Living on Purpose: Straight Answers to Life's Tough Questions by Dan Millman

[Nick]

This is a great book! I've copied and pasted Dan Millman's own words below. If you like them, you may want to consider reading the book. Also here is a link to the author's website: http://www.danmillman.com//index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

My first really successful book was Way of the Peaceful Warrior, followed by Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior, two narratives that blended fact and fiction.  Then I began a decade of non-fiction guidebooks like No Ordinary Moments, The Life You Were Born to Live, The Laws of Spirit, etc.

I came to a point where it seemed as if I had written what I have to write, and was contemplating a return to narrative stories and an end (as far as I could tell at that point) to my non-fiction guidebooks.  But one idea, one project, wouldn't let me go.  "Write me first!" it said.  You see, I had always loved collecting quotations; it has been a hobby for 20 years.  And I had a wonderful collection of quotations and anecdotes I thought would make a good compilation.  Only the publishers weren't really that enthusiastic.  "We want something written by you, Dan, not just your quotation and anecdote collection."  But my editor at New World Library saw a potential in the project, if I could just put it together in a compelling way. 

That's when I realized I also had collected quite an array of letters -- questions written to me over the years, and my responses (which our assistant said were really quite good).  That's when the idea came to me to present a number of what Socrates called "The House Rules" -- spiritual principles to help guide anyone through life.  So I ended up organizing the book around 24 of these essential house rules.

The book became my most reader-friendly book, because it could be read in bite-sized sections, about seven pages each section.  It begins with a question -- then I pose one of the house rules as an answer, and clarify what that rule is about with a short epigraph.  Then I included two questions and answers related to that central house rule -- along with some favorite quotations on that topic.   And the book was born.  It works that way, sometimes -- with an idea that hasn't quite come together -- with a sudden revelation about how it can all work.

My readers are still catching up to me, discovering that when you've read one Dan Millman book, you most definitely have not read them all.  And many who have read Living on Purpose: Straight Answers to Life's Tough Questions have said that it is their favorite for its accessible, practical wisdom and real-life examples. That's where the book came from. As to its destiny?  Only time, and readers' word of mouth, will tell...

[gillian]

I love Dan Millman's books, I'm looking forward to reading this one.  It's going to be interesting to see what inspires Dan.