Rough Weather Makes Good Timber or How Asset-Based Thinking Came To Be

If my brother Jim had not died when he was 22 of a usually easy-to-survive illness called mononucleosis, I am sure I never would have written 9 books.

I know I would not have founded The Stress Center at Saint Louis University. I certainly would not have dedicated my career to discovering what it takes for people to be resilient, optimistic, and confident as they face the great losses and disappointments of work and of life.

If it had not been for Jim’s death, my approach to life would be very...