Book excerpt: For the many inspired by Anthony DeStefano's A Travel Guide to Heaven -a remarkable tour of the pleasures God has in store for us in the next and everlasting life-more inspiration is here in A TRAVEL GUIDE TO LIFE, offering an enlightening tour of the kind of deeply meaningful and happy life we can live here on earth. DeStefano outlines the path that can lead each and every one of us to renewed faith, understanding and fulfillment. With simplicity, honesty and a personal and practical look at the challenges God places before us, he outlines a reassuring and hopeful framework for living the life God has designed for us all ... even if we're not sure (yet) that we're true believers. DeStefano offers hope and optimism to everyone-committed Christians as well as struggling doubters, agnostics and even atheists-whether we've lived exemplary lives or are sinners who've lost all hope, whether we're struggling to keep a roof overhead and food on the table or are seemingly successful and surrounded by material wealth. This frank and inspiring guide incorporates that crucial element so often missing from other self-help and personal development books about living a happy life: spirituality and a living, working faith in God. Clear and basic "Lifetime Principles" are at its heart, to be followed whenever we are ready to begin, no matter the lives we've lived, no matter the baggage we carry, no matter the faith we've had (or lacked) up until now: Accept yourself as one person - body, mind and spirit, all connected and interrelated - the way God created you. Make a decision to start over - you can do it any time, on one tiny part of life or everything in it - and begin living the way God intends. Take action - start with just one small step and each successive one will be easier - following the example God gave us as Jesus moved from infancy to manhood and wisdom, His momentum growing step by step. Put God first - most importantly of all - wholeheartedly if you can, or hesitatingly if your heart still harbors doubt. DeStefano's personal no-holds-barred yet joyful style is always positive, always encouraging. Travelers who take this incredible journey with him will come to truly understand that when we take up the crosses in our lives - the whole of our lives, the good and the not-so-good - and follow God, He will transform it all, making everything brand new and granting us the strength, peace and happiness for which we yearn. So take heart. Take hold of the powerful path open to you on the pages of A TRAVEL GUIDE TO LIFE. And take your place in God's happy universe, living out the humble requests asked in the prayer taught by Jesus Himself: "...Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."