by Alan Cohen.

What if someone close to you turned out to be a hero to millions? The seeds of greatness can sprout anywhere, through anyone. Every great person, from Galileo to St. Francis to Martin Luther King Jr., grew up as a normal person and did normal things with normal people. Probably none of their buddies expected...

by Katherine Gibson.

Self-doubters tend to dismiss compliments and embrace criticisms. They focus — even highlight — their weaknesses, ensuring that others see their shortcomings as clearly as they do. Eleanor Roosevelt's clever one-liner "No one can make you feel inadequate without your permission" says it all. Feelings of self-doubt are epidemic. It's a top-to-bottom, classless affliction.

Q: In step seven of your book, you talk about guilt as a great human weakness. I was brought up in a family where I was made to feel guilty for everything, and find it difficult to transcend this deep-seated emotion. How would you suggest I banish guilt from my life...

by Marie T. Russell.

Sometimes when things don't go the way I want, rather than sitting back and letting things go their own way, I start pushing and shoving and trying to make things happen the way I want... Can you relate to this one? Whether it's something at work, or at home, or wherever, we start getting forceful and insisting on things going a certain way (our way).

by Shane Archer.

A testimonial from someone who went from self-hate and self-destruction and ended up behind bars to discovering the goodness within and set out on a path of recovery.

by Jim Brickman with Cindy Pearlman.

Face it -- the one person you never spend time with is yourself. It's almost too mind-boggling when you think of the questions that would immediately come up if you did: Would I find myself amusing? And here's the big one: Would I even like myself?

by Philip Simmons.

It's been almost four years since I was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, a degenerative and ultimately fatal neurological condition. In that time, I've managed to finish climbing all forty-eight of the New Hampshire peaks above four thousand feet, a task begun at age six with my first ascent of Mount Washington.

by Tracie Ann Robinson.

There are so many ways that we can apply courage in our lives. Courage to speak one's opinion, to stand up for what is right, to face tough issues head on, to pick oneself up after an injustice, and to not necessarily do as everyone else does. Courage to be true to oneself.

by Tracie Ann Robinson.

A thought or decision can certainly redefine our direction in life and in love. There's a lesson in every experience. However, one usually doesn't figure out the lesson until well after the experience.

by Tracie Ann Robinson.

Failure isn't something I enjoy -- not that anyone really does -- but some of us are very hard on ourselves when it comes to failure, while some shrug their shoulders and go on. I valued public perception over my inner peace and individual needs.