A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller is an insightful look into the author’s life story. While avoiding a publisher for months, Miller discovered the value of a written story and a real life story. Through sharing his experiences in an eclectic manner, he realizes that he wants his life to write a different story. In a culture of celebrities and reality TV shows, people can become satisfied with watching someone else write their story instead of living their own life. Miller came to discover that he wanted to write a better story of his life by actually living. The tone of the book changes toward the end, as Miller gets involved in a bigger story. He finds people who are actually living and it changes his motives, internal make-up, and life as a writer.
Here are a couple of quotes from the book:
“People who really live good stories are too busy to write about them.” (p.113)
“My desire to live a better story didn’t motivate me to do anything. I kept sitting down and writing more and more boirng words into my life. And when I wasn’t sitting down writing boring words, I was sitting down watching television….I suppose it was the coversation with Jordan that finally did it, that finally helped me to understand how to tell a story with my life. It worked just like writing a book, you know. you just sit down and write something.” (p.114)
“Before I realized we were supposed to fight fear, I thought of fear as a subtle suggestion to keep us safe, or more importantly, keep us from getting humilated. And I guess it serves that purpose. But fear isn’t only a guide to keep us safe; it’s also a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a life that is neither meaningful or memorable.” (p.126)
Whether or not you read this book, I would encourage you to not spend your life watching TV or other people’s red carpet moments. Start living, dreaming, believing and you will discover you are writing a whole new story.
Watch Donald Miller share his take on writing your own story:
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