What’s the meaning of life? It’s a broad question asked by many people. I would be lying if I said I didn’t know the answer, since my personal convictions have led me to the Truth. Yet, in this post, I’m not going to answer that question. Instead, I’m going to drill deeper and narrower by asking this: How’s your internal thermostat set?

Huh? Let me explain at the end and work backwards to the beginning. It all began about 30 minutes ago as I was preparing to brush my teeth (it’s amazing the subjective mental clarity one can achieve after long days and sleepless nights). Suddenly, in a burst of clarity, a series of events in my past crystallized into a single principle: our mind is a battlefield, and we get to choose the weather in which we fight.

Every day, we get up, (hopefully, if needed) shower, dress, eat, breakfast, work, eat lunch, work, eat an afternoon snack to avoid an energy crash, work a bit more, go home, eat dinner, socialize with our family, reflect on our day, and sleep. Sounds easy, right?

Hold on just a minute! It’s not really that simple at all. Every day, while we’re innocently minding our own business, our minds receive dozens, if not hundreds, of messages from the world around us and the world within us. Each message carries a payload, whether good, bad, or indifferent, and we subconsciously interpret each one. It’s at this point that our shiny new principle comes into play.

We have the uncanny, absolutely incredible ability to choose the way we process, rank, and own these messages! It’s as simple as setting the thermostat at 76 degrees; you control the internal environment in which your mind processes and reports what it sees, hears, and feels from the external world, and the way it thinks about your internal world!

Back to my toothbrush, by way of back story. I’m in Oklahoma City with my beautiful wife visiting her family for Independence Day. Late yesterday evening, my sister-in-law’s iPhone 3G met a speedy demise as it committed suicide by leaping into my wife’s beverage. Unfortunately, digital CPR availed nothing, and we collectively shed a tear as the phone mysteriously cycled through various apps before growing dim, then dark.

Being the mobile maven in my family, I led my sister-in-law and her husband to the nearest Wal-Mart at 12:15am to purchase a GoPhone as a temporary stopgap until her ultimately replacement, an iPhone 4, arrives. After activating her new Nokia with the now pleasant-smelling SIM card from her old iPhone, they left for home while I remained at my parents-in-law’s home, you guessed it, brushing my teeth!

So we’ve come full circle. I’ll ask you again: are you set to hot, lukewarm, or cold? When negative thoughts circle your mind and threaten your joy, do you give in to them without thinking? Or, do you check your personal thermostat and decide in advance how you’re going to respond to the situation at hand?

You have a free will, so I suggest that you decide to make decisions.

I conveniently left out the subtitle of Buckingham’s book, due to my being a man. If you’re interested, it’s “What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently.” (my emphasis added) So why would a guy want to read, let alone review, a book designed specifically for women? Good point. My wife asked me the same question.

Primarily, since the idea of a male strength guru giving women advice on the keys to their personal happiness made me smirk on contact. Perhaps I’m married to someone in the minority, but my wife’s first thought on looking over the book was “How does this guy know what women need to do?” Basing his recommendations on numerous surveys and a significant dose of shared experience with his wife, Buckingham doesn’t shy away from the tough questions of life, namely work, spouses, kids, and the ultimate need for greater meaning. His ideas make a lot of sense to me; I’m curious to see if working women feel the same way.

I felt his emphasis on self was refreshing and bitter all at once; on one hand, I appreciate his call to seriously consider the activities that each of us uniquely enjoys. On the other, he took healthy introspection to the precipice of self-deification and dared me to look over the edge. Uncomfortable to say the least.

Ultimately, I enjoyed his encouragement to press forward toward a healthy, unbalanced, fulfilling life. I’m extremely grateful that the online Strong Life test companion to this book is totally free to the public. Unlike his previous tests, Strong Life helps you determine your lead and secondary life roles. Whatever your gender, I highly recommend you check it out at http://www.stronglifetest.com/, as it totally nailed that I’m a teacher/advisor, a fact that rings increasingly true to me.

Other than an unhealthy preoccupation with self, my only other qualm with the book is its intentional (down to the exclusive use of He pronouns for spouses) bent toward women. I hope he releases a similarly-themed book for men so I may avoid the stigma I’ve endured in reading this book. All in all, an excellent read.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

What would your life look like if Hollywood edited it for a feature film?

Donald Miller has done it again, in a way that only he can. Thought-provoking, odd, whimsical, and deep, his provocative literary style makes its best showing yet in his latest work, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. This time around, we go deeper into Miller’s mind than ever before, journeying with him side-by-side outside his childhood home, over Incan mountains, riding coast-to-coast across the United States on bicycle, and meeting his long-lost father for the first time in his adult life. The narrative, while bouncing back and forth between short essays on seemingly random topics, hinges around the thought of self-editing: What would it be like to rewrite your story? In fact, how would you change if all the elements of good story (per Hollywood legend Robert McKee) were applied to your life? These are the questions that Donald asks us to ask ourselves.

All in all, the book is Miller’s best by far, due to its poignant transparency matched with selfless intentions. Donald doesn’t tell us about the nooks and crannies of his life in order to promote himself or ask for our pity: He wants us to wake up from what we’ve been calling our “life” and make more of ourselves. No matter our present rank in society, all of us owe it to ourselves to reflect on what it truly means to live, particularly as Christ-followers, and how all our stories could use a bit of editing. You won’t be able to put this book down until it seeps into your soul and activates fresh passion for personal transformation. While Donald’s theology is a bit…..obtuse at times, his message remains acute: Your story deserves greatness. Five stars for this introspective masterpiece.

Knockout Entrepreneur

Who knew there were so many connections between running a successful enterprise and being heavy-weight boxing champion of the world? George Foreman’s latest book, Knockout Entrepreneur, synthesizes George’s lessons learned both inside and outside the boxing ring as they apply to entrepreneurship. From simple truths such as ”never listen to the crowd,” to deeper issues around self-confidence, teamwork, mentorship, and discipline, George takes everything in stride with his renowned sense of self-deprecating humor and disarming smile. In weaving personal business principles into a compelling narrative, George makes what might have been another stale business tome a page-turning, edge-of-your-seat story about achievement through hard work, perseverance, and the clarity that comes from knowing exactly what you want.

While reading the book, I could almost see his facial expressions: glowing when talking about his beloved youth center; remorseful when discussing his early days as a boxing super-star; laughing out loud at his family antics; and giving a warm, irrepressible smile as he encouraged me to pursue my dreams with persistent passion. It’s the smile that I will always treasure most. If you want the nuts-and-bolts of business or a how-to on creating a compelling product like the George Foreman Grill (which he takes no shame in mentioning is the most successful appliance in its category of all time), you’ll be disappointed. If, like me, you’ve already bought those other books and need an encouraging smile to take a leap of faith in your entrepreneurial ambitions, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. Five stars from this reviewer!