20,000 Days and Counting: The Crash Course For Mastering Your Life Right Now - eBook
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Live with purpose every day and make a difference
Robert D. SmithâÂÂs life was dramatically impacted by the awareness of the brevity of life when he lost a friend at the age of 14 years old. Ever since then he has sought to live with purpose every day and make a difference both now and for eternity.
Smith presents some great ideas for problem solving from a fresh new perspective. But what I really appreciate about the authorâÂÂs approach is that he wants to empower the reader to recognize the privilege of taking charge of his or her own life. HeâÂÂs an advocate of never giving up and shows how you can make rejection and âÂÂnosâ work for you.
Robert Smith does a terrific job of pointing out practical ways to take action now, celebrate each day and live with purpose in every moment while being mindful of the legacy you are creating. His enthusiasm for life shines through and IâÂÂm confident you will be challenged and encouraged by this book.
The subtitle for this book is, âÂÂThe CRASH COURSE for MASTERING YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOWâ and thatâÂÂs exactly what it is! This short, easy to read book is full of practical, take-action advice designed to give you a new perspective and it has the power to change your life if you apply it.
February 21, 2013
Live each day as if it were your last
How old are you? Now how old are you by counting in days? As of the writing of this blog I am 17, 516 days old. On the 20,000th day of his life, Robert D. Smith sent an e-mail to a group of people of all ages reminding them to live in the moment. This book is a result of that e-mail. It is intended to be short and read in under an hour.
I'm not sure if I read this book in less than an hour or not as I had a couple of interruptions while reading it. In any case, it is a quick read as promised. However, a lot of wisdom is packed into a short space so that you can quickly take this information to heart and apply it to your life. I had a tablet along with my Kindle and took notes, as Smith suggested, and I did take time to apply his words to my life. While I think the younger you are reading this book, the better, it is a book that could help any person of any age live the rest of their life better. I also think the more time I take to reflect on it and re-read it periodically, the more it will help me live a better life. Since it is shorter, that should be easy to do.
According to Smith, "Most people sleepwalk through day-to-day life, passively letting time slip away." With the tools in this book, if applied, you can live your life more intentionally. One of my favorite quotes: I mean to make myself a man of after God's own heart, If I succeed in that, I will succeed in everything else." Just thinking about this idea, I asked myself if I truly live my day as a woman after God's heart, how will I live it? I am inspired to live it better each day with that thought alone. Smith has several other questions to ask as you think about your purpose in each day and how you want to live your life--and how you want to be known after your life is done. I would recommend it to every one. And if you want to calculate how long you have been alive, he has a place for that in his website: http://www.therobertd.com/the-book/. Also, if you are familiar with Andy Andrews, for over 30 years, Smith has managed and overseen the career of Andy Andrews.
I received this book from Thomas Nelson as a part of their Booksneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review.
December 10, 2012
some inspiration but no practical techniques
Midway through his fifty fourth year, Smith realized he had been alive for nearly 20,000 days. He decided to take forty eight hours and put himself through a crash course to plan his next 20,000 days. He includes in this book the thoughts and actions he pledged to implement daily for the rest of his life in order to live with intense purpose, constant joy, and lasting influence.
There is really not much to this book. Smith says this book can be read in an hour. It can. (The last seven pages of the galley I read were endorsements.) He does share his own thoughts and maybe it worked for him. But this book is greatly lacking in the practical means to getting to that life of intense purpose. He does not include any techniques for goal setting, time management, or anything like that. His concept is pretty much that you just decide to live your life with purpose and it will somehow happen.
If this is the first book you will read on finding your purpose in life, etc., you may find inspiration in this book. If you have read other books on goal setting or productivity, you will probably not find anything new or helpful in this one. I have read lots of self help books and did not find this one to be particularly helpful.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
December 27, 2012
Get going...NOW!
I just completed '20,000 Days' and the best way to sum it up is that it is a 'swift kick in the behind.' I am actually currently working towards a specific professional goal and I was doing a 'coin toss' as to whether to work on my project or sit down to begin reading '20,000 Days'. I chose the latter and DID finish it within an hour. My take-aways from the book are this:
Robert D. Smith is thoroughly entertaining and endearing and wraps your attention around his little finger. He suggests in the beginning of the book to grab a highlighter and so I did. I didn't have to highlight a lot of places to make me feel my focus become sharper and my intensity become deeper. I actually ended the book feeling as if I want to achieve this current goal as much for Mr. Smith as for myself! I know in my core that I will read this book over and over again until I reach this goal and then again when I form the next. Count up!
Jennifer â 16025 days old today
December 27, 2012