away supporter,

Zani
Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Dear Life is good,
My son Jake started wearing your shirts when he was in 6th grade (1999?) This was even before you publicized the name of your character as being "Jake." He never goes out in public without wearing a Life is good shirt (unless of course, he has to dress up for some reason!) He has made "Life is good" his personal mantra and we were happy to buy him LIG shirts to support his positive outlook on life. It also made it very easy to shop for him!

He is 21 now and just graduated from college, and he is still wearing your shirts exclusively. As he would wear out his old tee shirts I packed them away in a box of "retired" shirts. I swore that one day I would do something with them. I had seen an idea for a tee shirt quilt and had originally planned to try to give him one as a present when he graduated from high school. Running a little behind schedule... I finally got it done for his college graduation! Since I am not much of a seamstress, I prepared all the shirts by cutting them to size and backing them with interfacing. Then I turned them over to a professional who assembled them into the final quilt. Needless to say, he loved his gift, and as he said... it was like giving him back so much of his childhood, all in one gift. I hope you will notice that his original LIG shirt (a child's size) holds the place of honor in the middle of the quilt... right next to your old graduation shirt that he wore in his senior picture when he graduated from high school! Of course, there were many other shirts that didn't make it to the quilt, but the 35 shirts here are a pretty good sampling, and of course, are all different!

I want to personally thank Life is good for giving my son a visible outlet to express his love of life. I strongly suggest that this type of quilt might be the best kind of recycling for old tee shirts! Thanks for a lot of good years and a lot of good memories. I have attached a picture of the quilt and of Jake!

Cindy

Hi there:

My husband lost his Life is Good wallet a week ago and we have looked everywhere for it since then. He was at home with our children the last time he saw it. Today I found a new box of wet wipes in the kitchen trash can (courtesy of our 2 year old) and told David and we decided maybe our son had thrown his wallet away also. We had not put out the trash to be picked up last week so we had 2 LARGE dumpsters full of trash. We had to emptied the first one.... no wallet. The second one was packed to the top with rose bush thorns, and leaves and stuff cleaned out of the flower beds. At the very bottom of that can there was one bag with his wallet in it with some chocolate cookie smashed on it (also courtesy of the two year old)! I was just going to send the picture which would have spared you these thousand words but anyway I wanted you to know how much my husband loves his "Life is Good" wallet - enough to dig through two dumpsters for it! I'll send you the pics!??

Here is my husband after digging through two dumpsters to find his Life is Good wallet!
Just a little worse for the wear, thanks to our two year old!

Gail

Hi there:

I am writing to tell you about my husband Dan.

A couple of years ago I purchased one of your t-shirts for him of Jake on a motorcycle.

Since then Dan has collected everything that he can possibly have to celebrate the fact that our own Life is good.

Attached is a tattoo that he had put on his arm last year to celebrate what he now calls his "brand".

For his birthday last year when he turned 54 years old, I purchased him a large Life is good flag that flies outside of our home, proudly being seen by all who drive by our southern Ontario home on Lake Huron.

I truly believe that the essence of your business will enable people to think positively about all that is good in their lives and that we have to be thankful for.

Every single day that my husband wakes up, life is good for him as he is truly the most positive, resilient, energetic, resourceful and overall "git ‘er done" sort of person that I have ever met.

It is a pleasure to have him in my life, as well as in the lives of our five children, our respective extended family, and now a legacy that we can pass onto our grandchildren.

On Good Friday our son and I were in Boston walking down Newbury Street and we of course had to stop into your shop to purchase two more Life is good t-shirts for Dan as well as a hat. Little did I know that this business started in Boston. The sales lady that waited on us told us about this web site, and I really hope that you can publish our story — it would thrill my dad.

Life is good!

Thanks so much,

Michelle (Dan's wife)

Dear Folks at Life Is Good,

Some years ago, I bought my husband his first Life Is good shirt — a tee with Rocket and Jake running on the beach. I was lured towards the display because Rocket looked a lot like our dog, Aslan.

Over the years, we've collected additional Life is Good shirts and hats — always with Rocket because Aslan was our own Rocket. He would go hiking and geocaching with us. He loved car rides and digging up the yard. And Frisbee — he LOVED Frisbee.

Sadly, we recently lost Aslan to a serious illness that struck out of the blue. But he lived the last days of his life as he did all the rest — at full speed.

Your motto "Do what you like. Like what you do." is how Aslan lived his life. He enjoyed every moment of every day. Over the 10 years Aslan shared his life with us, his attitude reminded us to enjoy the simple things in life. It was such a joy to watch him hiking — living in the moment of each new scent he caught. So often it is easy for people to get wrapped up in the craziness of life — dogs don't. Aslan saw it as his job to remind us that Life Is Good.

Even with the sadness of losing Aslan, we are comforted by his attitude toward life. He wouldn't dwell on the past; he'd be running ahead, eager to see what is around the next bend in the trail.

And so, we forge ahead on the trail of life, no longer
with Aslan, but with Rocket reminding us that Life Is Good.
And it is.

Anne

Second marriages tend to throw tradition to the wind, so we did. On the way to the rehearsal with wedding to follow 2 hours later we are all smiles. Bride, Groom and Best Man (future step-son) cruising to Chapel Hill listening to "Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married" and Crash, Boom, Bang and we have been hit and we are at a complete stop.

To spare all of the details, we suffered minimal injuries and got married on that day in September as planned, but my new husband was humored when I said, "My Life is good sticker was damaged in the wreck!" He promised, as he had done a lot that day, to purchase a new sticker for the new bumper and his new wife!

I am riding once again with Jake in tow:)

Lee and Lee Ann, happy together in NC!

To the loverly folks at Life Is Good,

Off and on for the past few years I have been very ill. No matter what the doctors said and did, I never felt any better. I was beginning to feel like I was crazy and even some people around me thought that I was. Recently though, I was able to get a diagnosis that actually made complete sense. I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus along with Raynaud's Disease. Both are auto-immune diseases and lupus can seriously impact your overall health. It has already ravaged some part of my body which I am hoping to get repaired in the near future, if insurance covers it.

The reason why I am writing to you is because I have one of your tattered graphic chill hats. I wear it every time I go outside because going out in the sun unprotected can cause me to have a flare. It's the only hat I have found that fits comfortably on my head and the fabric doesn't irritate my skin. I wear the hat so much that it has become part of me. The other week when I was in the hospital I actually missed having my hat on my head. Some of my friends thought it was weird seeing me without it.

Life is good though. Despite the fact that I do have a chronic illness that could one day disable me, life is good. Life is good because I'm responding well to treatment. Life is good because I have a team of doctors who care about not only my health, but me as a person. Life is good because I have my family and friends who are supporting me. Life is good because your hat helps to keep me from getting sick whenever I go outside!

Thank you for your amazing company and values!

Peace,
Erika

Dear Friends at Life is Good:

My big, red chrome cloaked truck was stolen.

I'll spare all the details, but to say it was devastating. It was the first brand spankin' new ride I had owned in more than 20 years -- and my first action was to stick a Life is Good sticker in the rear window.

The day after it was stolen, I was sitting in traffic in my rental, still ouching and frustrated by this invasion of security. You can imagine my surprise when I looked up -- right into the face of guitar playing Jake...my sticker!

Sure, the license plate had been changed, a wheel cover was missing -- but I also knew that MY truck was the only I had seen with Jake in the rear window.

I followed the culprit for more than 20 blocks before he saw me and sped away.

The next morning, the truck was recovered, with a few scuffs, missing wheel covers and all of my personal property gone...but it was spotted by an officer who recognized my lone unique identifier:

My Life is Good sticker.

There is nothing good about going through this experience. But your optimistic message helps the healing -- and helps, apparently, find stolen property!

Cheers,
Tim
Savannah GA

Hello,

I'd like to share some pictures and a quick story about my daughter, Maggie. About 2 months ago Maggie was diagnosed with a condition called plagiocephaly (simply put, a misshaped head). To correct the condition she was fitted with a helmet that she has to wear 23 hours a day for several months. Needless to say, a 9 month old baby in a helmet can draw some curious and awkward stares.

To help communicate to the world that our daughter is a happy, joyful, healthy child we stopped in at the Life is good store in Delray Beach, Florida and picked up a few Life is good stickers to adorn the helmet with.

What a difference they have made! Many folks have comment on how much they like Maggie's stickers and it's really been a great ice-breaker to help folks (and my wife and I) breach the sometimes uncomfortable subject of why she has to wear a helmet. Maggie is now 11 months old. Her head shape is improving every day and we anticipate that she'll be helmet free in the next 2-3 months.

Thank you for your wonderful brand and message,
Pete, Stephanie & Maggie

Dear Bert and John:

"Uno. Dos. Jale! Uno. Dos. Jale!" On each "Jale!!" we each gripped our tree branches, braced ourselves, and pulled with all of our strength, slowly inching our boat bargeman-style upstream along the riverbank. The force of the rain-swollen waters of the Madre de Dios river (Mother of God! in Spanish, and it must be said always with an exclamation point) were pressing against the side of our little launch, teasing us with a threat of either tipping us, or washing us back down the river.

Where was I? And how did I end up so screwed? And why am I telling you about this? Because your Life is Good ultimate disc saved my life, or at least saved the day. I am a researcher working in the Amazon forests of Bolivia in villages along the riverbanks of one of the major tributaries to the Amazon River. Transportation is always creative, involving boats, dugout canoes, barges, motorcycles, and anything that can get paid to move. That day, my research partner and I were on our way upriver when our boat motor conked out, leaving us to drift dangerously in the flood-swift current without paddles. We saw a house on the other bank, and so desperately we stripped the boat of boards and tried using them to paddle to the opposite bank. But the force of the current was too great and swept us on the opposite site of a large island in the middle of the river.

With determination, a big bag of coca, and as much upper arm strength as we could gather, she and I pulled the boat with tree branches up against the current. One hour later, we made it to the upstream tip of the island, within view of the house.

We shouted, we fired a pistol, we hollered again, but their tractor drowned out all of the noise. So that's when I grabbed my Life is Good neon orange disc and started waving it high above my head. In my line of work there are always a few free moments to toss it around with the village kids or start a pickup game of ultimate, and so I had made a habit of slipping it into my backpack for each trip. Usually it the first time that anyone has ever seen an ultimate frisbee, much less played, and everyone learns fast.

But this time I found that there are many more uses for a bright orange disc; the owner of the house saw a tiny orange dot in the distance, and pulled his boat out to see what it was. Saved!! They fed us and housed for the two days it took to find another boat to head up river.

So, Life is Good, thank you. Thank you from a hundred Bolivian village kids who have learned how to play ultimate, and from two researchers who will never forget to take it along.

Sincerely,
Kristen and Patricia

Salutations,

I wanted to drop a sincere note of applause for your product & message!

I am a legally blind runner losing my eyesight to a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa. About 3 years ago when I began considering marathons, I became blessed by the mentorship of a cancer-survivor friend who took me under his wing in training. As it happened, he had been using "Life is good" as a personal mantra, and his positive outlook & stubborn optimism were unquestionably infectious.

Now 4 marathons later (including 2 Bostons), my eyesight continues to fade — but my optimism never does. In August, my wife delivered our 2nd child, another baby girl, equally beautiful to her 3yrs older sister. I still have enough useful vision to see them both, and you can't beat that - LIFE IS GOOD!

Thanks for the opportunity to share,
Erich

Hi,

I just wanted you guys to know that I very much appreciate your brand and that it has special meaning to me. In August 2005, my daughter and I were attacked by a Grizzly bear in Glacier National Park. It was a pretty harrowing experience and a lot has been written about it. Just wanted to let you know that I have been wearing several of your shirts a lot since then and have been featured with your shirt on in several publications. You deserve the free publicity since I like the positive message of your clothing (and it fits great).

In February I will received a courage award through the LA marathon and I had a shirt of yours on during the videotaping for the NBC news and the reporter commented on how appropriate your theme is for how I am currently doing. Indeed, Life is good. Thanks for your product and I will probably run the Boston marathon next April at which time I will buy some more items in your store on Newbury Street again.

I attached 2 pictures, one the first time I was back on the Grinnell trail. They used this shot in Seattle Metropolitan and the second from this summer when Jenna and I finally finished the second trail we had planned to do that day. This was also the first time for her hiking again. Love your brand and they are selling it all over Glacier!

Thanks,
Johan

I lost my leg when I was four years old in a lawn mower accident. This past month I had a new leg made and wanted a cool design because I knew I would be wearing this everyday for about 2-3 years. I took one of your shirts and had it laminated onto the socket of my prosthesis. I have attached two pictures: one of the front with the golfer and the "Be the ball", and the back view with Jake and the "Life is good" slogan. The slogan personifies my attitude towards my situation, an attitude that anyone can see as I walk away and they read, "Life is good".

If you would learn more about turning "Life is good" t-shirts into prosthetics let me know.

Jeremiah

Hi,

Saturday, January 12, 2008
Two years ago, my brother bought about 12 Life is good stickers and put them in Christmas cards to all of us "from Mom." She had dementia and was in assisted living.

On Christmas Day, I realized that she was truly dying. On the 26th, I called you and ordered 200 stickers to give out at her funeral, whenever that was going to be.

She died early on Thursday morning, January 3, and on that Friday, I called you and told you that she had died, and that the funeral would be on Monday the 7th, and the stickers had not arrived…You said that you had sent them by USPS, and they should have arrived by then, but you cannot trace USPS mailings, sorry. We thought: que sera, sera.

Fifteen minutes later, Kim (I think. I was kind of weird and hazy by then) called back and said she had sent another 200 stickers by UPS next morning delivery. I thanked her, and it was hours later that I realized that she had said nothing about extra charges or anything.

On Saturday at 5 pm we got the USPS delivery, and on Monday (The Day) at 9:10 am, we got the second delivery!!

We passed them out as people were leaving the service. It was awesome!!!

I have told at least 50 people this story, and I cry most times. This is so rare for a business to act this way in this day and age. You have many fans for life. The check to your Life is good Kids Foundation is our thank you to you.

Fan for Life,
Andy

Greetings and Salutations,

First let me ‘splain that I was not born an optimist. Far from it. In fact, when I held up my "Life is good" mug today, someone who has known me for years naturally finished the statement he expected from me with "Then you die." And it's true, I was always of the "Life sucks, then you die."

But I've been on a mission to replace my negativity with positivity. To cut out the destructive thoughts and replace them with constructive thoughts. To become a born-again optimist. For me this has been an uphill journey.

I was at Dick's Sporting Goods last night shopping for shoes. It was late and my Memorial Day had not been the epitome of rest and relaxation. Suffice it to say that by the time I got to my shoe shopping, I was not in the best of moods. When I walked into the store, there was a display of sunny yellow mugs that read "Life is good." I pondered them for a moment, decided I shouldn't be spending $10 on yet another mug, and proceeded to try on running shoes. But "Life is good" just stuck with me.

On my way back, I spent some time in the section of the store dedicated to your merchandise and ended up leaving with two shirts, a mug and a hat. I've been showing them to everyone today and smiling just to look at them. And why? Because LIFE IS GOOD!

Last night, in my not-so-good mood, I needed something to remind me of that. And there was your sunny yellow mug to remind me.

I can't really express with words how moved I was by that. But I found you just at the moment I needed something to snap me out of the blue funk that was about to have its way with me. So I thank you.

~Amanda from Illinois

Hi,

I am writing you today to tell you about a person who embodies LIFE IS GOOD! The principal of our school came to us five years ago from another building where she was a special needs teacher. She has made our building a place where students, parents and staff feel welcome and look forward to coming to each day.

This year Boss's week (day) fell during our MEAP test. Our state's standardized test for students in grades 3-12. Our third grades where treated to special attention starting at a school wide assembly and then through out the week. Students received notes of encouragement special snacks and even an outdoor party with smores' and games. The students were disappointed today when they took the last section of the test. Students spoke all week about how they looked forward to the test and the special events surrounding it.

The staff spent the week coming up with fun ways to celebrate boss's week and make her life better. One class made Jake masks and visited her in her office, others wrote to her about how she made life at Frostick School good. Teachers added to a huge poster listing why they felt life was good here.

Julie Western works tirelessly to make life good for our Frostick Family of students, parents and staff members. Despite budget cuts and state expectations, she never gets down and always has encouragement for a student who needs it. She is always talking about getting outside with her friends and family. We have all heard about her cabin in the upper peninsula of Michigan and how much she loves to be there.

I think what really made me write this is the way that her enthusiasm has spread through out our school. Like it says on the back of her Jeep, Life is good, and she is one reason that it is true.

Jeffrey
Frostick School

This is a story of the year my wife and I fought and lost to Multiple Myeloma.

It started March 6, 2006 the day we learned that the pain she was experiencing was due to a disease known as Multiple Myeloma. A cancer that affects the bones! My wife said to me and others when she found out that this was not the path we wanted to take but it will be the journey we are chosen to be on. During the year+ journey we had to go to a clinic every day. Because of the port and IVs that Peggy had she needed some type of clothing that she could be comfortable in and still be able to handle the treatment. The one Tee shirt she had was a Life is good shirt and that one was worn many times that first week. I would return home for the hospital and wash it and give it to her the next day.

You have to understand that Peggy was a great dresser and a very proud person. She always looked great! As a result I wanted her to feel proud and not embarrassed because of what she was wearing. So I went to Dick's Sporting goods in Champlin MN, the only place I knew to get the Life is good shirts. As luck would have it they also had PJ's and lounging pants. So I purchased many matching outfits. These were worn by Peggy almost every day of the journey in 2006 and 2007. The nurses and the Doctors use to comment on how cute she looked.

Peggy passed on to a new spiritual life on March 24, 2007. It has been very tough for me to go on because she was such a part of me and together we had a wonderful life. I have been asked what I am going to do with Peggy's things and I just avoid the answer. I was noticing that I constantly looked at the Life is good clothing because there are so many memories in them.

I decided that I would take a quilting class and make a quilt from them. But you can imagine how much learning and work that would take considering I am not a seamstress. My sister in law recommended that I contact my Niece's Mother in law as she makes quilts. So I did and she stopped everything and made a quilt out of some 50+ shirts and pants that Peggy wore. The quilt is beautiful and very comforting. I wanted to share this with you as I doubt that anyone has made a quilt out of 50 Life is good garments.

Hope you enjoy this story and can understand that your product made my Peggy's last year a blessing.

Thank you to Life is good for designing a product that truly brings forth the message that Life Is Good.

Victor
In memory of Peggy

Hi "Life is good" crew,

I thought you all would enjoy the attached picture taken in Baghdad, Iraq where I have been for over a year. Playing Ultimate Frisbee with local Iraqis (teaching them the game has been a hoot!) and subscribing to the motto "life is good," even amidst falling mortars and rockets, has kept us going.

My dear friend sent me a bunch of your stickers, the disc, and a few other things. They are a huge hit here as you can imagine how much people are thirsting for reminders of life (rather than death) and even more so, reminders that life is good. I work for the State Department and we have even started a daily report the - good news goose — where we can note good things that have happened to us during the day. It's all a part of keeping the right focus.

Thank you so much for what you all are doing and for your infectious optimism and enthusiasm. It is felt in all corners of the world!

Cheers,

Janessa

Dear John and Bert,

My name is Beth and I am writing you from Ohio. I have a 12 year old daughter Meghan who has been a fan of your merchandise for several years. She got her first "Life is good" ball cap when we were on vacation near Sanibel Island FL. Meghan is quite a tomboy/outdoors lover and it became common to see her with her "Life is good" ball cap on literally during all of her waking hours in the summer months. She has a lot of ball caps but that one has always been her favorite. Little did we know at the time what a role this would play in her life.

This past August, our Meghan was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma — a rare form of cancer. This was discovered during a routine physical and we were all shocked because Meghan had no outward symptoms. She had actually just helped her team to win the softball league championship game in our town just 2 weeks prior to this discovery. Needless to say this was devastating news for all of us but because of the early detection, the doctors said that Meghan had a great chance to make a full recovery. Meghan has spent the last several months going through a grueling regiment of chemotherapy. She has felt quite ill at times and has lost all of her hair. Her favorite "Life is good" hat sure came in handy — not only because she has been wearing it to cover her sweet little head but that phrase has come to mean so so so much to Meghan, to her family and our whole community through this trying time.

People took notice of Meghan's favorite saying and not only did it inspire so many but she has received so many "life is good" hats as gifts — we must have them all! Of course her old worn one is still the one she wears most often. Her classmates would write those words on cards and posters that they sent home to her. Meghan says it best in this quote from a speech that she wrote and recently read at school to thank all of her friends and faculty for their support during this time. "One of my favorite logos has been ‘Life is good.' After I found out that I had cancer, that saying reminded me that even though I felt sick a lot, I should still look on the bright side because things could always be worse… I would soon be better… and life would be good again." We just received word that Meghan's last scans were clear and that she is officially in remission. She just completed her last chemo treatment yesterday and, after a bit of recovery time, life in fact will be good again for all of us.

We have not taken many pictures during Meghan's illness and now that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we took Meghan to her favorite outdoor spot the other day where a photographer friend of ours took some wonderful pictures of her. She of course insisted that she wear her hat in most of them. When we get the pictures next week I will send you one. Anyway — I know I am rambling but as we all take the time to celebrate Thanksgiving please know that your company not only makes folks feel good but it truly helped on young lady get through the toughest time of her life.

God Bless you,

Beth