Self Help Books Vs Purpose Driven Life ?

I haven't read it, I don't really like the sound of it to be honest. It sound like this is his (Rick's) very personal way of living life and is trying to say it is the only way. What works amazingly well for one person just isn't right for many..

I think in personal development you have to read around, try different things, find what works for you and stick with it and discard that which doesn't. I love the law of attraction for example, but the parts that go too spiritual are just not for me - for other people these are the elements that appeal to them and they find their path by focusing on these areas..

It's like with Think and Grow Rich, really clever book - but again it goes to mystical for me towards the end, but I LOVE the first half+ of the book and that really works for me. Like Bruce Lee used to say, keep what works for you and discard the rest, don't take anyone as gospel truth just because they are a "guru" and it has worked for them.

Sounds like a preachy book to say the least. I don't think living your life as a test in the hopes that you will spend "eternity" (whatever that means) in heaven or hell. I think the biggest favor you can do for yourself is to live each moment for yourself and to the fullest extent (whatever that means). I think, if there was an anthropomorphic God, he would support that.

Say you want to go out for dinner. Depending on who you are, you will have vastly different preferences and restrictions on what you will and will not eat. Your background, education, religion, past experiences, and so many other factors determine whether you will go to a burger joint, visit the raw food place, dine in a kosher restaurant, avoid going out at all because you are allergic to nuts/dairy/some other substance....

If what you read doesn't inspire you or move you, that doesn't necessarily mean it can't be inspiring or moving for someone else. Like submp3s said, you're free to pick and choose whatever resonates with you...

Reading self-help books doesn't mean you have to agree with 100% of everything you see. By exposing yourself to new ideas, you give yourself the opportunity to uncover new aspects of yourself. If Rick Warren hadn't created his book, how would you be able to say you don't agree with it? Eliminating things that don't work for you can still help you to get closer to what does work for you.

What I find interesting is that Rick may eat and sleep God but when he wanted to sell his book he used the tried and true affiliate marketing process. What a person believes is his business, but what a person tries to get me to believe is my business. No matter how you slice it, the road to wealth requires you to offer something of service and value to another. You either offer little at a high price or a lot at a low price. You cannot get around this.

We, marketers, tend to focus on the product. Should we focus on offering value to people, the cash will come. Rick, to his credit did just this. His niche was church leaders that he used as affiliates to sell to their individual churches. The church leaders had a captive audience to speak the advertisement to. It was brilliant, yet can be duplicated.

Well he is the pastor of a huge church in orange county, so he is marketing god. I view this like the secret. The author is making money selling god as the path to fulfillment, like the secret people sold the secret. I prefer the thoughts of Jiddu Krishnamurti who said truth is a pathless land. Meaning no one can lead you to your own truth, you must find it yourself. If Pastor Rick's message does not resonate for you, no problem, you will find your own way. Spend some time reflecting on what you want and you may be surprised as what pop in your thoughts. Good luck

Hey bro...here's the underlying fundamentals of what this book is about...I'm not religious in that sense but I do believe there's a god.

Now, What he's trying to say is simple: A purpose driven life is exactly this: It's to find a job or a career where you help others....

But you're exactly right! Where does that leave you?

That's where self improvement comes into play...taking care of yourself as an individual.

Soo here's the balance I've spent months putting into my life...where do we draw the lines between taking care of ourselves and taking care of others?

Here's what I've come up with...I've found that my talents lie in the fact that I'm great at game theory...business, success, self improvement, relationships, all of that so I figured alright, let's get to work.

This way, I'm literally giving myself the care I need while teaching it to others & I get the free time(I've learned a lot about how to get businesses to run themselves) to really live the life I want to(music, social, traveling!, hobbies).

The key is to actually find that balance in your life.

What do you feel your purpose in life is? Do you have one? If not maybe it's time to discover it...there's one thing I've learned through all of this that I'll take to my grave.

WE USUALLY HELP THE WORLD THROUGH DOING WHAT'S BEST AND FULFILLING FOR US.

Hope that helps a bit.

Aaryn

Self-help books like Think and Grow Rich are there for people who want just that-- grow rich! Get their material goals fulfilled.

While books like Purpose Driven Life are for people who have seen enough of the material world and want to get closer to God, want to go further into spiritual world.

Now, which book you like depends on what you want right now

At least following 1 or 2 points in one book makes it success. We read a lot but hardly practice them... thats the problem...

Self help books for me. They will provide the greatest return on investment. However, if you want to be spritual and centred, books like The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is great.

Why not both?

I've read some of the book. The idea about keep God on the mind is this: when focused on God your definite purpose becomes clear to you. You naturally do what God placed you here for: being an author, entrepreneur, etc.

It's like receiving Perfect Counsel every step of the way. You receive the proper instructions by listening to the small, still voice, help others with your talent and naturally prosper.

Serving God does not mean sitting in a chapel or church all day, praying. It means spending periods of the day in silence, building an intimate relationship with God. When you learn to listen life becomes easier because you are in harmony with everything. After listening the next step is to either move into action, or keep listening. All depends on what the universe tells you. Your purpose becomes crystal clear over time but it tends to become evident quite quickly to those who choose to surrender their thoughts and act on God's instruction.

Ryan

I didn't really read that book and I don't intend to. But I will throw some light on what he might meant by saying do everything for God. I know it doesn't make sense even with this explanation but if you can understand what I am trying to say here, then it will give you a new direction. Basically when some people say do everything for God they don't mean it literally. You see the thing is when you are doing work for someone else (like your boss for example) you don't feel the tension of responsibility and the worry of the results of your work. You just do your work and leave it at that. On the other hand when you are doing something for yourself, you have all the fears in the world whether it works or not, whether it will give you the results you need and all that.

So basically Forget about God. only God knows whether God is there or not. But when you try to do things for God you will be able to do it with minimum worries and thus achieve greater results.

His book is one way to to spiritual fulfillment if you're Christian, and that's it. Whatever can be said about the guy (preachy, judgmental, exclusivist), he does give 90% away of the book profits to charities, and seems pretty happy.

Remember that you can always take what you like from the book and still read other self help books. It doesn't have to be an either/or. It's Rick Warren saying this, not Jesus! :-)

yes i do beeleive the problem is when we read a lot about hardly practiced things which will make us feel that we are far from the true success or it will take us a lot of time to reach it !

both of ebooks categories improve your personal and thinking life

Hi there,

Don't get Rick Warren wrong, its a food for the soul book, remember we have 3 elements as human being, The mind, the body and the spirit. So hey try this book on
'Total Quality Life' by Stan Toler. It's a great self-help book.


Best,

James

If you have definite purpose in life, you will always be motivated

God is the controller of our birth and death and in between is a life in which everyone is busy fulfilling his/her own needs and of others. As Zig Zaglar said, you can have everything if you just help enough the other get what he/she wants. you cant fill your own needs without fulfilling the need of other. you can get salary until you not help the employer gets his profit. If we assume that god want us to help others more than want us to hang with him always by way of prayers then it solves the purpose.

Every author is inspired by a particular subject. If you don't like the content of the book, just quietly drop it. Maybe another day, the content will interest you. Some days are like that.

Of course it's preachy, by definition. And therefore it is subject to debate on virtually every point because even among Christians, the views of self-image, -improvement, and -love vary widely. However...
"How is doing everything for God going to help me pay for my bills?"
The principle behind the actual and real answer to this question is Integrity. By starting with the Absolute and flowing out from there--in terms of oneself, one's purpose, one's true Vision and Goals--one can be confidant of their direction. (You wouldn't try to travel north without a compass; but the compass is absolute, and true north [even if only magnetic north] is discoverable.)
After all that, I must confess, I was not a big fan of the book itself.

God lives within yourself. So this is where you should look for your purpose...

The easiest way to find your purpose is by asking yourself, "if I could be anything right now, what would I be?"

You can use self help books and live a purpose driven life. You don't have to exclude one if that is what you choose.

I haven't read it but im going to check it out.

Perhaps this book might help (it's free) - no sign-up required ...

7 Keys to Success - Free Personal Development Book

Will

We all need to think positive thoughts about God (as we conceive him to be) and also about people of faith. No one has ever been helped by showing disrespect for the religious beliefs of other people. Just because people may have different beliefs doesn't make them look coo coo. Wise people want to accept others as they are.

Tempted to give a free advice. Hmmm... not now .. but still

YOU DON"T GET IT EASY - got to have your own learning curve

Reading is great, but are you actually practicing the principles you read about? I for one (in the past) have succumbed to dreaming and information overload and didn't take solid actions.

Peace,
Stephanie

I believe in God. But we still have this whole life before we can meet him. So we better make something out of it !

Short and profoundly powerful answer: Get Activated. Don't let your mind go "what is the real answer? How do I find it? What is the right philosophy?" Your mission is to go out there and explore. Your mission will come when your brain is activated enough. You'll know. Great question!