We could use our circumstances as an excuse for not living our own lives, except that there are plenty of examples of people who have lived with self-leadership despite their circumstances. Timothy Ferriss in his book The 4-Hour Workweek shares many examples of how people will make excuses to do something even mildly challenging that would move them closer to the lives they dream of living. His book also contains some good case studies of people who have overcome the excuses, taken action, and achieved their goals