Self Improvement 101 by John C. Maxwell

Self Improvement 101 by John C. Maxwell is a great little book and one that I intend on reading over and over again! As usual, Maxwell hits it out of the park with simple, applicable teaching that works! This book is filled with principles, stories and quotes that all seem to be written just for me. My favorite story is in Chapter 2 - How Can I Grow in My Career?
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."
"Well," replied the bull, "why don't you nibble on some of my droppings? They're packed with nutrients."
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. But he was promptly spotted by a hunter, who shot him down out of the tree.
The moral of the story: BS might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.
Great story! Great book!

Chicken Soup for the Soul - Inside Basketball by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Pat Williams

This is a great back, especially for a hoops junkie like myself! I have started playing the game at age 4 and didn't stop playing competetively until 28 after a few injuries were hampering my performance both on and off the court. I owe a lot to the game of basketball, from perseverance to goal setting to meeting my wife. Both my wife and I played college basketball at The King's University College in Edmonton, Alberta. We met on a bus trip home from Grande Prairie in October 2000 - almost 10 years ago!
OK, now to the book. It has 101 stories about the game of basketball. Two in particular touched me. Story 100 is written by Jerry Schemmel, a broadcaster with the Denver Nuggets. In his story, he talks about being aboard the famous United Flight 232 en route from Denver to Chicago. This plane had to crash land in Sioux City, Iowa. I was 10 years old when this happened and remember hearing the news of the crash while working on my parents farm, 45 minutes north of the Sioux City Airport. Not only did it bring back memories to me, but it also had a great ending, where Jerry gave his life to the Lord about a year ago as the result of this traumatic event in his life.
The last story of the book is written by Pat Williams daughter, Karyn. It retells the great impact that her father has had on her life and how hard it was for her to leave home and pursue her dream of becoming a music artist. Having just had a daughter on January 5, I hope and pray that I can have the fraction of impact on my daughter Gemma that Pat has had on his daughter.
Overall, it is a great book and recommended to anyone who wants inspiration who has played the game that I love - basketball!

From Worst to First - Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback by Gordon Behtune

I received From Worst to First - Behind the Scenes of Continent's Remarkable Comeback by Gordon Bethune for Christmas. It was a book that I read about while reading a John C. Maxwell book. Being an airline business junkie, I really enjoyed the book. When Bethune became CEO of Continental Airlines in the mid 90's, the airline was in serious trouble, ranking very low on all of the major airline ratings. Continental also had serious cash-flow issues. In the book, Bethune lays out the Go Forward Plan that he and his management team employed that turned the airline around:
1) Fly to Win
2) Fund the Future
3) Make Reliability a Reality
4) Working Together
Overall, the book had a lot of great points, but did get a little repetitive from time to time. It really emphasizes the importance of having a plan and executing it.