This book is meant to be a message of hope, an inspiration, for all of you (and for me too) who feel stuck. I love these stories, because as a mom, I want my daughters, Caitlin and Emily, and my son, Thomas, to live and breathe in the belief of their own power.

One thing I’ve learned through my own experience is that it is entirely your own call what you can do. In collecting the stories for this book, I’ve been privileged to talk to many women and men who are reinventing themselves into bigger and better jobs or becoming globe-trotting volunteers. Some are kicking back from high-powered careers to pursue their passion for painting or landscaping, others are newly minted marathoners or yoga instructors. Most have somehow, through their second acts, found a way to inject meaning and purpose into their own lives and the impact they have on others, whether it is orchestrating a mega-fund-raiser for children’s cancer or demonstrating that an out-of-shape, approaching-fifty guy who smokes can cross the finish line of a marathon if he sets his mind and body to the task. What also strikes me is how happy they all are with the choices they have made to step out of their comfort zones and go after their dreams.

But, don’t suppose for one minute it was easy. I signed up for a swimming workshop so that I could return to my friends and proclaim, “Oh, well . . . I wanted to, but this swim instructor told me I am not a good enough swimmer to do a triathlon. Done.” Instead, he told me to “Shut up and get in the water. We’re all afraid.” I was busted.