Book Review on "Making a Difference"

Review of Making a Difference by Steve Gilliland

I might not have purchased this book based on its cover alone even though green is my favorite color, but I had the pleasure of attending a conference where Steve Gilliland was the speaker. His ability to tell stories with meaningful purpose is outstanding. This book is a great self-motivation resource, filled with real-life situations from Steve's own experiences. He does a fantastic job of keeping the reading easy and short, allowing you to start and stop your reading throughout the day.

Steve doesn't detail the specific events that caused his struggles, but he is clear that he made decisions—good or bad—that he needed to own. I appreciate that he emphasizes the power of personal choice. For example, if you are overweight, it's not something that happened overnight; it resulted from poor daily eating decisions.

There are two parts of the book that particularly resonated with me and prompted reflection. First, Steve asks readers to name seven people who have influenced their lives and to write a descriptive word next to each name. One of the people I thought of was Francis “Bud” Swider. Bud was like a father to me; he was my best friend Jason’s stepdad. Our last real conversation was at the hospital when his cancer had spread to his bones. We reminisced about the old days, and I had the opportunity to thank him for being so kind and treating me like a son.

The second part that stood out to me was the concept of seizing control of your ego and allowing your soul to be present. Left unchecked, your ego can make you reactive, driven by fear, focused on the past, obsessed with what is wrong, distrustful of others, and driven by survival. In contrast, your soul is creative, centered in peace, lives in destiny, focuses on the journey, looks for meaning, and has faith in others.

One final moment in the book made me ponder: what if you only had six months to live? How would that change your thinking?

The next book I plan to read is Enjoy the Ride. Until next week.