Guts: Find Your Greatness, Beat the Odds, Live from Passion (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781633534759)

When Angela Duckworth wrote her best-selling book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance she could have been describing Sam Bracken who is the embodiment of living a life of grit and grace.

Learn self-empowerment. In GUTS, Bracken explains why we need to dig deep and do soul searching to see what lights our fire within. Bracken's backstory would make Dr. Phil turn tail and run. His childhood and upbringing are unimaginably tough with years of abuse, even to the point where a relative set him on fire. What didn't kill Sam Bracken made him stronger. Now he is on a mission to bring self-empowerment to others.

Grit and grace. When we say something takes guts, we usually mean it takes courage to do it. It takes guts to go skydiving or to run a marathon or to try out for the school play. We call it luck or stamina or intestinal fortitude in conquering the hard, albeit exciting, things in life. Look back at the great personalities who made a difference in history. What did they all have in common? Determination and tenacity. In short, GUTS! They might have had talent too, but without guts they would have gone nowhere. Science now tells us that lots of talented individuals produce great stuff, but very few produce a lot of great stuff─and even fewer produce a lot of great stuff over a long career. What do these few highly productive people have in common? Grit and grace and a large helping of self-belief.

Purpose driven life. GUTS is about actually getting there. You'll have to push past failure again and again. And it is also about beating the odds no matter how high they are stacked against you. To be a true leader, you have to start with yourself. Are you ready to do some soul searching and learn the secrets to guts, self-empowerment, and a purpose driven life?

If you have read Girl on Fire, Attitudes of Gratitude, or Sam Bracken's other book My Orange Duffel Bag, you will want to read GUTS.