The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Just heard that Stephen Covey passed way today at 79. He was the author of many books, but two that I feel are must reads for anyone really but all leaders for sure: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit.

The 7 Habits are:

- Be proactive

- Begin with the end in mind

- Put first things first

- Think Win/Win

- Seek first to understand, then to be understood

- Synergize

- Sharpen the saw

As a student leader at Moody we read the 7 Habits together and it was incredibly impacting, becoming one of my all-time favorites. Even typing them out I want to go back and again reread the book.

If you've never read these books just go to Amazon and get them NOW!

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• The 8th Habit

This is a video clip of Stephen Covey teaching on "Do the Big Rocks first" - a concept from the Put First Things First habit. One of my favorites:

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Today would have been Theodor Seuss Geisel's 108th birthday. I was thinking earlier today that I have never heard anyone say that they dislike his work. Sure it might have happened, it isn't like I have a photographic memory. But I really don't think I've ever heard someone say that. Have you? Seriously - who would? (Don't tell me - I honestly don't want to hear about it. The world can't have gotten that bad)

When I was younger Green Eggs & Ham and Horton Hears a Who were my top favorites. My fourth grade class did Horton as a play and I was one of the vultures who carried Horton away. Skimming his work on Amazon's page for the good Dr, titles I had forgotten are coming back to me like my grandma had just read them to me yesterday: In a People House, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, and Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You? When I was a little older and in school I remember being fascinated learning that Yertle the Turtle was about Hitler. And I remember reading and rereading and rereading and rereading Oh, the Places You'll Go.

Would it even be worth it if you could go back and change the past?

This past weekend I finished reading Stephen King's newest novel, 11/22/63. From his website, this is the book's premise:

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed forever.

If you had the chance to change the course of history, would you? Would the consequences be worth it?

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

Explore the Possibilities...

Stephen King is an amazing story teller. Though I've enjoyed all of his last few novels this is by far one of his best ever. It has a great pace that demands you don't put it down. As the description explains, the theme throughout is dealing with the past. Not just JFK's assassination, but the moment a little girl becomes paralyzed, the moment a boy's family is shattered, the moment a relationship is changed forever. This great book got me thinking.

And the 61 books I read last year were...

About 5 years ago I made the New Year's resolution to read 50 books in one year. Keeping track was just a list of authors and titles in a Word document. Since then I've kept 50 as my annual goal and have a Word document for each year. Whenever anyone asks me for reading suggestions I just skim those files.

2011 was a year of the series. Two years ago my friend Todd convinced me to read all of the Star Wars novels, so a bunch of those were gone through. Also discovered the Hunger Game books by Suzanne Collins and The Dresdin Files by Jim Butcher, both good fantasy series.

If the unintended theme of 2011 was "series." then I'm already seeing 2012's theme as being "reread." The 13th and final Wheel of Time book will be coming out this year (one of the greatest fantasy series since Lord of the Rings), so I've already begun reread that series. With a desire to get back to reading some classics, I have my sights on rereading "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Brothers Karamazov" to start that off. I also find my heart moving toward books that have been really challenging and encouraging to me in the past: "Orthodoxy" by G.K. Chesterton, "The Pursuit of God" by Tozer, "The Confessions of St Augustine," and "The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard.

So many books, so little time. But here are the 61 from last year:

What books would you read again and again?

While perusing books at a conference yesterday, I overheard a gentleman say, "That's 42." I had no context as to why he gave the number, but his colleague smiled and said, "Ah, the answer to everything."  

Seeing as we're at a theology conference, the initial man's response, "What are you talking about?" included a look of "you're completely bonkers." 

His friend looked perplexed, "You've never read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?" I couldn't help but smile. 

For the remainder of the day I was remembering how funny Hitchhiker is. By the end of the night I'd made up my mind it was for a reread. Realizing I've read it already three or four times got me thinking of other books like that. Books so good you've read them numerous times, and would read them again. Or those when as soon as the final page is turned you want to just open to the beginning and start over.

I started making a list last night of the books I can read over and over and over. It's good that I'm away from my shelves, because that this is coming straight from memory is further evidence of a love and appreciation for these stories. How important is something if you have to be reminded of it? Here's my list of books read and reread (I'm already thinking when I can start some of them again):

My 2yr old Jaxon & G.K. Chesterton

Monday we had lunch at a McDonalds near Midway airport. Because I was flying out for work in the afternoon, we went to this particular Golden Arches so I could laugh with the kids in the play area up till the last minute before having to head over to the airport.

It really is amazing to think of the minds that artfully concoct the different tube and slide patterns. Kids go through laughing and sweating and enjoying every minute, parents go through at the risk of needing reconstructive knee surgery afterward.

This particular play area had an enclosed section that I could actually stand up in, thanks be the maker, my head just an inch or two from the ceiling.  It was circular, about 5 feet across, and for whatever reason my two-year-old Jaxon loved this part of the structure. Probably because he didn't have to really climb anything to get to it, just one tube crawl into the enclosure. 

Processing 2010 - the books

I'm a freak about reading.  

There is always a fiction book and non-fiction book in my backpack, audio book on my Zune, and ebook on my iPhone - and yes I read them all.  I've written before about how I think people both should and can read more, maybe not as much as me, but more.  Don't avoid reading because you didn't like the books picked out by your mean junior high English teacher.  You're independent now - you can pick what you want to read!

Crazy Love for Free!

The 20's group that I lead at New Like Oak Forest just finished reading together the book Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. It is a a great book about what it means and looks like to be madly in love with God. It's a great book that I highly recommend you check out. Here's the book's website: Crazy Love.

The cool thing is that you can get it for free! Apparently the website ChristianAudio.com offers a free download each month, and this month it is Crazy Love!

It's completely legit. All you have to do is create an account to get the download. No strings attached, except probably an email from them a month.

CLICK HERE to go to the sign-up/download page. Make sure you use the indicated coupon code to get the book for free!

How to read a lot of books

A question I get periodically was asked again last night, "How do you read so many books?" The simplest explanation is that I love to read, it's one of my favorite things to do. Beyond that though, here's some practical things that might help someone read more:

- Pick books you'll enjoy. What might seem like a "duh" is actually a big reason why, I think, people don't enjoy reading: the books they've read aren't enjoyable to them. Maybe your high school teacher wouldn't let up on Shakespeare and you just abhorred it, so you have this nervous twitch that kicks in whenever you see any book because you're afraid of "to be or not to be." Reading isn't supposed to feel like a homework assignment, it's something that's meant to be enjoyed. Leave the wounds from your high school English teacher in the past and find a book YOU want to read because YOU'RE choosing to read it.

- Think correctly about reading. Reading is not a mere leisure activity. For some reading is actually part of their work's training/development. Obviously you shouldn't read for the whole day, and equally important, you should have your boss' approval. But to take a short block of time each day or a couple times a week should actually be expected and shouldn't bring a false sense of guilt that you are wasting time. It's called sharpening your skills. If you're in ministry, read books about ministry; if you're a teacher, read books about teaching; and so on.

- Make time for it. If you want to read more then you have to establish some type of rhythm in your week for when you are going to read. If I'm not having lunch with anyone then I read while I'm eating, I also read later at night when the rest of the family goes to bed. For you it might be cutting out a TV show, early in the morning, or an hour at a coffeeshop in the evening. But if it takes time to read then you have to make the time.

- Carry a book with you all the time. How often do you wait in line? How often do you wait period? I hate wasting time, and awhile back I figured out that it was my choice whether waiting time became wasted time. I started carrying a paperback around with me wherever I went. A few pages can be read while waiting in line at the grocery story and probably a whole chapter sitting in the doctor's office. If you ride the train a lot in Chicago then you're being handed blocks of time to read - so why not have a book with you? Don't waste time staring at walls or the back of peoples' heads when you could get through some pages.

- Listen to Audio books. How often you wait in line is one thing, but think about how much time you spend in the car, especially if you commute. To not get stressed out in gridlock I began listening to unabridged audiobooks. Unabridged means that someone is reading a novel word for word as it is in the hardcopy of the book. If I'm alone in the car I have an audiobook on, and I probably listen to two a month on average. A lot of libraries have unabridged books on CD that you can check out. I get mine through a subscription to audbile.com.

- Read a variety of things. Read fiction and read non-fiction, read older authors and read newer authors, read authors whose ideas you agree with and also those whose you don't. Book options shouldn't be treated like the same old menu item you resort to - books are like a buffet: the options change all the time and you can take whatever you want. I'm going to blog about this another time, but I don't think it's beneficial to only read one particular type of book. Balance is the key. At any given time I have a non-fiction book (normally what I read during the day) and a fiction book (read at night) that I'm reading (plus my audio book).

- Connect and discuss with others. When you run into someone who is or has read the same book you've read it can bring about an amazing conversation. Shared observations, insights, and meaninful reflections make it more than just a a good book you've read - it becomes a deeper connection with another person. Plus, if you are stuck as to what to read the best place to start is to ask someone what good books they've read. Just seeing them on the shelf I probably would have never read any books by Orson Scott Card. But, a friend of mine who knows I like fantasy highly recommended him to me and explained why he liked his books so much. Since that conversation a few years ago I've probably read over 15 books by Card and he's now one of my favorite authors.

Other than the above, the only other really big thing I could say is that you need to make reading your own thing. Don't compare your reading preferences and speed to others. I read on average 50 books a year and from a wide variety of topics and authors. I know of some people who read more than me and some who read less. Regardless, none of that should matter to you. If you only read 1 book a month that is AWESOME! Connect with others because of books, but don't think you have to become others. Just read, and enjoy it.

So go buy a good book and find some time to enjoy it. If you need ideas, the books I'm reading, have recently read, and my favorites are on the left side of the blog a little ways down.

The Blue Parakeet

Just finished this excellent book! If you have to read or study the Bible, if you own one, I highly recommend it.

Blue Parakeets are"those passages that are oddities in the Bible that we prefer to cage and silence rather than permit into our sacred mental gardens" (pg 208). McKnight's book is basically an introduction on how to read the Bible as story and why one should. He speaks of how people need to read the Bible with tradition rather than through tradition or even in just a read-to-retrieve mentality.

The subject matter is well-outlined and explained. It was very encouraging to me because it affirms many ideas and ponderings I've had about how we read the Bible, or even frustrations on how others do so.

On my Goodreads page I only gave the book 4 stars out of 5. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I feel like there needed to be more of an explanation on how to do actual Bible study within this paradigm. This book is more about paradigm shifting/challenging than a how-to book. A little more how-to and I would have given it that last star. My fear is that some would take his ideas about discernment and "that was for then this is for now" out of context and say about "blue parakeet" passages, "see - I don't have to do/worry about this." That is NOT what McKnight teaches in this book. Not at all. However, I think a little more how-to or at the minimal a little more emphasis on the need for good study would prevent this. He does give a good case study in the final section of the book, but that isn't to teach how-to but instead to show the concepts applied.

Highly recommend the book! Especially if you read/study the Bible regularly. VERY MUCH so if you've ever been frustrated with aspects of reading/studying the Bible. It will challenge & stretch some - but this is needed and good.

Kiss

I just finished reading KISS by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy. If you like suspense fiction, then you would probably like the book. Since reading Three, I've really liked Ted Dekker on account of the fact he is willing to deal with and examine the darker issues of humanity so as to shine light on them. If you've never read the Circle Trilogy - I highly recommend it.

KISS has nothing to do with Gene Simmons, his jewels, or the band. Here is a summary of the book from Dekker's website:

Sometimes dying with the truth is better than living with a lie.

After a car accident puts Shauna McAllister in a coma and wipes out six months of her memory, she returns to her childhood home to recover, but her arrival is fraught with confusion.

Her estranged father, a senator bidding on the White House, and her abusive stepmother blame Shauna for the tragedy, which has left her beloved brother severely brain damaged. Leaning on Wayne Spade, a forgotten but hopeful lover who stays by her side, Shauna tries to sort out what happened that night by jarring her memory to life. Instead, she acquires a mysterious mental ability that will either lead her to truth or get her killed by the people trying to hide it.

In this blind game of cat and mouse that stares even the darkest memories in the face, Shauna is sure of only one thing: if she remembers, she dies.

Without giving anything away, I think that the themes in the book are interesting and powerful. For that reason alone I would recommend this as a read. That being said, I didn't think the book had the punch at the end for me like Three & Obsessed did (especially Obsessed). Not that it is bad, I just had different expectations than what it delievered.

Read it though! We'd have an interesting conversation after you did, I do promise that.

Best of 2008: books & authors

Every year I try to discover a new author whose books I've never read - hopefully finding one that I'll want to read everything they've ever written or will have written. I don't always find such a writer - but this year I actually found two: Neil Gaiman & Brandon Sanderson.

I read Brandon Sanderson's Elantris because he was chosen to complete the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan's passing. If this guy is to be entrusted with that - I want to see what he's done. Elantris was one of the most imaginative pieces of fantasy literature I've read in a long time. Truly amazing in my option. I just started his Mistborn triology and though only a short ways in am still impressed with his story telling, and look forward to reading both the final WOT book and anything else Mr. Sanderson writes.

Neil Gaiman is a truly gifted writer. I read American Gods first. It took me a little bit to get into it, but that was because of my busyness in life at that time and lack of focus then anything with the story. It was a great story though. The next two I read from, Anansi Boys & The Graveyard Book blew me away and I want to read everything this guy has written now. Great, great author!

Specific books. I read a ton of fiction this year - I think probably because of everything going on in my life I didn't want to have a heavy academic diet this year. Read a lot of books that were part of series: The Alvin Miller series by O.S. Card (first 3 amazing, last 3 kinda blah), The Twighlight series by Stephanie Meyer (loved it), Brisinger by Christoper Paolini (superb), and then other single books here or there were also continuations of series (Ender in Exhile was a surprise both in that it came out and that it was fantastic).

I didn't read many books that I didn't care for. On the Road by Jack Kerouac wasn't a bad book - it just wasn't as good as I was hoping. Decent, but I guess I'm just not beat enough for it. The only bad book I read this year was The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson. OK idea - but just a DUMB book. I was really disappointed.

In addition to the series books I mentioned above, most of which were great reads, some other great books from my 2008 list which stood out are: Duma Key by Stephen King (outside of the Dark Tower books, one of this best this decade), UnChristian by David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons (if you claim to be a Christian you must read this book), Adam by Ted Dekker (one of his better books in awhile I think. More depth to the characters), and I am Legend by Richard Matheson.

But, after 48 books over 365 days, here are my top 5 of the year:

#5 - Your Heart Belongs To Me, by Dean Koontz

I've been somewhat disappointed by Koontz last few books, but this one hit me to the core. It was actually convicting in different ways. He broke from his normal formula/outline for this one and the story hits to the heart.

#4 - Byzantium by Stephen Lawhead

Recommended this book my Josh Weaver & Alex McNeil - the boys didn't do me wrong. This book had everything: adventure, spirituality, redemption, fighting - total guy book. I resonated with the main character's spiritual plight - and was encouraged by how it ended.

#3 - The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

One of my "I've give it a try" books this year was one of my favorite. The two themes in this book that really hit me in the heart were 1) how the ripples of one decision can go into not only the rest of our life but the lives of those most important to us, and 2) how secrets can ruin a family. A tad slow to get going - I thought it was an amazing story.

#2 - Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

I purposely waited to read this book - didn't want to jump on the band wagon. But, I needed to read this book when I did. I appreciated at an incredible depth this guy's journey and his insights and his ideas. I'm going to blog more in the next couple days about this book, so I won't get into things here - only will say this: I want to fall in love with Jesus again.

#1 - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I wrote in my review of this book that it is unfortunate that most people won't read it because of its size. What a story, what a depth, what a history, what a book! It is one of the best novels I've ever read!

Books read in 2008

Going into 2004 I decided I was for once going to fulfill a realistic New Year's resolution. People can't keep New Year's resolutions normally because the ones they make couldn't be kept by anyone. "I'm going to exercise everyday." Well what happens when you get sick? Sounds like a good one until reality hits. I wanted to make a resolution that was realistic to accomplish but one that would also stretch me. "I'm going to exercise once a month" obviously can be accomplished - but who the heck cares?

So my NYR that year was to read 50 books over the course of the year. To keep track I wrote down the titles and authors. By year's end I had 49 read. Failed - but how close can you get? So I tried the same the next year. Number of books read in 2005: 54. Yes, I have made and kept a NYR in my lifetime.

Since then I've unofficially tried to hit 50 books a year. This year I only read 48. In my defense - which is me comforting myself - one of the books I read was Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, which has around 1800 pages. I think that makes up for falling two short.

I thought it was beneficial to be able to look back and see the list of books I had read over the year. It helps for having something to look at when someone asks you for a book recommendation. So I've kept track of all of the books I've read since then, making a new list every year. So, here is my list of read books in 2008:

1. A Prayer for Owen Meany ~ John Irving
2. Seventh Son ~ Orson Scott Card
3. Crown of Swords ~ Robert Jordan
4. Elantris ~ Brandon Sanderson
5. Duma Key ~ Stephen King
6. The Appeal ~ John Grisham
7. American Gods ~ Neil Gaiman
8. The Emergent Manifesto of Hope ~ Doug Pagitt & Tony Jones
9. Dune Messiah ~ Frank Herbert
10. Red Prophet ~ Orson Scott Card
11. Sex God ~ Rob Bell
12. Apprentice Alvin ~ Orson Scott Card
13. Alvin Journeyman ~ Orson Scott Card
14. Heartfire ~ Orson Scott Card
15. The Crystal City ~ Orson Scott Card
16. 7th Heaven ~ James Patterson
17. Odd Hours ~ Dean Koontz
18. Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer
19. Les Miserables ~ Victor Hugo
20. New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer
21. Eclipse ~ Stephanie Meyer
22. The Shack ~ William Young
23. Communicating for Change ~ Andy Stanley
24. First Blood ~ David Morrell
25. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X ~ James Patterson
26. Anansi Boys ~ Neil Gaiman
27. Fight Club ~ Chuck Palahniuk
28. No Country for Old Men ~ Cormac McCarthy
29. UnChristian ~ David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons
30. Adam ~ Ted Dekker
31. How to Speak to Youth…and Keep Them Awake at the Same Time ~ Ken Davis
32. The Godfather Returns ~ Mark Winegardner
33. Breaking Dawn ~ Stephanie Meyer
34. I am Legend ~ Richard Matheson
35. Brisinger ~ Christopher Paolini
36. Black Sunday ~ Thomas Harris
37. A Lion Among Men ~ Gregory Maquire
38. The Subtle Knife ~ Philip Pullman
39. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter ~ Kim Edwards
40. Cross Country ~ James Patterson
41. On the Road ~ Jack Kerouac
42. Ender in Exile ~ Orson Scott Card
43. The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
44. Byzantium ~ Stephen Lawhead
45. Your Heart Belongs to Me ~ Dean Koontz
46. Wishful Drinking ~ Carrie Fisher
47. The Graveyard Book ~ Neil Gaiman
48. Blue Like Jazz ~ Donald Miller

Over the next couple days I'm going to comment on what my favorites (and not so favorites) were. I'm also going to think through my favorite music & movies from the year.

I'm not going to make any comments on the list or things for 2009 today though. It helps me to stretch out forward-looking-thinking.

I will say this though...Blue Like Jazz was a good book to end the year on. I needed to read it.

Blue Like Monday

After sitting in my office at Moody for a couple hours, listening to the new Metalicca album, grading papers & finishing up artwork for the next New Life series - I'm ready to go home. I've been looking forward to this week for awhile: being able to spend extra time with Jeannette & Baylee and family, being able to read a little more and play a little more. Tonight is Navy Pier with our neices & nephew. The Christmas marathon begins.

I purposely didn't read Blue Like Jazz when it first came out because most of Christiandom was reading it and loving it. If I can't get in on the first wave of people to read a book like that before it becomes "popular" I normally wait until the hype settles before I pick it up. The hype for Blue Like Jazz has been down for quite awhile, but it was just always another book on the "need to read" stack. Decided to go ahead and give it a try though - and am enjoying it. It seems similar to Orthodoxy by Chesterton, which isn't a bad thing. I can tell I'll probably like it, but there's still 17 chapters to read - so the jury is still in session.

After reading a chapter of it today though, the thing I've realized is that I need to revisit some books I've read in the past. People who know I'm reading Blue Like Jazz have made comments such as "that's my favorite!" or "that book really impacted me!" The typical cliches we use. But...I have those books as well, and for some its been awhile since I've read them. So, I think for 2009 I'm going to make a reread list of books. Need to stand in front of my library to make an accurate list, but here's what came to mind right now:

• Orthodoxy; G. K. Chesterton
• Mere Christanity; C. S. Lewis
  
• The Pursuit of God; A. W. Tozer
• Messy Spirituality; Mike Yaconelli
• The Jesus I Never Knew; Phillip Yancy
  
• The Trivialization of God; Donald McCullough
• Can Man Live Without God; Ravi Zacharius
• Mudhouse Sabbath; Lauren Winner

Too many books, not enough time.