“Find Your Strongest Life” by Marcus Buckingham

Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
In his latest non-fiction book, Marcus Buckingham shares some good old common sense advice and maybe some not-so-common sense secrets about (as the subtitle declares) “what the happiest and most successful women do differently.” He advices his readers not to seek perfection or balance or even a happiness rating of 10; but instead, he illustrates ways to find what your real strengths are and how you can capitalize them in the workplace, in your home, and in your life.And who doesn't want to be one of the elusive “happiest and most successful women”? I know it sounded appealing to me. The problem is success is pretty difficult to rate. Buckingham uses a Maya Angelou quote in one of his chapters that captures this idea: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” My issue with this book, as a Christian woman, is that some of the paths Marcus Buckingham suggests you follow in order to achieve success would not leave me liking myself in the slightest. For an example, he has ZERO positive things to say about being a stay-at-home mom – in fact, most of his examples of unhappy, unsuccessful women were those who traded career for family. I was and am uncomfortable with the thrust of this book teaching a “me first” way of thinking that does not align with what I believe the Bible teaches (“He must become greater, I must become less” - John 3:30, NIV).My recommendation: take the test at StrongLifeTest.com, find out what your role(s) are, apply some of the principles in this book, but rely on the Bible for truth.

-Katie Casey
Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger
http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

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