The thought manifests the word;
The word manifests the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let them spring forth from love
Born out of compassion for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body, as we think,
So we become. —Juan Mascaro
Years ago I read a book that transformed the way I read and studied. This one book probably caused me to become a more discriminating reader than any other factor. Although it’s less than 50 pages long, As A Man Thinketh by James Allen revolutionized my thinking. Over the last couple of days, I’ve been listening to the audiobook as I have been driving around.
Here’s a quote from James Allen:
“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. … A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts.”
This is what the Bible says about the seeds of great thoughts:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
What are you thinking about today? What’s going in? You are making yourself by what you are thinking, so choose those thought-stimulators wisely.
As I read Dr. Tim Irwin’s latest book, Derailed, I thought about a quote from John Maxwell: “A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from others’ mistakes. The wisest man learns from others’ successes.”
The subtitle of this book is “Five lessons learned from catastrophic failures of leadership.” In this, we learn from others’ mistakes. But then Dr. Irwin goes on to show us successes that we can learn from as well. Combining the insight from successful—or should I say “non-derailed” leaders—with his own discernment, Dr. Irwin shows us how to stay on the rails.
When I first noticed that the examples in the book were all high-profile CEOs, I thought, “What could I learn from them? After all, I’m not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.” But Dr. Irwin does an excellent job of bringing the four qualities of character—authenticity, self-management, humility, and courage—down to a pedestrian level where even we non-CEO-types can benefit from his wisdom.
Although the principles in Derailed can benefit anyone in leadership, or aspiring to a leadership position, this book still might not be for everyone. The six case studies in the book are all derailed CEOs, and unless you have a penchant for the business world, you might not find them very enjoyable reading. However, for those of you who enjoy business history, there is much to gain from a careful reading of Derailed.
I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.
Masks just for fun
A quick show of hands: how many of you like a phony? Uh-huh, I didn’t think I’d see any hands raised on that one. We may like to see our favorite actor/actress play a convincing role on stage or on screen, but when it comes to real people we interact with on a daily basis, we want the real deal.
Sadly, the people who have the most “realness” to offer often go about it in a phony way. I’ve observed way too many people who claim to be followers of Christ put their masks on:
Since God has so generously let us in on what He is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
Be real. Always. In all circumstances. Masks are for parties. Realness is for people’s souls.
The dictionary defines an assassin as “one who murders by surprise attack.” No assassin worth his/her salt sends you an announcement to say, “I’ll be stopping by your office tomorrow morning to kill you. If that’s not a convenient time for you, please let me know.” Of course not! Assassins never tell you that they’re coming.
Theodore Roosevelt said, “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”
So a “character assassin” is something that sneaks up and takes out the essential factor that could have made us successful and effective in life. This is why Deadly Viper Character Assassins is such a vital resource.
Here are the two pulls in my life:
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour [assassinate]. (1 Peter 5:8)
You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
If I keep our character intact, I’ve developed a foundation that will sustain me for the long haul. In my experience, here’s what I’ve done to keep developing my character:
Don’t wait until the assassin has already taken a shot at your character, but begin to protect yourself now. Continue to grow in the character Jesus Christ exhibited for us.
Craig T. Owens 