Andrew Gross went from the boardroom to the bestseller list. He walked away from a CEO's job to try his hand at writing. Two years later, he hadn't sold anything. Then - at last - his hard work started paying off.

Molly Hale suffered a catastrophic injury, but somehow managed to be "too optimistic" and left her doctors' expectations in the dust.

Here are twelve stories of real people who refocused their lives. They are inspiring, yes, but they also remind us that change is never easy. As Rosie Swale-Pope says, "You have to dig really deep." Rosie should know - she ran around the world in her early sixties.