Reading some more
I'm not big into New Year's resolutions because most of the time I find that people rarely keep them, but I did make sort of a pseudo-resolution at the beginning of this year. Very simply, it was to read more. And by reading, I mean books. I've never been afraid of a newspaper's Sports section, good magazine or the Bible, but those don't count toward this commitment. Nothing too overwhelming yet. I'm mainly looking for ones between 120 and 300 pages right now. My origninal goal - very modest at best, but a monumental leap for me - was to read 12 books this year, averaging out to one a month. I've decided to up that to 15 because I should be done with book number 3 by the end of February.
I finished The Ragamuffin Gospel (Brennan Manning) in January and then read through The Barbarian Way (Erwin McManus) in a few sittings the first week of February. I really enjoyed both - Manning's for his grasp of God's grace and McManus' for his challenge to avoid "comfort" and the "taming" of one's faith. The Barbarian Way was similar in many ways to Wild At Heart, but it's a message that was worth hearing again.
Now I've kind of shifted gears and am reading Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips. It's kind of funny because this is a book that I bought for a class in my MBA program at USF, but never read. (sad to say, but that was a fairly recurring theme for me throughout college) It's billed as "executive strategies for tough times", which makes it sound very business focused. That's not the case at all. Even though each chapter is focused on a specific leadership principle, the book is really more Lincoln's life story. Phillips illustrates the trials Lincoln faced and successes he achieved, then recognizes the leadership qualities that made him great. And the principles highlighted in the book are good for any leadership situation and life in general. Anyway, enough of my amateur review of a book I haven't even finished yet. Still, I am amazed at all the things Lincoln faced before and during his presidency and looking forward to learning a little more about him.
I finished The Ragamuffin Gospel (Brennan Manning) in January and then read through The Barbarian Way (Erwin McManus) in a few sittings the first week of February. I really enjoyed both - Manning's for his grasp of God's grace and McManus' for his challenge to avoid "comfort" and the "taming" of one's faith. The Barbarian Way was similar in many ways to Wild At Heart, but it's a message that was worth hearing again.
Now I've kind of shifted gears and am reading Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips. It's kind of funny because this is a book that I bought for a class in my MBA program at USF, but never read. (sad to say, but that was a fairly recurring theme for me throughout college) It's billed as "executive strategies for tough times", which makes it sound very business focused. That's not the case at all. Even though each chapter is focused on a specific leadership principle, the book is really more Lincoln's life story. Phillips illustrates the trials Lincoln faced and successes he achieved, then recognizes the leadership qualities that made him great. And the principles highlighted in the book are good for any leadership situation and life in general. Anyway, enough of my amateur review of a book I haven't even finished yet. Still, I am amazed at all the things Lincoln faced before and during his presidency and looking forward to learning a little more about him.
posted by John V at 11:36 PM
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