The Gift of Courage: Everyday Heroes and the People Who Share Their Lives - Softcover

Streater, Ken

9780989208901: The Gift of Courage: Everyday Heroes and the People Who Share Their Lives

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0989208907 ISBN 13: 9780989208901

Publisher: The Gift of Courage, 2013

The gift of courage has changed your life. Reading this book, The Gift of Courage, will change it more.

Here are stories of eight brave and passionate individuals who simply act on what they know is right even at some risk to themselves. The risk is relative - from putting their lives on the line to simply stepping outside their comfort zone - but acting on what they know is right is not an option. They act regardless of fear or challenge. This is courage.

"Kelley's (one of the everyday heroes) story is one that anyone can take to heart, no matter what your particular challenge. The inspiring and honest telling of how she managed to come to a deeper, fuller appreciation of the gift of living, is one of the good news stories that resonate within every life."
--Meryl Streep, Academy-award winning actress

"This book is a reminder to us all that our finest moments are when we take those courageous risks on others' behalf. In a world where we are often disappointed in the lack of courage in our national and local political leaders, 'The Gift of Courage' is a respite. We see the difference everyday heroes can make in the lives of others. The reporting here is solid and the inspiration profound."
--Geraldine Laybourne, founder of the Oxygen Network and former President of Nickelodeon

These everyday heroes give something of their heart, from rescuing a trapped child, creating a social movement, fighting injustice, to just extending someone a hand. Once courageous energy is brought into the universe it spreads outward, grows, and perpetuates. Individual spirits are lifted and the state of with world is raised. This is the gift of courage.

Reading this book may inspire you to become more courageous and give more to your community. Buying this book gives to others as well; a portion of the proceeds goes to those who stories you will read and their respective organizations. Your purchase of The Gift of Courage makes you a member of a giving community.

"Ken Streater has created a collection of real life stories that not only grip your mind and heart, they uplift and inspire you. ‘The Gift of Courage’ is a gem, I'm personally better for having spent time with it, and you will be too. Read this book and you will be changed."
--Roger Seip, Author of the Best-Selling Book "Train Your Brain for Success"

"'Hero' often seems like an over-used word, but in 'The Gift of Courage' Ken Streater has compiled a valuable reminder that there are among us in our everyday lives those who have faced life-crushing challenges and used the experience to better the world around them."
--Lynn Schooler, award-winning author of 'The Blue Bear' and 'Walking Home.'

"The uniqueness of 'The Gift of Courage' is that it features ordinary people doing extra ordinary things. They are US and they light a path for each of us through our own trials and tribulations. You will be inspired by their persistence and resolve."
--Lew Hollander, author, winner of multiple Ironman triathlons, and the oldest racer to finish the Hawaii Ironman, at 82 years old.

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About the Author:

After half a century on earth, I realize that I am here simply to enjoy moments in an ongoing attempt at a life of benevolent purpose. Learning from and writing about the great people in this book helped me to recognize this. I hope I do them and this beautiful journey justice, and in telling their story make the world a better place so our children can know the blessings that I feel right now.

One of those blessings is the place where I live. Central Oregon is wide open country, nestled into a corner of the largest piece of undeveloped land in the contiguous U.S. It stretches through parts of Oregon, Idaho, California and Nevada. If you look at the “earth at night” poster, the darkest part of the lower 48 is this area. Redmond, a town of 25,000, sits on the western edge of this expanse, known as the Great Basin. We live just outside of Redmond amidst ranch lands with endless views of the nearby 10,000-feet tall Three Sisters Mountains. Starry skies filled with universal glory, forever Cascade panoramas, and traffic-free morning walks make our hometown heaven on earth.

My wife, Danielle, and I have the great joy of raising our children — Dawson, Delaney, and Dari — in this magnificent place. Here I make a living by writing and running a couple of businesses. Through the eighties, nineties, and early 2000's I was an international river guide, then a manager of a adventure travel company in Norway, and finally an owner of a large outfitting business that ran wilderness adventure trips around the world, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Iceland, Mexico, Idaho, Bolivia, and Norway. In the mid 2000’s, I traded my Tevas for ties, thinking that to be a good father I needed to be closer to home and to earn more money. It was during this period that I discovered that a life with purpose — serving others and sharing stories of individual and community greatness — was infinitely more rewarding than just chasing the dollar.

Today, I passionately and proudly coach my kids’ soccer teams, help them with projects like driving a go-cart in the Fourth of July parade or learning to dance the hula, tuck them in at night after doing "silly hat tricks" or the "jelly belly" dance, and then hold my wife as I blissfully have for twenty years. In a nutshell, I am blessed and grateful.

Thank you for taking time, by reading these pages, to learn of the beauty of purpose, joy of caring, and the gift of courage.

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