Clay in the Hands

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Tim Sanders speak.  He grew up in Clovis, New Mexico, but he made a name for himself in the midst of the dot.com era working for a time as an executive with Yahoo!  I was pulled in by his charisma and passion for communication and then I was moved by what he said.  Shortly afterward, I began reading his blog and following him on Twitter (@sanderssays).  Over the last couple of years I have had to restrict the number tweets I actually get to my phone.  But Tim’s tweets still come directly to me – why?  Because what he says is always uplifting and beneficial.

That is why, when he sent out a request for folks to preview his upcoming book, Today We Are Rich, I jumped at the chance.  I received the book in the mail last week and dug right in.  Now I must confess, I am not a big believer in the power of positive thinking.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that there is significant power in positive thinking.  But I don’t prescribe to a pie in the sky idea that we can change our world by simply looking at things with a positive attitude.

I love how Tim approaches the subject.  His thesis is this, “Positive thinking is an outcome, not a prescribed behavior.  It requires much effort and discipline.  It’s a lifestyle decision.”  In the book, Tim gives 7 principles to follow in building a lifestyle that will promote positive thinking and thus, result in more confidence to live as God intended.

One of the most meaningful aspects of the book for me is this:  Tim is internationally recognized as a Fortune 1000 consultant and speaker.  He has already written a New York Times Best Seller in Love Is The Killer App.  He is sought after to speak all over the world in the area of leadership and business.  But at no point in his book did he shrink from letting his faith influence his words.  He boldly speaks of his discipline of reading the Bible every day as a means of staying grounded and “putting good stuff” into his mind.  How many business and leadership books have your read in which the author’s faith was discussed openly?

Tomorrow I will give you a few more of my thoughts on the importance of Tim’s book, Today We Are Rich.  But for today, I have two challenges for you:  1)  Find someway to contribute to someone else’s success today – even if you will gain nothing.  And 2)  Make plans to buy this book on Tuesday when it is released (You can take a sneak peak here).  I can promise you, it will be worth every penny and even more worth your time!

Be a blessing today!