“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
-1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

From the time my first son was born I have been a fan of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.  During my sons’ formative years, we probably read through the entire series — aloud — at least seven times.  This does not include the various other times I read one or another of the books for the enjoyment of it.

In book five (according to the copyright date — don’t get me started) titled The Horse and His Boy, we encounter a character who, despite his brief appearance in this one volume, made a real impression on me.  I am referring to King Lune of Archenland, a model of manliness as I hope you’ll see in the following passage:

“The King’s under the law, for it’s the law makes him a king.”

“As was certain to happen sooner or later, King Lune said it was time for young people to be in bed. “And tomorrow, Cor,” he added, “shalt come over all the castle with me and see the estate, and mark all its strength and weakness: for it will be thine to guard when I’m gone.”

“But Corin will be the King then, Father,” said Cor.

“Nay, lad,” said King Lune, “thou art my heir. The crown comes to thee.”

“But I don’t want it,” said Cor. “I’d far rather–”

“‘Tis no question what thou wantest, Cor, nor I either. ‘Tis in the course of law.”

“But if we’re twins we must be the same age.”

“Nay,” said the King with a laugh. “One must come first. Art Corin’s elder by full twenty minutes. And his better too, let’s hope, though that’s no great mastery.” And he looked at Corin with a twinkle in his eyes.

“But, Father, couldn’t you make whichever you like to be the next King?”

“No. The King’s under the law, for it’s the law makes him a king. Hast no more power to start away from thy crown than any sentry from his post.”

“Oh dear,” said Cor. “I don’t want to at all. And Corin– I am most dreadfully sorry. I never dreamed my turning up was going to chisel you out of your kingdom.”

“Hurrah! Hurrah!” said Corin. “I shan’t have to be king. I shan’t have to be king. I’ll always be a prince. It’s princes have all the fun.”

“And that’s truer than thy brother knows, Cor,” said King Lune. “For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.”

–C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy in The Chronicles of Narnia

As a man, you are made to exercise your masculine strength.  If you’re called to be a husband, your mission is to be her head and to lead your wife toward ever-increasing Christlikeness.  If you’re blessed to be a father, your mission is to teach your children and train them in right living under the grace of God.  This type of spiritual headship has been described as a man’s being the king of his castle.

If you’re a leader — a king —  here are four concepts I offer for your consideration, based on the example of good King Lune.

Even kings are under authority

King Lune submits to the law, making him a moral and just leader.  If you read the entire series, you’ll understand that in the fictional realm of Narnia, there are laws because there is a transcendent law-giver.  So Lune wouldn’t have tried to change the law even if he wanted to. This is consistent with the saying that we are a country of laws, not men.  Everyone is subject to the same standard, even the king.

A king has a duty – he is not his own

Everyone in Archenland has his role.  As Lune points out, it isn’t a matter of what he, his son or anyone else prefers.  If your job is to be king, then by all means rule.  The monarch can’t shirk his responsibilities any more than a soldier or a sentry in the king’s army can be derelict in his.  As Robert E. Lee said, “You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more, you should never wish to do less.”

A king leads from the front

As Lune explains to his son what it means to be king, he models a concept known as leading from the front.  A good king is first in every charge, and the last man in every retreat.  He puts his own life on the line in battle, since it is by his authority that the kingdom is at war.  If there are hard times, he bears them with his subjects and doesn’t exempt or isolate himself from the suffering in his domain.  The motto at the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School is Ductus exemplo — lead by example.

A king sets the tone for those in his kingdom

Note that King Lune is no politician. He doesn’t promise never-ending prosperity, and he recognizes that bad years will come.  He understands and articulates that in those circumstances a good king doesn’t go into hiding.  Rather he brightens his attitude and those of his people by force of his optimism.  He wears fine clothes and laughs despite the lack of food on his plate because he has hope.

A husband and a father needs to be strong before his wife and children in this same way.  They are looking to their leader — you — to set the emotional and spiritual tone in good and bad times.  I personally couldn’t do this without God’s help, but I do it because I have hope

So how about you?  How do you — or how do you intend to — wield your authority in your domain?  Add your comments below.

A man on a mission has to be on his guard, as there are obstacles and enemies that would thwart his purpose. Bandits will try to rob him, women will try to seduce him, fatigue will try to overpower him and even his appetite will attempt to sidetrack him. If he is at his best, and he remembers the reason he left home in the first place, he will see each challenge for what it is. He will then know best how to overcome it.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself
(photo by Rodion Kutsaev)

I have said before how much I love  The Chronicles of Narnia — C.S. Lewis’ series of fantasy novels about a world parallel to ours where animals talk, mythological creatures are real, and the king is a lion named Aslan. In the fourth* book in the series, titled The Silver Chair, two English children find themselves taken from their oppressive school to a mountaintop in Aslan’s Country. Here they receive a charge from Aslan himself to go on a quest for a lost Narnian prince.

Remember the signs

Aslan tells one of the children, Jill Pole, about the quest, and he gives her four signs to help her and her companion, Eustace, stay on track. Aslan demands that Jill repeat the signs over and over, and he tells her to continue repeating them often. He explains that the air on the mountain is clear, but that she will find it harder to remember them in the denser air of Narnia.

No spoilers here

The remainder of the story deals with the adventures that ensue from Jill and Eustace’s remembering or failing to remember the signs. There is so much good there, I’m not remotely tempted to ruin the story for you — you really should read it, though.

Also, I can’t tell you what sort of pitfalls await you on your journey, but I can tell you that no one I know sails a straight course through life. Our air is dense, too, and it is easy at times to forget and fall into trouble. Some hardships result from our poor choices, some from the whims of others, and some from living in a fallen world. I do believe that God is able to use them all to accomplish His will — even our failings — but we must be honest with Him and with ourselves.

What’s in it for you?

On multiple occasions, I’ve encouraged you to discover your purpose and to decide to live a life of consequence. I’ll stand by that advice. One way to help you see the benefits of this is to imagine you are a guest at your own funeral. What would you like to be remembered for? How do you hope your loved ones would sum up your life? What would you want your legacy to be? I hope all of your answers to these questions would be good ones. If they aren’t, it isn’t too late to get busy correcting them. No matter where you are relative to that ideal ending to your body of work, they key is to remember the signs.

Here’s your sign

For most of us, the principal signs are our purpose, our gifts and our relationships. Understanding why you are alive will animate your decisions — what you say yes to and what you refuse. Your gifts are the tools to help you fulfill your purpose and complete your mission over the course of your life. And your relationships provide the context, the teachers and the teammates for your life’s work. So, how do you know if you’re on track?

Go to the mirror, boy

I believe in working on strengths is more productive than focusing on weaknesses. Even so, there are some weaknesses one should work to overcome. In these cases, being willing to confront the need honestly — and calling it by its real name — is the first step to vanquishing it.

If you’re stuck, ask yourself what’s holding you back. If it’s fear, admit it and attack it. Have the difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding. Ask her out. If it’s ignorance or lack of skills, devise a plan and devote the time to do the work and — this is important — measure your progress. Keep a log. Don’t fudge.

Long before he was an action hero, or the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilder. On his way to domination of that field, he was dissatisfied with his underdeveloped calf muscles, so he cut off the legs of his sweatpants so everyone would see those puny calves. This motivated him to train them harder, and his fame in bodybuilding set the table for his subsequent careers in movies, politics and movies again.

A little help from my friends

Part of the benefit of relationships is the opportunity to hear the truth from people who love you. A genuine compliment is great, but sincere constructive criticism is even more valuable to defeat self-deception.

An executive I know just subjected himself to a 360-degree review — a management tool where one’s peers, superior(s), and subordinates offer candid critiques of a colleague in order to reinforce what he is doing right, but also to point out those deficiencies that hinder his performance. This process is not for the squeamish or the easily offended, but it can be just the tonic needed to deliver a man from his self-deception. I’ve already seen my colleague make some significant changes as a result of this process. I hope he’ll continue improving.

The kindness of the surgeon — and Simon Cowell

Nobody I know enjoys criticism, but if you trust the motives of your critics, their words can save you years of frustration. The concept, as we’ve discussed before, is understanding the difference between what hurts you and what harms you. Even with modern anesthesia, surgery hurts. But, the purpose of surgery is to heal, not harm. The pain is unfortunate, but necessary, to accomplish the ultimate goal. Criticism can also sting but ultimately it can benefit you.

I haven’t spent much time watching “American Idol,” but I always marveled at the audition episodes. Candidate after candidate would walk confidently into the room, open his or her mouth and — stink the place up. Simon Cowell (God bless him!) would interrupt the embarrassing spectacle and tell the would-be performer that he or she simply could not sing. The most deluded would then have the gall to argue with Cowell regarding his lack of discernment regarding their “talent.”

May God give us ears to hear when we’re off-pitch — and friends to tell us the unpleasant truth when we can’t hear it for ourselves.

So how about you? How are you examining your purpose, your gifts and your relationships to determine whether or not you’re on course? Add your comments below.

*The fourth book in the series by copyright and publication date. Lewis wrote the books out of sequence relative to Narnian time, and toward the end of his life defended the publication order as the correct order for the reader.

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” -Martin Niemöller

I love C.S. Lewis’ book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. I’m sure I’ve read the entire series at least seven times, several of those aloud.

In the final installment titled The Last Battle, the dwarfs, most of whom have been sympathetic characters,  refuse to take sides in the climactic skirmish between the followers of Aslan, the great Lion who rules Narnia, and the followers of Tash, the god of the Calormenes.

As much as it depends on you, try to live at peace with everyone…

Claiming that they had been equally mistreated through the years by both the Narnians and the Calormenes, the dwarfs’ rallying cry is “The dwarfs are for the dwarfs!” They even begin shooting at both sides, killing combatants from their rocky firing position.

Of course this goes badly for everyone involved, and when the dwarfs are thrown through the door of a nearby stable (that is to say, they are killed) they are in the presence of Aslan. But because they refused to be his subjects, they can’t see him — or anything else.

What Aslan can and cannot do for them.

One of the heroes takes pity on the dwarfs and asks Aslan to help them. He replies that he will show her both what he can and can’t do for them. He speaks kindly to them, but all they hear is a ferocious lion’s growl. He sets a feast before them, but they imagine it to be straw and manure. They spend their eternity blind, bickering and complaining in the presence of splendor.

It makes me wonder if we aren’t like them at times.

The error of parochialism

Closer to home

Games people play

The theology of the body

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” – 1 Corinthians 12:15-20 (NIV)

Why it matters

So how about you? How do you avoid the trap of parochialism? Add your comments below.

“People lose their way when they lose their why” – Gail Hyatt

A man on a mission has to be on his guard, as there are obstacles and enemies that would thwart his purpose. Bandits will try to rob him, women will try to seduce him, fatigue will try to overpower him and even his appetite will attempt to sidetrack him. If he is at his best, and he remembers the reason he left home in the first place, he will see each challenge for what it is. He will then know best how to overcome it.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself
(photo by Rodion Kutsaev)

I have said before how much I love  The Chronicles of Narnia — C.S. Lewis’ series of fantasy novels about a world parallel to ours where animals talk, mythological creatures are real, and the king is a lion named Aslan. In the fourth* book in the series, titled The Silver Chair, two English children find themselves taken from their oppressive school to a mountaintop in Aslan’s Country. Here they receive a charge from Aslan himself to go on a quest for a lost Narnian prince.

Remember the signs

Aslan tells one of the children, Jill Pole, about the quest, and he gives her four signs to help her and her companion, Eustace, stay on track. Aslan demands that Jill repeat the signs over and over, and he tells her to continue repeating them often. He explains that the air on the mountain is clear, but that she will find it harder to remember them in the denser air of Narnia.

No spoilers here

The remainder of the story deals with the adventures that ensue from Jill and Eustace’s remembering or failing to remember the signs. There is so much good there, I’m not remotely tempted to ruin the story for you — you really should read it, though.

Also, I can’t tell you what sort of pitfalls await you on your journey, but I can tell you that no one I know sails a straight course through life. Our air is dense, too, and it is easy at times to forget and fall into trouble. Some hardships result from our poor choices, some from the whims of others, and some from living in a fallen world. I do believe that God is able to use them all to accomplish His will — even our failings — but we must be honest with Him and with ourselves.

What’s in it for you?

On multiple occasions, I’ve encouraged you to discover your purpose and to decide to live a life of consequence. I’ll stand by that advice. One way to help you see the benefits of this is to imagine you are a guest at your own funeral. What would you like to be remembered for? How do you hope your loved ones would sum up your life? What would you want your legacy to be? I hope all of your answers to these questions would be good ones. If they aren’t, it isn’t too late to get busy correcting them. No matter where you are relative to that ideal ending to your body of work, they key is to remember the signs.

Here’s your sign

For most of us, the principal signs are our purpose, our gifts and our relationships. Understanding why you are alive will animate your decisions — what you say yes to and what you refuse. Your gifts are the tools to help you fulfill your purpose and complete your mission over the course of your life. And your relationships provide the context, the teachers and the teammates for your life’s work. So, how do you know if you’re on track?

Go to the mirror, boy

I believe in working on strengths is more productive than focusing on weaknesses. Even so, there are some weaknesses one should work to overcome. In these cases, being willing to confront the need honestly — and calling it by its real name — is the first step to vanquishing it.

If you’re stuck, ask yourself what’s holding you back. If it’s fear, admit it and attack it. Have the difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding. Ask her out. If it’s ignorance or lack of skills, devise a plan and devote the time to do the work and — this is important — measure your progress. Keep a log. Don’t fudge.

Long before he was an action hero, or the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilder. On his way to domination of that field, he was dissatisfied with his underdeveloped calf muscles, so he cut off the legs of his sweatpants so everyone would see those puny calves. This motivated him to train them harder, and his fame in bodybuilding set the table for his subsequent careers in movies, politics and movies again.

A little help from my friends

Part of the benefit of relationships is the opportunity to hear the truth from people who love you. A genuine compliment is great, but sincere constructive criticism is even more valuable to defeat self-deception.

An executive I know just subjected himself to a 360-degree review — a management tool where one’s peers, superior and subordinates offer candid critiques of a colleague in order to reinforce what he is doing right, but also to point out those deficiencies that hinder his performance. This process is not for the squeamish of the easily offended, but it can be just the tonic needed to deliver a man from his self-deception. I’ve already seen my colleague make some significant changes as a result of this process. I hope he’ll continue improving.

The kindness of the surgeon — and Simon Cowell

Nobody I know enjoys criticism, but if you trust the motives of your critics, their words can save you years of frustration. The concept, as we’ve discussed before, is understanding the difference between what hurts you and what harms you. Even with modern anesthesia, surgery hurts. But, the purpose of surgery is to heal, not harm. The pain is unfortunate, but necessary, to accomplish the ultimate goal. Criticism can also sting but ultimately it can benefit you.

I haven’t spent much time watching “American Idol,” but I always marveled at the audition episodes. Candidate after candidate would walk confidently into the room, open his or her mouth and — stink the place up. Simon Cowell (God bless him!) would interrupt the embarrassing spectacle and tell the would-be performer that he or she simply could not sing. The most deluded would then have the gall to argue with Cowell regarding his lack of discernment regarding their “talent.”

May God give us ears to hear when we’re off-pitch — and friends to tell us the unpleasant truth when we can’t hear it for ourselves.

So how about you? How are you examining your purpose, your gifts and your relationships to determine whether or not you’re on course? Add your comments below.

*The fourth book in the series by copyright and publication date. Lewis wrote the books out of sequence relative to Narnian time, and toward the end of his life defended the publication order as the correct order for the reader.

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” -Martin Niemöller

I love C.S. Lewis’ book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. I’m sure I’ve read the entire series at least seven times, several of those aloud.

In the final installment titled The Last Battle, the dwarfs, most of whom have been sympathetic characters,  refuse to take sides in the climactic skirmish between the followers ofAslan, the great Lion who rules Narnia, and the followers ofTash, the god of theCalormenes.

As much as it depends on you, try to live at peace with everyone…

Claiming that they had been equally mistreated through the years by both the Narnians and the Calormenes, the dwarfs’ rallying cry is “The dwarfs are for the dwarfs!” They even begin shooting at both sides, killing combatants from their rocky firing position.

Of course this goes badly for everyone involved, and when the dwarfs are thrown through the door of a nearby stable (that is to say, they are killed) they are in the presence of Aslan. But because they refused to be his subjects, they can’t see him — or anything else.

What Aslan can and cannot do for them.

One of the heroes takes pity on the dwarfs and asks Aslan to help them. He replies that he will show her both what he can and can’t do for them. He speaks kindly to them, but all they hear is a ferocious lion’s growl. He sets a feast before them, but they imagine it to be straw and manure. They spend their eternity blind, bickering and complaining in the presence of splendor.

It makes me wonder if we aren’t like them at times.

The error of parochialism

Closer to home

Games people play

The theology of the body

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” – 1 Corinthians 12:15-20 (NIV)

Why it matters

So how about you? How do you avoid the trap of parochialism? Add your comments below.

From the time my first son was born I have been a fan of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.  During my sons’ formative years, we probably read through the entire series — aloud — at least seven times.  This does not include the various other times I read one or another of the books for the enjoyment of it.

In book five (according to the copyright date — don’t get me started) titled The Horse and His Boy, we encounter a character who, despite his brief appearance in this one volume, made a real impression on me.  I am referring to King Lune of Archenland, a model of manliness as I hope you’ll see in the following passage:

“The King’s under the law, for it’s the law makes him a king.”

“As was certain to happen sooner or later, King Lune said it was time for young people to be in bed. “And tomorrow, Cor,” he added, “shalt come over all the castle with me and see the estate, and mark all its strength and weakness: for it will be thine to guard when I’m gone.”

“But Corin will be the King then, Father,” said Cor.

“Nay, lad,” said King Lune, “thou art my heir. The crown comes to thee.”

“But I don’t want it,” said Cor. “I’d far rather–”

“‘Tis no question what thou wantest, Cor, nor I either. ‘Tis in the course of law.”

“But if we’re twins we must be the same age.”

“Nay,” said the King with a laugh. “One must come first. Art Corin’s elder by full twenty minutes. And his better too, let’s hope, though that’s no great mastery.” And he looked at Corin with a twinkle in his eyes.

“But, Father, couldn’t you make whichever you like to be the next King?”

“No. The King’s under the law, for it’s the law makes him a king. Hast no more power to start away from thy crown than any sentry from his post.”

“Oh dear,” said Cor. “I don’t want to at all. And Corin– I am most dreadfully sorry. I never dreamed my turning up was going to chisel you out of your kingdom.”

“Hurrah! Hurrah!” said Corin. “I shan’t have to be king. I shan’t have to be king. I’ll always be a prince. It’s princes have all the fun.”

“And that’s truer than thy brother knows, Cor,” said King Lune. “For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.”

–C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy in The Chronicles of Narnia 

As a man, you are made to exercise your masculine strength.  If you’re called to be a husband, your mission is to be her head and to lead your wife toward ever-increasing Christlikeness.  If you’re blessed to be a father, your mission is to teach your children and train them in right living under the grace of God.  This type of spiritual headship has been described as a man’s being the king of his castle.

If you’re a leader — a king —  here are four concepts I offer for your consideration, based on the example of good King Lune.

Even kings are under authority
King Lune submits to the law, making him a moral and just leader.  If you read the entire series, you’ll understand that in the fictional realm of Narnia, there are laws because there is a transcendent law-giver.  So Lune wouldn’t have tried to change the law even if he wanted to. This is consistent with the saying that we are a country of laws, not men.  Everyone is subject to the same standard, even the king.

A king has a duty – he is not his own
Everyone in Archenland has his role.  As Lune points out, it isn’t a matter of what he, his son or anyone else prefers.  If your job is to be king, then by all means rule.  The monarch can’t shirk his responsibilities any more than a soldier or a sentry in the king’s army can be derelict in his.  As Robert E. Lee said, “You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more, you should never wish to do less.”

A king leads from the front
As Lune explains to his son what it means to be king, he models a concept known as leading from the front.  A good king is first in every charge, and the last man in every retreat.  He puts his own life on the line in battle, since it is by his authority that the kingdom is at war.  If there are hard times, he bears them with his subjects and doesn’t exempt or isolate himself from the suffering in his domain.  The motto at the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School is Ductus exemplo — lead by example.

A king sets the tone for those in his kingdom
Note that King Lune is no politician. He doesn’t promise never-ending prosperity, and he recognizes that bad years will come.  He understands and articulates that in those circumstances a good king doesn’t go into hiding.  Rather he brightens his attitude and those of his people by force of his optimism.  He wears fine clothes and laughs despite the lack of food on his plate because he has hope.

A husband and a father needs to be strong before his wife and children in this same way.  They are looking to their leader — you — to set the emotional and spiritual tone in good and bad times.  I personally couldn’t do this without God’s help, but I do it because I have hope

So how about you?  How do you — or how do you intend to — wield your authority in your domain?  Add your comments below.

I once heard my friend Bob Shank say that five years from now, the person you are then will be determined by the books you’re reading today.   That made an impression on me, and whenever I pick up a book, I think about this idea.

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” – Groucho Marx

Given the investment of time and attention required to read, comprehend and retain, it is not surprising that books would have such influence.  As a result, to be the best version of himself a man should definitely read books — but he should make it a point to read really good books.

I have a backlog of books I haven’t yet gotten to this year, but here follows a list of my favorite books read in 2014:

• Live Like A Narnian by Joe Rigney — If you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, this book extracts some of the character traits worth emulating, and does so without quenching the joy of the original stories.  In addition to reminding me again why I love Lewis’s stories so much, it made me want to sit down and read them again.
• Evernote Essentials by Brett Kelly — I’ll admit it: I love Evernote, and I think you should use it, too.  Kelly’s ebook is an entertaining instruction manual written in a conversational style.  I haven’t even implemented all of the suggestions, but reading this book made Evernote even more useful.
• How The World Sees You by Sally Hogshead — Marketing expert Sally Hogshead explains the science of fascination, specifically the attributes that can make each one of us fascinating.  Part of this book is an explanation of the 49 personality archetypes that are discerned from the author’s Fascination Advantage online assessment.  (For the record, my primary advantage is Power and my secondary advantage is Innovation, making me a Change Agent.)
• Drucker & Me by Bob Buford — Bob Buford, author of the leadership classics Halftime and Game Plan, tells the story and shares the lessons he learned from his friendship with the father of modern management, Peter Drucker.   We should all have such mentors.
• 10/10/80 Living: A Practical Roadmap for Financial Success by E. John Wood — If you didn’t come into the world with a good grasp of money management, this book lays out a simple plan for mastering your money.  As the title suggests, you’re encouraged to give ten percent (the Biblical tithe), save ten percent, and live on the rest.  This is easier to say than to do, so Wood explains how to set up — and live on — a budget.
• Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day by Todd Henry — The author of The Accidental Creative lays out the rationale for delivering our best — in terms of effort and results — by slaying what he dubs the seven deadly sins of mediocrity.  The title is inspired by Oliver Wendell Holmes’ poem “The Voiceless” in which Holmes wrote: “Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them!”  Henry says we need to plan to go to our graves with all our latent gifts fully expressed.

As you can see, I need to make time over the holidays and next year to read more fiction.  Even so, I have quite a stack to read or re-read, including Tony Robbins’ newest book, Money: Master the Game, and one of my favorites, Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy.

So how about you? What book or books made an impact on you in 2014?  Add a comment below and tell what made them your favorites for this year.