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I love to read.  If I’m not reading, I feel as if I’m not learning.  If I’m not learning, I feel as if I’m not growing.

Here is a quick recap of some books I read in 2008.

The Best of ‘08

Tribes // Seth Godin

Axiom // Bill Hybels

Crazy Love // Francis Chan

Revolution of Character // Dallas Willard & Don Simpson

Wild Goose Chase // Mark Batterson

The Screwtape Letters // C.S. Lewis

Great Books of ‘08

One Month to Live // Kerry & Chris Shook

Walking With God // John Eldredge

ID: The True You // Mark Batterson

Mavericks at Work // William C. Taylor & Polly Labarre

Talent Is Never Enough // John Maxwell

Simplicity // Bill Jensen

Also Learned From in ‘08

200 Pomegranates & An Audience of One // Shawn Wood

The Truth About You // Marcus Buckingham

Integrity // Dr. Henry Cloud

Churched //  Matthew Paul Turner

The Faith of Barack Obama // Stephen Mansfield

Lead Like Jesus // Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges

Which books did you learn & grow from in 2008?

I’ve been reading through Marcus Buckingham’s new book titled The Truth About You: Your Secret To Success.

The book is a nice follow up to other Buckingham strengths-based books like…….

- Now, Discover Your Strengths

- Go, Put Your Strengths To Work

The book is actually more of a toolkit.  The toolkit includes…….

1 // Enhanced DVD

From The Back Cover: A high-energy film reveals how and why you must discover and prioritize your strengths.  It includes five bonus Strength Tip videos and access to a wealth of downloadable resources.

My Take: The film is great.  Well made.  The story of a young trombone player plays out while Marcus Buckingham effectively explains the strengths-based approach described in the book.

2 // Interactive Book

From The Back Cover: With insightful exercises and tried-and-true life wisdom no one else will tell you, the book takes you to the location of your most powerful and unchanging talents.

My Take: I was surprised by the shortness of the book.  Not necessarily a bad thing.  I breezed through the book in about 30 minutes.  I would recommend taking the time to work through the exercises that Buckingham teaches in the book.  The exercises will help you identify and document your Strengths and Weaknesses or, more specifically, your I feel strong when…. and I feel weak when…. statements.

3 // ReMemo Pad

From The Back Cover: Designed for a life on-the-go, the ReMemo Pad becomes your companion to complete the task of revealing your strengths using everyday experiences.

My Take: The ReMemo Pad is nothing more than a plain memo pad designed to help you jot down activities that make you feel strong or make you feel weak.  But it is a nice addition to the toolkit because making note of your daily and weekly activities and how they make you feel is the first step to identifying your true strengths and weaknesses.

My key takeaway from the book was the 3 Myths // 3 Truths presented by Buckingham……

Myth #1

As you grow, your personality changes.

Truth #1

As you grow, you become more and more of who you already are.

Myth #2

You grow the most in your areas of greatest weakness.

Truth #2

You grow the most in your areas of greatest strength.

Myth #3

A great team member puts his strengths aside and does whatever it takes to help the team.

Truth #3

A great team member volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time and deliberately partners with people who have different strengths.