Intentional Living By: John C. Maxwell

Ok, so I know it may be a bit biased to feature another book by John C. Maxwell on our reading list, but hey, it's my site, and he IS my favorite author... So yeah, I'll allow it. I gravitated towards this book the instant I heard it was coming out, and couldn't wait to start reading it because my passion is young and new leaders, and there is probably nothing more important to leaders starting out than living intentionally. 

What is Living Intentionally?

It's living each day with purpose. Having intention, forethought, and a plan with every move you make to avoid wasting time. Time is a commodity that can never be replenished! So learning to be intentional should be one of our highest priorities. In this book, Maxwell starts out teaching us about significance. Everyone (especially nerds like us who actually read about becoming better leaders) wants to live a life that is significant- that matters. We want our lives to be a story worth telling, but that doesn't happen by accident. It takes being very intentional. This book is about how to do just that- choosing to live a life that matters and makes a difference. 

So here's what I'd recommend asking yourself as you dive in, all of which are addressed in Intentional Living: 

Have I found my why? 

We all need a WHY, a purpose, an overall goal to help frame our other goals and give us intention. I think many young people struggle with this. It's not an easy target, and it changes and shifts as we find who we are, and decide who we are going to be.

Do I add value?

Are you adding value to the people around you? I could go on and on about the importance of building a team, but that's what my blog is for. For now I'll just remind you how utterly important it is to add value to others. Most of us want to do that, but simply don't know how.

Am I seizing all the possible opportunities?

When you live intentionally, you are able to recognize opportunities that push you towards your purpose, and weed out those that simply do not. Not every opportunity is worth taking, but some are definitely too good to be missed!