Book Review: Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 by John C. Maxwell

As someone that studied leadership in college, I am fascinated by the books that go into leadership theory and how to become an effective leader. This book is a revised edition of a book originally published more than two decades ago. John Maxwell has updated his vision of leadership and then goes on to explain how to become an effective leader. He covers topics such as when is someone a manager versus a leader - this to me has always been the core to being a leader, moving away from merely managing people, projects or tasks to effectively leading a group of people and transforming not just yourself into a leader, but transforming the employees into a team. Hint: It takes more than repeating that there is no i in team.
He also covers topics such as how to effectively motivate people and get them to do their best because they want and not because you make them.
I also like that he still recognizes that a leader is an individual, not all lessons will be applicable to every reader and leaders in different situations may require different lessons. But overall, this book will be useful for anyone that is tasked with leading an effort be it in a company, in school, in T-ball or in a family.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Book review: Blessed Are the Misfits by Brant Hansen

The full title of the book is "Blessed Are the Misfits: Great News for Believers who are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They're Missing Something" by the author Brant Hansen. 

This is an interesting book and is intended for reader, who sometimes or maybe often feel at odds with the regular church and the traditional messages.  
The description makes it clear, if the church in its current form makes sense to you and you feel at hime here, do not read the book or you may feel lost, be uneasy and maybe even get a little bit mad.

This book is intended for people that may not appreciated the louder aspects of the religious culture seen in many churches, the TV evangelists and the people that are in your face religious. Religion to me and in our family was a very personal affair, that was independent of politics and the rest of society. While we, if asked, indicated our religious affiliation, we were not overt about which church we belonged and had no issues opposing certain lessons in the church or disagreeing with the leaders locally and nationally.

The author of this book is radio host Brant Hansen and he tries to assure people that not agreeing or fitting into the mold of the modern Christian is perfectly fine and acceptable and there is nothing wrong with you!

If you often feel that your subdued art of being religious does not fit in with the outspoken members your church - no problem. If you feel that making religious a very personal affair and are not willing to stand up in front of people or carry around signs showing your religious affiliation - no problem. This in your face, let me be hard attitude about religion is not always comfortable to people and the author shows that there may be more of these misfits than originally thought.

This book may not fit in with church teaching about mission work and being loud and proud about Christianity at every corner of your life, but for us quieter souls it is a welcome tonic that shows that quiet adherence to the Bible can be just as good before God than the endless desire to be open to the public about your beliefs.

available on amazon.com

 

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: Imperfect Justice (Hidden Justice) by Cara C. Putman

It looks like a clear cut case, a mother killed her daughter and with gun in hand was shot by the policy in a justified act of self-defense. But lawyer Emily Wesley knows the mother and knows also, despite all the facts pointing to her guilt in her daughter's death, that Kaylene would have never been able to harm any of her children. One daughter of Kaylene's is still alive and her uncle, Reid, is trying to visit, but prevented from talking to Kinley. Just like Emily has her doubts, Reid also believes that everything is not quire the way it seems. Why would Kinley's father prevent him from talking to Kinley? Does Kaylene's husband have something to hide?

Reid, who works as a financial investor and as sacrificed a personal life for his career, and Emily, who comes from a wealthy family and has dedicated her life helping women get out of abusive situations, band together to dig into this mystery that surrounded by the death of Kaylene and her daughter.

Together Emily and Reid unravel the mystery about the deaths of Kaylene and her daughter, find the real cupplprit and in the process save the life of Kinley, Kaylene's remaining daughter. They also realize that sometimes life and living is more important than hunting after success at work and the true value of a person is not necessarily their earning potential. 

Overall, a well-written mystery thriller that realistically describes how women can suffer in abusive relationships and the effects such lives have on children.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: Worry Less, Live More: God’s Prescription for a Better Life by Robert Morgan

In times of economic uncertainty, worrying tends to take over our lives. In addition to the personal issues we always deal with, now comes the worry about jobs, money, and often a good portion of political concerns are thrown in as well.In this book, the author, who is a pastor, tries to help readers to not have their lives be consumed by worry. While this book is focused on the Bible, I was hoping that some of the lessons given could also apply to people as a general guide. Unfortunately, this book is very tightly aligned with the Bible. It does not contain the generally applicable lessons and guidance I have seen in many similar books.
The author uses a good approach, by asking readers to look on bright spots in life and see the positive. But the author always goes back to specific Bible passages. Worry is not just reserved to Christians. In addition, as a pastor, the author should address all people in his community and the book just does not do that. To me, the book was a lot about interpreting the Bible and short on actual guidance on how to approach life and improve it.
It is disappointing that rather than show how lessons from the Bible contain actionable steps that everyone can use, the author focused on the Bible as a guidebook for everyone. Well not everyone is a Christian and this book does not help in bridging the gap between the religions.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

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Book review: ReSYNC Your Life: 28 Days to a Stronger, Leaner, Smarter, Happier You by Samir Becic

I have to admit that I had never heard of Mr. Becic before this book, but the title sounded interesting and with the New Years resolutions coming up, it was the perfect time to read up on fitness and lifestyle changes.
This book is about making healthy changes in your life and making changes that stick - this latter part is really important to me because as a busy working family, we do not have time to waste on fads that promise everything and deliver nothing.
Mr Becic promises that one month, 28 days, is all that you need to turn your life around and not make your healthier, but also happier overall. He clearly believes in a holistic approach to life and does include the mind and not just the body. With minimum equipment and using the body as its workout machine, this book can be used by people like me that travel and people that cannot afford gym membership. It does take discipline and does take commitment, but focusing on the mind in addition to the body, the approach is simple and is fitting into any schedule.
I am impressed with the approach because I used to do Pilates regularly and got into a good shape very quickly using no equipment and training about one hour a week combined with a healthy lifestyle. Back then, I was recovering from a serious illness and considering how bad I felt early on, the use of focused body-based workouts was amazing to me. The new components that I picked up in this book are the time for meditation, something I have never done before but I have heard from many people that meditation not just helps with fitness, but also general stress relief. And who does not need stress relief over the holidays with a house full of relatives?
I am excited to start on this routine and can now feel good about my me time since with a combination of work out, meditation and mind improvement, I can get 2018 off to a great start.

available amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: Never Look at the Empty Seats: A Memoir by Charlie Daniels

Anyone who has lived in the US and listens to the radio regularly will know Charlie Daniels and his song about the Devil that went down to Georgia. Charlie has been around the US music scene for decades and has outlived and outplayed many of his early contemporaries such as Elvis Presley. It is amazing to consider what legends this man has known, played music with and just met on a regular basis.
This book is my first direct introduction into the world of country music. I have seen movies and read stories, but I never before took the time and read a book by someone who has been associated with country music and the Southern US music scene for this many years. I am glad I made the decision to read this book. It reads like a crash course on music history of the Southern US and country music from the 1940s on. And despite being a crash course on music history, you get the feeling that Charlie Daniels never really wrote a book, but sat down and talked to someone who shared his interest in music. The book reads like a collection of stories that your old and wise grandfather is sharing with you. Written like a collection of stories in the tradition of the storytellers from the Appalachian Mountains, the book provides valuable life lessons in the form of stories. The reader can draw their own conclusions about what is important in life and people may make different observations in these stories, but anyone of the stories speaks of the experiences of Charlie Daniels from years on the road as a performer. Whether it is never being afraid of failure, doing what you love doing and doing it well or there is some form of reward at the end for hard work, the stories may be focused on Charlie Daniels' life as a performer, but deep down they are stories about people working and living and trying to be good at something.
There may be disappointments and there are maybe few highlights in your life, but you can still be satisfied with any achievement. I recommend this book to any fan of country music, Southern US culture and people just looking for a collection of good stories.

available at amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.