Conventional wisdom once taught that with enough training and encouragement any person could successfully accomplish any task. Author, Marcus Buckingham, leads the way in busting this myth with his newest release, Find Your Strongest Life, published by Thomas Nelson. In this book, targeted specifically for women, Buckingham pairs his expertise as a strengths-based solutions consultant with twenty years experience working for the Gallup Organization to demonstrate what the happiest and most successful women do differently.
As it turns out, today’s woman has more opportunities than she’s ever had before. She also has more responsibilities. Therefore, every moment of each of her days is filled to the brim with activities, thoughts and relationships. Not every moment, but only specific ones fulfill her and make her happy .
Buckingham defines how to identify these strong moments and draw them out. Then he shows you how to create more of them, so you can live your strongest life. To accomplish this he uses real life character sketches of women he has counseled, pointing out how each handled similar situations differently, then compares the end results. Additionally, Buckingham shares several studies, such as one done on men and women measuring their level of happiness at various stages of their lives. Midway through the book, Buckingham suggests that the reader take the Strong Life Test found online. He goes on to explain what the results mean and how to use that information to the best advantage for finding your strongest life.
I found the Strong Life Test to be surprisingly accurate in describing what circumstances make me feel most fulfilled and purposeful. Also, when Buckingham explained how "Attention Amplifies Everything", he showed me how the principles he discusses can be put into practice for strengthening relationships, such as marriage.
Sure, it does take practice. You can’t make the best choice every time. But paring away the choices that make you feel weak and learning to choose what makes you feel strong is what this book is about. I recommend reading Find Your Strongest Life to help you do just that.
10 comments:
Great recommendation. We ladies sure don't "tick" like our male counterparts.
The one thing I've found sorely lacking in my of the books written about our success-quotient is how it's linked to our walk with the Lord. It's touched on, but rarely developed.
I may just have to read this new work.
Blessings,
Kathleen
This sounds like a good one. Like Sassy Granny says, most of these types of books don't have anything about how having God in your life goes along with success. I'll have to look for this one.
Though I did not mention it in my review, it didn't escape me that, as Sassy Granny touched on in the comment above, this book did not link our walk with Jesus to the measure of success we experience in life. I think it is a very important piece to leave out.
I do think the book has some solid points, but could benefit greatly from weaving in the wisdom that comes from knowing God.
Heidi,
Sounds like a great book to work along side the Bible in a variety of different situations.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Great job, Heidi. I know you were having a hard time writing this, but you did a GREAT job!!! You made the book sound very interesting. Kudos to you, and keep the reviews coming.
This post is outside my area of expertise. But cause I love ya, I stuck in there anyway. I'll tell the Mrs about it. She may be interested.
Great book review Heidi! And Yay for you for getting it done. Darn I'm behind again. :)
You're right about it not being a spiritual read but I believe Marcus is a Christian and the book is based on a biblical foundation. When I read Now Discover Your Strengths, I was amazed at what God showed me about himself just because I weighed it against the Bible as I read it.
Great review!
Hey Heidi! I'm reading (not) She Still Calls Me Daddy. LOL! I did the same thing you did and got really excited. This was actually the best book available when I signed up. I wish I would have waited cause several others that I would have loved to read came up after that and I couldn't get them. (sigh) I need to just bite the bullet and get it over with. :)
"Attention Amplifies Everything."
I like that.
What a great job you did on writing this. At first glance, this didn't look like a book I would be interested in, now after reading your review I am anxious to get it.
I am definitely having a hard time with the attention thing lately. Just not being as focused as I know I should be. SO, I sit down at the computer, still cannot come up with anything to write as the words will not come. But reading this has made me feel better. (pretty incredible as book reviews are normally not as inspiring as regular posts).
Thanks!
That sounds like a great book! Thanks for the info!
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