Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps To Living At Your Full Potential (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
I recently watched a few different interviews with Pastor Joel Osteen and I was impressed by his positivity and he also talked about something that really stuck with me.He mentioned how to always stay positive with our attitudes and that our words really do have power.I've heard both of those things time and time again, but this time I was ready to receive it and needed it too.He was talking about how when you say things like ,"Today is such a bad day".....or "I'll never make anything of my life"...etc that those words have power and continue to keep you down.If you simply change your attitude and think of things a little differently, then you can reflect positivity.By saying instead, "Things may be hard, but they can only go up from here", or even if you're having the worst day ever, you can say: "It's been a difficult day, but it's slowly going to turn around" then you project that outward and remain positive.I have to say that I didn't make it all the way through this book, only to about page 150, but I gained a lot of great quotes/lessons from it that I would like to share.It's the same way with us. We have to conceive it on the inside before we're ever going to receive it on the outside. If you don't think you can have something good, then you NEVER will.If you see yourself as unqualified, insignificant, unattractive, inferior, or inadequate, you will probably act in accordance with your thoughts. If your self-worth is low, you will imagine yourself as a born loser, a washout, unworthy of being loved and accepted. Tough times come to all of us. Jesus said, “In this life you will have trouble, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”He wasn’t saying that troublesome times wouldn’t come; He was saying that when they do, we can choose our attitudes. We can choose to believe that He is greater than our problems; we can choose the right thoughts.Our words become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you allow your thoughts to defeat you and then give birth to negative ideas through your words, your actions will follow suit. That’s why we need to be extremely careful about what we think and especially careful about what we say. Our words have tremendous power, and whether we want to or not, we will give life to what we’re saying, either good or bad.Beware of associating with or adopting the attuitudes of people who, through their negative outlook and lack of self esteem will rob you of the greatness that God has for you. Understand that you are not a cosmic accident, wandering randomly and aimlessly through life. God has a specific purpose for your life. He didn't intend for you to go through life miserable, depressed, lonely, sick, and defeated. You may be so beaten down by the struggles in your life that you've grown accustomed to being discouraged. Perhaps you've been deceived into accepting a life that is far less than God's best. Maybe at one time you had a good image of yourself, but now you see yourself as simply a survivor.When you accept that warped image, you open yourself to depression, poverty, or worse. If you are not careful, before long you will begin thinking that the image you see in those cracked mirrors is a true reflection of the way life is supposed to be. You won't expect anything better. You won't expect God's blessings and victories. You will drift through life haphazardly, accepting whatever comes along, spinning your wheels until you die.The Bible compares the tongue to the rudder of a huge ship. Although that rudder is small, it controls the direction of the entire ship, and, in a similar manner, your tongue will control the direction of your life. If you habitually speak words of failure, you are going to move in the direction of a defeated, discouraged life.If you want to change your world, start by changing your words.Learn to guard your mind, We live in a society that loves to make excuses, and one of our favorite phrases is: “It’s not my fault.”No, the truth is, if we are bitter and resentful, it’s because we are allowing ourselves to remain that way. We’ve all had negative things happen to us. If you look hard enough, you can easily find reasons to have a chip on your shoulder.You may have gone through things that nobody deserves to experience in life.I don’t mean to minimize those sad experiences, but if you want to live in victory, you cannot use past emotional wounds as an excuse for making poor choices today.Nobody—not even God—ever promised that life would be fair. Quit comparing your life to somebody else’s, and quit dwelling on what could have been, should have been, or might have been.An important factor in seeing yourself God's way is to understand your intrinsic sense of value, whether you make the right moves or the wrong moves. Your sense of value should be based solely on the fact that you are a child of the Most High God. As His unique creation you have something to offer this world that nobody else has, that nobody else can. When you are tempted to get discouraged, remind yourself that according to God's Word, your future is getting brighter; you are on your way to a new level of glory. You may think you've got a long way to go, but you need to look back at how far you're already come. You may not be everything you want to be, but at least you can thank God that you're not what you used to be.God knows your value; He sees your potential. You may not understand everything you are going through right now. But hold your head up high, knowing that God is in control and He has a great plan and purpose for your life. Your dreams may not have turned out exactly as you'd hoped, but the Bible says that God's ways are better and higher than our ways. Even when everybody else rejects you, remember, God stands before you with His arms open wide.Certainly, other people can pray for you, they can believe for you, they can quote the Scripture to you, but you must exercise faith for yourself. If you are always depending on somebody else to keep you happy, somebody else to encourage you or to get you out of trouble, you will live in perpetual weakness and disappointment. You must make a decision that you are going to be a believer. Take charge of your life and decide, "No matter what comes against me, I believe in God. I'm going to have a positive outlook for my life."No matter how many setbacks you've suffered, God still has a great plan for your life. You MUST get your hopes up. If you don't have hope, you won't have faith.And if you don't have faith, you can't please God, and you won't see his Power revealed in your life. Keep hope alive in your heart. Don't ever give up on your dreams. Don't allow discouragement or other setbacks to keep you from believing what God says about you.Each of us should have what I call an “I Don’t Understand It” file. When something comes up for which you have no reasonable answer, instead of dwelling on it and trying to figure it out, simply place it in your I Don’t Understand It file.In the meantime, you must muster enough faith to say, “God, I don’t understand it, but I trust You. And I’m not going to spend all my time trying to figure out why certain things have happened. I’m going to trust You to make something good out of it. You’re a good God, and I know You have my best interests at heart. You promised that all things will work together for my good.”That is faith, and that is the attitude God honors.
I had heard a lot about Joel Osteen in recent years, and found myself very curious about him for some reason. Being raised Catholic, it's sort of an oddity for someone like me to be intrigued by a television preacher. (You're supposed to only seek guidance from your parish priest!) So it was with some trepidation that I bought this book. I rationalized that I had found it on sale at the local Walmart, so it was okay.I read this book at a very stressful time in my life. I was under a lot of pressure at work, and I'd often wake up at 3 a.m. unable to return to sleep. Then I started reading this book, and instantly felt uplifted by Joel's irrepressible optimism. I found his words so wise, I highlighted many passages in the book. He tells you all the reasons why fear and worry are completely unnecessary, and for once in my life, I listened! This book includes many good meditations, and there's one I've memorized and still say to this day whenever I feel stressed out and need to take a more positive outlook on life.
What do You think about Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps To Living At Your Full Potential (2004)?
I picked this book up out of curiosity; I've grown up hearing all kinds of bad things about Joel Osteen. So I braced myself, and began with a very skeptical attitude. Which meant that I was not prepared for the blessing that I received in reading this book. Taking just this book, out of the context of Mr. Osteen's life and how he preaches and leads his church - not that I know anything about it, so I'm not suggesting anything - I found it to be not only very uplifting, but also surprisingly very convicting. With the same rigor that he pushes positivity and smiling, he also pushes high standards for Christian living. There was one story in particular in the chapter on living with integrity that convicted me to the point of changing my actions -- his father forgets to pay for his dry cleaning and it sits unpaid and forgotten until about 20 years later! His father remembers, is convicted, and tries to find the company to pay them back, but they don't exist anymore. He tries to contact the owner, only to find out that he died some years back. But instead of giving up, he searches until he finds one of the owner's children, and not only pays them back the price of what he owed in current value of the dollar, but with interest! There's a real purity of heart in many of the stories that I suppose are what grabs people and makes this a popular book. So after having a positive interaction with the book, I had to ask myself where did all the criticism come from? And upon further reflection, I do find one glaring fault hidden beneath the warm-fuzzies. It's subtle, but the aim is always your happiness and your prosperity, not God's glory. I can see where people who are not mature in their faith, and built their faith on this book, or the philosophy of this book would end up with a very warped faith. It also isn't able to reach into the most complex and disturbing aspects of life like pain and suffering and death, but I suppose I can't blame it for that since it doesn't seem to be made for that. I think it has a very particular place in Christian thought and a good one, but not to be mixed up with more foundational truths.
—Carrie Ann
I was always told that if you wanted to learn how to do something, find someone who is way better at it than and learn from them. If you don't know how to make every little second in life to be fantastic, and I am sure I don't, then Joel Osteen would be the man to read. This book definitely helps you to keep your eyes off of yourself and your problems and keeps you focused on the bigger picture. Does it really matter in the grand scheme of my life if there are dishes in the sink and the kids aren't fed and down to bed at exactly the right time? Not worth getting upset over. There is always someone who is walking in shoes that are much more difficult than yours. He makes it seem so easy to find the happiness in even the darkest day. Yes, it is a "self help" book, but it is very encouraging and shows you that everyone can find something to do for another person and to find something in their day/life to be enthusiastic about.
—Jennifer
I have read my share of Motivational and Spiritual books. Joel Osteen's style and approach leaks of true sincerness. I felt as if he were in my home talking directly to me. This book came in a time during my life when I truly needed some encouragement. Things in my life such as my divorce, and my business doing poorly resulted to me second guessing my capability. I understand now that despite of things not looking so great that they can change. I just need to stay encouraged. Thank you Mr Osteen for your positive contribution to the literary world.
—Adra
