EXCERPT: 'Changing Your Course'

May 12, 2008— -- Ever feel like running away from the stress of everyday life? Are you unhappy with your career and want to spend more time with your loved ones? New England entrepreneurs Bob and Melinda Blanchard were looking for a fresh start, and found it after working hard to move to Anguilla. After moving, the couple were able to start a successful business there.

To hear how the Blanchards changed their lives for the better, and how you can follow in their footsteps, please watch the video to the left of this text. Please also find the introduction to the couple's new book, "Changing Your Course," below:

The Advice we're about to share is not what you've heard before, nor is it presented in a conventional way. Changing your course requires active participation on your part. Our shelves at home are filled with dozens of self-improvement books on how to follow your dreams and live a fulfilled life. Each of them makes a strong case for doing something you're passionate about. Some are workbooks with so many assignments and tests that by the time we've finished filling in all the blanks and writing every essay, we've completely lost track of what we'd set out to accomplish in the first place. Others are huge volumes full of advice, but with no real game plan for actually making a change.

This book is different because we write from personal experience and have successfully followed each of the steps we've outlined here ourselves. But you can't undertake a life change by simply reading a book. We can give you the best information and inspiration in the world, but you still have to do the work, even if you just take baby steps at first. It's not the size of the steps that matter, it's how you feel. You have to think what you love, plan what you love, speak what you love, feel what you love, and live what you love every day.

Change starts with a dream. You may not have a crystal-clear vision of where you want to be or what you'd like to do, but chances are, something inside is telling you that life could—and should—be better. There's a dream stirring. It's a yearning for something different, a new direction, a new beginning. It may be about going back to school, changing your career, or moving to a warmer climate. It may be about turning photography into a moneymaking sideline, or devoting time to protecting the environment. Whether the change you want to make in your life is small, medium, or large, the steps are the same. Every important element of your life—the passion, the people, your environment and money—must be addressed.