I agree with Tim Keller, “I read because I’m desperate.”
While reading by itself will not make one a better leader or follower, reading well will improve both. Yet, even then, one must take the knowledge and allow it to change his/her life.
Read purposefully.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” Gandhi. While I do not think that he was a person who should be revered or held in a high regard, he did have a lot of great ideas, and did a lot of good for the world.
“Humility isn’t thinking less of your self, it is thinking of yourself less.” Rick Warren This is a great way to think of it, Humility is not the opposite of pride.
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I’d rather one walk with me than simply point the way.” I worked for a Steakhouse in Houston that had an award winning wine list, served prime steaks and sashimi grade seafood, and had several sommeliers on staff at each location to “pamper” the desires of the clients that we served. Most of the clientele were affluent, and some down right filthy rich. All of the wine and food we served could have been prepared at the home of the customer for much less than it cost at the restaurant, and many of our guests had staff that would have prepped it for them at their homes. The one thing that helped them to justify spending so much, sometimes over $1,000 on dinner for 4 people, was the service. We never pointed anywhere, we lead the way. When someone got up from the table they would return with their napkin folded next to their plate. And those are just two of the ways we set ourselves apart from the rest of the steakhouses in the area. Anyone could have a great steak and a good bottle of wine at home, but why not pay 10 – 20 times what it is worth and have someone serve you, especially with the attention to detail that was given at this place.
I like the part of the book that references complaints versus solutions (or something like that). It says that addressing a problem is a complaint unless you present possible solutions, complaining itself is not a problem unless you do nothing to alter the circumstance that surrounds what you are complaining about. I complain sometimes and often when I do whoever hears me says, “What are you going to do about it” and if I have a solution and put it into action it is not simply a complaint, it is a problem and a resolution. I also believe that there is a distinct difference in complaining and holding someone accountable. If one of the candidates running for president campaigns that he, or I guess even she, is going to reduce our taxes, and after taking office never makes any effort to do so, we have the right to hold them accountable and discuss what we feel, and that is not complaining, that is standing up for yourself and demanding what was promised to you.
Everything changes you, every experience will forever alter the rest of your life no matter how small, you are different now than you were the first time you stubbed your toe, burnt your hand, and even received a compliment or an award and those are the small things in life.
The last part of the book that talks about the lady with cancer reminds me of one of my uncles who died in the past couple of years. Eddie was a world class athlete from Galveston, Texas and was drafted by a pro baseball team straight out of high school; he was to leave in the fall after graduation to play for their minor league team in preparation for the Majors. He went to work on the wharves in Galveston to earn some cash for the summer and while carrying a sack of Bananas down a ladder into the hold of the ship he did not realize that the ladder was missing a rung, he fell 30 feet and landed standing up, crushing his spine. The Eddie that I knew was always in a wheel chair, he never parked in a handicapped parking spot, never let anyone accompany him to the gas station so that he didn’t have to wrestle the wheel chair out to fill up, he even went against the doctors wishes to increase his mobility by having a lift system mounted to the ceiling of his home to help him into bed and into the bath. He did concede in his last years to trade in his 2 door Lincoln Continental and get a van with a wheelchair lift, mainly because of the amenities that his grandchildren loved like the bed in the back with the DVD players and TV’s. When he died I realized that I had never heard Eddie complain about anything, he didn’t even complain when he lost his only son, my cousin, in the mid Nineteen Nineties, although he was very saddened. Eddie came to terms with what had happened to him at 18 years old and never once did I, or anyone else as far as I know, ever hear him complain. I complain sometimes over small things, and I can walk.
What I got out of this book is what a lot of books talk about. It does talk about leadership, but I think more importantly it talks about serving. The single greatest thing one person can do is to serve another. Jesus washed feet, he could have ordered someone to do it, he could have even snapped his fingers and the dirty feet would have fallen off and new clean ones would have appeared in their place. Everything he did in his life was to teach everyone around him and everyone who came after, how to live their lives. His ultimate purpose was to be the sacrifice for our sins and to cleanse us so that we could enter into the presence of God without blame, but he could have done that in an instant, yet he chose to walk and talk with the people of his time for decades as a servant, not just a King.
I used to ask when I was young, “what will that do for me” or “what are you going to get me” and what I should ask is what can I do for you. The most memorable people in my life have been the ones that are always doing something for someone else. If everyone tried to exemplify a servants attitude we would all have better lives, we would suffer less, and everything that we encounter would be met with the helping hand of someone around us.
I did not catch on at the beginning of this book but maybe you could send an email out next time that a book is going to start?? I definately enjoy reading about all different subjects namely business development and leadership, etc. I don't know if this is just for the corporate office but would like to participate if that would be okay.
2 comments:
There are a few quotes from the book that I like:
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” Gandhi. While I do not think that he was a person who should be revered or held in a high regard, he did have a lot of great ideas, and did a lot of good for the world.
“Humility isn’t thinking less of your self, it is thinking of yourself less.” Rick Warren This is a great way to think of it, Humility is not the opposite of pride.
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I’d rather one walk with me than simply point the way.” I worked for a Steakhouse in Houston that had an award winning wine list, served prime steaks and sashimi grade seafood, and had several sommeliers on staff at each location to “pamper” the desires of the clients that we served. Most of the clientele were affluent, and some down right filthy rich. All of the wine and food we served could have been prepared at the home of the customer for much less than it cost at the restaurant, and many of our guests had staff that would have prepped it for them at their homes. The one thing that helped them to justify spending so much, sometimes over $1,000 on dinner for 4 people, was the service. We never pointed anywhere, we lead the way. When someone got up from the table they would return with their napkin folded next to their plate. And those are just two of the ways we set ourselves apart from the rest of the steakhouses in the area. Anyone could have a great steak and a good bottle of wine at home, but why not pay 10 – 20 times what it is worth and have someone serve you, especially with the attention to detail that was given at this place.
I like the part of the book that references complaints versus solutions (or something like that). It says that addressing a problem is a complaint unless you present possible solutions, complaining itself is not a problem unless you do nothing to alter the circumstance that surrounds what you are complaining about. I complain sometimes and often when I do whoever hears me says, “What are you going to do about it” and if I have a solution and put it into action it is not simply a complaint, it is a problem and a resolution. I also believe that there is a distinct difference in complaining and holding someone accountable. If one of the candidates running for president campaigns that he, or I guess even she, is going to reduce our taxes, and after taking office never makes any effort to do so, we have the right to hold them accountable and discuss what we feel, and that is not complaining, that is standing up for yourself and demanding what was promised to you.
Everything changes you, every experience will forever alter the rest of your life no matter how small, you are different now than you were the first time you stubbed your toe, burnt your hand, and even received a compliment or an award and those are the small things in life.
The last part of the book that talks about the lady with cancer reminds me of one of my uncles who died in the past couple of years. Eddie was a world class athlete from Galveston, Texas and was drafted by a pro baseball team straight out of high school; he was to leave in the fall after graduation to play for their minor league team in preparation for the Majors. He went to work on the wharves in Galveston to earn some cash for the summer and while carrying a sack of Bananas down a ladder into the hold of the ship he did not realize that the ladder was missing a rung, he fell 30 feet and landed standing up, crushing his spine. The Eddie that I knew was always in a wheel chair, he never parked in a handicapped parking spot, never let anyone accompany him to the gas station so that he didn’t have to wrestle the wheel chair out to fill up, he even went against the doctors wishes to increase his mobility by having a lift system mounted to the ceiling of his home to help him into bed and into the bath. He did concede in his last years to trade in his 2 door Lincoln Continental and get a van with a wheelchair lift, mainly because of the amenities that his grandchildren loved like the bed in the back with the DVD players and TV’s. When he died I realized that I had never heard Eddie complain about anything, he didn’t even complain when he lost his only son, my cousin, in the mid Nineteen Nineties, although he was very saddened. Eddie came to terms with what had happened to him at 18 years old and never once did I, or anyone else as far as I know, ever hear him complain. I complain sometimes over small things, and I can walk.
What I got out of this book is what a lot of books talk about. It does talk about leadership, but I think more importantly it talks about serving. The single greatest thing one person can do is to serve another. Jesus washed feet, he could have ordered someone to do it, he could have even snapped his fingers and the dirty feet would have fallen off and new clean ones would have appeared in their place. Everything he did in his life was to teach everyone around him and everyone who came after, how to live their lives. His ultimate purpose was to be the sacrifice for our sins and to cleanse us so that we could enter into the presence of God without blame, but he could have done that in an instant, yet he chose to walk and talk with the people of his time for decades as a servant, not just a King.
I used to ask when I was young, “what will that do for me” or “what are you going to get me” and what I should ask is what can I do for you. The most memorable people in my life have been the ones that are always doing something for someone else. If everyone tried to exemplify a servants attitude we would all have better lives, we would suffer less, and everything that we encounter would be met with the helping hand of someone around us.
Look for the Pony!
I did not catch on at the beginning of this book but maybe you could send an email out next time that a book is going to start?? I definately enjoy reading about all different subjects namely business development and leadership, etc. I don't know if this is just for the corporate office but would like to participate if that would be okay.
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