Copyright SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY Jul 3, 2003

DEL MAR -- Smile and laugh through the tough times. This has been motivational speaker Mary Marcdante's advice for years.

Easy for her to say, right?

But, unlike many speakers, Marcdante does more than spout off unwieldy advice.

Her latest book, "Living With Enthusiasm: How the 21-Day Smile Diet Can Change Your Life," is a plan to staying positive.

The 200-plus pages are filled with steps to bring out enthusiasm, questions of self-examination and, of course, the smile diet.

Exercises include putting on a 16-second smile, "as big as the Cheshire Cat" from the Alice in Wonderland books, first thing in the morning. Marcdante also suggests partaking in random acts of kindness and making phone calls that include a 30-second laugh, just to tell a friend they're appreciated.

She follows her plan, too. If Marcdante can't reach anyone during her drive to work, she phones her own voice mail and laughs on the recording.

During hard times, she imagines she's walking along Torrey Pines State Beach or spotting a school of dolphins swimming along the coast.

"When you feel a down time, acknowledge it and focus on something that feels good," said Marcdante, who recently moved from Del Mar to Carmel Valley. "Don't go into denial; just give yourself a break from the negative."

For five years, Marcdante has been giving her "Living With Enthusiasm" speech.

She later came up with the smile diet when she was part of the "Brighten Up and Smile: Your Self-Esteem, Your Smile and Your Health" 10-city tour for the Speaking of Women's Health Foundation.

During the tour last year, Marcdante learned a lot about the power of a smile. Each time someone smiles, endorphins -- the body's pain killers -- are released. Marcdante learned that smiling is a natural high.

"It's amazing how much of a difference a smile can make in your life and the lives of others. We take it for granted," she said.

So Marcdante devised a routine, including a three-minute body shake and positive self-talk in the mirror, to increase a person's likelihood of smiling. She combined this with her speech to create the book, released in March by Inspired Life Publishing in Del Mar.

In 1980, she began speaking professionally and founded her personal development company. Since then, Marcdante has traveled across the country to give presentations. Companies and groups such as Boeing, the Young Presidents Organization and Hewlett-Packard have hired her to motivate members and employees.

At a recent engagement at a Wal-Mart in Arkansas, Marcdante shared some of her smile diet tips with the group. Soon after, she received an e-mail from one of the employees who, along with her 4- year-old daughter, has been consciously smiling as soon as she wakes. Marcdante was delighted to hear that after three days of practice, the daughter woke up laughing.

For more information, visit www.marymarcdante.com.

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