Know a hockey fan grieving the NHL strike?
Share the new release from hockey legend, Paul Henderson: “The Goal of My Life: A Memoir”

Looking to infuse some personal or leadership inspiration for 2013?
Consider one of these titles, suggested by LIG Staff:

“Great by Choice”, by Jim Collins
(recommended by Preston Wieler, LIG Abbotsford)

“Unstoppable” by Nick Vujicic
(a favorite read of Roy Hildebrand, LIG Winnipeg)

“Every Good Endeavour: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work”, by Tim Keller & Katherine Leary Alsdorf
(from Ian Whitfield, LIG Calgary)

“Good to Great and the Social Sectors”, by Jim Collins
(suggested by Judy Hildebrand, LIG National)

“When Faith and Decisions Collide” by Dan Schaeffer
(recommended by John Havercroft, LIG Ontario)

“Great by Choice”, by Jim Collins
(from David Smith, LIG Ontario)

“Nuts! Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success” by Kevin & Jackie Freiberg
(a favorite from Russ Swaim, LIG Vancouver)

Rebecca is a communicator, coach, musician, and proud mom of three. She loves to create, whether it be a new strategy in the board room, or a new dessert in the kitchen. She loves to give life to ideas through the spoken and penned word. Rebecca and her family spent five years living life in Asia but are now settling back into Canadian culture, making their home in Richmond, BC.

Start Something That Matters

Blake is the founder and “Chief Shoe Giver” of TOMS. This book outlines the inspiring story of TOMS, a social enterprise that has given over 1 million new pairs of shoes to children in need.

It all started when Blake took a trip to Argentina and discovered that many children did not have shoes, which caused blisters, sores, and infections. There were charities giving out shoes to the kids, but they were dependent on donations, which meant they had little control over the supply of shoes. Being an entrepreneur, Blake came up with the idea of starting a shoe business that would fund the giving of shoes. This business would make profits while aiming to do good in the world – this type of business is called a social enterprise.

Blake developed a simple concept: sell a pair of shoes today, give a pair of shoes tomorrow. His “Shoes for a better tomorrow” motto became “Tomorrow’ Shoes” and finally just TOMS. Shortly after the company started, Blake, his family, and a few friends went on their first “Shoe Drop” to give away their first 10,000 pairs of shoes. This is what Blake writes about the experience:

“The kids, anticipating a new pair – or their first pair – of shoes were so eager for our arrival that they would start clapping with joy when they spotted the bus rolling into town. I broke down in tears many times. Oh, my God, I thought, this is actually working. At each stop I was so overcome with emotion that I could barely slip the first pair of shoes on a child without crying with love and happiness. Just nine months ago, this started with a sketch in my journal and now we were about to provide 10,000 pairs of new shoes to children in need. This is when it really hit me that a simple idea could have real impact, and that a pair of shoes could create so much joy.”

Blake started TOMS when he was 29 years old. The interesting thing is that through starting TOMS, he also found his purpose in life.

“When I returned from that first Shoe Drop (giving away shoes to children), I was a different person. I also realized that TOMS wasn’t going to be just another business for me. It was going to be my life, in the best sense. Each of the four other businesses I’d started were satisfying in different ways, but this one provided me with a sense of fulfillment unlike anything I’d ever felt before. All at once i made a living for me and everyone who worked at TOMS, it brought me closer to the people and places I loved, and it offered me a way to contribute something to people in need. I didn’t have to compartmentalize any of my life’s ambitions: personal, professional, or philanthropic. They all converged in a single mission.”

I think this is what my generation (people under the age of 35) are looking for in life. A purpose that combines their personal, professional, and philanthropic life ambitions.

Are you looking for a single mission in your life?

Tim Chan is the Vancouver Area Manager for LeaderImpact Group and has a passion for helping young professionals find meaning in their work, faith, and life. Tim graduated with a business degree from UBC and worked in the Logistics industry before switching to non-profit work. Tim currently lives in Vancouver with his wife Olive and they are expecting their first child in December 2011. They are avid bloggers and you can find their thoughts on www.timandolive.com

Creating Your Personal Life Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing the Life You’ve Always Wanted
Michael Hyatt
Ebook

Do you have a plan for your life? Most of us have an idea of where we want to be or what we’d like to achieve in the next 5 or 10 years. We lay out plans for our career path, our next vacation, even the next dinner party, but many of us neglect to plan our lives. Without a plan, life can quickly veer off the path when we face unexpected twists and turns.

In Creating Your Personal Life Plan, Michael Hyatt addresses this critical need by presenting systematically the steps we can take to ensure we are “living a life on purpose, achieving what matters most—in every facet of your life.

Based on the life planning process developed by Building Champions, Hyatt’s many personal examples help clarify the process and reveals how he has been able to achieve the success that he enjoys in his own life. His emphasis is on building a well-balanced life, by focusing on key areas such as spiritual, family and friends, finances, and self.

This ebook guides readers through the detailed thought process of prioritizing the different areas of their lives complete with purpose statements, supporting Bible verses, and action items. The book itself is a quick read, but creating a life plan is a more time consuming process requiring an initial commitment of at least a day and regular reviews thereafter. This book raises some good questions and points to help readers think through living their lives on purpose.

Michael Hyatt has made his book available for free download on his website.

Interested in hearing more of what Michael Hyatt has to say? Join us at LIG Conference 2011 – FreeFall taking place this November in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. Michael will be our featured speaker as we learn how to navigate transitions in life. For more information on LIG Conference 2011, visit ligconference.com

When have you read a theology that expounds pleasure?

Gary contends that God urges us to embrace and experience Him through the many gifts that He created for us, whether they be Starbucks Coffee (Gary’s addiction I think), exercise, marriage, family, sex, worship, time, relationships and many more. Don’t forget to enjoy the simple pleasures in daily living that we often overlook or are not even aware of.

Basically, the author says, make sure there is joy and pleasure in your life because God created us to experience this and all of us can learn how to do it. He stresses the positives and downplays the negative ‘do nots’, but also takes care to caution us not to lose perspective and go sideways. I loved his approach.

I think this is a good read for most people and a required reading for workaholics, perfectionists, taskmasters and those who haven’t learned how to smell the roses.

Paul Henderson played professional hockey for 18 years but is best remembered for scoring the ‘Goal of the Century’ in the first Canada/Russia series in 1972. Paul serves with LeaderImpact Group where he has been developing men for leadership since 1984.

Nancy Ortberg is a storyteller par excellence and often she is the story.

Her style is humorous, refreshing and edgy in spots. She is brutally honest about her shortcomings, which makes her authentic, believable and transparent. She makes you uncomfortable at times yet encourages you to persevere regardless of your situation. On occasion, I felt like she was throwing a pail of cold water in my face to get my attention, and she did. She is fearless in expressing things that irritate her and don’t make sense to her.

Nancy believes Jesus can’t be taken lightly, tamed or trivialized. He is interested in everything we do and, as importantly, how we do it. She exhorts us to thoughtful action.

We are all on a journey through life and she came across as a fellow participant trying to make sense of life and live it with purpose and passion.

I used this book in a men’s group I lead and found it excellent for group study and discussion. It is not a book to read quickly. Prayerful self-examination and thoughtful meditation will help you grow and bear fruit in your life.

Paul Henderson played professional hockey for 18 years but is best remembered for scoring the ‘Goal of the Century’ in the first Canada/Russia series in 1972. Paul serves with LeaderImpact Group where he has been developing men for leadership since 1984.