“The best way to get ahead in your career and be satisfied in your job is to focus on developing your strengths.”

“Our studies indicate that people who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.” -Tom Rath and Markus Buckingham

There is more and more research showing that the people are the most successful in life are the ones that focus on growing and developing in the area of their strengths.

I was listening to John Maxwell one day and he talked about the book, “Strength Finders 2.0” which is the sequel to “Now Discover Your Strengths”. John makes everyone that joins his team read the book and take the test. He wants to know the strengths of those who work for him so he can energize them and put them where they are most effective.

As a result, I got the book, and took the assessment! It was an extremely eye-opening experience. I’ve listed my top 5 strengths below.

Too many people focus on their weaknesses in life. Too many people don’t know what they are good at or where they would add the most value. Too many people are not working in the area of their strengths and passions. That needs to change!

I have listed a few action steps for you below, I’d encourage you to go through this process and start developing your strengths!

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This is the best book I’ve ever read on leadership. For those in ministry or interested in developing as a leader, it is an absolute must read.

There is something about the way Bill Hybels leads, speaks, writes, and lives that inspires me to do more, be more, and go after God more. He’s a leaders leader.

My big takeaway: If God has given you a kingdom vision, if you see it clearly and feel it deeply, you had better take responsibility for it. You had better give your life to it. That’s why God made you a leader.

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I first heard of this book through Steven Furtick’s book, Sun Stand Still. The entire chapter that Steven wrote called, “The Page 23 Vision” was based off a line he read of this book.

Fresh Wind Fresh Fire is by Jim Cymbala, Pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle. This books was very refreshing. It rekindled my passion for ministry and what God has called the church to be. This is a must read for anybody that is in ministry or believes they are called to ministry.

My big takeaway was: “I knew that a lot of churches gave lip service to the idea that God can do anything. But we needed to have real faith that anyone who walked in, regardless of his or her problems, could become a trophy of God’s grace.”

That is what the church and ministry and God are all about. It is why we do what we do. Ultimately, it’s something only God can do. It’s not just preaching  a great message, it’s believing God to work in people’s lives.

Get this book and you will have your heart and mind renewed. It will help you refocus on what is really important to God and that is us being totally dependent on Him!

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