Book Review: Soundtracks by Jon Acuff
Every quarter, our leadership team tries to read a new book. We take about 30 minutes before our normal weekly meetings to discuss chapters out of whatever leadership book we’ve chosen for that quarter. This helps all of us grow in our leadership skills and hold each other accountable. It has been a great exercise for the last few years.
We’re currently wrapping up Soundtracks by Jon Acuff. This book is about the (broken) soundtracks we play in our heads. The stories we tell ourselves influence our mental state, how we handle issues, and how we do life. If we wake up feeling negative and let the broken soundtracks play in our heads, we’ll probably have a bad day. If we let a fear soundtrack play, telling ourselves that we’re going to fail at something so why try, guess what? We’ll fail without even trying.
I know for me personally, whenever I have a large project or task in front of me, the soundtrack I hear is that the project is too large or I’m not smart enough to pull it off. In the book, the author recommends not looking at the entire project. If you break it into smaller pieces and do those pieces each day, before you know if the project is well underway and the hurdle has been jumped. He describes the “how to” and what happens to us in a much funnier way than I do. Jon Acuff is so humorous in his storytelling that you just can’t put the book down.
In addition to be being so funny, Jon gives over 50 ideas for how to change our broken soundtracks. A good portion of them are small ways. For example, take a short walk or read a few pages of fiction.
Jon doesn’t just tell stories about his soundtracks and leave you hanging. He provides helpful ways to break the cycles and make positive changes. For example, writing this blog and putting my broken soundtrack issues out for all to read. I know I’m not perfect and I’m not the smartest person, but I add value in my own way and that is a good thing.
I could go on, but I don’t want to give away all the nuggets that Jon offers in the book. The last thing I will say about the new soundtrack I am using daily is “my life is dope.” You would be amazed at how much it changes my daily outlook on what comes my way and what I believe I can accomplish. You will have to discover what I mean by this phrase by reading the book.
If you have already read the book and want to comment, make sure you post it here.
This post was contributed by Michelle Padilla, our COO/CFO. Michelle has a Master of Science in Management and Leadership and is passionate about creating an encouraging company culture with highly motivated and positive people.
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