The Rule of 5

²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.                                                                         -John 15:2

I want to have a life that counts for God, so I’m always looking for ways to become more productive with my time. I recently listened to a John Maxwell leadership lesson on how to get more done in less time. He spoke about the rule of 5. The rule of 5 is taking an area of your life and doing 3-5 things daily to improve that area. He related it to cutting down a large tree, if you’ll take 5 swings a day at the tree with an axe, eventually it will come down.

It is the same way with our goals in life – the rule of 5 is picking an area of your life and saying, “Ok, what are 3-5 things I can do on a daily basis that will allow me to make progress toward my desired outcome?”

John used the example of writing books. He said because one of the most important things he does is write books – his rule of five for writing are:

Everyday I read, Everyday I Think, Everyday I write, Everyday I file, Everyday I ask Questions.

Since one day, I want to write books, I’ve adopted these into my daily routine. I have a rule of  5 for my walk with God, my relationships, networking, work, every area of my life. I know that if I can do 3-5 things everyday in the area of my priorities, I’m going to make a lot of progress over the course of a week, a month, a year, etc..

It’s said that if you’ll spend 15 minutes a day studying a subject, after 5 years, you’ll be an expert in that area. Little things really do add up. I encourage you to take all of the major areas of your life and make your “Rule of 5″ in each area. Everyday do those 3-5 things and watch as over time, your results start to compound.

Book Review: 25 Ways to Win With People

Probably one of the most influential people in my life has been John Maxwell – and I’ve never met him (Definitely a bucket list item). I’ve had this book on my shelf for a few years, it’s a companion to John’s book: Winning With People (I’d highly recommend that one as well. I pulled this off my shelf because of one of my mentors, Jeanne Mayo. Last week I got back from a mentoring retreat with 40 other youth pastors at her house. She is absolutely incredible at winning with people. I recognized that I need to do more on purpose when it comes to connecting and winning with others, so I picked up this book.

This book is a must read! It’s written by Les Parrot and John  Maxwell. Les basically interviewed people that were close to John and asked them why he is so good with people. They came up with 25 principles John practices. The first half of each chapter is Les telling a story he heard from one of John’s staff while the second half is John teaching about the principle. I don’t care if you’re naturally a people person – Read this book! It will help you win with people.

Here are the 25 Principles You’ll Learn:

1. Start with Yourself
2. Practice the 30 Second Rule
3. Let People Know You Need Them
4. Create a Memory and Visit it Often
5. Compliment People in Front of Other Peopel
6. Give Others a Reputation to Uphold
7. Say the Right Words at the Right Time
8. Encourage the Dreams of Others
9. Pass the Credit onto Others
10. Offer Your Very Best
11. Share a Secret with Someone
12. Mine the Gold of Good Intentions
13. Keep Your Eyes off the Mirror
14. Do for Others What They Can’t do for Themselves
15. Listen with Your Heart
16. Find the Keys to Peoples Hearts
17. Be the First to Help
18. Add Value to People
19. Remember a Person’s Story
20. Tell a Good Story
21. Give with No Strings Attached
22. Learn Your Mailman’s Name
23. Point out People’s Strengths
24. Write Notes of Encouragement
25. Help People Win

Final Grade: 10/10 Buy Here

Book Review: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork

I’ve really felt like I need to take some time in my life and study out teamwork. I feel like I’m going from a “Me to We” mentality when it comes to work and leadership. The more I get into this, the more I can see the importance of being a team player and the importance of building and empowering teams. This book gave me tremendous insight into the power of a team and the importance of being a great team member myself. Everyone should read this book who wants to be a leader. Here are my highlights:

• “It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could do alone.” -Andrew Carnegie
• One is too small a number to achieve greatness
• If you think you are the entire picture, you’ll never see the big picture.
• Your potential is only as good as your current team
• If you build the right team, your dream will take care of itself
• The greatest compliment you can receive is to be counted on!

• Your team will reach their potential only if you reach your potential.
• Great teams have great depth
• Few people are successful unless a lot of people want them to be
• The difference between two equally talented teams is leadership
• You don’t have to be the leader to be a leader on your team
• The time, money, and effort required to develop team members don’t change the team overnight, but developing them always pays offs. Investing in the team compounds over time.
• “Even when you’ve played the game of your life, it’s the feeling of teamwork that you’ll remember. You’ll forget the plays, the shots, and the scores, but you’ll never forget your teammates.”

Overall, I think every leader needs to read this and learn that team work really does make the dream work.

Overall Grade: A+ Buy it here!

John Maxwell Interview – Hilarious

This is going all over the web… thought I’d share it with everyone… Hilarious… I love Maxwell!

Book Review: Put Your Dream to the Test

John Maxwell has made such a huge impact on my life through his teachings and books. Personally, I try to devour as much of his stuff as I am able to. What I love about John’s books is that he can take complicated principles about leadership and life and put them into bite sized pieces that anyone could digest.

I’ve been looking forward to reading “Put Your Dream to the Test” for a long time. I’m 23 years old and still really figuring out my strengths, my weaknesses, and what dream I am going to pursue with my life.This book really helped me get some clarity on some issues I was wrestling with.

We live in a world where it’s easy to find people that have dreams, but it’s very difficult to find people who are actually living out their dreams. There are a lot of reasons people never start pursuing their dreams, give up on their dreams, or never see their dreams come to pass. John covers all of those in his book. So no matter where you are in your journey, if you’re questioning where you are when it comes to pursuing your dream or why you’re not making progress the way you should be, read this book!

John breaks down your dream into 10 questions that put your dream to the test. The more questions you can answer successfully, the more likely you’ll be to see your dream come to pass. The questions that really impacted me were:

1.) The Ownership Question - Is my Dream Really My Dream?

2.) The Clarity Question - Do I clearly see my dream?

3.) The Reality Question- Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?

4.) The Cost Question - Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?

This book is definitely worth the read! This should be a requirement for anyone who has a dream in their heart.It’s a quick and easy read, but filled with wisdom for your life. Get this book now!

Final Grade: A     Buy it Here