Blog posts on books I love are the most difficult for me to write.
Why? Because often, books like the one I’m suggesting today, despite being fun and easy to read, have lessons that run so deep, I’m concerned I won’t be able to communicate the messages sufficiently and/or appealingly enough that you’ll be moved to read them.
Such is the case with Aspire: Discovering Your Purpose Through The POWER OF WORDS.
In this extremely powerful work, former Franklin Quest partner and now highly sought-after business consultant, speaker and Coach, Kevin Hall, invites us along on his personal and exciting journey to discover how words (yes, words!) can help us clarify and discover our purpose as well as help us to do the same for others.
With the help of a kind octogenarian, Dr. Arthur Watkins, a man who’d invested his life in the study of words, Kevin focuses on dissecting 11 different powerful words, both English and from other cultures. The very first one, learned from Mr. Pravin Cherkoori, a wise and humble Indian shopkeeper in Vienna, Austria, is what the author refers to as The Secret Word. He also refers to it as as “one of the most meaningful gifts of my life.”
The featured words are: Genshai, Pathfinder, Namaste, Passion, Sapere Vedere, Humility, Inspire, Empathy, Coach, Ollin, and Integrity. Yes, we learn their roots and their origins of usage, and how they team with other words to arrive at their current meanings and incarnations. By the way, if you’re like I am, you’ll find this to be fascinating in and of itself.
What’s special about this, however, is how the words are used to tie into the real-life characters we come to know and root for; some of whom overcame dramatic odds to succeed and find their purpose.
I could go on and on with how emotionally touched I was throughout the book. Instead, if I may, I’d like to quote from the Foreword by Dr. Stephen Covey:
“The more you understand words and the layers within them, the more it helps you understand your path and purpose…Words are the direction signs that show the way to {following your} bliss. Words, in concert with the actions they inspire, help you become a better leader, a better spouse, a better parent, a better salesperson, a better athlete…The power in words generates wealth, health, productivity, discipline, spirituality, and limitless other desirable human traits.”
Dr. Covey’s Foreword ends a page later with:
“Whatever your goal, your quest, your passion, I am confident Aspire will unlock for you a universal force that will light the way to inspiration and personal growth. I suggest you keep a pen or pencil close by as you read this profound work over and over again. I know I will.”
All I can say in response to the above paragraph is, “it did, I did, and I will.”
Well, one more thing: I hope you’ll do the same. 🙂
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I can’t wait to read this!
Before reading your blog, I had just posted the following comment on a LinkedIn poll concerning leadership:
Leadership is influence. A Christian Ed director “forced” me into leadership b/c she loved me too much to let me stay behind. She was the greatest leader I have ever known. Her influence in my life toward integrity, character, love for children & being a servant leader inspires me to this day. I aspire to do the same for others.
I appreciate your suggestion!
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I am sure that I will be fascinated as well Bob. I find words so very powerful and interesting as it is, I am so looking forward to reading it! I’m a bit stubborn and rather than ordering via Amazon I go to the bookstore (to buy local), and when they don’t have it, I insist on them ordering it so that would ‘put it on their radar’. Hopefully it will be here soon (& hoping they will be INspired to order more to stock:)