Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Book Review: Become a Better You


Become A Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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BECOME A BETTER YOU: 7 KEYS TO IMPROVING YOUR LIFE EVERY DAY
By Pastor Joel Osteen
Published by Free Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc
Publication Date: October 2007
Price: $25.00
379 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780743296885
Four Star Rating ****


PASTOR OF THE LAKEWOOD CHURCH IN HOUSTON
CHURCH GROWTH TODAY CALLS LAKEWOOD THE FASTEST GROWING CHURCH IN AMERICA
REACHES 45,000 PEOPLE AT HIS 5 SERVICES EVERY WEEK
JOEL HAS A MILLION PERSONS IN HIS TELEVISION AUDIENCE
SELLS OUT ARENAS FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN IN NY TO STAPLES CENTER IN LA
NAMED ONE OF THE “10 MOST FASCINATING PEOPLE OF 2006”
1ST BOOK, YOUR BEST LIFE SOLD 5 MILLION COPIES & WAS ON
NY TIMES BEST SELLER LIST FOR OVER 2 YRS
THAT BOOK HAS SOLD MILLIONS WORLDWIDE AND HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO 19 LANGUAGES
WAS #1 ON NY TIMES BEST SELLER LIST
2D BOOK YOUR BEST LIFE NOW FOR MOMS WAS ALSO ON THE NY TIMES BEST SELLER LIST

“Becoming a better you is all about growing, learning and improving. The more you learn to trust God, the better you will be. He will continually expand your horizons if you do your part at becoming better in every area of your life.”


Pastor Joel Olsteen is a charismatic speaker. He is also an inspiring writer. His third book, Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day is an example of that inspiring writing. In 7 Keys, Joel encourages us to push ourselves to the next level, and to take a life altering journey. He outlines seven simple steps to be all that we were intended to be. Pastor Olsteen encourages the reader to avoid negative mindsets, and to keep aspiring to a more spiritually fulfilling life. Pastor then takes each of the 7 steps and explains them in some detail, telling the reader how they work, and how to use them to improve your own life.

The 7 principles are:

Keep pressing forward: Don’t be bound by the past. We need to let go of our negative mindsets and recognize that God has good things in store for us. We must also be aware that our decisions that we make today will affect our future generations;

Be positive toward ourselves: Don’t be dogged by our mistakes in the past. What we need to do is to start fresh by repeating positive affirmations and faith-filled words. In side of our own minds we need to keep a positive inner dialogue going;

Develop better relationships: Help others by giving encouragement and be a blessing to other people. Keep strife out of your home by making an investment in personal relationships. Make other people feel important;

Form better habits: Fall into a routine of exercise and daily reading the Bible. Replace negative habits with positive habits. Stay on task for your goals and realize that you are not responsible for everyone’s happiness;

Embrace the place where you are: Turn your situation over to God, look for him in your everyday life;

Develop your inner life: Become aware of the people you spend your time with and how they influence your life. Listen to your inner voice and get to the root of your problems;

Stay passionate about your life: Look for ways to stay passionate about your life. Maintain a positive outlook and appreciate God’s blessings. Do the right thing for the right reasons. Look for ways to improve your life and choose to go from believing to expecting.

This is a very interesting self-help book that combines New Wave philosophy with a wisp of God. The book is not so much practical examples as it is a state of mind treatise. This is a self-help book that focuses not solely on action, but mostly on your inner voice and what goes on in your head. Olsteen is more of a cheerleader than anything else in this book. With too many people setting for less, we need to require more of ourselves. Good enough says Olsteen is not good enough. The better you lot in life philosophy is braced with inspiring personal stories throughout the book. The writing style is the strong point of this book; the ethereal is always brought back to earth by the actual. This is a good self-help book. Worth a look, there is positive encouragement and inspiration in this book.

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