The Truth About You
Just finished reading a new book by Marcus Buckingham called The Truth About You. It is a unique book and dvd combo about finding and using your strengths.
The book and movie are built around three key truths
- As you grow, you become more and more of who you already are.
- You grow most in your areas of greatest strength.
- A great team player volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time, and deliberately partners with people who have different strengths.
I enjoyed this book because it made me think through many of my own strengths and weaknesses. It made me think back to my college days and all the job interviews that I stumbled through because I didn’t really know how to describe what I was looking for. In a business and career setting this book makes a lot of sense.
But in a Christian setting, some of the concepts don’t transfer quite as well. For far too long, I think churches have not unleashed people to serve using their spiritual gifts and abilities and strengths. Churches tend to motivate people to serve out of guilt and out of filling needs, instead of helping people discover how God has gifted them. But we do have to realize that as leaders we serve humbly, and that there are times when we have to step outside of our strengths to do what God has called us to do. God is shown through our weakness when we rely on Him to work through us.
I like how the book uses real life experiences to discover your strengths, but that process of discovering our strengths can be more painful and difficult than the book discusses. For me, my gift of teaching had to be discovered and developed. Because of my fears and insecurities I was afraid to speak and teach in public. For much of my childhood I struggled with speech problems that required working with a professional speech therapist. It was only when I tried teaching and overcame my fears that I realized it was a huge strength of mine. So even though I feel the process of discovery is much more complicated than the book presents, I do feel it is important to learn what our strengths and weaknesses are.
This is a short interesting read and it would be great for college students to read. Just remember that where God leads and guides, He will provide. And remember that true success is not getting ahead in the workplace by using our strengths, but finding our purpose in God’s plan. You can purchase the book here.
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Perfect for high school and college students, young professionals, and people simply wanting to revitalize their career, The Truth About You helps you develop the kind of clarity and passion that drives a successful and satisfying future. Marcus Buckingham will help you discover the real truth, the truth about you . . . it will be your secret to success.