New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller shares the plan that led him to turn his life around. This actionable guide will teach you how to do the same through journaling prompts and goal-planning exercises. There are four characters in every story: The victim, the villain, the hero, and the guide. These four characters live inside us. If we play the victim, we’re doomed to fail. If we play the villain, we will not create genuine bonds. But if we play the hero or guide, our lives will flourish. The hard part is being self-aware enough to know which character we are playing. In this book, bestselling author Donald Miller uses his own experiences to help you recognize if the character you are currently surfacing is helping you experience a life of meaning. He breaks down the transformational, yet practical, plan that took him from slowly giving up to rapidly gaining a new perspective of his own life’s beauty and meaning, igniting his motivation, passion, and productivity, so you can do the same. In Hero on a Mission, Donald’s lessons will teach you how to: Discover when you are playing the victim and villain. Create a simple life plan that will bring clarity and meaning to your goals ahead. Take control of your life by choosing to be the hero in your story. Cultivate a sense of creativity about what your life can be. Move beyond just being productive to experiencing a deep sense of meaning. Donald will help you identify the many chances you have of being the hero in your life, and the times when you are falling into the trap of becoming the victim. Hero on a Mission will guide you in developing a unique plan that will speak to the challenges you currently face so you can find the fulfillment you have been searching for in your life and work.

Female drug addicts are often stereotyped either as promiscuous, lazy, and selfish, or as weak, scared, and trapped into addiction. These depictions typify the "pathology and powerlessness" narrative that has historically characterized popular and academic conversations about female substance abusers. Neither Villain Nor Victim attempts to correct these polarizing perspectives by presenting a critical feminist analysis of the drug world. By shifting the discussion to one centered on women's agency and empowerment, this book reveals the complex experiences and social relationships of women addicts. Essays explore a range of topics, including the many ways that women negotiate the illicit drug world, how former drug addicts manage the more intimate aspects of their lives as they try to achieve abstinence, how women tend to use intervention resources more positively than their male counterparts, and how society can improve its response to female substance abusers by moving away from social controls (such as the criminalization of prostitution) and rehabilitative programs that have been shown to fail women in the long term. Advancing important new perspectives about the position of women in the drug world, this book is essential reading in courses on women and crime, feminist theory, and criminal justice.

WHAT IS THE STORY GRID? The Story Grid is a tool developed by editor Shawn Coyne to analyze stories and provide helpful editorial comments. It's like a CT Scan that takes a photo of the global story and tells the editor or writer what is working, what is not, and what must be done to make what works better and fix what's not. The Story Grid breaks down the component parts of stories to identify the problems. And finding the problems in a story is almost as difficult as the writing of the story itself (maybe even more difficult). The Story Grid is a tool with many applications: 1. It will tell a writer if a Story ?works? or ?doesn't work. 2. It pinpoints story problems but does not emotionally abuse the writer, revealing exactly where a Story (not the person creating the Story'the Story) has failed. 3. It will tell the writer the specific work necessary to fix that Story's problems. 4. It is a tool to re-envision and resuscitate a seemingly irredeemable pile of paper stuck in an attic drawer. 5. It is a tool that can inspire an original creation.

We are all actors in a play, for which the stage is set every day, in every workplace. Owners, managers, employees, customers and suppliers are all part of the constant, swirling emotional drama, a drama we call The Plot, involving victims, villains and heroes. This book explains how to step out of emotional dramas in the workplace.

Charles, Prince of Wales, has long been the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation. Everyone assumes that they know the story of the Prince's life and his failed marriage to Diana. Diana herself told the world in no uncertain terms about her unhappiness with the British Royal Family, leaving no doubt as to whom she held responsible. But Diana's version was only part of the story. Penny Junor's new biography, Charles: Victim or Villain?, reveals the startling complexities and contradictions of a man born to a position of unique privilege. On the occasion of the Prince's fiftieth birthday it provides fresh perspective and entirely revolutionizes the way we think about Charles, his marriage and his mistress. Drawing on the memories, experiences and observations of those closest to the Prince, the Princess and Camilla -- some of whom have never spoken before -- Penny Junor is in an unrivaled position to explode and explain the popular myths. Her analysis of the Prince's marriage to Diana, a vulnerable but difficult young woman, and his relationship with Camilla, earthy and independent, results in a provocative new portrait of the man who will be King.

An honest look at the messiness of life when you are forced to live the life you didn't imagine. Salt Water and Honey is a story about pregnancy loss and childlessness that doesn't end with a baby. It's told from the messy middle, allowing space for the tension between faith and loss to remain rather than trying to neaten it up with solutions and reasons. Lizzie has experienced the pain of multiple miscarriages and writes honestly about her struggle and fight to find God in her suffering. She is honest about the low points and the pain, but she also shares her journey as she comes to understand that her true identity is not defined by motherhood but by being a child of God. Lizzie's story provides a safe space to remind people that they're not alone, it's okay to grieve and their story matters. Covering many universal truths such as unanswered prayer, grief, disappointment, vulnerability and faith in crisis this book is actually for anyone who has lost their dream and is struggling to understand that their story still has meaning and purpose even when life looks nothing like they hoped it would.

Whether you are branding your company, your product, your service, or yourself, learn to boost the power of your story and convey a compelling message in any setting by incorporating villains, victims, and heroes. Compelling stories exalt, motivate, and acculturate every worker in an enterprise. They also attract customers and media alike. Imagine an elderly man, snowed in, unable to shop for groceries until a supermarket comes to the rescue and delivers his food. The story of this company going out of its way to help a customer in need will resonate not only with consumers but also with employees. This book explains not just how to tell a captivating story, but also what elements—namely, villains, victims, and heroes—it should include in the first place. This approach is based on the notion that in business messaging, the villains may just be your best friends. The "villains" are simply any problems that cause pain, discomfort, or extra expense for customers, who are in effect the "victims." As for the "heroes," they are best illustrated by the supermarket going beyond expectations. Who in business wouldn't want to emulate that company? If your products and services offer real solutions to customers' predicaments, there is nothing more powerful than communicating that message and making sure your potential customers remember it.

The domestic sex trafficking of minors is a problem of growing concern yet little critical attention. This book analyzes the forces behind the sex-trafficking industry in the United States and provides a much-needed reference for practitioners. It adopts a holistic approach, pursuing a nuanced exploration of these young people's experiences, their treatment, and outside efforts to combat sex trafficking. The book features interviews with service providers and experts, and incorporates recent research, thereby mapping the complex factors associated with young people's involvement in trading sex and the social connections that facilitate their behavior. It considers the experiences of both those who "choose" sex work and those who are forced into it by circumstances or third parties, and it discusses the networks of friends and close acquaintances who introduce newcomers to the trade. In addition, it takes a hard look at how local and federal responses to trafficking increase young people's vulnerability to trading sex. Urging policymakers and practitioners to move beyond the simple framework of "rescuing" victims and "punishing" villains, this book calls for policies and programs that focus on the failure of social and cultural systems and respond better to the young people caught in this web.

Today's books on "emotional intelligence" fail to address half of the problem...how we feel about people and things. If you or somebody else is engaging in nonsense, no logic or intelligence is going to solve it. Because that's not what created it!The 40| |40 Solution is the right book for you if... You ever engage in self-limiting nonsense. (Of course, you do.) You ever fantasize about going to work... and having nobody to deal with that day. You are exhausting yourself trying to control everything and everybody. You would like the people around you to "step up to the plate". You're having challenges making sales, even if all the logic is there for it to happen. You feel stuck in your career...and things need to change. You feel stuck in a relationship...and things need to change. You know what you need to do...but you are still not doing it. You want to be better at coaching and serving people. You would like an emotional roadmap for being a great leader.The 40| |40 Solution is your unique guide to Mastering Emotional Energy! It is the solution to ending painful and destructive dramas, whether in the boardroom, coaching session, sales meeting, at home, or in conversations with yourself. Unlike most emotional intelligence books that focus on thinking your way through emotional problems, this book helps you learn how to feel your way through them. So that you can feel good about yourself afterward."Don has a way of breaking down the complex emotional energy in relationships to basic, common sense, matter of fact thinking. It's like reading a guidebook on how to takes the noise out of how we communicate. The best takeaway from The 40| |40 Solution is the space it allows for co-creation. My team has heard me say a thousand times that no one of us is smarter than any two of us. When living in the 40/ /40 teamwork is fostered." - Don Mader, CEO, Southeastern Printing"The 40/ /40 Solution refocuses leaders from working in your business to working on relationships in your business and encouraging others to become their own hero. It also reframes our job to make people feel good. As a leader and 80%er, I did not realize the effect I can have on people who feel judged. Thank you for pointing this out Don. I know there are many others like me who could benefit from The 40| |40 Solution" - Alan Sorkin, Master Chair, Vistage International, Inc."In The 40| |40 Solution, the authors show you how to apply emotional energy (yours and others) to work for you instead of against you. The practicality of The 40| |40 Solution and the common-sense psychology behind it surprised me. I highly recommend this book!" - Mike Young, Esq., Mike Young Law"I have been a voracious reader most of my life, particularly in the areas of leadership, management, and organizational transformation. Not much surprises me anymore. But reading The 40| |40 Solution by Don Phin and Loy Young was an exception for me. The book provided new and powerful insights into the emotional dynamics of good leadership. This little book delivers the goods. Buy it. Read it. And we'll meet you on the 40-yard lines." - David Dibble, The New Agreements For Leaders"The 40| |40 Solution harnesses the power of emotional energy to inspire and motivate. I highly recommend his book and associated workshops to business leaders looking for new and creative ways to engage their professional team." Sharon R. Bock, Esq., Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County - Sharon R. Bock, Esq., Clerk & Comptroller Palm Beach CountyIn October 2018, Don Phin presented his updated version of The 40| |40 Solution. He's been wowing our clients in-person and via Webinars for 17 years. Grab his new book. Catch his in-person performance. And, it's not just for salespeople. It's for life. - Preston Diamond, Managing Director, Institute of WorkComp Professionals

David J. Locke is a would-be journalist with lofty aspirations. Following an incredible lead, he sails the high seas in search of Captain James T. Hook, resolved to uncover the pirate's version of what happened with Peter Pan.Adventure abounds during Locke's travels; unexpected revelations lurk around every dark corner. An old seaman befriends Locke and guides the inexperienced reporter as he learns truths about Hook he never expected.