While I don’t know Tom Rath, I think he has a passion for helping people be the best version of themselves that they can be. His books “How Full is Your Bucket”, “”Strengthsfinder 2.0”, “Strengths Based Leadership”, “Vital Friends”, and “Well-Being” all offer challenges to grow and understand ourselves better and maximize who we are.
Tom has a new book coming out in October this year called “Eat, Move, Sleep” to challenge people to make small choices that can lead to big changes in their health. He has taken his research and writing skills and applied them to a topic that that is front of mind with many people – being healthy. We all want to be able to do the things we are passionate about for as long as we can. Unfortunately, the choices we make along the way in our eating habits, activity levels, and sleeping habits contribute to the obstacles we encounter along the way.
"Eat, Move, Sleep" captures the research from the medical, psychology, and nutrition communities and packages it in 30 quick read chapters (think a chapter a day for a month) that each conclude with 3 action steps around eating, moving, and sleeping for you to consider implementing in your own life. It is about making little changes in our habits and lifestyle that will have a ripple effect across the quality of life we experience as we become healthier.
Have you heard some pieces of the information before? Probably.
Have you ignored some of things you have been told? Most Likely.
So what makes this different? “Eat, Move, Sleep” will challenge you to rethink what you are doing in small steps rather than overwhelming you.
- It shows the cause and effect relationship between the three areas of our lives. Many people focus on just diet or exercise to change their life.
- Did you know that good sleep increases a digestive hormone that keeps you from eating too much and decreases another that boosts appetite?
- Tom gives you just enough research in plain and simple terms to support his action steps at the end of each chapter.
- A simple check-in with another person around activity levels nearly doubles a participant’s activity levels over the span of a year.
- A Harvard study with 100,000 people showed the quality of what you eat will influence your health more than calories.
- Challenges are realistic. You are challenged to do one of the three action steps each day for a month and try it to see what the result will be for you. It’s doable.
- Identify a few healthy food options – buy them automatically so good choices are always available at home.
- When your brain is filled with new information to remember or when you need a burst of creativity, go for a walk.
- Eat the healthiest things on your plate first and end with the least healthy.
If you need a little inspiration, a nudge in the right direction, simple steps toward a goal, or some conversation starters to share with friends who you have health concerns for, this will be a great book to read. Don't overlook this topic - or this book. You will think differently about what you eat, how you move, and how you sleep – and if you implement just a handful of the action steps, you will be healthier and better prepared to lead.
You can pre-order the book now at http://www.tomrath.org/exclusive-offer-for-early-adopters/ and get an electronic copy to read ahead of time!
The 2013 Global Leadership Summit (GLS) was last week. Facilitated by Willow Creek Church in Illinois, the GLS is a two day leadership conference conducted live at Willow Creek and broadcast to 235 locations in the US with over 75,000 participants, and another 92 countries around the world (some live and some on DVD later in the fall). It’s an open call to men and women to live out their Christian faith in the workplace and within their church developing and growing their capacity as leaders.
So what were the nuggets this year? I started my list that is actually much longer, but here are the top 10 that made me pause and are still making me think this week.
Bill Hybels – Pastor
- Be strong and courageous because I am with you - God to Joshua (Joshua 1:9, the Bible)
Colin Powell - General
- Great leaders know how to connect the purpose of the organization to the role of each person.
Patrick Lencioni – Business Consultant and Author
- We can’t be Christ like servant leaders if we don’t help people connect the reason they work with how they work. To be relevant is to have a reason for doing what you do, and the job of a leader is to help employees find that reason. Management is ministry.
Mark Burnett – TV and Movie Producer
- Choose your companions before you choose your road. Hire the right people, empower them, get out of the way
Joseph Grenny – Business Consultant and Author
- If our faith experience isn’t translating into other habits and experiences, we aren’t leading.
Chris Brown – Pastor
- Never get caught up in the great things of leadership if it takes you away from the God things of leadership.
Bob Goff – Attorney and CEO
- What were you made to do? God created us to do unique things. Discover it and do it! Lead where you are!
Brene' Brown – Research Professor and Speaker
- “The 2 irreducible needs of men, women and children are love and belonging…In the absence of these, there is always suffering….Fitting in is different than belonging”
Oscar Muriu – Pastor in Kenya
- Reflect Jesus - never do ministry/lead alone. Keep budding leaders around you. When you lead alone, there is a missed opportunity for mentorship. (When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13, the Bible)
Dr. Henry Cloud – Psychologist and Author
- The people who thrive create a list of things they can absolutely do & forget about the things out of their control.
The challenge with any conference take-away is what do you so with them once you get back home. Here are three simple things:
- Tell someone what you learned or what stuck out
- Revisit your notes within a week
- Decide on 1-3 things you are going to do and put them on the calendar and make them happen
Save August 14-15 next year for two great days to blend leadership with your faith. Their website has a list of locations already as well as an early bird registration.
