What Are The Key Lessons From The Purpose Driven Life Book?

'Get Shit Done' is one of those books that had me bouncing off the walls of a coffee shop late at night reading it. It’s a very no-nonsense book that will straight up tell you things you don’t want to hear but are very true. One of the biggest insights I got from reading this book is the concept of ‘burning the boats’. Basically it means to abandon all safety nets and totally commit to your goals. The way I understand it is that half-hearted efforts get half-hearted results. I have a ton of side projects that I’ve kind of been half-committing to over the years and after reading this I realized that all the energy I’ve been expending on trying to keep all of these things going could be better spent focusing on just one thing and cutting out as many distractions as possible, even if that means fear. The other point the book made that I’ve tried to really apply is the “2 minute rule”. This means if something is going to take less than 2 minutes to complete then you should do it the instant it comes up. I used to let so many tiny things pile up and then not know where to start because they all seemed to require the same amount of time to complete. I try to apply this as much as possible and it really clears up a lot of mental clutter. The other big point the book makes is that you have to be willing to be very ruthless when it comes to prioritizing your tasks. Not all tasks are created equal. I’ve started to classify my to-do list into “must do”, “should do”, and “could do” in order to make sure I’m not wasting time on things that are not going to have a huge impact. This book has such a great, straight-shooting tone for a self-help book. Yes, there is hard work involved to become great, but that is just how it is. Reading about how important it is to become comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to reach your goals really hit home with me. I love how ‘Get Shit Done’ dares you to search for discomfort on a daily basis in order to reach your goals. This book has inspired me to tackle projects that make me nervous and, although they are stressful, there is nothing like the sense of progress you feel after completing something that you were unsure if you could do.

‘Hustler’s University’ Part 1 by Tate was a very motivational video. The lessons he presented on developing mental toughness were most relatable after my recent failures. The step by step process on starting an online business was also very useful but did get slightly repetitive after a while, particularly for those familiar with the ‘hustle culture’ plethora of information already out there. The big takeaway for me though was his point of ‘owning your time’ and automating income to ensure true side hustle freedom. BUT, the content is AGGRESSIVELY WORDED & NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. You must identify with Tate’s WORLDVIEW in order to benefit from his “bootcamp style” university courses.

This book has transformed the way that I read the Bible from a passive activity to something more interactive. I no longer randomly open up Bibles expecting to be inspired, instead I read with the question in mind, “What did this originally mean to the first audience of this passage?” Specifically the section on literary context has been extremely valuable to me. I had previously mistaken Jeremiah 29:11 for a promise that God would fulfill for my career, when in reality it was a message of hope to exiled Jews in another time and place. This is a “me-centric” way of viewing Scripture versus God’s greater story. Their sense of humor is also very effective in getting a point across, as with this example of bad interpretation: “Using a psalm as a weather report” is a great way to express this. I would recommend this book to someone struggling to get through Scripture or just feeling unfulfilled by their current methods of studying the Bible. Reading this book was like getting glasses after years of near-sightedness – suddenly everything is so clear and so much more detailed and rich.

The role of chance in our lives is greater than we can imagine and so, our hatreds, laboriously constructed and made strong and tall, are highly absurd in the face of chance. A fall of the tree a foot to the left, the storm staying away, the wolves being somewhere else – and all that we had made so strong would collapse like a house of cards. It makes us humble. Our great hatred is not a great and eternal hatred. It is a fragile and slight thing that can be destroyed by chance in a split second. That is why we must not give it too much importance.

The disclaimer for RPF (real person fiction) takes on a different weight. ‘These are fictional representations based on public personas, not the actual people’ is the typical disclaimer, and while it pertains to copyright issues, it is also a way to distinguish between the fiction that is written and the people who are the basis for it. Whether this sort of disclaimer accomplishes ethical fan practices is highly debatable.

The main message of ‘Power’ is that power is more effective when it is distributed than when it is centralized. When our hero first starts exploring the power dynamics of his world, he assumes that all power needs to be grabbed by the hero and controlled by him in order for him to become the great hero. When the protagonist of ‘Power’ passes on a crucial task to a member of his team he is not demonstrating an obvious transfer of power. At the same time however he is trusting the other person to complete the task to the best of their ability, and therefore in this act the protagonist is increasing his own power and that of the other team member. Power as a journey and not as a destination also plays a major role in this book. The main character learns that the highest power is not to be on top of other people but to bring others up as well. The main message is that power is something to be shared and that its value is in how you distribute it.

The animals on the lifeboat, and in Pi's memories, are all symbols of real people, with certain characteristics that Pi observes. The hyenas represent brutality, the zebra black-and-white stripes represent suffering, and the orangutan represents maternal protection. All of these animals are in the movie too, but in a more subconscious way than in the book. The book makes the connection between the animals and the humans that they represent very clearly, and then makes the reader question the connection that they have made when an alternative explanation is given for what the reader has seen. The allegory in the book is more complex and demands more from the reader than the simple narrative of the movie.

The core of the document Evangelium Vitae is the Firm defense of the sacredness of human life by the Pope. It steadfastly maintains that every human being is intrinsically valuable simply by the fact that he or she exists. This is basically applied to the prohibition of abortion and euthanasia and, more universally, to all aspects of the social justice trilogy of poverty, war and solidarity. I also love the way this document challenges the reader whilst also giving him room for reflection. Even when it takes a stance that I wouldn’t agree with, I am challenged to articulate why I feel the way that I do and this helps me to remember that ethics is all about valuing others and that this must be consistent. The document’s urgent words are even more relevant today when there is more focus on medical ethics and human rights than ever.

For sheer fun and creative stimulation, consider speculative fiction. “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir is another great library novel that makes science and cooperation look heroic and fun. It’s inspiring to read of such problem-solving and of so much science leading to such wonderful solutions and adventure. Or “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers, which is all about found family and kindness in space. Fun inspiration doesn’t have to be serious.

Rent movies through your gaming console (PlayStation, Xbox, etc.) and look for promotions (i.e. rent 1 get 1 free) or even free rentals for console subscribers. Also, subscription services to play games on consoles can sometimes include a collection of movies to watch for free as long as you are subscribed to their premium services. Similarly, you could check the Free section of your TV’s app store. Most smart TV manufacturers such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast often highlight free content in their home screens. As with renting movies, it’s often simplest to browse the Free section of your TV’s app store rather than searching for a specific title.