Get a life! - overview

I've begun reading Reggie McNeal's little book Get A Life! It IS All About You. It is a short book - at only 180 pages - but if you take it seriously and fill in the blanks, who knows how long it could turn into. But it looks good. This is actually some of what we went through in our Missional Leadership Initiative training. I hope to take it slow through this book - not only as a review - but to reinforce and get a clearer picture of my life mission. On p.9 he says, "The book is designed to help you make the discovery of your life mission." That's what I'm hoping for.

If you're concerned about a book that is "all about you"... the inside front cover has a pretty good explanation. He says...

Until we come to grips with ourselves we are not likely to be able to move past ourselves. Paying attention to our development, including our relationship with the God who made us, provides us with the ultimate capacity to build bridges that let us off the island of self into the world beyond us. That's why I tell you that it's all about you. You have no other starting point. Pretending otherwise is just another form of denial that keeps you from dealing with the most challenging person in your life -- yourself.

On the back of the book he goes on...

When was the last time you took a long look at you and had an honest, helpful discussion with yourself about you? Failure to do that might cause you to miss out on the life you were created for. Here is your chance for the conversation of a lifetime.

In Get A Life! It IS All About You, author Reggie McNeal says, "God had you in mind when he made you."

With that truth, McNeal invites us to take responsibility for the hardest thing we'll ever do: really live. In dialogue with readers, he puts a spotlight on the need to intentionally examine our lives on a regular basis, making sure that we are living our level best at every moment and in all regards, from relationships and career to community and faith. Specifically, he explains in detail the importance of always coming back to these five questions:

• Why Am I Here?
• What Is Really Important to Me?
• What Is My Scorecard?
• What Am I Good At?
• What Do I Need to Learn?

Begin to ask and live out the answers to these questions, and you will move beyond wishful thinking into living a life of greater focus and meaning than ever before!

The five questions are also the five chapters of the book. I think I will like it. I'll keep you posted.

Peace out; and in.