You probably have this book on your shelf and have never really read it!
It’s Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” - and it is definitely among my top 10 must read books for anyone looking to create momentum in their lives.
So you know how thrilled I was when I found out that Audible is running a promotion for a free copy of the abridged “7 Habits” audiobook. If you are not a reader, you can get the highlights during a week of commutes!
You do have to create an Audible account - but otherwise it appears to be an easy download.
Hey, I have to be upfront - generally speaking, I’m not a real Oprah or Suzy Orman fan, but I saw this link to a free PDF copy of her book and decided to check it out.
I’ll have to say that there some good advice here to consider given the times…especially if given free! If you are wondering what do do about your finances in 2009, I suggest you grab it, since it’ll only be free until January 15.
What I liked best was her explanation of FICO and why it is now relevant again…
I remember posting a blog here at the beginning of last year 2008. Amazing that a whole year has gone by - my kids are older…I’m older! (Scary).
I think there’s a natural self-assessment we do at the beginning of every year. Did we accomplish what we wanted to? What changed? Am I better off or worse off? What did I learn? What should I keep doing…and what should I stop doing? What is still on my list and what am I taking off? Are my dreams still viable? What do I want to tackle next? These are all questions we wrestle with regularly, but they just seem more poignant now.
I watched a Rob Bell video recently that I had not seen before. I’ve seen a couple of the clips from the Nooma series. I’ve seen a couple of these segments but not all of them.
Take a look - it just might change your perspective on what is important - and why the “now” is important!
You’ve heard it before. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. A friend of mine sent me this video, and I thought it was a hilarious example of the problems men and women have communicating.
The reason? We have different brains! Not sure how “empirical” this is but play these anyway and laugh out loud!
It’s the day after Christmas - and now that the euphoria is over you might be a little bit worried about the VISA/DISCOVER/AMEX bill that will arrive in a week or two.
Is the secret to happiness as simple as simplification? I don’t know, but there are sure a bunch of good tips in this eBook. Leo Babauta is cleverly giving away the eBook to advertise his new book - but there are 27 pages of goodness to be had for the cost of a download.
The one the tempts me the most? Giving up cable (or in my case satellite). That would be 80×12=$960 a year.
The other one? Diet Cokes. I go through at least a 12-pack a week. At $3 (on sale) x 52 = $156. Though, I think it would be easier to get rid of cable that Diet Coke!
Other tips that I wholeheartedly agree with: 1) Go debt free - we use our debit Visa and an AmEx that we pay each month. The only other real debt we have is our house…and I’d sure like to have that paid off too. 2) Create an emergency fund - I like Leo’s goal of aiming for $1000 to start with - but you really should have 6 months of bills in reserve. Another reason to eliminate debt and simplify - it makes that number much smaller. 3) Create a spending plan - I need to do a better job here, but we’ve done more of this in the last year and it has made a major difference in the final scorecard.
Ran across this excellent list by John Kaufman. I’ve read probably 40% of these books and tend to agree with his selections. I tend to read 3-5 business books a year. Typically I identify at least 3-4 key concepts from each that shape the way I think.
I recommend doing the 10-days to Faster Reading as the first selection. I was already a fast reader when I read this (surprise to me - I thought I was slow), but actually improved my reading speed by 25% on average and my scanning speed by 100%. I’ve learned that for most business books, you can scan 50% of it and slow down and read 50%.
If you get through these 77 books - I will hereby annoint you with the the letters P.M.B.A. behind your name (though your mileage may vary)! Pick a couple, you might learn something!
Probably not as much as this guy who was trapped in the McGraw-Hill Building in NYC for more than 40 hours! That’s almost 2 days without food, water, shower, restroom, clean clothes. No bed, no blankets, no pillow. Light but no sun. Air but no breeze. It is a pretty good metaphor, don’t you think?
Where are you at in your life? Have you every thought about this scripture:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6 (NKJV)
I don’t want to oversimplify anyone’s individual situation. I’ve empathized, watched, and been in some pretty rotten scenarios. A great friend of mine told me something in one of the rough times that has always stuck with me. He said, “Look, there’s a point A and a point B. You are at point A. Your job is to make it to point B.”
Sometimes, you know exactly what the next step is - and you haven’t taken it. Pray to Christ for the life, or the courage to move forward.
Sometimes, you are faced with multiple options - and you are confused. Pray to Christ for the truth the be revealed, the best path for you (not necessarily someone else’s).
Sometimes, you have no idea what to do, and no options. Pray to Christ to light the way, and help you find an answer or resolution.
Don’t be surprised if the answer is “wait” or “be patient”. Don’t be surprised if the answer doesn’t come as you expect. Don’t be surprised if the answer doesn’t come all at once. Don’t be surprised if the answer is better than you expect.
I found this video today on YouTube while evaluating another book.
It is an unbelievable understatement to say that the world is changing - we are all in a constantly accelerating and expanding whirlwind of choices. The funny thing about this is - even amongst all this “connectedness” and “social networking” - there is a gradually impending the feeling that you (as in I - an individual) are a singularity. You can probably feel it now. The questions that mankind have struggled with for millennia are now even more glaring - “What is life’s meaning?” and “Why am I here?”
Two big points. First, the world moves, change happens, shift happens, but ultimately problems are still problems - opportunities in disguise. Second, Christ is still Christ - always was and always will be unchanging. As an educator, a scientist, and a Christian - I firmly believe that your success in this world is NOT in memorizing 10 Trillion Bits of information. You success is determined by your understanding of your core natures and aptitudes and your ability to react to and solve problems that YOU are good at solving.
More profoundly is that as your sense of singularity grows - it gradually sheds light on the vacuum in your life that God wants to fill. That is where 3:9 is different. We recognize that God has given you a unique set of gifts - you were certainly wonderfully made! But as wonderfully as you were made, you are not complete. You are not complete without others in community, and you are not complete without God. God wants you to live in who and how he made you - but he also wants you to call on him for your daily needs.
Find yourself and Find God. Two amazing journeys! Take them with us!
1. The book has moved along considerably - including a completely re-written, and deeper, table of contents. We are very excited about delving into the content.
2. An introductory seminar powerpoint presentation has been constructed and is ready to be shared.
3. Version 2 of the survey with automated results delivery is being tested and should be ready at the end of the month.
