Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Read The Popular Stuff, Too



This book was staring at me in my mother's basement for almost 20 years. Finally, I grabbed it some six months ago I guess because, well, not only am I a prolific reader these days, but also because I'm in a daily battle with *time management* thanks to the insourced parenting of two small children.

I started it right away but was reading the book coincidentally with the Bible. So it paled in comparison; it seemed not only trite, but also a rip straight from Christian teachings. As I read it I wondered about the echoes I was hearing - and whether or not the millions who read this book had the slightest clue. Sure enough, late in the book, author Stephen Covey does confess via a *personal note* his staunch belief in Christianity and the role it plays in *effective* living.

The book is about precisely what one would expect - getting a grip on your life's priorities, ordering them, and dealing with them on a forthright and systematic basis. For sure, a lot of it is commonsense to the thinkers and self-improvers already among us....nonetheless, there's almost no chance someone can read this book without some profit.

With 15 million copies sold it's one of these books that one just HAS TO read and cross off their list. It's just like How To Win Friends And Influence People in that regard.

About now I have to get to writing that *personal mission statement*....

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