The Power Of Enough

"Lynn Miller is an admired friend with whom I share a passion for stewardship. His deep biblical insights and his ability to share them with both lightheartedness and profundity give him a unique ability to cause people to think in new ways about life stewardship. Lynn asks the right questions and his message is one that needs to be heard--for the sake of a culture brainwashed by the gospel of materialism." --Richard Towner, Vice President, Willow Creek Association, Barrington, IL "You never quite know where you will find Lynn Miller, but, wherever he is, Lynn notices relationships. The connective tissue between people, possessions, faith, finances, Scripture, culture, labor, and leisure captures his attention, and he mines these connections for meaning and promise. It is evident that the truth of God's 'enough' clearly shapes Lynn's daily life as well as his teaching and writing." --Ed Taylor, Executive Director, Ecumenical Stewardship Center, Indianapolis, IN Lynn Miller served as stewardship theologian for MMA, Goshen, Indiana, until his retirement in 2006. He is a graduate of Wilmington (Ohio) College and Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana. Lynn is a popular conference and congregational speaker. He has been a pioneer in the study of firstfruits theology and its application to a life of faith. Author of the books Firstfruits Living and Just in Time: Stories of God's Extravagance, Lynn and his wife, Linda Jean (Pine) Miller, now live their lives seeking--and finding--ways to give themselves away in service to God.

What if your path to a more successful, healthy, and satisfying life is actually not about you? Enough About Me equips you with practical tools to find meaning and compassion in even the smallest of everyday choices. When his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Richard Lui made a tough decision. The award-winning news anchor decided to set aside his growing career to care for his family. At first, this new caregiving lifestyle did not come easily for Lui, and what followed was a seven-year exercise in what it really means to be selfless. Enough About Me also takes a behind-the-scenes look at some of the world's most difficult moments from a journalist's point of view. From survivors of terrorist attacks to victims of racial strife, Lui shares the lessons he learned from those who rose above the fray to be helpful, self-sacrificing, and generous in the face of monumental tragedy and loss. Lui shares practical tips, tools, and mnemonics learned along the way to help shift the way we think and live, including: Selfless decision methods and practices for work, home, relationships, and community Studies and research that show the personal benefits of being selfless The lasting impact of sharing your story Practical, bite-sized ways to be more engaging and inclusive in your day-to-day life How to train our decision-making muscles to choose others over ourselves Choice by choice, step by step, the path to a more satisfying and fulfilling journey is right here in the people around us. Praise for Enough About Me: "Richard Lui underscores the importance of sharing stories to bring people together through selfless acts for the greater good." Beth Kallmyer, Vice President of Care and Support, Alzheimer's Association "Richard is living a life of service. This is a jewel of a book, a celebration of the best of the human spirit and of the good that emerges from sacrifice. Richard Lui is a beacon of light in these dark times." José Díaz-Balart, Anchor, NBC Nightly News Saturday; Anchor, Noticias Telemundo

Look Younger, Be Healthier, and Experience a New Kind of Energy Sluggishness. Boredom. Lack of concentration. Too many of us pour another cup of coffee and accept fatigue as the inevitable side effect of hectic lives. Dr. Matthew Edlund shows us there is a better way. (and it's not just sleeping more!) This groundbreaking program will rewire your body, improving your productivity, creativity, and sense of well-being. Experience the extraordinary benefits—including dramatically decreased stress and increased energy—of the four types of rest: Physical: From deep breathing to the "UnNap," learn how to vanquish stress in seconds. Mental: Practice key strategies of relaxed concentration, and marvel at how much more you can accomplish. Social: See how even walking to lunch with a coworker creates a new sense of security and support. Spiritual: Experience a connection to something greater than the self, the key to internal balance. The Power of Rest introduces one powerful technique each day, many of which can be accomplished in a minute or less. Rediscover the feeling of being truly alert and engaged with your body, your work, and the people you love.

"Lynn Miller is an admired friend with whom I share a passion for stewardship. His deep biblical insights and his ability to share them with both lightheartedness and profundity give him a unique ability to cause people to think in new ways about life stewardship. Lynn asks the right questions and his message is one that needs to be heard--for the sake of a culture brainwashed by the gospel of materialism." --Richard Towner, Vice President, Willow Creek Association, Barrington, IL "You never quite know where you will find Lynn Miller, but, wherever he is, Lynn notices relationships. The connective tissue between people, possessions, faith, finances, Scripture, culture, labor, and leisure captures his attention, and he mines these connections for meaning and promise. It is evident that the truth of God's 'enough' clearly shapes Lynn's daily life as well as his teaching and writing." --Ed Taylor, Executive Director, Ecumenical Stewardship Center, Indianapolis, IN

A revealing exploration of people whose wealth, fame, beauty, and social status grant them immense power. Celebrity culture drives us to aspire to be like the few who seem to have figured out how to have it all. But is it possible that they simultaneously have everything and nothing at all? Having treated some of the world’s most successful people, psychotherapist “Dr. Paul” sets out to answer why so many people who have everything end up feeling like their achievements are never enough—as well as what that pattern can reveal about ourselves and the society in which we live. The exclusivity of living behind the velvet rope or the gilded gate doesn’t guarantee happiness for the rich, famous, and powerful; there are downsides to attainment as well. We all—including people who seem protected by their privileged lives—can experience the self-destructive behaviors common to modern life, including chronic stress, addiction, anxiety, imposter syndrome, infidelity, negative body image, and narcissism. Division marks our era. There’s a growing separation between the haves and have nots, men and women, as well as the empowered and the disenfranchised. At the same time, our culture is defined by celebrities, and the powerful, affluent people we put on a pedestal to idolize and emulate. Too often, we think our lives would be better if we could have what they have or be more like them. It’s time to realize that even the most admired people can go through life feeling unloved and unable to escape their problems. From the therapist’s chair, we learn how feelings of shame, insecurity, abandonment, and emotional pain are all part of the human condition. With empathy, we can overcome our sense of isolation by realizing that we all crave—and deserve—understanding, intimacy, and real connection.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A spiritual thought-leader and featured guest on Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday helps us learn to quiet fear and anxiety and discover the powerful wholeness that exists within us all in this inspiring and affirmative guide. Achieving equilibrium in today’s age of anxiety can seem like a near-impossible—even frivolous—task. Panache Desai offers a refreshing, surprisingly unusual approach to meet the challenges of the modern moment and heal the fractured self it produces. For Desai, the soul—whole, unbroken, at peace, and one with the life source—isn’t a destination. It already exists within each of us, just waiting to be revealed. It is not something we have to work to develop—it is our birthright. And when we are in union with our soul, we experience a personal evolution that not only illuminates our individual cosmic purpose but helps us to engage the sense of purpose and presence necessary to remake the world itself. You Are Enough offers a straightforward, non-judgmental, and approachable process of revealing the soul, of coming into alignment and harmony with our true selves. Combining personal narrative, clear and inspiring philosophy, and prescriptive practices, it reveals that the way through is the way in—that the way through fear, self-doubt, and anxiety is accepting and embracing dissonance and emotional and psychological blockages, so that we can approach our lives and the world from a perspective that understands our fears are not who we are. Desai’s goal is simple: to guide readers through radical self-acceptance toward a life of ultimate peace and fulfillment. Beautifully designed, this enlightening volume by a fresh voice shows us that while life may have caused us to forget our power, potential, light, and love, they are always there, just waiting to be discovered.

An 800-CEO-READ Staff Pick Shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award A Financial Times Business Book of the Month “For any would-be activists who hear the voice: ‘not me’ or ‘not now,’ Merchant makes the strong case for ‘yes you’ and ‘yes now’—and even shows you how to jump in.” —Van Jones, host of CNN’s The Messy Truth, author of Rebuild the Dream and The Green Collar Economy “The Power of Onlyness is a book for our times. . . . Merchant forces us to dig deep, into the book and ourselves, and it goes beyond self-knowledge and self-empowerment, obliterating the fear of otherness with an understanding of the onlyness of us all.” —Sally Haldorson, 800-CEO-READ An innovation expert illuminates why your power to make a difference is no longer bound by your status If you’re like most people, you wish you had the ability to make a difference, but you don’t have the credentials, or a seat at the table, can’t get past the gatekeepers, and aren’t high enough in any hierarchy to get your ideas heard. In The Power of Onlyness, Nilofer Merchant, one of the world’s top-ranked business thinkers, reveals that, in fact, we have now reached an unprecedented moment of opportunity for your ideas to “make a dent” on the world. Now that the Internet has liberated ideas to spread through networks instead of hierarchies, power is no longer determined by your status, but by “onlyness”—that spot in the world only you stand in, a function of your distinct history and experiences, visions and hopes. If you build upon your signature ingredient of purpose and connect with those who are equally passionate, you have a lever by which to move the world. This new ability is already within your grasp, but to command it, you need to know how to meaningfully mobilize others around your ideas. Through inspirational and instructive stories, Merchant reveals proven strategies to unleash the centrifugal force of a new idea, no matter how weird or wild it may seem. Imagine how much better the world could be if every idea could have its shot, not just the ones that come from expected people and places. Which long-intractable problems would we solve, what new levels of creativity would be unlocked, and who might innovate a breakthrough that could benefit ourselves, our communities, and especially our economy. This limitless potential of onlyness has already been recognized by Thinkers 50, the Oscars of management, which cited it one of the five ideas that will shape business for next twenty years. Why do some individuals make scalable impact with their ideas, regardless of their power or status? The Power of Onlyness unravels this mystery for the first time so that anyone can make a dent. Even you.

Before we decipher life, let us see life. Before we wish for another life, let us feel this life. Before we give in to “if only,” let us listen to this moment. Before we succumb to “someday,” let us inhale this day. Before we trade in this life for the life we “should” have, let us taste this life. We are born to savor life, to live in the moment. What holds us back? When we stop the noise, the distraction, the compulsion to perform, the fear of rejection, we make space to savor the power of the present moment. We carry this capacity to honor the present into every encounter and relationship, meaning that we honor the dignity that is reflected by God’s goodness and grace. Every encounter, every relationship, is a place to include, invite mercy, encourage, receive, heal, reconcile, repair, say thank you, pray, celebrate, refuel, and restore. This book is an invitation to practice, to savor, the sacred present. We are called to be available. To be curious. To be alive. To be willing to be surprised by joy. To know there is power in the word enough. Ask yourself this: What will you choose to honor today?