My mission is to help each person identify her strengths, take them seriously, and offer them to the world, states Marcus Buckingham in his new book, Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently (Thomas Nelson).
My first thought: How does this guy know so much about women? The fact that he has done decades of research at the Gallup Organization and worked with millions from business settings and CEOs to Oprah and her viewers to help them through the process of finding and then living their strongest life, all piqued my interest.
The book’s most thought-provoking statement: Women are less satisfied with their lives than they were forty years ago. How can this be? Women have far more opportunities today, better education and better paying jobs than their 1960s counterparts. You wonder at this disparity–and keep turning pages. The author states his case with fascinating statistics, an easy-to-follow style, and practical steps to move you toward a stronger life.
I took the Strong Life test. You are measured on nine life roles, to determine consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that point toward the core of who you are. I felt I was all across the board–the results would say I’m hopelessly scattered. Not so. My life lead and supporting roles came through with surprising accuracy.
This book has challenged me to apply these principles to live the strongest life I can to the glory of God.
