7 Christmas Books to Add to Your List
Here are a few of the books we have read and re-read over the years. The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore We tried to memorized this story once. This Christmas classic was first published anonymously in 1823. It tells the story of St. Nicholas climbing down the chimney and filling all the stockings before springing back to his sleigh. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson A fun story about a mom who directs the church Christmas pageant and is joined by the Herdman siblings, or “the worst kids in the history of the world.” Christmas magic abounds as they hear the Christmas story for the first time…
What is Say Go Be Do?
Years ago I listened to an audio by Tiffany Earl entitled “Say Go Be Do”. I’ve actually listened to it several times over the years. It’s one of those classics that you can get something different out of every time you hear it. Recently I found the book that Tiffany wrote based on the same concept. She shared a lot of the same concepts and ideas in the book that she shared in the audio, but expands on them and gives more examples. It’s a short book and worth the read. What is Say Go Be Do? Tiffany got the concept from reading a book about Suzuki, a Japanese violin…
{Series Part 6}–The Ant and the Elephant: Control the Response to Any Situation
Today is the last day of our series on “The Ant and the Elephant”. We’ve talked about CLARIFYING YOUR VISION, COMMITTING TO CULTIVATING POSITIVE DOMINANT THOUGHTS, CONSISTENTLY FOCUSING ON PERFORMANCE, and STRENGTHENING CONFIDENCE. Today we will learn how to CONTROL THE RESPONSE TO ANY SITUATION. Whenever you are running for a worthwhile goal, you will come up against obstacles. Brio the owl taught his mentee Adir the ant to expect the unexpected and anticipate his response. He suggested that Adir come up with 10 worst-case scenarios and write each on a flashcard. Write down situations or circumstances that, if happened, would cause anxiety or make you feel like you couldn’t…
{Series Part 5}–The Ant and the Elephant: Strengthen Confidence
We are almost done with this series on “The Ant and the Elephant”. I hope you have been learning (and applying) some new ways to chase your dream. So far we have learned to CLARIFY OUR VISION, COMMIT TO CULTIVATING POSITIVE DOMINANT THOUGHTS, and CONSISTENTLY FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE. Today we will focus on the next to last step—STRENGTHEN CONFIDENCE. Imagine you have been hard at work. You’ve attached an emotion to your dream and visualize it throughout the day. And you understand that change is gradual, but you know you are making progress. You’re feeling good and everything seems to be going great, when you happen across a couple of…
{Series Part 4}–The Ant and the Elephant: Consistently Focus on Performance
Welcome back to “The Ant and the Elephant” series on chasing your dream. We’ve talked about CLARIFYING YOUR VISION and CULTIVATING POSITIVE THOUGHTS, and now we are ready to learn how to CONSISTENTLY FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE. Adir the ant now knows that goals and dreams take time and effort. He knows that he needs to spend time each day visualizing his dream, and he is learning that he needs a tool to help him keep his focus on his dream. He discovered that the more often he feels the elephant buzz—the emotion that ignites the vision—the more likely he will be able to keep his actions in line with his…
{Series Part 2}–The Ant and the Elephant: Clarifying your Vision
Welcome back to part 2 of a 6 part series about chasing your dream. Last week I began a conversation about the concept of a dream and talked about why dreams are important. I also introduced a few characters from a book called “The Ant and the Elephant” by Vince Poscente. If you haven’t read week 1, I encourage you to take a minute to go back and read it and familiarize yourself with the basic ideas. For the next 5 weeks we are going to focus on how to make those dreams a reality. At the end of week 1 we learned that in order to achieve our…
{Series Part 1}–The Ant and the Elephant: Learning How to Chase Your Dream
Have you ever seen the movie “SING”? It’s a story of a bunch of animals who have a dream to sing and perform. The animals want something (singing on stage); they struggle to get it (no family support, relationship struggles, lack of confidence, etc); then achieve success (putting on a great show). It’s the perfect example of Dream, Struggle, Victory. I’ve always struggled with the concept of having a dream. It seemed so abstract. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the importance of chasing a dream, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it. What is a dream? How do you chase it? Why should you have one?…
God’s Smuggler
I love it when I come across a good book. Especially when it’s a book I’ve never heard of before. My kids are part of a kid book club. I decided to read aloud one of the books on their list this year–God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew. It was a gem of a book about faith and trust in God. God’s Smuggler is a true story about a rebellious young man-turned-missionary named Andrew. Andrew grew up in Holland before WWII where he dreamed of and sought out adventure. After the war, he joined the army and fought in the East Indies where he was eventually injured and returned home. Through…
3 Books You Could Read More Than Once
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” CICERO Even though I love to read, I will rarely read the same book more than once out of choice. I will sometimes read it again if it’s assigned for a class or it’s for of a book discussion. But there are a few books that I read every year or two that have been impactful and provide a good reminder. If you need a dose of inspiration or a change in perspective, then grab one of these books. 1.Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the box by The Arbinger Institute I first read this book while on a…
6 Lessons from Dr. Seuss
Did you grow up with Dr. Seuss books? A few of my favorites from childhood include “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” and “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” and “Green Eggs and Ham”. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’s birthday and elementary schools across America celebrate literacy and books the weeks around that day. When my kids were younger we celebrated along at home by reading and learning about Dr. Seuss. It has been awhile since we’ve participated in Read across America Day, but we enjoy his books and the lessons they teach in a fun and simple way. While hanging out with my nieces and nephews last…
