Articles

“My Life and Work” by Henry Ford is the autobiography by the famed automaker. Yes, that Ford, like the one in your driveway. Why read this one? One, I’m obsessed with learning. Two, I read things that are interesting to me. Three, I want to be successful and not waste this life God gave me. One way I can succeed is from learning from interesting people who succeeded in the past. Success is relative, and while I don’t want to start a car company, I do want my life to have an impact in some way. Henry Ford’s life and work were fascinating. Three things I learned: 1. Ford had an attitude of persistence. He kept going until he found what worked. Setbacks are not failures, just opportunities to try again. 2. Ford knew that people mattered. While known for his radical and maybe even perfectionistic efficiency when it came to inventing the assembly line, he never lost sight of the value that individual workers have in making that system work. 3. Ford believed in service above profit. He knew that if he gave the customer a good product at a fair price and treated them well then the profits would take care of themselves. What all could we accomplish if we simply lived and worked by those 3 principles?

Here's the antidote to numbing, self medicating, and distraction. It's simple. Connection If that antidote is to painful for you, you might want to come chat with me. Together we can make sense of what is getting in your way. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com

So if you work in corporate America and have to lead or attend meetings, then this book is a must read for you. Do yourself in those you work with a favor and read it today. If you have ever attended a meeting and thought to yourself, “I am bored out of my mind and this could have easily been done in a short email,” then read this book and you will be entertained. “Death by Meeting” by Patrick Lencioni is a phenomenal read. I love the way he writes because he takes what could’ve been a really boring step-by-step business book and he creates a narrative fable in which he teaches us. As I was reading the book, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Yep, that’s why those meetings were so terrible for all those years.” And when I say that, I am pointing a finger back at myself because I helped lead some of those meetings. Most people don’t want to change and most people like the status quo in their comfort. Changing the way you do meetings at your organization is going to create some friction and take some work, but the reward for it on the other end might blow your mind. If you don’t know what to do, then start by picking this book up and learning while being entertained by “Death by Meeting” by Patrick Lencioni.

When you're restless and uncomfortable what do you do? We tend to medicate, distract, numb using social media, fill our world with noise, clean to stay busy, use substances, and have affairs. We'll do nearly anything to keep from sitting in our thoughts. I help people solve their restlessness once and for all. Send your friends my way. I'll take good care of them. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com

“Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away” by Gary Chapman is one of the better books I’ve read lately for struggling marriages. Gary’s the guy that wrote the book “The Five Love Languages” that has been such a hit for decades. This book goes deeper. If you’re in a marriage and you feel stuck and hopeless and like nothing is going to change then you’ve gotta read this one. The premise of the book is that you cannot control your spouse, but you can influence your spouse. Is your spouse irresponsible, a workaholic, depressed, controlling, verbally, physically, or sexually abusive, uncommunicative, unfaithful, or addicted? Well there’s a whole chapter on each of these where he breaks down how you can influence your spouse for good. The book is hopeful, yet realistic. Dr. Chapman is honest in saying where certain situations are going to be harder to overcome than others but also how every situation is worth trying for. If you’re considering a divorce then it would be good to read this book 1st to see if you’ve really done all you can do to overcome your marriage struggles. Or if you’re just tired of dealing with the same crap over and over again than this is a good one to read. Go pick up “Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away” by Gary Chapman.

What is that uncomfortable thing in life that you dislike the most? What is the uncomfortable thing you're proud of that you overcame? Why do you feel proud about that? It's when we do hard things that we grow! www.danielcrosbycounseling.com

“Go Ahead Ask Anything” by Jim Lyons is a fun book to read because it’s different. Imagine if you went to church and the pastor let you write down literally any question that you have about faith, the Bible, or just the world in general. That’s exactly what this book is. Sometimes it’s refreshing when someone doesn’t put stipulations on what is and is not allowed. Now granted the author is a pastor, and he answers every question from a biblical perspective. I felt like he was fair and balanced in his answers, and he gave ample evidence from scripture about how he came to his conclusions. I shared this book recently with the pastor friend, and he was intrigued and said that he might even do his own version of this at his church. The book isn’t new, but a lot of the same topics are still relevant today. Topics like illegal immigration, same-sex relationships, the accuracy and validity of the Bible are all in there. It’s not a political book at all. If you’ve ever wondered about these and more questions, then this would be a fun one to check out and read. I’ll even challenge the pastors out there. I wonder if your church would enjoy doing a service or reading a blog where you answer some of their questions from the biblical perspective? Check it out. “Go ahead Ask Anything” by Jim Lyons.

Do you suffer from from Comfort Addiction? That's when we struggle to do hard things because we have it so comfortable all the time. Counseling is a good way to safely get uncomfortable and deal with some of those physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual discomforts that you've let pile up for so long. Send your friends and family my way if they're wrestling with some uncomfortable things. We're better together. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com