Recent reads with insightful content and powerful personal impact
In today’s world where we have so many choices, sometimes it’s good to have someone else help narrow the options. In that spirit, I’m passing along recommendations for your reading list or your Christmas book-giving from some of the most impactful books that I have recently read. They are of different kinds, but all of them will motivate positive change in your life and in your Christian discipleship as they have done in mine. I plan five articles in this series with each post briefly reviewing one.
- Maxwell, John C. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential. Center Street, 2012.
- Weissenbacher, Alan. The Brain Change Program: 6 Steps to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life. Broad Street, 2024.
- Groeschel, Craig. Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life. Zondervan, 2017.
- Caine, Christine. You Are Not Finished Yet: Discovering Your Purpose in the Midst of Life’s Interruptions. Thomas Nelson, 2023.
- Geisler, Norman L., and Frank Turek. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Crossway, 2004.
The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth
Recently I discovered on my shelf a John Maxwell book that I had not read. So, I began almost immediately, and, as usual with leadership expert Dr. Maxwell, I was richly rewarded for my efforts. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth follows the general schema of his more famous book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Thomas Nelson, 1998 by discussing one great principle in each chapter. Some laws he covers, like the first, The Law of Intentionality, seem obvious but are definitely foundational ideas of which we need to be reminded. Maxwell says, “Change is inevitable. growth is optional.” His overall goal is to motivate us to have a plan for our personal and professional growth which we attend to daily. “Growth doesn’t just happen. You must be intentional about it.”
Some laws Dr. Maxwell gives us are not so obvious, like the third one. Yet, upon reflection, they are also key. The Law of the Mirror says, “You must see value in yourself to add value to yourself!” Here he reminds us that negative self-talk, which comes so easily in our angry times, unwittingly undermines our self-image. By contrast, he encourages us to learn that practicing small daily disciplines builds morale (p. 45).
A law that I find easy to neglect is the Law of Reflection. “Experience is not the best teacher. Evaluated experience is!” I learned that I should press pause more often and take time to reflect so that the lessons of experience are not wasted.
Many of the Laws of Growth are genuinely challenging. How about the Law of Consistency? “Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.” One seminal thought reminded me of the theme of his book Today Matters: Warner, 2004. “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”
We all need some good coaching about handling our failures too. With his characteristic humor, Maxwell says in his chapter on the Law of Pain, “A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn” (p. 132).
The Law of Trade-offs helps us to be realistic about many of the decisions we face. I remember hearing John Maxwell say in person, “You have to give up to go up!” In this chapter this idea is applied, “You have to give up to grow up.” “The difference between where we are and where we want to be is created by the changes we are willing to make in our lives” (p. 179). I think most of us are uncomfortable with this truth, but looking back in my own life, I can see how true it is.
Finally, one of the most important chapters expounds on The Law of the Ladder. The analogy is that building our life is like ascending a ladder where the rungs represent our character. The higher we ascend, the stronger the supporting structure, our character, must be to support us. If our character is flawed, it is like being up too high on too flimsy a ladder. Eventually the climber falls. “Before you can do, you must be…Continual growth and lasting success are the result of aligning the inside and the outside of our lives” (p. 146).
I highly recommend this book.
I have read many Maxwell books, and this is one of the top three on my list. It’s one of those books you will wish you had read years ago. So now’s the time!