Attitude Shaping and Shifting: Read Great Books

There are a handful of books that have profoundly shaped my perspectives, attitudes, and consequently the course of my life. Without a doubt, Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking” was a huge book for me as was Robert Schuller’s “Move Ahead With Possibility Thinking”. Both were barrowed from my dad. When I read them around age 19 I had never considered the idea that you could improve your life by improving the quality of your thinking. In fact, I believed thoughts just came to me. It never occurred to me to introduce thoughts with intention or that those thoughts could impact my behavior, emotions, energy, or choices. Schools don’t teach this stuff.

A few years later I came across Zig Ziglar’s “See You At The Top”. This introduced me to the power of self-image and goal-setting. Zig also introduced me to power of audio recordings while you drive. I was so changed by his material that I got a job as a marketing rep for his company and went old to sell his books, tapes, and video programs for a year.

In the mid 1990’s I came across a book by Peter Senge, titled “The Fifth Discipline”. It is perhaps the most challenging book I ever read and it probably saved my career several times. In short, The Fifth Discipline is “Systems Thinking” which the book defines as “Seeing Wholes, Interrelationships, and Patterns of Change Rather Than Snap Shots”. It’s sprinkled with examples and principles like, “cause and effect are not closely related in time and space”, “faster is slower”, “small changes can produce big results–but the areas of highest leverage are the least obvious”, “the easy way out leads back in”, “the cure can be worse than the disease”, and “today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions”. These ideas led me on what became a 15 year journey to effect change in one organization. Without this books influence I would have thrown up my hands, left, and been much poorer for it.

“In Search of Excellence” by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman had a huge influence on me. I have continued to listen and read Tom Peters over the years to great effect. I still go to his web site regularly for fresh inspiration. A lot of the Servant Selling ideas come from Peters because as much as any writer I know he really gets that successful business is really about serving customers and serving the employees who serve customers.

In sales and marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout’s books have been a big influence. “Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind” and “Differentiate of Die” really taught me about the different ways to positively stand out in a potential customers mind. And Seth Godin’s “Purple Cow” books took the ideas of Ries and Trout and made them catchier and more memorable. Larry Wilson’s “Changing The Game: The New Way To Sell” had a lot of influence on me. “Conceptual Selling” and ‘Strategic Selling” by Robert B. Miller, Stephen E. Heiman, and Tad Tuleja have written the foundation for my Servant Selling philosophy as it applies to how to get face to face and what to do when you get there.

John Maxwell’s books have influenced my thinking on leadership greatly. A favorite is “Leading In 360”. Jim Collin's book "Good to Great" is a work I refer to often. I am a huge fan of the strengths movement. I enthusiastically endorse anything by Marcus Buckingham, especially “Now, Discover Your Strengths”, “Go, Use Your Strengths”, and “The One Thing You Need To Know”. It’s not a book, but his video “Trombone Player Wanted” is a must see. Tom Rath’s “Strength Finder 2.0 is excellent as is Howard Gardner’s ‘Frames of Mind” and Thomas Armstrong’s “Seven Kinds of Smart”. The book by Armstrong is a highly readable simplification of Gardner’s work.

Although I’m a Protestant, I have been hugely influenced by the books of a Jesuit Priest by the name of John Powell. I first received a couple of titles from a Catholic friend and went on to read everything he had published at the time. My favorites were “Unconditional Love” and “Fully Human, Fully Alive”. Francine Rivers book, “Redeeming Love” is my favorite in Christian Fiction.

I don’t read an enormous amount of fiction but I loved J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy. I’m currently reading the C.S. Lewis Trilogy of “Out Of The Silent Plant”, “Perelandra”, and “That Hideous Strength” out loud at night with my wife. This is Science Fiction/Fantasy and is equally thought provoking and fun reading. My first Sci-Fi book was “Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card. I like the CIA spy stuff that Vince Flynn writes about his hero Mitch Rapp starting with “Separation of Power”. Katherine Neville’s “The Eight” was a fun mystery/adventure.

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I’ve owned over a thousand books in my lifetime. My library is smaller now than in the past but honorable mention should go to hundreds of authors. I feel if you get one good useable idea from a book it was worth the price. Books don’t have to be read cover to cover either. They can be scanned with great value.