if i’m not surfing in my spare time, there’s high chances that i’m buried amongst books.

i’ve recently rediscovered my love of books. if i drive past a second hand bookshop in a small country town, chances are that i will probably stop for a break. the business / self improvement section has long been my long time favourite, or more recently the interior design section.

right now, here are the list of books that i’m currently reading

– show your work by austin kleon

– thinking fast and slow by daniel kahnman

– the daniel dilemma by chris hodges

– leadership jazz by max de pree

– trillion dollar coach by eric schmidt, jonathan rosenberg and alan eagle

– bird by bird by anne lamott

– the end of the affair by vintage green

i decided this year that i want to read a book at least every couple of weeks, so 26 books at least!

i’ve also turned my car into a university and loving long drives as i’m learning lots through listening to podcasts. npr’s how i built this is a must listen every week. and i’m also currently going back to listen to tim ferriss’ long form interviews on experts in the area of finance.

i’m curious – what are you reading now? and if you listen to podcasts, what are they? please do comment as i’m always on the lookout for great books and podcasts!

i don’t know why, but i’m drawn to the character joshua in the bible.  and it’s well known that the LORD tells him several times in the book of joshua to be strong and courageous.  but recently when i read it, i noted that the israelites, his own followers told him the exact same thing.

check this out in joshua 1:18 “whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you many commend them, will be put to death.  only be strong and courageous”

it struck me that we need strong, courageous leaders.  leaders who are willing to make the tough decisions – it could be an unpopular decision, but it needs to be made.  followers need leaders who are strongly convicted, driven by their principles. and who stick to it when the time gets tough.  i sense that now more than ever, we need strong leaders.

i’m curious to find out from those reading this, who are strong and courageous leaders that you know?

i think we all follow others – whether consciously or subconsciously.

that’s it from me today – but there’s more leadership talk coming this way.  it’s been a hot topic on my mind lately.

for those of you who are readers, one of the best leadership books i’ve read lately is “leadership is an art” by max de pree.

have an awesome week!

p.s oh, if you’re reading this and keen to get short daily snippets of what’s on my mind, enter your email and hit the subscribe button! xo

this blog entry is inspired by a talk i heard yesterday by phil pringle.

“ask god to give you a vision, and then think of yourself from that future.  don’t think it’s just going to happen, get organised.  and get strategy.”

this morning i was journalling and some visions i had that really spoke to me came to mind.

there have been many times i’ve been inspired by that vision or image that god gives me, get excited… but then don’t do much else with it.  and then get reminded of that vision a while later.

however, taking the simple next few steps of thinking of myself from that future.. and then coming up with strategy to get from where i am now to the vision that god has given me has given me clarity with what i do with my time now.   i realised earlier this week that what i do with my time doesn’t make sense to some people, but that’s ok.  at least for now!  it’s ok cos’ i know the visions god has given me, the burdens he’s placed on my heart, the gifts he’s given me and what i am to do with them.  i can see certain areas clearer than others, and that’s ok too.

for now, i have had a passion in the area of wealth and money…  and am investing time reading books and online resources on this topic from all sorts of view points.  the book i’m reading now that i’ve mentioned previously is by kris vallotton called poverty, riches and wealth.  this morning, i read kris’ viewpoint on the difference between riches and wealth and it certainly challenged me!  i’m not 100% clear where the future will lead, but i’m taking one step at a time learning more about this, putting it into practice through investing in shares and property.  and one of the things i most look forward to is coaching and helping others in that area!

for those of you who don’t have visions of your future, spend time asking our creator god for a vision.

and for those who have visions, ask god for strategy on what the next steps are.

and it doesn’t matter how small that next step is… i learning that small steps create habits, and habits set you up for a future!

have an awesome day everyone!

i’ve been mulling over this thought for the last couple of days.

what do i stand for?

a quote from erwin mcmanus’ book – the last arrow

“you have to decide what will define you.  what will mark you as a person? how will you be known by others? your decisions are the direct result of truly knowing yourself.”

what defines me? 

+ integrity : doing what i say i will do

+ believing the best in people

+ constantly seeking to learn + improve

+ having fun + being playful

+ bringing light to people

+ doing something about causes that matter to me

+ being authentic

by the way, the photograph was taken on a holiday trip to indonesia and i love it cos’ it reminds me of the playful, fun nature of kids.  sometimes i think some adults could learn this from kids.  perhaps that’s why i like photographing kids 🙂

i also agree with erwin about the importance of truly knowing oneself.  if you’re on this journey of discovering who you are, one test i really like is the clifton strengths test, formerly known as the strengthsfinder.

are there any other strengthsfinder fans out there?  if so, please do comment and let me know what your top 5 are!  mine are learner, futuristic, ideation, strategic and restorative.  i would especially love to meet fellow ideators!  i get accused of swapping between topics so quickly… and after taking this test, i realised its cos’ ideation is top strengths!  ideators are fascinated with ideas and are able to find connections between what others see as disparate things.