I owe my grade school success to Hermione Granger.

Seriously. I think reading and rereading the Harry Potter books throughout my youth drilled in me the desire to do my homework with top-of-the-class attitude.

I read somewhere that kids fighting obesity had better success when they read fiction about characters going through the same ordeal. I can totally believe it.

Most recently, I read Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, in which I learn to respect the author as a determined athlete as well as an amazing, amusing writer. Reading about his training for marathons, triathlons, and ultramarathons probably had something to do with my desire to up my race goal this year from a 10K to a half marathon. Compared to Murakami’s goals, my little half marathon seems modest.

What is your current mission? Find a book about another heroine going through the same process, or a memoir of someone who is living your dream. Share what books have helped you in your quest.

P.S. Going Places and Running Races: Why I Run and Maybe You Should Too (Even if you have no interest in running, perhaps you will be interested in the totally embarrassing photo of myself I felt inspired to post on the internet to accompany this post a couple of years ago. Why.)