Haters gonna hate, but I don’t wanna go there.
In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey writes that “one of the most important ways to manifest integrity is to be loyal to those who are not present. In doing so, we build the trust of those who are present. When you defend those who are absent, you retain the trust of those who are present.”
Suppose you and I were talking alone, and we were criticizing our supervisor in a way that we would not dare to do if he were present. Now what will happen when you and I have a falling out? You know I’m going to be discussing your weaknesses with someone else. That’s what you and I did behind our supervisor’s back. You know my nature. I’ll sweet-talk you to your face and bad-mouth you behind your back. You’ve seen me do it.
I can’t say I’ve been a saint since I read those words so many years ago. I’ve indulged in my fair share of gossip and behind-the-back complaints; it’s an easy way to let off steam and get a quick high at someone’s expense. But you know what? It’s empty calories.
So I do my best not to participate whenever I can hold myself back – not just because I want to build some integrity, but because I don’t want to be consumed by hate. Read More →
Suppose somebody wants to make a movie about you. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Except what happens when you realize your life’s so boring it makes for a pretty bad movie? A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life is the true story of how that happens to best-selling author Donald Miller, and what he does to re-write his life into a better story.
Miller is a beautiful writer. The first few chapters had me thinking he was a little whimsical, but his poetry builds into a tour de force deeper into the book. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is a story about stories; what stories are, how they affect us, how we all live stories, how to live a better story, and how better life stories make for better characters. With raw honesty and wit, he tells us the story of his own journey to create a story-worthy life, using the principles of good story-telling to guide him.
Story-telling is real, it’s not a new 7-step product cooked up to making someone rich. The story of story is as old as mankind. We all tell stories. We make sense of our world through story. I’m a writer. I’ve read the classics on story-writing, plot-building and act structure. I never expected someone to weave the elements of story-writing into a book that teaches them to you, while showing you how the author used them to live a better life at the same time, and have it be beautifully written. Read More →