Books

This page contains the resources that I have found useful in my personal and professional life. Admittedly, it is an eclectic list. It contains everything from quotes and books that I like to podcasts, videos, and slideshows.

If you don’t want to scroll through the entire list, you can click on one of the links below and filter the resources by specific category.

I will update this list as I discover new resources. If you have a resource you think I should add, please email me.

The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformation Values to Root us In The Way of Jesus by Rich Villodas (WaterBrook, 2020)

Here is a quote from page xiv of this new book by Rich Villodas. This book was listed as Christianity Today’s book of the year 2020. The author has been on a personal journey of spiritual formation for nearly 30 years of his life. This book is insightful and will be a blessing to your spiritual formation.

The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah & The Mystery of God’s Mercy by Timothy Keller (New York: Viking, 2018)

God deals with this Old Testament prophet on issues like race, nationalism, obedience,  self-image, fear of death, trusting God and much more.  The predominant theme, however, is our understanding of God’s grace and its impact on how we deal with others. So the question begs, how do you seek the welfare of your city, the one where God has strategically placed you?  Keller offers 8 Qualities Of A Healthy And Prosperous City And Community in his book:

  1. A safe environment rather than a community that is plagued by crime or health hazards.
  2. Economic prosperity and humane workplaces rather than a community with few jobs where poverty is rampant.
  3. A state of peace rather than one marked by violence between individuals, races, groups, or nations.
  4. A just social order rather than one marked by corruption and by a justice system weighted against the weak and poor.
  5. Publicly available resources such as good educational institutions, medical services, parks, and recreation.
  6. Social harmony and civility in which people from different races, cultures, and moral frameworks relate to one another with respect.
  7. A community committed to caring for the weak, the elderly, the chronically ill, single parents and orphans, immigrants, and the poor.
  8. A government that works on behalf of all citizens, not just the rich and powerful.

You seek the welfare of your city by working toward these things.  Which one can you impact the most today

It Worked For Me by Colin Powell (New York: Harper Perennial, 2012)

The 13 Rules of Life from General Powell is worth the price of the book, especially the chapter on “Perpetual Optimism Is A Force Multiplier.” Here is a quick listing of the General Powell’s 13 rules…….

1. IT AIN’T AS BAD AS YOU THINK. IT WILL LOOK BETTER IN THE MORNING.

2. GET MAD, THEN GET OVER IT.

3. AVOID HAVING YOUR EGO SO CLOSE TO YOUR POSITION THAT WHEN YOUR POSITION FALLS, YOUR EGO GOES WITH IT.

4. IT CAN BE DONE.

5. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CHOOSE. YOU MAY GET IT.

6. DON’T LET ADVERSE FACTS STAND IN THE WAY OF A GOOD DECISION.

7. YOU CAN’T MAKE SOMEONE ELSE’S DECISIONS. YOU SHOULDN’T LET SOMEONE ELSE MAKE YOURS.

8. CHECK SMALL THINGS.

9. SHARE CREDIT.

10. REMAIN CALM. BE KIND.

11. HAVE A VISION. BE DEMANDING.

12. DON’T TAKE COUNSEL OF YOUR FEARS OR NAYSAYERS.

13. PERPETUAL OPTIMISM IS A FORCE MULTIPLIER.

The Four Disciplines of Execution:Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling (New York: Free Press, 2012)

If you are leading people you are probably attempting to get them to do something different. It does not matter whether you are leading a large corporation, small up-start company, or just your family, no significant result is achievable unless people change their behavior. Compliance does not lead to success! When you attempt to lead people’s behavior with an eye upon permanent change taking place, you are stepping into one of the most difficult areas of leadership that you could ask for.

The authors of The Four Disciplines of Execution offer a four step strategy that has been proven and field tested. Here are the four disciplines:

  1. Focus on The Wildly Important
  2. Act on Lead Measures
  3. Keep A Compelling Scoreboard
  4. Create A Cadence of Accountability

It does not matter whether you call it a goal, strategy, or simply adjustments that you as a leader drive in order to significantly move your team or organization forward falls into two categories; the stroke of the pen and behavioral change.

The stroke of the pen is signing an executive order declaring the new direction and for it to be done asap!  Behavioral change strategies are very different from the stroke of the pen strategies. You can’t just order them to happen because this requires people to change behaviors, often a lot of people doing something different and new. If you have ever attempted to get people to change their ways, you know how difficult that can be. Think about it for just a moment, changing yourself is hard work let alone changes a large group.

The bottom line is that to start doing things you have never done before, you must start doing things that you have never done before. Consider this book as a must read. Listen to the words of Chris McChesney in this short video.

Turning PRO by Steven Pressfield (New York: Black Irish Entertainment LLC, 2012)

“The thesis of this book is that what ails you and me has nothing to do with being sick or being wrong. What ails us is that we are living our lives as amateurs. The solution, this book suggests, is that we turn pro.”

Steven Pressfield suggests that Turning Pro is free, but it demands sacrifice. The author suggests that turning pro is not for everyone. He states that we have to be a little crazy to do it or even desire to chase after it. In may ways we do not chose to turn pro – it instead choses us.

What do we get by turning pro? we find our power. We find our will and voice, and we find our self-respect. We become who we always were but had, until now, been afraid to embrace it and to live it out. Do you remember where you were on 9/11? you will remember when you make the choice to turn pro.

The author suggests that many people are working and living in shadow jobs and careers. We do it because we have learned to provide money that in turn pays for the things of life. However, the passion is missing, because this is not who we saw ourselves becoming. We are either living in the past or dreaming of the future, while failing utterly to do the work necessary to progress our life’s purpose in the present.

Something that is boring goes nowhere! It travels in  a circle. It never arrives at any destination. The repetitive nature of the shadow life and of addictions is what makes both so tedious. No traction is ever gained. No progress is ever made. We’re stuck in the same endlessly repeating loop of life.

All addictions according to the author have two primary qualities:

  1. They embody repetition without progress.
  2. They produce incapacity as a payoff.

When you fail you are off the hook to perform…”I tried, but…..I am glad that is over so that i can get back to normal!”

This book is a must read if you desire to accept the challenge of taking your life and goals to the next level. join me as we Turn PRO!

The Heart of Leadership – Becoming A Leader People Want to Follow by Mark Miller (San Fransico: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc, 2013)

This book is filled with awesome quotes. Here is a sample of gems:

  • There is a lot more to leadership than great individual work.
  • You can lead with or without a title. If you wait until you get a title, you could wait forever.
  • If you don’t demonstrate leadership character, your skills and your results will be discounted, if not dismissed.
  • The servant leader constantly works to help others win.
  • Leadership character, like other character traits, once established, is hard to hide.

This is only a sampling of awesome content. The heart of the book is about leadership character. there are three insights into this fact.

  • Without leadership character, no one cares about your skills.
  • There are five core traits that describe leadership character.
    • H unger for Wisdom
    • E xpect the Best
    • A ccept Responsibility
    • R espond with Courage
    • T hink Others First
  • Leadership character can be formed and transformed.

About the Author

No Limits by John Maxwell (New York: Center Street, 2017)

This book is the result of a two-hour table conversation in which all individuals acknowledged they had never read a book about Potential. From that conversation John Maxwell became motivated to write on this topic in his book, No Limits, Blow The Cap Off Your Capacity. The book is set within three parts;

  1. Awareness: Remove The Caps From Your Capacity
  2. Ability – Develop The Capacities You Already Possess
  3. Choices – Do The Things That Maximize Your Capacity

The ability to reach your fullest potential begins with a journey of AWARENESS! In this opening chapter the formula for reaching your potential is expressed; AWARENESS + ABILITY + CHOICES = CAPACITY! If you grow in your awareness, develop your abilities, and make the right choices, you can reach your capacity.

Blowing the cap off of your capacity is not about some special endowment of knowledge and expertise. It is more about who you are as a created person using your natural gifts- energy, emotional, thinking, relationships, creativity, production, and leading others.

There are ten capacities that are unique to every person. Again, the genius of this material is about utilizing our natural abilities and endowments. Responsibility, Character, Discipline, Attitude, and Spiritual capacity to name just a few. Every person is a person without limits!

It has been said that tough times do not last, but tough people do! In a radio conversation John Maxwell was asked, “How have you kept your passion hot and your energy up for forty-five years? His response was amazing; “I value people. I believe people can improve their lives. I am improving mine so I can give more. I know how to help people improve their lives. I see results in the many people I have helped.” If you are aware of yourself and your ability to improve, if you develop the abilities you already possess, and if you make the everyday choices that help you improve, you will reach your capacity.

Becoming A Person of Influence by John Maxwell & Jim Dornan (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006)

Increase your impact on others by Becoming a Person of Influence.Learn simple, insightful ways to interact more positively with others, and watch your personal and organizational success go off the charts. Managers will see their employees respond with new enthusiasm. Parents will connect with their children on a deeper level. Coaches will see players blossom. Pastors will reach more people. Salespeople will break records. Authors John Maxwell and Jim Dornan have spent most of their lives raising up influencers. With humor, heart, and unique insight, they share what they’ve gleaned from decades of experience in both business and nonprofit arenas. Their insights are practical and easy to apply to everyday life. Whether your desire is to build a business, strengthen your children, or reach the world, you can achieve it by raising your level of influence in the lives of others.

Increase you Influence through the Coaching experience at Shepherds Advantage Inc

My coaching involves the ability to understand you: to think how you think, and understand your perspective. From this benchmark, I will place another perspective on top of yours – stretching and growing you to gently see a more empowering way. As a certified John Maxwell coach, I can see what you are going through now and what is up ahead. Coaching is foreseeing, paving the way, coming alongside you while helping you achieve goals and overcome limiting paradigms.

Leaders Made Here by Mark Miller (Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc, 2017)

As the Executive Trainer for Chick-fil-A, Mark Miller tells us about some amazing leadership principles set within a story about a new CEO named Blake and Charles, an old trusted friend who attempt to create a strong leadership bench. You are grabbed at the outset by statements that all leaders S.E.R.V.E.;

See The Future

Engage and Develop Others

Reinvent Continuously

Value Results and Relationships

Embody the Values

The essence of the book is about establishing a Leadership Culture. In order for this to occur there must be an agreement on certain key ideas:

  • There must be an agreement on what leadership means
  • Offer varied instructional methods of equipping others
  • Realize the power of opportunity – allow people to lead early and often
  • Establish metrics that matters
  • Leaders must walk the talk

What is at stake if you chose to not follow through on the basics just mentioned? Consider that a majority of organizational leaders cannot articulate and agreed upon definition of what leadership is. Only a very small percentage of current leaders have attended a training program in the last 24 months. One-third of emerging leaders have confidence their organization is on track to make a difference in leadership development. Fewer leaders are even involved in an ongoing coaching relationship to improve themselves. Fewer leaders that are transitioning have confidence in their successors.

If there is to be a strong bench of quality leaders, a quality culture must be created and implemented.