The Transformational Odyssey

Finding Your Path to Personal Transformation and SelfRenewal

The Transformational Odyssey was written to help those individuals who are facing difficult life transitions, and who are attempting to successfully navigate tough life decisions and engage in deep selfdiscovery. Unlike other selfhelp books that attempt to provide readers with homespun advice for addressing difficult life challenges, The Transformational Odyssey shows readers how to take charge of their selfgrowth and development. It does this by providing readers with several applied techniques for engaging in deep selflearning in a more profound and fundamentally lifechanging way. The title, The Transformational Odyssey, reflects the book’s integrative metaphor of transformational learning as a personal odyssey of selfdiscovery. The word “odyssey” connotes a long, and sometimes arduous and meandering journey. Although an odyssey may present the traveler with unexpected trials and challenges, in the end it may yield increased wisdom and knowledge. Building on this metaphor, The Transformational Odyssey introduces readers to eight passages that they will inevitably encounter during their own personal odysseys of selfdiscovery. Each of these passages involves a uniquely different learning challenge that, as it is successfully navigated, increases the reader’s capacity for selfgrowth. The Transformational Odyssey is written in a conversational style, as if the author were sitting down next to the reader to share my fortyplus years of experience as a personal coach and life transition counselor. Since different people learn in different ways, this book incorporates a variety of different learning methods, including actual cases, exercises, suggested actions, famous quotes, and metaphors. For those readers to would like to dig deeper on a given topic, at the end of each chapter the author has included a separate section that introduces readers to related cuttingedge research in the field of human psychology. The topics included in these sections cover such areas as mindfulness, meditation, narratives, and future selves. ENDORSEMENTS "The Road to selfdiscovery is one that has been traveled before. The Transformational Odyssey explores this journey in a unique and different way, by beginning at the intersection of academic exploration and the examination of authentic experiences. Robert Barner finds ways to challenge his readers, while also guiding each person in a way that is most logical and emotionally transcendent to them. And he does so in an insightful, compelling way. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is ready to be vulnerable and wants to grow." ~ Kevin Beachum Jr. NFL Athlete, Investor, Speaker, Philanthropist "This is a dazzlingly ambitious book and it does not disappoint. Thoughtprovoking, compelling, and an extraordinary source of scientificallybased insight for anyone seeking to improve their lives." ~ Jim Loehr, Best Selling Author, CoFounder of The Human Performance Institute "The Transformational Odyssey enlists the reader in a powerful journey, grounded in their own creative imagination and wells of inspiration. This road of selfrenewal is exciting and dangerous and the work is not for the timid. Robert Barner knows the territory intimately and is a guide you can both trust and enjoy." ~ Charles J. Palus, Senior Fellow, Center for Creative Leadership "In The Transformational Odyssey, Dr. Robert Barner offers what few selfhelp books do a researchbased journey into selfawareness leading to real and sustained change. In embarking on this journey, readers will become more attuned to their experiences, more open to others, and more effective leaders, partners, parents and friends. I highly recommend this book for those courageous enough to encounter transformational learning!" ~ Jaime Goff, Certified Executive Coach and President, The Empathic Leader, LLC.