I  have read several of Dr. Clould’s books.  I picked this one up skimmed a few pages and decided to purchase it.   If you have not read any books along these lines, then this can be a good read.  Simple, short and right on  target as far as the principles presented.  Some of those principles are:

Happy people are givers, pursue goals, fully engage, don’t compare themselves, connect, think well

The problem is that while, Dr. Cloud refers to many studies confirming these principles but seldom gives any concrete evidence from those studies.   Please know I do not doubt any of this, but having the concrete information lends credibility and also for someone like me gives me information that I can pass on to others.  On the other hand, I just read Why Good Things Happen to Good People and while it was not written from a spiritual perspective it was filled with this type of information.  In addition, it was filled with great stories which were sorely lacking in Dr. Cloud’s book.

I recently have been working with someone plagued by obsessive thoughts.  To learn more about this type of condition I ordered The Imp of the Mind by Harvard trained physiologist, Dr. Lee Baer.   This book proved to be a huge help not so much in helping my friend overcome this disorder but in helping me understand more about it and how it can be treated.   The treatment itself is generally a very long term effort and must be administered by a professional.

Dr. Baer explains the different forms that obsessive thinking can take with one chapter dedicated solely to those who struggle with blasphemous religious thoughts.  He also shows how in most cases the persons fear of committing some type of horrible act is unfounded.   In addition, he explains how the three main forms of treatment (cognitive behavior, drugs, and exposure) are used to defuse these very mentally and emotionally damaging thoughts.

I don’t know that anyone who is not dealing with a friend or relative struggling with these types of obsessive thoughts would be interested in this book.   For those of us who are in that situation, the book provides great insight and a sense of hope.

I have read many of John Maxwell’s leadership books over the years.  He is no doubt one of the best when it comes to communicating leadership principles.  I have to admit that some of the books begin to run together in my mind after a while. 

This week I had the occasion to go back and skim his book, Failing Forward.  It was written in 2000.  I wanted to glean some information for a message I will be sharing this Sunday with our church.  It is a part of a the Warrior series we are doing and this week’s message is about becoming a Decisive Warrior.  One of the points is that we must change our view of failure.  Failing Forward is filled with practical and inspirational information regarding failure.    The bottom line according to this book is that the difference between people who are average and those who are over achievers is simply how they perceive and handle failure.  Over achievers simply see it as a part of the process of becoming successful.

This is one of those books,  anyone could read and benefit from having done so.  I highly recommend it.