ALTERNATE REALITY is a collection of personal stories, essays, practical advice, self-reflection exercises and hands-on experiments designed to reset your focus, allowing you to see clearly once again what is right with your life, the world and the people in it.
As I offer with The Best Advice So Far and TRIED & (Still) TRUE, I want you to be able to get started reading ALTERNATE REALITY right now for FREE. CLICK HERE to download the opening of the book. Read it. Put ideas to the test by reflecting on the end-of-chapter questions and taking the challenges presented. And feel free to share your experience with me personally via the contact form on my Home page.
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Just after I released TRIED & (Still) TRUE, a global pandemic broke out. The world has known pandemics, wars, political crises, commerce issues and other hardships since the beginning of human history. But I noticed something new happening this time: the marketing of fear. News stopped being news and began to be more about personalities who seemed to be trying to outdo one another, riding on the old adage that “bad news sells.” Even when there’s been no actual news to report, videos abound with apocalyptic images and insinuating questions masquerading as fact. And I began to watch more and more people—people I know, people I love—being systematically broken down until all they could see anymore was what was wrong with the world.
The truth is, regardless of circumstances, there’s an alternate reality each of us can choose: one filled with hope, joy, purpose and real human connection.
Alternate Reality is a collection of personal stories, essays, practical advice, self-reflection exercises and hands-on experiments designed to reset your focus, allowing you to see clearly once again what is right with your life, the world and the people in it.
Reality is a construct. Watch any two “news” stations talking about the very same issue, and yet each will seem to be telling a completely different story.
More and more, we’re being sold a story of Fear. Worry. Anxiety. Gloom. Isolation. Suspicion. Division. We’ve come to accept these as the new reality. But they are only one reality—a reality brought about by incremental choices over time.
The truth is, regardless of circumstances, there’s an alternate reality each of us can also choose: one filled with hope, joy, purpose and real human connection.
As with all of my books and other writings, this book doesn’t quite fit as Self Help, Psychology, Inspirational, Motivational, Spiritual, Anecdotal or any of a number of other single sub-genres of nonfiction. However, if you were to mash all of the above together with a few other things (e.g., Business Success, Relationship, Humor, How-To, Memoir, Word-Nerd, etc.), you’d have whatever the genre of this unique book is.
Let’s just say that if Mark Twain, David Sedaris, Brené Brown and Judith Martin had brunch, I’d feel at home joining that conversation.
The tagline for this book is “The Better Life You Could Be Living.” It’s meant for anyone looking for practical help refocusing on what’s right with their life, the world and the people in it, instead of what’s wrong with these things. With this as the main focus, the book will appeal to a broad scope of readers instead of being targeted to one specific “target group” of age, gender, occupation, etc.
The book is an “easy read” in some ways—filled with entertaining, engaging and, at times, awkward stories that should be fun to read. It’s not the type of book you have to hunker down and read front to back in one sitting (though many do). While there is certainly a clear flow and direction, each chapter can also stand alone, delivering real insight of its own.
Each chapter contains questions for personal reflection or group discussion, as well as practical challenges so that you can put the knowledge to use immediately in ways that matter. It’s virtually guaranteed to generate new thought and, for groups, to promote real discussion.
As I’ve done with my previous books, I designed ALTERNATE REALITY to be flexible and far reaching in scope.
Any of the books topics—alone or combined with others from any of my books—may provide a starting point for those interested in inviting me to do keynote talks, workshops, group discussions and facilitation.
Each chapter also ends with “Questions for Discussion & Self-Reflection.” This was designed to be helpful for personal consideration or journaling, as well as for small group discussion (e.g., for book clubs, classrooms, workshops, etc.).
ALTERNATE REALITY also makes a unique and “keep-worthy” gift for anyone who is seeking life change, growth or purpose; or who is facing a significant transition such as graduation, career change, divorce, etc.
Doors have long represented transitions. However, the interesting thing about a door is that the difference between inside and outside comes down to one choice—the choice to stay where you are or to take a single step forward.
The door on the cover of ALTERNATE REALITY is also unique in that it is standing freely in the middle of a room, not connected to a wall. There are no barriers to you in living a life marked by hope, joy, purpose and real human connection. You don’t have to wait for circumstances to change. You just need to be willing to make one new choice. And then another…