Managers, leaders, and YOU should read this book. In Obstacles Welcome, Ralph de la Vega give a blueprint for success. Having worked in the aerospace industry for years, I know Ralph is right. I've seen managers who follow his principles and succeed – against the odds – and I've seen and worked for managers who couldn't think outside the box. Ralph's ideas really do work.
In addition to giving an inspirational message to managers and aspiring leaders, Ralph tells a great story. He faced challenges: hurricanes in Florida, political unrest in South America, and the daunting task of merging two giant telecommunications companies. Each time, the obstacles led to major successes because of Ralph's attitude. I very much enjoyed being a spectator on the journey.
I also found his emphasis on helping the younger generation of leaders excellent. No matter what kind of a business you work in, if you're a manager, people are watching you to model their behavior on yours. It's important to remember that if you want your company to succeed you must walk the image you want to project. Young people and lower level managers will try to follow your example. Embrace Ralph's guidelines and make it a good one.
In this heart warming sequel to “Same Kind of Different as Me.” Ron Hall and Denver Moore tell us what happened after the book was published. The stories of ordinary people suddenly realizing that they can do something to create change were remarkable. God does work miracles if you give him a little opening.
The story of Jose the stone mason was one of the most moving and important in the book. Ron looked at the man and saw a drunk. In an area populated by homeless people, addicts, and the mentally ill, that was what he was programmed to see. The lesson from the story is simple: in order to help people, we have to look beyond the surface and see the real person. However, as with all lessons there is a caution. Safety is an important issue. Few sane people would walk into a cage with a tiger without taking any safety precautions. It's important to help the homeless, but in doing so, it's equally important to remember that these are damaged people. Taming wild animals takes time. Likewise it takes time, patience and understanding to make a difference to a homeless person. I'm glad Ron and Denver made this point. I hope people reading the book who want to give of themselves to help the homeless realize that it's not a “catch and release” program. Consistency and commitment are critical.
What a marvelous book. I hope it continues to encourage people to give more than a few dollars and a quick handshake when they try to make a difference.
The world is so full of things to fear sometimes it's hard to see anyplace where fear doesn't reside. We fear street violence, losing our possessions and home, losing our jobs, that our children will be hurt, and most of all we fear death. What wouldn't we give for the secret of how to live without fear? Max Lucado's book Fearless contains this secret. In each of the scenarios I mentioned, Max takes time to examine what we fear and show us that God is the answer. Believe that Jesus Christ was sent by God to give us the message that He is looking after us and we need not be afraid. Prayer and belief are the antidotes to fear.
This is a wonderful book. Each chapter tackles a major source of fear in our lives. Max presents the problems gives us examples of people who let fear rule their lives and then tells us how we can rise above our fears. Prayer is one way we can rise above our fears, but we also need to take action. God often points out paths that in our fear we cannot see, so we remain is bad and debilitating situations. This book can help you rise out of the pit of your own fears. It's well worth the time it takes to read it.
Here's a message from Max:
Faces in the Fire traces the intertwined lives of four characters. Each has a serious problem: amnesia, drug addiction, lymphoma, and assassination, and each, in his or her own way, is withdrawn from contact with others, until a mysterious catfish symbol and a string of numbers enter their lives.
I found the section about Corrine, the spammer with lymphoma, to be particularly poignant. Hines made her character come to life. The other characters, however, were not as believable. I enjoyed Kurt Marlowe, the truck driver turned artist, but felt his character was almost a rehash of the lead character in Hines book, The Unseen. The assassin and the tattoo artist, while interesting characters, came across as more two dimensional.
The story is told out of sequence, which, at first, is disconcerting, but I got used to it. The major problem I found with the technique was the repetition caused by using almost identical passages when presenting the same scene from a slightly different point of view, as the lives of the characters cross. However, the intertwining was skilfully done and made the rather strange story more believable. The story twists and turns until in a surprise ending all the threads come together.
