Completely wonderful and unique perspective for taking charge of your like and living it intentionally. Not one of those bullying business books but an inspiring take from a rather literary viewpoint. Highly recommend.

I loved Hero on a Mission. I found myself going, “aha; yep, that’s me!!” So many times as I read through it. It’s very relatable, easy to read through, and woven in with honest personal stories from the author. I like Donald Miller’s style; he makes it simple and enjoyable to follow and provide solutions to do better and live better. It’s a personal growth / development book I would recommend.

This book really resonated with me because I have done so much of the negative self-talk at times like Miller discusses. It's a really vulnerable and useful business book for entrepreneurs looking to scale and grow.

I had read many of Miller's older books, the ones that were more memoir and spirituality (as opposed to the business ones) - so I was excited to see him writing something more in that vein again.
In this one, he uses the structure of a good story as a framework for creating a good story of your own life... as in, each story has a victim, villain, hero, and mentor. Miller acknowledges that we are all each of these in different situations. But, to be the hero of our own story - which is what we want to aim for at least a lot of the time - we have to take action.
He next takes us through steps to create our plan of action, and each one builds on the things he's already talked about previously. He peppers these with examples from his own life, and ideas from other books he's read. (Many of Miller's ideas he credits to reading Viktor Frankl.) These are easy to follow, and the examples from his own life are mostly enjoyable.
There is space in the back of the book for the reader to work through the steps on their own, so the actual "meat" of the book ends before the last page.

I really enjoyed the way Miller uses storytelling to illustrate his points. He makes the book engaging and easy to read, and he helps us to see the parallels between our own lives and the stories that we tell ourselves.

It's a friendly and inspiring read that can help you make a positive change in your life. There are accompanying worksheets you can opt-in for and those are handy, as well.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are my own.

This is my first book by Donald Miller and I didn't know what to expect going on. Hero on a Mission is a self help book that uses storytelling to inspire and share it's concepts. It's easy to read , occasionally humorous and inspiring. I recommend this book to fans of self help and those that desire to know whether they play hero,villain or victim in their life story.

Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller is a continuation of his popular Story Brand method. He elaborates on the characters of our life stories. Once I started reading this conversational book, I found myself telling others about the victim, villain, and hero concept. And then I explained the need for a guide! These concepts take root and are helpful ideas for a modern society. This book would be a helpful resource for college and career counselors. Life coaches will find the content and methods helpful too.

I appreciate the transparency and stories throughout this useful book. Mr. Miller upsells to his Hero on a Mission (HOAM) Life Plan and Daily Planner, for anyone who wants a structured method. His concepts are adapted from logotherapy, a therapy created by psychologist Viktor Frankl.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley.

If we are tired of life, what we’re really tired of is the story we are living inside of.
And the great thing about being tired of our story is that stories can be edited.
Starting with the four character types we can all act out in our daily lives - the victim, the villain, the hero and the guide, Miller uses the analogy of creative writing to describe how we can all change our story and the roles we play to become the hero in the story of our own life,
Much of the book is given over to finding at least one purpose and drive that inspires you to experience a meaningful life and get out of bed in the morning with intention and motion. This has to be something something specific that you can accomplish, build or create.
The second part of the book is given over to using his life-planning methods and exercises.
There is a lot of repetition in this book and daily and annual planners are not for everyone but the principles are inspirational and worth your time.

A very good book by a very good writer. It explains similarity between life and a story. And to my surprise it inspires you to be best friend of the Hero instead of being hero himself. A simple and nice book with a wonderful cover.

An interesting enough trot into life lessons, taking inspiration from Victor Frankl’s work with logotherapy. I appreciated the literary perspective of the character archetypes (hero, villain, victim, guide). You’ll probably enjoy this if you’ve enjoyed Miller’s other works.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life by Donald Miller is an incredible book. I have always enjoyed books by author. I love his unique perspective on storytelling, literature, and life. I think this is one of his best books yet. This is not an overtly Christian book. Her refers to Scriptures and Bible stories. But he does so in a way that anyone can relate to. I think this book is one that anyone can relate to. I adore the way he talks about character roles in a story and how it relates to our lives. It is powerful and life-changing. I disagree that this approach is watered down in any way. I think Christians will get just as much out of this book as it is. Great read overall for anyone looking to make the most of their lives and inspire others to do the same. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

An enjoyable read that gives focus to life, our journey and our story. The author introduces us to four key roles that we interchangeably play in our own story. Moving from the victim ( why me?), to the villain (let’s make this happen to someone else) through to the hero (how to be the best version of me) and ultimately the guide where we are seeking to help others.
The narrative challenges us to think about our own thinking and behaviours in order to gain more meaning to our life. Useful additions to the book include tools and exercises which will help the reader to focus. It’s easy to read and is inspiring. A good self help book if you are feeling frustrated with your own story.

Donald Miller is one of the few authors who I've continued following for the past 20 years. I read a lot of books, too many, really, and only a small percentage of those books are by repeat authors. An even smaller percentage are authors of which I will read everything they write. Old Don is one of these few.

A caveat: Donnie did a major pivot in his writing career, as we all know. And as well all know, not everybody has been happy about this business pivot. Of course, it's Don's life and he can write what he wants to. I only say this for two reasons:

1. I'm not the business community audience he pivoted towards, so I didn't read those books.
2. The day this book--Hero on a Mission--was released, he made a video addressing his hordes of readers from his early years--Blue Like Jazz; Through Painted Deserts--and apologized for "moving on" and not taking us with him, and he said that this book was more like his earlier ones. I was excited. Then I read the book. While it's good, I don't think it's like his earlier ones. Here's what I mean:

Early Don was self-deprecating but not self-hating. He had self-esteem and humor along with a healthy dollop of humility. Later Don, propped up by business success, has become an answer man. He has become certain. Not that there's anything wrong with that. When you're in business people want answers, they want confidence. But here's the thing: Don's earlier books were about life, and God, and just like jazz life doesn't resolve, God doesn't resolve. So when Don wonders about life and God his wonderings are beautiful musings with few answers and even less certainty.

When people tell Miller--and they do tell him, too often--that they miss the Old Don, his reply, if only in his mind is, "I don't. The old Don was overweight and depressed." Of course we don't want Don to go back to being big and unhappy, but is it possible to be someone who has few answers and beautifully-crafted questions while still being healthy?

Perhaps it's a matter of viewing lens. What I mean is, Don has been in a business mindset for a long time now, so naturally his writing has followed suit. What about this? What if in Don's new life with his new daughter and his home all built, he spends more time relaxing and observing his daughter and wife and the nature behind his house, and what if this more relaxed mindset brings out something new? Not the old Don, and not the business Don, but something entirely new and fresh.

Miller has said he desires to seek political office. I hope wins, I really do. I appreciate his political spirit, or what little I've seen of it that he has posted online. But I also hope--and bet, if I was a betting man--that Don eventually gets back to his first love, which seems to be writing beautiful nonreligious thoughts on God and life and relationships and (now) fatherhood. If you've followed Don since the early days you'll remember his conversation with his Texas pastor about needing to leave home, needing to travel and see more than Houston, needing to venture off to the green lumpy places on the maps.

And if Don had never left home then he never would have arrived in Portland and had all those memorable experiences with Penny & Co. at Reed College and he wouldn't have found Lucy, and he wouldn't have made all those dumb dating mistakes and he wouldn't have gotten help at OnSite and he wouldn't have become the kind of man who could marry the kind of woman that Betsy is, and his daughter wouldn't even exist, and he wouldn't have become a hero on a mission.

I highlighted portions of this book. It's a good book and it will help a lot of people. The next time Don writes a book I'll be lined up to buy it. I can't wait to see what he does next.

This book was not my thing. I thought it would be more helpful in learning about marketing, but I don't feel like I got very much out of it. There were a lot of what seemed like tangents and unnecessary information.

I’ve always liked Donald Miller. I appreciate his honesty about how long it took him to grow up basically, with a faulty mindset that held him back from growth and maturity and success and contentment. I loved A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and how our lives are stories that need to be written. Hero on a Mission complements his past work and carries this story metaphor even further by explaining the characters in a story (victim, villain, hero, guide). To live a meaningful life, we must be intentional in its pursuit. His writing is easy to read but so full of insight and inspiration.

This was a really ... interesting ... read on a few levels, lol.

I read "Blue Like Jazz" back in the day, and recall loving it (it's on my "to be re-read" list). I'll admit I was a little sad that he moved on to writing for other genres (I totally fall into that group, which he calls out a little bit in this book--but not in a bad way!), so was really excited by this read. I'd read Viktor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" in 2021, and seeing Miller use it as a base absolutely piqued my interest--and excitement, for that matter. It's am incredible book.

But, I had a few problems with this read. "Becoming a better version of yourself" was on constant repeat; another admission: that phrase frankly drives me batty at this point--overused in books and social media, not to mention it places the center of the universe squarely on each individual person/reader's doorstep, But ... the center of the universe is God. So that displacement, paired with looking to ourselves/the human race for meaning with little mention of God ... was disheartening.

The read did call me to task on a few things, and I certainly felt convicted while reading the section on victimhood. But, the above really prevented me from fully enjoying the read or pursuing the planner/worksheets (which normally are things I am a BIG fan of).

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

dnf 33%

Althought the premise of this book was interesting, unfortunately it fails to find its place in the self-help or self-improvment genre.
The construction of the book doesn't work in more than one aspect, but to summarize it as best as I can, the message is overly abused and conveyed poorly.I can't even excuse it for being part of the genre, because I've read my fair share of books of the same kind (various topics) and it never seemed like they were filled with hot air. There were far too many repetitions, more than I've ever encountered, and after 75 pages it felt like the book still needed to start.
I'm really sorry for the bad rewiev that doesn't reflect my opinion on the author as person or as a writer, but merely my opinion on something that could have been thought, planned, and executed better.

Fantastic book - very helpful life lessons - useful for people doing reflective work, or seeking to improve and ;potentially transform their lives! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller is a memoir sharing his backstory and how his life unfolded to his current status as a successful business owner. He illustrates this story with the motifs of the victim, villain, hero, and guide and how he has acted as some of these characters in his past. With his memoir, Donald hopes to help the reader identify what role they are playing in their life and the steps needed to get out of an unwanted role.

Unlike other readers, I have not read previous novels from this author and picked this up just based on the summary. I found the memoir meets self-help format to be unique and made it more compelling than other self-help books. The writing style is easy to read and feels personal rather than distant or judgmental.

The first half of this book is predominately exploring the author's life and how he has been the various characters. However, in the second book it moves into a more typical self-help style. in the book there are worksheets that can be found using the QR code, which I found unique. This is a self-help book that also requires more from the reader as the reader must do activities such as writing their own obituary so you can determine the next steps for this obituary.

Overall, I really enjoyed this memoir and recommend it for those looking for a reflective, thoughtful self-help book along with it!

Many thanks to the publisher HarperCollins Leadership and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Those of us who started with Miller’s book Blue Like Jazz feel like we’ve grown up with him. You could laugh with him, sometimes laugh at him (in an empathetic way), and then be wowed when he stated a nugget of spiritual wisdom that summed up a heavy truth in a single sentence.

At some point Miller grew up and went into the business world to help others to be successful by helping them find their vision for success. That’s why I was excited to see a non-business book from him again. He’s now married with his first child and does what he did so well in his autobiographical early books, except that he’s grown up. His thought process is in the pages and he’s got a lot on his mind.

Intermingled within his story is a cliff notes version of logotherapy, a type of narrative therapy, from Viktor Frankl. His work really put things into perspective for Miller and for the most part got him to this point where he feels like he’s living the story he’s supposed to live.

The second half of the book is about writing your own story as the hero instead of the victim or villain. His storytelling concepts are solid. However, filling in the forms that he used and/or extreme planning on a calendar doesn’t work for everyone. There’s no accountability in filling out a form or calendar and just doing your best to follow it. Writing your own eulogy can be dark and trying to nail down who you want to be as a hero is not that simple. A licensed therapist would be able to help with these issues and get one going in the right direction. Many people will not live the better story that could be theirs because they haven’t processed what would be the painful preface.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this book.