One of my top strengths is being committed to growth and progress in my life and others' lives. (In CliftonStrengths®, this is called Developer®). If you looked at me, you would find various ways this strength plays out, including reading books. But not just any kind of book.
I don't read e-books because e-books don't feel real to me. Reading a book is a sensory experience, like making coffee or gardening may be to others. I need to feel the book in my hands, hear the sound of the highlighter moving across the words, smell the ink on the pages. I need to see the book on my bookshelf, have it ready for recall, in order to feel like I "did the book," in order to feel the book did its work in me.
You may remember that I shared some quotes from my summer reading list, which focused on strengths, Enneagram, and personal and spiritual growth. The fall lineup didn't include any of the same authors and it wasn't as strengths or Enneagram-heavy. As you'll see below, the focus of my fall reading list was "life calling" and "vocation."
This is a topic that has captured my heart and imagination, and when that happens, you'll see it expressed in my book choices. It was about five years ago that I was wrestling with what to do with my life, which led to some significant changes, and now five years later, I'm brought back to this same topic.
You'll be hearing more about this journey, but for now, here are 12 inspiring quotes from my Fall 2020 reading list. Thank you to the artists, experts, and dreamers who penned these words, which I'm sure were meant to be read in a real, printed book:
Bob Goff, Dream Big
David Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself
Kathleen Cahalan & Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Calling All Years Good
Steven Garber, Visions of Vocation
Drew Moser, The Enneagram of Discernment
Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day"
Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
Bryan Dik & Ryan Duffy, Make Your Job a Calling
Stu Weber, Tender Warrior
Deborah Loyd, Your Vocational Credo
William Stafford, "Ask Me"
Bryan Dik, Redeeming Work
What quotes would you share with us? Leave them in the comments section below.
Each of the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc.
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