2007 Reading/ 2008 Goals

I set out with the goal of reading (ie. fully completing) 30 books in 2007.

I fell just a bit short, completing 26; several more were started when the calendar flipped (which should give me a jump on '08.)

The Breakdown of "genre" was as follows:

• 13 - Christian Living/ Ministry
• 6 - Fiction
• 3 - Biographies
• 2 - Business/ Leadership
• 2 - Other

It was a pretty good effort. The balance was about what I expected/ planned for. I just did not accomplish my goal. I recognized two times during the year that reading time became minimal at best and will try to plan accordingly in the coming year. I was tempted to keep my goal the same but in an effort to acknowledge the fact that I have some books in progress and in an effort to stretch myself I am going to set the bar at 35 BOOKS in 2008. I strive to do this not just to read for reading sake but to accomplish a few goals as well. Those are:

1. Meet the challenge of being a better Christ Follower by applying the knowledge that I gain.
2. Improve my writing skills through the creation of reviews for each book read.
3. Become better read and rounded by adding more of the "classics" from fiction and the church into the rotation.
4. Enjoy the reading process.
5. Build a base of known material that can be correctly and intelligently recommend to others.

In January of 2009 we will revisit these goals and see how they went. On with the reading...

Book #16 -- The Dip by Seth Godin

I finished this book almost a week ago and I just never wrote my review/ thoughts. I picked it up after seeing several recommendations for it. Most all of Godin's books have been well received and recommended so I thought I would give it a try.

One of the first things that hops out at you and the author points out as important is that the book is short (80 pgs.). Godin states that it is important to make your point quickly and stay with one main message to your audience. A great lesson for teachers in any venue.

The point of this book is to in a simple way provide people with the tools to recognize what type of situation you are in (cliff, cul de sac, or dip) and empower you to know that sometimes keeping at it has great rewards, in other circumstances it is OK to quit; with the idea that you will be better equipped to win at something else. Godin believes if you cant be the best in what you do you should quit and find what it is that you can strive for being #1.

I resonated with the message of this book with where I am in life right now. The cool thing about these principles is that they are not just for professional life they can be applied to all areas of life. The idea of being a "jack of all trades and master of none" just may not be the badge of honor that we seem to bestow it.

The real test comes in being able to recognize (this is actually the easy part) what each challenge is and then having the insight and courage to quit those things that do not make us win in the end. Taking the time to realize that quitting does not make you a loser if you quit the right things for the motive of being able to focus that energy into those things that you want to be t he best at.

So what are they in you life? Do you want to be the best Dad, husband, employee (fill in your occupation here, teacher, Christ follower, leader, minister, kite flyer, or whatever else you might be able to think of. It's a matter of priority. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Even of you feel that you have a solid handle on the directions life is currently taking you it could be a useful tool.

Do your kids read?

This article by Albert Mohler caught my eye. We are raising a generation that does not read. I'll leave it to you to check out the article but will add this quote from it:

Do our own young people read books? Do they know the pleasures of the solitary reading of a life-changing page? Have they ever lost themselves in a story, framed by their own imaginations rather than by digital images? Have they ever marked up a page, urgently engaged in a debate with the author? Can they even think of a book that has changed the way they see the world . . . or the Christian faith? If not, why not?