Book excerpt: The author recounts his descent into despair and his discovery of spiritual nourishment in the works of Aristotle, Emerson, Ben Franklin, and Plato, and enumerates the seventeen rules that helped transform his life. Og Mandino was one of the leading inspirational authors in the world. But once, he was a thirty-five-year-old derelict who nearly spent his last few dollars on a suicide gun. In A Better Way to Live, he describes the joyously redemptive process that turned a down-and-out alcoholic into a millionaire and a happy man within ten years. Og Mandino is the only person who could tell this heartwarming tale of personal triumph—because it is his own true story. And it can profoundly influence your life. Here are the principles that turned Og Mandino’s life around: his seventeen “Rules to Live By.” These simple, easy-to-follow rules comprise a sound, wise prescription for inner growth and for a fulfilling everyday life that will work for you—just as it worked for Og Mandino. You can avoid spending even one more day feeling failure, grief, poverty, shame, or self-pity. Here is a better way to live: a way that literally saved Og Mandino’s life, a way that can help make your dreams come true.