Livin' the Dream

This book is a self-help book that aims to be different than many others before it. Oftentimes, self-help books offer up an inspirational story from the author's life that seeks to motivate us. It's hard not to be motivated when reading about how someone overcame cancer, or worked their way out of extreme poverty, or overcame some form of disability. However, shortly after reading the book, the inspiration is forgotten and the reader is right back where he or she started. In order to create lasting change in a person that allows them to become autonomous, intrinsically motivated, and truly happy, you have to start with the person themselves. Livin' the Dream seeks to target the person's perspective and cause change that way. By combining classical philosophy with modern psychology research, the readers learn various perspectives and ideas on happiness which enables them to change their own perspectives. Because a person's perspective directly impacts how the person views the world, changing the reader's perspective effectively changes the world he or she lives in. To do so, the book discusses topics like choice, free will, death and loss, personality, and what is and is not under your control. Once the readers have done that, it's time for them to learn who they really are and then promptly overcome themselves and strive to always be better. This isn't a book that tells people what their dreams should be; it's a book that enables people to understand and decide for themselves what they believe their dreams should be and inspires them to live them every day.