I have always loved books. Even as a child, I was an avid reader. When I was young, the majority of my reading was for enjoyment. Today, I read for a variety of reasons. I read to be entertained, I read to gain a new perspective, but mostly I read to learn something new. As a leader, it is imperative that you be a lifelong learner. One of the easiest ways to learn is by reading.
With today’s devices, you can carry hundreds of books where ever you go. It has never been easier or more convenient to pick up a great book and startreading . Periodically, I plan to publish a book review I believe would be of interest to law enforcement leaders. Books have changed my life, and I am hopeful that the books I recommend and review can change yours.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Atomic Habits provides a step-by-step plan for building better habits for a lifetime by making tiny improvements over time.
These tiny improvements may seem insignificant when they are implemented but result in big changes over time.
The author opens this book with the gripping account of being struck in the face with a baseball bat in high school, his slow recovery and his revelation and dramatic change in his life due to the tiny habits he discovered.
James Clear bases his observations and recommendations on the fields of biology, neuroscience, psychology and more.
One of the key concepts in the book is the idea of the Habit Loop. All habits proceed through these four stages in the same order forming a loop.
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Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World
On May 21, 2014, the author gave a commencement speech at the University of Texas, his alma mater. This book is based on that speech.
The author learned many lessons while attending Navy SEAL training. Those lessons have been condensed into 10 points that can help change your life and as the author states, and may change the world.
- Start Your Day With a Task Completed (Make your bed)
“Nothing can replace the strength and comfort of one’s faith, but sometimes the simple act of making your bed can give you the lift you need to start your day and provide you the satisfaction to end it right.”
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The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
The authors set up the entire premise of the book with a description of a scene from the movie “City Slickers.”
In one scene, Curly asks Mitch if he knows what the secret of life is. Mitch answers no. Curly then holds up one finger and says the secret to life is one thing, just one thing.
From this quote and through a process of discovery, the authors narrowed down their focus to this one question, “What’s the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”
The Domino Effect is the concept that domino falls can topple big things. A domino can knock over a domino 50% larger. In that scenario, the 57th domino is almost the distance to the moon. The moon is reachable if you prioritize everything and put all of your energy into accomplishing the most important thing.
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