Don't Give Up, Don't Give In: Lessons from An Extraordinary Life (2014) by Louis Zamperini & David Rensin, Book Review

Have you watched the movie Unbroken (2014) directed by Angelina Jolie? If not, then you should watch it. Now! If yes, then you will know who is the late Louis "Louie" Zamperini (1917 - 2014). A remarkable man. An athlete in the field and life. A survivor. I love to read stories from people who endure hardship and yet do not come out as bitter but inspirational. Read autobiographies of those like Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning (1946), Elie Wiesel's Night (1956), Richard Wurmbrand's Tortured for Christ (1967), Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl (1947), Zamperini's Devil at My Heels (2003) and see if you still can complain about the little things in life. They show us how we can find hope amid suffering, love amid hatred, and radical forgiveness amid evil acts. They are not perfect, and that's good because we can relate. When a graduate from the school of hard knocks like Zamperini gives advice, I think and take notes.

So many good lessons I've learned from this book. It's not that these lessons are new and revolutionary (self-help books, for example, are saying the same things only with different packages) but because Zamperini's life and integrity back up most of his words, I find that they are refreshing... and real. Everyone can say something profound about forgiveness but when Zamperini - who was captured, tortured, and abused both physically and psychologically by the Japanese soldiers during World War II for more than 2 years - say it, the lesson goes from my head to heart. After his conversion under Billy Graham's preaching, Zamperini writes: "My faith grew. A year later I returned to Japan. I asked to meet my prison guards - now incarcerated as war criminals - determined to forgive them all in person. The hardest thing in life is to forgive. But hate is self-destructive. If you hate somebody you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. Forgiveness is healing." His wife, Cynthia Applewhite, agreed. She said, "Louie truly became a different person, able to forget the bitterness and sincerely forgive."

This and many more. Other of my favorite lessons is commitment and perseverance. Very uplifting! It's a short book, only 238 pages. I bought it cheap only RM19.90 from Popular Bookstore.

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LouisZamperini #Unbroken #DontGiveUpDontGiveIn #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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The Real Christ: Reevaluating How We See Jesus, According to Scripture (1920, 2020, audiobook) by Reuben A. Torrey, Book Review

Any book by the late R. A. Torrey is worth reading and listening to. Like Charles Spurgeon said about John Bunyan, "His blood is Bibline," meaning to say read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. In this book, Mr. Torrey desires to portray the real Christ, the Christ of actual fact, in all of His many characteristics and complete love, holiness, zeal, and glory. That portrait is from God’s own Word, the Bible. My favorite chapter is Chapter 8: His Manliness. Here are some quotes that I would like to highlight:

"While Christ was more gentle than the gentlest mother, He was at the same time the strongest and most vigorous of all the sons of men."

"To be a true follower of Jesus, one must be a fearless fighter as well as a gentle comforter."

"Remember, meekness is not weakness, and humility is not servility."

"The manliness of our Lord Jesus was manifested in His unhesitating acceptance of torture and agony in order to save others from suffering and ruin, rather than yielding one iota of the truth. Our Lord Jesus could have escaped the cross if He had been willing to compromise with the religious rulers of the day who oppressed the masses. Yes, He could have escaped easily, but He would not. He pursued the path of absolute allegiance to God and His truth though the cross loomed black and threatening in the path. He did not deviate one step in order to avoid the cross."

Chapters on His Holiness and His Prayerfulness are also very good - and challenging. As I said earlier, any book by R. A. Torrey is worth reading and listening to. You can read the PDF updated version online and listen to the audiobook on YouTube by Aneko Press HERE: https://anekopress.com/product/the-real-christ/ 

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #TheRealChrist #ReubenATorrey #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business - and What To Do About It (2020) by Jason Dorsey and Denise Villa, PhD, Book Review

"All of our interactions with Gen Z," writes the authors, "have led to a key conclusion: the ways in which leaders typically recruited, managed, and marketed to older generations will NOT work with Gen Z." Many companies, organizations, and businesses know they need to adapt to Gen Z (a.k.a. iGen, approximately born between 1996 to 2012) but they feel paralyzed. They don't know how or what to change or where to even start. Plus, Gen Z's expectations are so different because THEY ARE SO DIFFERENT from other generations. We need help and this book is helpful.

Although I realized that Zconomy is more relevant to those who own businesses, are active in sales, marketing, and product strategy, and work in the marketplace leadership positions, I find that it is helpful too for me as a Christian worker to be more informed about Gen Z's behaviors, preferences, and motivations. Part 1: The Making of Gen Z is profound and clear; Part 2: Meet the World's Most Influential Customers gives me lots of engagement ideas and info on their consumer psychology; and Part 3: How Gen Z Is Changing the World of Work shed light on the employment world from the Gen Z's perspectives. They are the fastest-growing generation of employees (churches and NGOs take note too) and so it is crucial for leaders to change - or die.

I agree (but not all the time, of course) with the authors when they point out that this generation has so much to learn from other generations, and at the same time, there is so much too we can learn from them. They have great potential! "Gen Z offers a huge opportunity for leaders and organizations to grow, strengthen, innovate, and outperform - if leaders like you are willing to adapt to the generation" 

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #Zconomy #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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Introducing Christian Doctrine (2nd edition, 2001) by Millard J. Erickson, Brief Review

Finished reading this book last week but I don't think I can write a proper review due to lots of work this month. Here is a brief one: This is an abridged, less technical version of Erickson's classic Christian Theology. When I was a new staff, this is one of the books that we use for theological training. Back then I read it just for reference but this year (that's after so many years!) I decided to read it from cover to cover. It was life-giving! Perhaps due to an increase in understanding or Christian experience or growth in the knowledge of the Scripture or all of it and more factors, although it is still somewhat academic and formal, I find that this book is enjoyable to read.

Why you should study doctrine and theology? Here are the first two (2) reasons that the late Erickson points out: 1) "Theology is important because correct doctrinal beliefs are essential to the relationship between the believer and God" and, 2) "Theology is necessary because truth and experience are related. While some would deny or at least question this connection, in the long run, the truth will affect our experience. A person who falls from the tenth story of a building may shout while passing each window on the way down, 'I’m still doing fine,' and may mean it sincerely, but eventually, the facts of the matter will catch up with the person’s experience."

I have other things to say on this subject, and perhaps recommend other theological books for beginners... But time and space won't permit it. Until then!

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #TheologyMatters #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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Kidding: Childlike Solutions to Bullsh*t Adult Problems (2018) by Laura Jane Williams, Brief Review

I decided to make a very brief review of this one. I bought it from BookXCess last week and finished it during my wait for a delayed and turbulent flight from KL. It was a good read. Fun, light, and direct, and I already believe the core thesis of the book, namely, connect with your "inner child to make your mundane, complicated adult life much simpler (and happier)." At least, on the non-life-and-death stuff, I say, why so serious? It's NOT about being childish but childlike.

What I like: The author's storytelling ability, conversational writing style, vulnerabilities, and practical wisdom. Simple writing/thinking exercises inside the book are also very helpful for self-discovery. And, of course, hardcover.

What I dislike: Feminist-bend is obvious on this one, although very mild. Fault language. Very minimum backup research to support her claims, most are based on her experiences.

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #Kidding #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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Reading Can Activates Your Potential #LeadersAreReaders August 2022

Without reading and writing, there will be no progress to speak of. Without reading and writing, we'd be stuck in the Stone Age. Without reading and writing, there will be no civilization as we know it. These gifts of God to humankind are keys to unlocking our hidden potential. These gifts, writes Burke Hedges, author of Read & Get Rich, "liberates us and activates our dormant minds, much like a catalyst activates an inert chemical solution. Without the catalyst, the chemical just sits there. Add the catalyst and - boom! - there's an explosion of activity."

This reminds me of an old, true story. A young Italian sculptor named Agostino had a huge block of marble delivered to his studio. He had great plans to sculpt the block into a marvelous statue but unfortunately, he found the marble hard to work with. Frustrated, he had the marble removed to make room for a different project. About 40 years later, another Italian sculptor named Michaelangelo spotted the marble block hidden in an abandoned garbage heap. When he saw it, he ordered it sent to his studio. You know what happened next, right?

In case you don't... For many years, he studied the marble block, sizing up its potential, measuring it over and over again, testing its hardness with his chisels, making endless sketches, etc. Slowly but surely he gently smoothed his completed status with his chisels. The result was a masterpiece, the famous statue of David! You see, my fellow social media friends, Michaelangelo did what Agostino failed to do: he saw the full potential of the marble block and released that potential with his talent, patience, genius - and his chisels. Like that marble block, we are rough and unrefined at first (otak pun keras!) but we have such great potential! Reading (and writing) is the chisel that releases our potential and reveals the work of art within.

Ernest Carr puts it this way, "Not to be able to read is like one world with one door to enter and nothing is there... Because of literacy, I have been freed from this dark world. Because of literacy, I have 1,000 doors that I can enter now." So you see, reading not only activates your POTENTIAL but also POSSIBILITIES. Read! #ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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Give Thyself To Reading #LeadersAreReaders July 2022

 At this writing, I'm finishing a book by Jason Dorsey and Denise Villa entitled Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business — and What to Do About It (2020). It is obvious from their research that Gen Zers are more attracted to visuals and videos than words. The immediate implication is that reading actual books are in decline. With social media, Netflix, and video games competing for our attention (not just Gen Zers), the side effects include a shortened attention span and a limited ability at deep and critical thinking. I wrote "our attention" because I'm fully aware that the temptation of consuming content for the sake of entertainment only and mindless viewing are real. If I'm not careful (or don't control it), I can be sucked into the vortex of shallowness. I'm horrified by the thought of not being able to think deeply and critically. God forbid!

One of the best antidotes (not the only one, of course) to this deathly sin is by reading books. I can quote lots of positive research that has been done to prove this but let me choose the most authoritative of all: The Bible. Particularly, the example of the apostle Paul. When he was in prison, waiting for his sure execution, he wrote to Timothy. His last request in the letter is to ask Timothy for a cloak to keep him warm and to bring his books! (read 2 Timothy 4:13). Charles Spurgeon, my favorite preacher of the 19th century, reflected on Paul's request:

"He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He has had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up in the third heaven and had heard things unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He has written a major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every Christian, ‘Give thyself to reading.’ The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves he has no brains of his own.”

Be inspired by Paul's love of books (actually, I'm also inspired by Charles Spurgeon's love of books too. Read his biographies!). Protect your mind. Think deeply and critically. Love knowledge. Savor God's wisdom in His Book and enjoy His general graces in human books too. Give thyself to reading! #ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain #LifeLongLearner

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