January is a month full of resolutions, goals and willpower. It is also a month in which I hear the echo of people commenting on how they will be ‘self-disciplined’ this year in order to achieve their goals. I used to be one of those echoes. I used to tout the value of self-discipline. Now, I challenge you to erase self-discipline from your vocabulary.

I will never regret a moment of my education, of the experiences I have sought or of those I strive to bring to my children. However, there is a price to pay in chasing such dreams. Inevitably, time changes everything. So does education.

How do you remain sharp? A master of your craft?

Strong is beautiful. We can be fierce, quiet, bruised, muddy, playful, serious. We can be all the things. We must remind each other, and our children, that this is the truth.

Buy this book. Give it as a gift. Remind someone, or yourself, of the strength, beauty and wisdom in all of us.