Book Reflection: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Steven K. Scott

My very good friend Andrew Munroe was kind enough to purchased a personal development book for me named The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness written by Mr. Steven K. Scott.  I informed Andrew that it most likely would be a long time before I would ever even begin the thought of reading the book as I already had so many other reading materials on hand.  I thought I would take a quick peek at the first chapter of the book just to get an idea of what the author had in mind and before I knew it I was hooked.  My curiously and thirst to understand how Mr. Scott had become a multi-millionaire many times over utilizing Solomon's advice was unstoppable. 

The following action words are the key to mega success according to Mr. Scott's interpretation of Solomon's writings: 

diligent action 

visionary  

holds hope 

effective communication 

effective counselors/partners   

joyful heart 

speaks truth 

and is kind

gracious personality  

peace maker 

embrace criticism

is at peace 

chooses discernment 

is content 

a heart of humility 

seeks wisdom

The following twenty-five statements are thoughts I would like to highlight in my memory and/or are habits I would like to incorporate on a daily basis:

Just as there are physical laws that govern the universe, there are laws of living that are just as sure and true.  It doesn't matter if you love them or hate them, they still exist, and they will govern your life.  page 3

I'd prefer to use the phrase "smart-working".  If I need to cut down a tree and try to cut it down with a hammer, that would be hard-working, but it certainly would not be diligent.   page 11

Diligence is a learnable skill that combines: creative persistence, a smart-working effort rightly planned and rightly performed in a timely, efficient, and effective manner to attain a result that is purse and of the highest quality of excellence. page 12

The diligent take all the time they need to plan and prepare, so that they can perform with excellence.  Those who aren't diligent fail to take the time they need to plan, prepare, or perform.  They tend to "shoot from the hip," and their haste ultimately results in failure.  Solom says, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage.   But everyone who is hasty [comes] surely to poverty' (Proverbs 21:5).

There are four root causes of laziness... self-centeredness, conceit (arrogance), ignorance, and irresponsibility.  (He often combines these last two into single category he calls foolishness.)  page 21

...we act without seeking the advice or counsel of others.  It's much easier to act first and seek advice later.  And since we think we know more than others anyway, we simply take the action that we want to take.  page 21

To educate ourselves take time and effort. page 22

Throughout history, no one has achieved any worthwhile goal, significant project, or impossible dream without effectively partnering and seeking outside counsel.  page 26

Whether at work or at home, most ideas are ignored or rejected not because they're bad ideas but because they're ineffectively or unpersuasively communicated.  According to a survey of business owners and corporate CEOs, ineffective communication is the number-one problem in business... page 42 

Manipulation uses any means possible, including deceit, to convince someome to do something that is not in their best interest.  Persuaion, on the other hand, allows you to present your point of view in a clear and compelling way to motivate someone to do what you believe to be in their best interest or for the common good.  page 62

...being truly happy produces wonderful health benefits.  page 95

"You can't stop a bird from landing on your head, but you can stop him from building a nest on it."  We cannot prevent envious thoughts from entering our hearts, but we can keep from taking root.   page 99

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write the on the tablet of your heart." page 107

But dishonesty never starts in a corporate boardroom.  It starts in the hearts and minds of individual men and women.  By making honesty the cornerstone of your personality, you can avoid...consequences.  page 113

Solomon promises that those who are generous will never lack for anything-every true need will be provided-and that you will prosper, and your prosperity will always increase.   page 114

Winning becomes no longer a matter of getting "my way", or persuading someone to do what I want them to do; rather, it becomes a way of achieving what's best for all.  page 127

When people push you to hurry, a red flag should go up.  Put on the brakes; DON'T let anyone push you to make an important decision in haste.  Insist on taking the time to dig deep, seek counsel, and perform the level of diligence necessary to make a wise decision.  page 183

Diligence is like a giant floodlight: turn it on, and naivete's darkness disappears.  page 185

Greed is a deep longing for something that creates a willingness to do whatever it takes to acquire it...  A person can be greedy in just about any imaginable area: the pursuit of power or recognition, the pursuit of love, the pursuit of sexual fulfillment, the pursuit of leisure or a hobby.  page 194

...when desire becomes our focus, or causes us to set aside our priorities, values, or ethics, it has become greed.  page 198 

Do not wear yourself out to get riches; have the wisdom to show restraint.  page 203

The fastest way to eliminate greed from your life is to make a concentrated effort to give to others.  You don't have to wait until you're rich to become generous.  page 203

Whether he needs a solution in a time of trouble or wisdom to capitalize on an opportunity, he'll always have plenty of knowledge to draw upon.  Not so for the foolish.   page 227

According to Gary Smalley, the number-one desire of a man is to be admired.  And everyone - man, woman, boy, girl - wants to feel valued.   page 228  

enclosure

Book Reflection: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

Kayla and I recently completed our first term of our first semester as Highlands College evening core students!  It has been a wonderful journey that no doubt has strengthened my spirit and helped to bring me much more in line with the culture of God's will for my life!

It looks like each term we will be assigned a book to read and this first round was The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren.  For me this book was like going to a chiropractor and helped adjust my life in more accordance with Gods word and to a great extent to the interpretation of popular pastor voice today.  

Listed below are the thoughts and principals that I would like to remember and keep at the forefront of my modus operandi: 

- God is not the starting point of my life, he is the source of it.  page 27 

- Character is both developed and revealed by test, and all of life is a test.  You are always being tested.  God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather!  He watches the simplest actions such as when you open a door for others, when you pick up a piece of trash, or when you're polite toward a clerk or waitress.  page 56

- Throughout history, God has revealed his glory to people in different settings.  He revealed it first in the garden of Eden, then to Moses, then in the tabernacle and the temple, then through Jesus, and now through the church.  page 71 

- We bring glory to God by telling other about him. page 75

- Bringing pleasure to God is called "worship" page 82

- We worship for God's benefit.  When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not to ourselves. page 85 

- ...we will never understand some commands until you obey them first.  Obedience unlocks understanding.  page 92  

- Every human activity, expect sin, ca be done for God's pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise page 95

- The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, so you have to surrender your life fifty times a day.  page 108

- In the Bible, the friends of God were honest about their feelings, often complaining...God defended Job for being honest, and he rebuked Job's friends for being inauthentic.  page 121  

- Four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship to God while the other six deal with our relationships with people.  But all ten are about relationships!  Page 160

- Real maturity shows up in relationships. page 172 

- He created the church to meet your five deepest needs: a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out, and power to live on.  page 174  

- Once a group becomes larger than about ten people, someone stops participating - usually the quietest person - and a few people will dominate the group.  page 178

- ...the Bible tells that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships. page 196

- Christlike is all about transforming your character, not your personality.  page 221 

- Every problem is a character-building opportunity page 252

- Temptation simply provides the choice.  While temptation is Satan's primary weapon to destroy you, God wants to use it to develop you.  page 257 

- Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity.  page 258 

- We naturally move toward whatever we focus our attention on.  The more you think about something, the stronger it takes hold on you.  page 270 

- While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow.  page 279

- Discipleship is the process of conforming to Christ.  page 280  

- Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood.  Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant.  Your primary ministry should be in the area of your shape, but your secondary service is wherever you're needed at the moment.  page 329 

- We serve to get others to like us, to be admired, or to achieve our own goals.  That is manipulation, not ministry.  The whole time we're really thinking about ourselves and how noble and wonderful we are.  page 340 

- Kingdom Builders and Wealth Builders.  Both are gifted at making a business grow, making deals or sales, and making a profit.  Wealth Builders continue to amass wealth for themselves no matter how much they make, but Kingdom Builders change the rules of the game.  They still try to make as much money as they can, but they do it in order to give it away.  They use the wealth to fund God's church and its mission in the world.  page 343 

- Everyone has weaknesses.  In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.  You may also have uncontrollable circumstances that weaken you, such as financial or relational limitations.  The more important issue is what you do with these.   page 348 

- God is never limited by our limitations.  In fact, he enjoys putting his great power into our ordinary containers.  

- He made you to be a member of his family, a model of his character, a magnifier of his glory, a minister of his grace, and a messenger of his Good News to others.  Of these five purposes, the fifth can only be done on earth.  page 378   

- People are most receptive to God when they are under tension or transition. page 385

- Happiness is a choice.  You are as happy as you choose to be.  What other people think of you cannot rob your happiness unless you allow then to rob it.  

  It is a fact that life on our broken planet filled with broken people, there will always be those who will demean how you look, dislike what you do, disapprove of what you believe, dispute what you say, and disrespect who you are.  page 432 

enclosure