Skip to main content

The Little Red Book of Wisdom


I know, I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But look at this cover. There's nothing to it. There's nothing glossy. There's no picture of the author, wooing us in, saying, 'Look at how smart I am. I can offer you wisdom.'

I received this book as a gift from a friend. When I first read the title, The Little Red Book of Wisdom, I had some questions. Why is it red? Why is it little? Was there not a lot of wisdom to necessitate a larger book? And why did my friend give this book to me? Did I need some wisdom? Am I ... (gulp) ... dumb?

Soon enough I left my insecurities behind and opened up this small book by Mark DeMoss, who runs a public relations firm. I submit that I have learned once again the truth about not judging a book by its cover. I was hooked by the first chapter.

Mark is a Christian, but he does not use the Bible or his religion as a hammer to say why he's so smart or even that his smarts are better than someone else. It is simply his story, which he shares throughout the book while dispensing ideas that are, indeed, wise.

Mark divides the book into 2 parts. The first part is wisdom for your professional life. Though he's clearly big business, the ideas shared here could be used on any level. The second part of the book is wisdom for your personal life. There's everything here, from maintaining boundaries to surrounding yourself with older and wiser people. He tackles topics like integrity, listening skills, and even drinking habits.

The chapters are short, making this a good book to read here and there and refer back to. Oh, and his picture can be found inside the back cover. I'm sure this book can be found at several retailers. I'll let you use your own wisdom to decide where you'll find it.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...
Post a Comment
Read more

But I Wanted It

As I've said before , I'm looking for a new place to do youth ministry. Job searching in itself can be a full time task. Unfortunately, no one is paying me to look for a job. And when you haven't had to find a job in 15 years, the whole experience can feel brand new. And nerve-wracking. And quiet. So very, very quiet. I may spend a few hours here and there sending out my resumes and writing cover letters. But the churches I'm sending my information to have their own timeline. And sometimes that timeline does not involve acknowledging my presence. Which is fine, especially if one of the churches I've applied to is reading this right now. I understand those looking for youth pastors will have their own agenda and their own timeline. But it leaves me sitting here with a deafening quiet around me. I am choosing to walk by faith through these days, picturing God working behind the scenes (always behind the scenes) and holding His voice very still, until He is re...
2 comments
Read more