This post is a part of the Book Beginings and Friday 56 blog memes. And I always add a little extra, a quote from page 100.
Been looking for World War II stories, and re-reading a book that I find particularly useful for trainers.
Fiction
The Last Word: A Novel Of The War In The Pacific (Ron Miner)
Book Beginnings: "Alert! Braking!” Dan reflexively grabbed the steering wheel as the car pitched forward, his eyes jolting up from the iPhone’s dashboard screen. The wispy image of a deer’s haunches vanished into the late night shadows of forest foliage as the Chevy Amp self- corrected.
Friday 56: Some of the officers were equally concerned. There was an army base on the same island where we were stationed, and it happens that a one- star general and his aide insisted on coming aboard and giving us a “flight check.” He felt his best opinion could be rendered from the copilot’s seat, and he settled in there as we lifted off.
100: Dan stood and stretched, and rolled his head around to loosen his neck. Very comfortable room, he thought to himself as he idly examined the bookshelves and wall hangings. One shelf was entirely military books, as you might expect. Owen had it arranged in three sections, perhaps to mimic his own service participation.
Nonfiction
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
Book Beginnings: In more than 25 years of working with people in business, university, and marriage and family settings, I have come in contact with many individuals who have achieved an incredible degree of outward success, but have found themselves struggling with an inner hunger, a deep need for personal congruency and effectiveness and for healthy, growing relationships with other people.
Friday 56: Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or against us. The gravity pull of some of our habits may currently be keeping us from going where we want to go. But it is also gravity pull that keeps our world together, that keeps the planets in their orbits and our universe in order. It is a powerful force, and if we use it effectively, we can use the gravity pull of habit to create the cohesiveness and order necessary to establish effectiveness in our lives.
100: Businesses, community groups, organizations of every kind— including families— can be proactive. They can combine the creativity and resourcefulness of proactive individuals to create a proactive culture within the organization. The organization does not have to be at the mercy of the environment; it can take the initiative to accomplish the shared values and purposes of the individuals involved. ... Because our attitudes and behaviors flow out of our paradigms, if we use our self-awareness to examine them, we can often see in them the nature of our underlying maps. Our language, for example, is a very real indicator of the degree to which we see ourselves as proactive people.
