Recommendations

Monday Mentions 8.02.21

I’ve had the privilege of meeting John Maxwell a few times. I’ve read a lot of his books and given dozens away. Anytime I see him teach, I am inspired by his desire to keep learning and to keep adding value to others. Out of all of the books he’s written, this book may be the book he was born to write!

From Amazon:

Whatever the desire of your heart—better schools, better neighborhoods, more positive workplaces, more connected families, or more engaged communities—Change Your World will guide you through the entire process to take action and start making an impact today right where you are.

You can bring about positive, lasting change in the world, and you don’t have to be rich and famous or lead a big organization to do it.

Global leadership and development icons John C. Maxwell and Rob Hoskins provide the inspiring and practical roadmap to get started being the change you want to see—in your community and beyond.

For many of us, the world we live in feels broken, yet change is easier than we think. Learn from the firsthand experiences shared by the authors from their work helping to transform communities, businesses, and millions of lives around the world.

In Change Your World, they show you how to

Identify your cause
Live out the values that make a difference
Become a catalyst for change
Join the right team or recruit one of your own
Work together with others to make a difference
Measure your impact and keep improving

You’ll not only be encouraged to make a difference based on the needs you see around you; you’ll be equipped to take action and start making an impact today.

A Lesson I’m Learning

When I’m wrestling with a situation, trying to figure out the best path forward, I’m learning to ask the question: “Whose needs are being met?”

Scripture reminds us over and over again to put the needs of others first … to live with a posture of service.

So if I’m putting my needs first, I’m probably making the wrong decision. If I’m bending to the singularly focused need of someone else, that probably isn’t the right decision either. But if I’m putting the good of the many first, I’m probably on the right track.

What do you think? Do you agree?

Worth Another Mention: Scribd

I recommend Scribd at least once a year because I think it’s a fantastic service. Scribd is basically the “Netflix” of ebooks and audiobooks. For one (reasonable) monthly fee you can access thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, documents, sheet music, and more!

If you are looking for a way to read more or listen to more audiobooks, please give this a try and let me know what you think. If you use my link above, you’ll get 60 days free.

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

The smallest action is better than the biggest intention. No one ever intended their way into greatness. We’ve been waiting on others to change the world. You don’t get attention by talking. You get attention by taking action.” — John C. Maxwell

Monday Mentions 7.26.21

A Book I’m Reading – The Wright Brothers

I started reading this book a few days ago. It came highly recommended by a few friends. I can tell it’s going to be a good one. One friend said that he was sad when the book ended … it was written that well!

From Amazon:

The #1 New York Times bestseller from David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize—the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly—Wilbur and Orville Wright.

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two brothers—bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio—changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe that the age of flight had begun, with the first powered machine carrying a pilot.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity. When they worked together, no problem seemed to be insurmountable. Wilbur was unquestionably a genius. Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen. That they had no more than a public high school education and little money never stopped them in their mission to take to the air. Nothing did, not even the self-evident reality that every time they took off, they risked being killed.

In this “enjoyable, fast-paced tale” (The Economist), master historian David McCullough “shows as never before how two Ohio boys from a remarkable family taught the world to fly” (The Washington Post) and “captures the marvel of what the Wrights accomplished” (The Wall Street Journal). He draws on the extensive Wright family papers to profile not only the brothers but their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them. Essential reading, this is “a story of timeless importance, told with uncommon empathy and fluency…about what might be the most astonishing feat mankind has ever accomplished…The Wright Brothers soars” (The New York Times Book Review).

A Lesson I’m Learning

My friend, Tiffany, recommended I include a lesson I’ve learned over the past week. I love the idea!

I’ve been thinking a lot about tolerations. Tolerations are typically things that are draining and distracting, yet we put up with them. Tolerations come with a cost. When we deal with tolerations, it can create space for higher leverage activities and remove some of the day-to-day drain.

Another friend says it this way:

“People would rather live with a problem they can’t solve than apply a solution they don’t like.”

A Dashcam I’m Looking At: Venture N4

I have several friends who have dashcams in their cars. I didn’t use to think I wanted one. After seeing a number of posts from friends, I’ve decided to try this one out. The idea is that if you get into an accident, etc., you have evidence of what really happened. I wish we didn’t need “evidence”, but the world is crazy!

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

No bird soars in a calm.” — Wilbur Wright

Monday Mentions 7.12.21

A Book I’m Reading – Managing Leadership Anxiety

From Amazon:

You Can Learn to Handle the Onslaught of Internal and External Pressures

Does anxiety get in the way of your ability to be an effective leader? Is your inability to notice when you and those around you are anxious keeping you “stuck” in chronic unhealthy patterns? In Managing Leadership Anxiety, pastor and spiritual growth expert Steve Cuss offers powerful tools to help you move from being managed by anxiety to managing anxiety.

You’ll develop the capacity to notice your anxiety and your group’s anxiety. You will increase your sensitivity to the way groups develop systemic anxiety that keeps them trapped. Your personal self-awareness will increase as you learn how self gets in the way of identifying and addressing issues.

Managing Leadership Anxiety offers valuable principles to those who are hungry to understand the source of the anxiety in themselves and in the people with whom they relate. Readers will be empowered to take back control of their lives and lead in mature and vibrant ways.

A Game-Changing Travel Accessory – Luggage Bungee

I often travel with a rolling bag plus a briefcase or duffle. It is convenient when the smaller bag has a slot to slide onto the handle of the larger rolling bag. But what do you do when the small bag doesn’t have a slot? Answer: Buy this inexpensive bungee!

I used to try to balance the small bag on top and would get easily frustrated when it didn’t stay. Not anymore! This $9 bungee makes it easy for any bag to stay put on top of the roller. I wish I had thought to buy one of these sooner!

A Restaurant to Try – Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar

My good friend Beth Sudderth told me about this restaurant today. As soon as she mentioned it, I made a mental note to take Laura there very soon — she loves raw oysters! Shuckin’ Shack is a small franchise with fantastic reviews. Let me know if you try it!

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

Anxiety shrinks the power of the gospel because it presents a false gospel—one of self-reliance rather than reliance on God.” — Steve Cuss

Monday Mentions 6.28.21

A Great Book – Team of Teams

From Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of My Share of the Task and Leaders, a manual for leaders looking to make their teams more adaptable, agile, and unified in the midst of change.

When General Stanley McChrystal took command of the Joint Special Operations Task Force in 2004, he quickly realized that conventional military tactics were failing. Al Qaeda in Iraq was a decentralized network that could move quickly, strike ruthlessly, then seemingly vanish into the local population. The allied forces had a huge advantage in numbers, equipment, and training—but none of that seemed to matter. To defeat Al Qaeda, they would have to combine the power of the world’s mightiest military with the agility of the world’s most fearsome terrorist network. They would have to become a “team of teams”—faster, flatter, and more flexible than ever.

In Team of Teams, McChrystal and his colleagues show how the challenges they faced in Iraq can be relevant to countless businesses, nonprofits, and organizations today. In periods of unprecedented crisis, leaders need practical management practices that can scale to thousands of people—and fast. By giving small groups the freedom to experiment and share what they learn across the entire organization, teams can respond more quickly, communicate more freely, and make better and faster decisions.

Drawing on compelling examples—from NASA to hospital emergency rooms—Team of Teams makes the case for merging the power of a large corporation with the agility of a small team to transform any organization.

A Fantastic Restaurant – Taqueria El Antojito

Laura and I tried this restaurant out and loved it! Laura got street tacos. I got a burrito that was bigger than my head. I also tried the roasted street corn. All very delicious!

My Barber Shop – Flow Factory’s New Location

My friend (and barber) Christian and the crew at the Flow Factory have a 2nd location now. The new location is located on Lake Lanier Islands Parkway, next door to the Dog House. If you need a fresh cut, hit the link above. You won’t be disappointed!

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

The temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing. A gardening approach to leadership is anything but passive. The leader acts as an “Eyes-On, Hands-Off” enabler who creates and maintains an ecosystem in which the organization operates.” — from Team of Teams

Monday Mentions 6.7.21

A Helpful Book – Quiet Leadership

This is a really helpful book. Please don’t let the word “leadership” keep you from considering books like this one, even if you don’t have a leadership position. Many of the principles in leadership books apply to relationships in general.

From Amazon:

Improving the performance of your employees involves one of the hardest challenges in the known universe: changing the way they think. In constant demand as a coach, speaker, and consultant to companies around the world, David Rock has proven that the secret to leading people (and living and working with them) is found in the space between their ears. “If people are being paid to think,” he writes, “isn’t it time the business world found out what the thing doing the work, the brain, is all about? ” Supported by the latest groundbreaking research, Quiet Leadership provides a brain-based approach that will help busy leaders, executives, and managers improve their own and their colleagues’ performance. Rock offers a practical, six-step guide to making permanent workplace performance change by unleashing higher productivity, new levels of morale, and greater job satisfaction.

On-demand Spiritual Resources – RightNow Media

RightNow Media is a fantastic resource for spiritual growth. It is an online streaming library of more than 20,000 Bible study videos. It is a kind of Netflix of Christian Bible studies. Use the link above to create a free account.

A Book for Parents – Praying the Scripture for Your Children

My good friend, Matt, recommended this book as a resource for parents. He HIGHLY recommends it.

From Amazon:

There is no need we will face in parenting–or that our kids will confront in their lives–that God has not already thought of, and provided for, in his Word. And there can be no greater privilege than partnering with him, through our prayers, to accomplish his best purposes in the lives of the people we love.

But where to begin?

In this updated and expanded edition celebrating the twentieth anniversary of a modern classic, you will discover how using the Bible to shape your desires and requests opens the door to God’s provision–and frees us from things like worry and fear in our parenting!

It teaches you how and what to pray for your child(ren) in the following areas:

faith
character
safety
relationships
the future

Plus, all-new material includes sections on praying for a child’s sense of identity, praying for their use of technology, and building a prayer legacy with specific strategies and a collection of child-friendly Bible verses designed to help children anchor their hope in God’s Word.

A Quote from I’m Thinking About

They need leaders who help them shine, who help them fulfill their potential at work.” — David Rock

Let’s change the world together!