Changing Direction

Book excerpt: Too many people fail to take control of their lives, allowing themselves to fall victim and accept whatever happens. When you choose to dream--and defy the naysayers all around--you can change direction and accomplish nearly anything you set out to achieve. In Changing Direction, Mary Miller lays out 10 choices anyone can make to impact his or her dreams. By concentrating on improving the future, you become a new, happier, and more energized person. Miller describes how she first seized control of her life in 1987 as a then-30-year-old, twice-divorced, single mother of three. She explains how she later found the fortitude--and support--to buck conventional wisdom and change the direction of the family business she led with her third husband, Tony. To address their biggest obstacle--turnover--they began encouraging people to achieve their dreams and developed the Dream Manager program, a world-renowned initiative helping employees identify dreams, set goals, and work to reach a better future. Miller explains that there are few things worse than having no control. You may feel lost. You may feel desperate. You may feel despair, but it does not have to be this way. Changing Direction weaves Miller's amazing personal story of triumph and transformation with 10 practical choices you can make today in order to move from victim to victor. To get started, all you have to do is dream.