The Success Principles: #2 - chapter review

I'm reading the latest book from best-selling author Jack Canfield, titled The Success Principles, which comprise 64 different lessons that Canfield has learned during the past three decades as as a highly-successful entrepreneur, instructor, best-selling author and keynote speaker.

My goal is to write a summary review for each chapter, every day until I'm finished with the book. You can access yesterday's summary here: Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life. 

Here's Chapter 2: Be Clear Why You're Here

Canfield starts this chapter with the premise that each of us is born with a purpose, and that truly successful people acknowledge, identify and work towards their respective objective.

He states his own life purpose in the following way: "To inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy." The author goes on to stress that each of us has been born with an inner guidance system that helps us know whether we are living toward or away from that idealized purpose - even if you can't articulate it.

To catch a clue of your purpose, Canfield suggests that the things that bring you the greatest joy are in alignment with your purpose. He then encourages the reader to make a list of the times in their life when they've felt most alive and joyful - then try to identify a pattern that connects those events. That pattern points toward the person's purpose.

Basketball legend and author Pat Williams is quoted in this chapter and offers this bit of wisdom:

"Figure out what you love to do, as young as you can and then organize your life around figuring out how to make a living at it."

Book Review: The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews

I’m not someone who likes to read books where the average page has fewer words than a typical greeting card. Those types of overworked, “non-books” tend to have massive graphical treatments, reduced content space, wide borders and large block lettering to take up space.

Such “visual presentation” elements remind me of a student who’s relying on spatial maneuvers and boundless borders to extend three-pages of actual writing into a research paper that has a 15-page minimum.

Bottom line – such books tend to be a stretch, both figuratively and literally.

That’s exactly what I was expecting when I read Andy Andrews' most recent book titled The Butterfly Effect – How Your Life Matters.

However, I was pleasantly disappointed that my unfair, preconceived bias came to nothing and was completely unfounded!

Book Review: The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews

As a father of two daughters ages six and eight respectively, I’m always on the lookout for a good story that I can read to them at bedtime or when we’ve got some downtime. We plowed through an avalanche of these books since they were old enough to appreciate them. Some were very good - others not so much.

Reading is important in our family, and I’ve found that it’s truly rare to find a children’s book that is well written, well illustrated and that conveys a powerful life message. However, The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews delivered on all counts!

The premise of the book is that little things matter a lot and every action we take has an impact that we don’t necessarily see in the short view, yet may have profound implications in the long view of life.

This delightful book evoked in me the same type of “a-ha” moment that I felt the first time that I read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – Andrews’ message is as compelling, powerful and clear. While it’s simple enough for a child to understand, it’s important enough for an adult to take to heart as well. It is simply a great book in every measure that is destined to become a children's classic.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias

For the past few centuries the largest organized religion on the planet has been Christianity, which made it an easy target for philosophical salvos from skeptics, nihilists and atheists alike.

Unfortunately during that time, a lot of apologetics writing (a branch of theology dedicated to proving and defending Christianity) has been dominated by dusty language and tomes; circular logic and unimpassioned writers.

The luminary exceptions can be counted on two hands including such noted authors as C.S. Lewis, William Lane Craig, Richard Swineburn and Alvin Plantinga.

You can add to that short list of outstanding apologetic writers, Ravi Zacharias.

Book Review: Ideas Are Free

One of the fundamental principles in the field of psychiatry is that most humans are driven by a fear of loss rather than the perceived reward of gain, which means new opportunities and novel ideas are often avoided in favor of the status quo.

Unfortunately, this construct of the human mindset is a recipe for financial decline when it’s rampant within a commercial organization.

In the book Ideas Are Free, authors Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder challenge managers and executives to mine their own organizations for both small and large nuggets of knowledge.

Book Review: You Can Be Everything God Wants You to Be by Max Lucado

The latest in a long line of books from inspirational author Max Lucado is true to its title, You Can Be Everything God Wants You to Be. The underlying premise is that each of us is uniquely gifted.

Furthermore, when we use those inherent gifts - to which we gravitate most - we can discover our specific purpose in life. That discovery can then produce a life that’s worth living, delighting us and God as well. It’s a solid thesis.