Book excerpt: This book explores how we have become frightened by the lofty expectations our ancestors had for us. How our fears have lead us to seek a risk free existence and how in the process we have forgotten that living is more then existing. To simply "get by" can hardly be the goal of a strong independent people and because of this we fool ourselves into believing that to exist is to live. We spin our experiences to match our underlying yet unfulfilled dreams. We deny the importance of a personal journey and settle into the role of bystander. In the end we slowly lose the strength of our individuality and accept a softness born from fear. This book presents a framework by which strength is reestablished and softness is forever lost. One that drives past the "getting by" mentality and leads toward honest living. Blazing a path by which the individual's terrain is made rugged so that the act of living is fulfilling and fruitful. Life is a struggle, but it can be a journey worth experiencing.