Book Review: The No Complaining Rule

Over Thanksgiving Break I started and finished 'No Complaining Rule' by Jon Gordon. I appreciate books I can read quickly and I love books that have a "simple" message. I know simple is not always easy to implement, but they are easier ideas to digest and hopefully I can implement them quicker.  Change is always a process. This book is set up as a fable, so I found it easier to understand the concepts Gordon is trying to teach. There was one main idea that stood out to me.

I don't like ____, BUT ______.

I found this to be the most powerful idea in the book. When we spew complaints we are venting and not sharing anything positive. The stories we tell ourselves impact how we see the world which in turns impacts how we feel. Just because we don't complain does not mean that everything in our life is going great and that we are happy all the time, but it does mean that we are telling ourselves positive stories. The "I don't like ____, BUT ______" statement let us say our complaint while framing it in a positive way. For example, "I don't like my commute, BUT I am glad I have time to listen to audio books." "I don't like that my children don't sleep through the night, BUT I appreciate the extra cuddles." This tool has been powerful when I remember to use it. These statements allow me to recognize my frustration but also say it in a more positive way. 

Book: The No Complaining Rule

Author: Jon Gordon

Main Message: Complaining creates separation and negative energy. I can still express negative thoughts, but it is about how I frame them and the words I use.

Key Points I Want to Remember: "I don't like ____, BUT ______."

Actions Steps: It takes conscious effort and intentional behavior to make change.

Bible App by YouVersion

One of the first Apps I downloaded when I got my phone was a Bible. I downloaded the YouVersion one because it was listed at the top of my search. It took me a while to really understand all that this app has to offer and it is now one of my favorites.

My favorite thing about this App is the ability to download Bible Studies. There are tons! There are read the whole Bile programs, there are Bible Studies based on specific books in the Bible and there are studies that are based on a specific topic: marriage, family, teen, kids, career and leadership to name a few.

Some of the Bile Studies contain a devotional along with scriptures, while others are scriptures that relate to the topic. Either way, there are Devotionals and Studies about every topic pertaining to life. I have found all of the Bible Studies to be extremely helpful. Right now I have been working through a lot of motherhood and marriage ones. Many of the ones I have worked through are short and I know I can set aside five minutes a day to read through one, so there is no reason to miss a day.

Reading

How do you keep track of your reading?

One of my monthly focuses for April is to use GoodReads more consistently. After a month of using it regularly, I have increased the amount of time I read and it has allowed me to keep track of books I want to read and ones that I have read. I read a lot of short eBooks and I find I forget to write these down.  I also go through periods where I read many books in a short amount of time.  Taking the time to enter these into GoodReads (or any other program) is something I often forget, but it is important.  I also would like to spend more time reflecting and writing about what I am reading, so that I can make sure I gain the most I can from each book.

I also appreciate the social aspect of GoodReads. I signed up for a reading challenge and it motivates me to make reading a priority.

Audio Books

I am thankful for a random conversation with a coworker that reminded me about audio books. I spent most of this school listening to podcasts and I enjoy them but sometimes I like something more in depth. Also, sometimes I have to wait for new episodes and I am stuck with nothing to listen to.  I find that I feel more overwhelmed when I don't get a chance to read. Reading is time for myself and a chance to learn and grow.

My library uses the program Axis360 which allows access to eBooks and audio books. The best part is it is free. Most audio books I have found are around ten hours which means I can finish about a book a week if I listen during my commute. I feel like I am now using this time to the best of my ability and taking advantage of this time to learn and grow.

If you enjoy reading but are short on time, I strongly suggest audio books. Plus, there are so many great programs that allow access to audio books.

Book Reflection

I go through periods of time where I read a lot and other times when it takes me months to finish a book.  One of my goals this year is to focus on quality instead of quantity and to ensure that I am learning the most from my time reading.  I created this short form to help me journal and keep track of books I have read.  I always plan on writing blog posts about the books I finish, but that never seems to happen.  I am hoping this simple form will help me stay on track.  How do you keep track of the books your read and information you have learned?

Book:

Author:

Finished:

Main Message:

Key Points I Want to Remember:

Actions Steps:

Podcast Favorites

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. Right now I am listening to a lot of self help, productivity, health/fitness and education podcasts.  I find that shorter podcasts are easier for me to listen to, so I tend to listen to more of those than thirty minute interviews.

What are your favorite podcasts?

The following is a list of my top ten podcasts. These are not in any particular order, but they are ones that I routinely listen too.

My Top 10 1. 5 AM Miracle
2. EduAll Stars
3. The Project Life Mastery Podcast
4. Love and Logic
5. Rapid Fire
6. Switch on Pop
7. Take Back Your Life
8. The Charged Life
9. The City Church
10.  The Productive Women

Summer of Reading 2015

My goal for the past two summers is to read a book a day.  

Summer of 2015 Reading List

1. Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess
2. Drive by Daniel Pink
3. 50 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom by Alice Keeler
4. Teaching: Teaching Techniques (eBook)
5. The Fireproof Teacher by John Spencer
6. Life Lessons from Living with Luke (eBook)
7. Mr. Miarcle by Debbie Macomber
8. The Student Teaching Experience (eBook)
9. 51 Ways to Love Your Enemies (eBook)
10. The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller
11. Second Time to Die by Tess Gerristen
12. Once Upon a Summer by Janette Oke
13. Blogging (eBook)
14. Live to See Tomorrow by Iris Johanson
15. Your Personal Life Coach (eBook)
16. Control Your Class (eBook)
17. Passion Matters by Angela Maiers
18. Subconscious Mind Power (eBook)
19. Your Next Breath by Iris Johanson
20. Mental Health Principals (eBook)
21. Procrastination (eBook)
22. The Carpenter by Jon Gordon
23. Accelerated Learning (eBook)
24. Personal by Lee Child
25. Players First by John Caliparai
26. Success (eBook)
27. Perfect Mindset (eBook)
28. Gospel of John (eBook)
29. Achieve Anything (eBook)
30. ADHD (eBook)
31. The Matheny Manifesto by Mike Matheny
32. Last One Home by Debbie Macomber
33. Womens Murder Club #14 by James Patterson
34. Code of Conduct by Brad Thor
35. Learning by Choice by A.J Juliani
36. The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
37. 10 Miracles by Jeff Sanders (eBook)
38. The 5 am Miracle by Jeff Sanders (eBook)
39. Move Your Bus by Ron Clark 

Growing a Reader

When I was in middle school, my baby sister was reading the Harry Potter series. I had limited interest in reading and I had ZERO interest in a book about wizards. I saw her reading these big books and I figured if she could do it, so could I. She is eight years younger than I am, I could not be outdone. During Christmas break I spent an enormous amount of time laying in a bed at my grandmother's house reading the first three books of the series. I was hooked! Not only was I hooked on these books, I was hooked on reading. I had officially caught the reading bug.

Sometimes all it takes is one book to turn kids into lifelong readers. Sometimes it takes years for this book to be found, but it can happen.

I am trying my best to help my daughter become a lover of books. We ready daily and we go to the library every 7-10 days. I hope and pray that she is able to find the same enjoyment from books as I do, for life is so much better while surrounded by books.

What book turned you into a reader? How do we encourage those around us to read even if they have not caught the bug yet?

Kindle Unlimited

I am a big fan of free kindle books so it took a bit of convincing for me to try Kindle Unlimited. I decided the summer would be the best time. So far, I like it and I have enjoyed the education books that are available.

Positives
-Many great education books are available.
-I can take as long as I need to read a book.
-A wide variety of books are available.
-I can have many books at my fingertips while not taking up physical space.

Negatives -You can only have ten unlimited books at a time and I have not found a way to make a list of books I would like to read. It would be nice to have a list tool as I am browsing.

What are your favorite reading apps or resources?  Have you tried Kindle Unlimited?  What were your thoughts?

April 11th: What Are You Reading?

What Are You Reading, Either Professionally or Personally? Why?

Professionally
Drive by Daniel Pink

• Understanding what motivates students is vital as a teacher and a coach.

Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller

• Reading is a skill that leads to lifelong success.  The ability to read and the desire to learn create an unstoppable ability to grow and adapt.

Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard

•  I am the leader of my classroom and my teams, so I am always looking for ways to improve and strengthen my skills.

THE Teacher Text by David Robertson

•  Reading books by great teachers is one way to grow and learn as a teacher.

Personally
The Bible 

•  As a Christian, The Bible is a cornerstone for daily growth and direction.

Call the Midwife (Facebook Group Book Chat)

•  Being part of a Book Group gives me the opportunity to read a book for fun and to discuss the book with other people.

Music Trophy

This summer the art teacher shared a classroom management book with me.  "Classroom Management for Art, Music and PE Teachers" by Michael Linsin is filled with many ideas on how to setup a classroom management plan that takes in consideration all of the challenges that are specific for specials teachers.   

After reading it, I decided to partially change my classroom management plan.  The art teacher, librarian and I all decided to implement similar systems.  We hoped that this would provide consistency for students.  Each class can earn four classes per day: 1-walking in quietly, 2-lining up quietly, 3-working hard and 4-listening.  Once a class earns 30 points, they earn the music trophy to display in their class until the next class earns the trophy.

I give points based on the majority of students behavior. 

Day 330: Learning

Daily Blog Challenge Day 330/365

I just stated reading the book "Mindset" by Dweck and one of my favorite messages so far is "do you want to learn or do you want to prove you are right?"

One of the things I like about Twitter is that it allows me to learn and it connects me to many other people who want to learn. Not being face to face makes it easier for me to admit that I am wrong or that I don't have all the answers.  Twitter has become a safe place for me to learn because I know I am surround by people that want to help and will not openly judge me (not being able to see eye rolls or body language helps.)

Imagine the level of success we could all reach if we looked at everything as an opportunity to learn and grow? What if we were always looking for things to learn and ways to make ourselves better?

Having the mindset that I am always going to learn is a challenge.  My ego gets in the way and sometimes I just want to be right.  I want to be smart enough and good enough.  Being willing to learn is less stressful than always having to be right though. Being willing to learn allows me to go into a situation with a clear mind and with a focus that I am going to leave a better/stronger/smarter person.  

Do you make decisions based on your ability to be right or on your ability to learn and make yourself better?

Learn  from each moment and be a better person tomorrow than you were today.

Thank you for reading.

Day 277: Being Present

Daily Blog Challenge Day 277/365

I spent a portion of my night reading "One Decision" by Judith Wright. I have been slowly working my way thru this book and I am on a mission to finish it soon. One of the chapters I read tonight was about being present and living life in the moment.

Today I found myself very short on patience. Call it waking up on the wrong side of the bed or being cranky, but either way I was not able to positively handle many situations with my students today with out becoming annoyed. I experience these days throughout the year and I believe they are a common experience among teachers. The fact that we only have eight days left of school does not make it any easier. 

The book gave many examples of the frustrations that accur when we try to multitask our way through life. Upon reflection, I realized that this is why I become annoyed with my students. I am not truly present and I am not dealing with them in the moment.  Between an ever growing to do list and students who seem needy, it can be exhausting to deal with it all. In the end, my students deserve my attention and I believe many of the challenges I face in class would disappear if I would force myself to fully pay attention to my students. This is a painful realization to have, but in the end it will be positive. 

How do you stay in the moment? 

Thank you for reading. 

Day 153: "Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive" (NetGalley)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 153/365

"Champion's Mind:  How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive" by Jim Afremow, Ph.D, LPC

This was the first NetGalley book I read and it has made me love this service.  I thought this book was great and I will keep it on my Kindle for constant review.  As a coach, it shared many insights on how to run my program in a more effective way.  I wish I would have been more aware of these strategies as a player.

I have spent a lot of time over the past six months reading about Mental Training.  I have read and listened to many articles and videos by Train 2B Clutch, Brian Cain and others.  This book reviewed some of that informatoin, but also expanded on other pieces.  When I first started learning about these ideas, they were completely new to me, but I am beginning to see a shift where many professions are starting to understand their benefits.

A focus of mental training is the growth mindset.  There have been countless discussions recently on Twitter among teachers on the power of the growth mindset and how we need to help teach our children this concept.

Although this book is written about athletics, I believe it is universal.  It gives simple (although not easy) exercises to help master concepts of mental training.  We are realizing with more research just how powerful and complex the human brain is.  Through mental training, we can unleash this power and use it to our advantage.  Self talk, goal setting and growth mindset are all concepts that all people can use.  They are not limited to athletes.

I strongly recommend this book for all teachers, players, coaches and anyone who wants to learn how to harness the power of their brain to help them be more successful.

Thank you for reading.

Day 119: NetGalley

Daily Blog Challenge Day 119/365

During a recent conversation with a member of my Twitter PLN (Shannon Clark-@shannonclark7), I was introduced to the website NetGalley (Thanks Shannon!)  Shannon and I were discussing books that we wanted to read during winter break.  NetGalley is a free membership that allows access to new or soon to be released books.  Some books are pre-approved so you don't have to wait until you are able to download the book and some you have to ask the publisher for approval.  They have books on every genre and you can browse by author, publisher or genre.

In return for access to these books, the subscriber is expected (required) to write a review about the books they read.  This seems like a fair trade to me and it will help me have topics to write about during the course of my Daily Blog Challenge.  The best part is I now have free access to thousands of books from the comfort of my own home.  I added NetGalley to the approved sending list on my Kindle App (NetGalley provides directions on how to do this) and now the books I select from NetGalley are automatically added to my Kindle bookshelf (once they are approved by the publisher.)

I have been approved for six books so far and I have finished one.  I strongly recommend this site to all teachers, coaches and book worms.  You can't beat free!

Thank you for reading.

Summer Reading 2013

Challenge Started: May 22, 2013

1. Daphne's Book by Mary Downing Hawn-5/22/13

2. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hawn-5/23/13

3. Teaching and Learning are Lifelong Journeys-5/24/13

4. You Can't Say You Can't Play by Vivian Gussin Paley-5/25/13

5. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder-5/26/13

6. The Book of 1 Thessalonians-5/27/13

7. The Book of 2 Thessalonians-5/28/13

8. In Christ Alone by Sinclair B. Ferguson-5/29/13

9. Candide by Voltaire-5/30/13

10. The Father's Guide to the Meaning of Life by Joe Kita-5/31/13

May Totals:  10 Days-10 Books

11. The Calling of Emily Evans by Janette Oke-6/1/13

12. Puppy Come Home by Laura Yirak-6/1/13

13. They Call Me Coach by John Wooden-6/2/13

14. Imposter (A Protectors Novel) by Karen Fenech-6/2/13

15. The Book of 1 Timothy-6/3/13

16. The Stress Free You by Elizabeth O'Brien-6/4/13

17. The Book of 2 Timothy-6/4/13

18. Wounded Healer by Donna Fleisher-6/4/13

19. Blacklist by Brad Thor-6/5/13

20. The Book of Titus-6/6/13

21. The Book of Philemon-6/6/13

22. The Book of Joel-6/7/13

23. The Book of Obadiah-6/8/13

24. The Book of Habakkuk-6/9/13

25. Helping People Win at Work by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge-6/10/13

26. The Book of Zephaniah-6/11/13

27. The Rules of Work by Richard Templar-6/12/13

28. The Womens Murder Club: 1st to Die by James Patterson-6/13/13
29. The Essential 55 Workbook by Ron Clark-6/13/13

30. The Book of Nahum-6/14/13 

31. The Book of Haggai-6/15/13

32. The Book of Jonah-6/16/13

33. The Book of Malachi-6/17/13

34. The Book of Ruth-6/18/13

35. Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen-6/19/13

36. The River by Gary Paulsen-6/21/13

37. The Book of Jude-6/22/13

38. The Book of Colossians-6/23/13

39. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew by C.S Lewis-6/24/13

40. The Book of 1 John-6/25/13

41. The Book of 2 John-6/26/13

42. The Book of 3 John-6/26/13

43. The Book of Philippeans-6/27/13

44. The Book of James-6/28/14

45. The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis-6/29/13

46. The Book of 1 Peter-6/30/13

June Totals: 30 Days-36 Books

47. The Book of 2 Peter-7/1/13

48. Notorious Nighteen by Janet Evonovich-7/2/13

49. The Book of Lamentations-7/3/13

50. Bonnie by Iris Johansen-7/4/13

51. Taking Eve by Iris Johansen-7/5/13

52. The Book of Galations-7/7/13

53. The Book of Ephesians-7/8/13

54. Plum Luck by Janet Evonovich-7/10/13

55. The Book of Micah-7/11/13

56. Full Black by Brad Thor-7/14/13

57. One Simple Act by Debbie Macomber-7/16/13

58. 57 Ways to Take Control of Your Time and Your Life by Jim Meisenheimer-7/16/13

59. A Wanted Man: Jack Reacher by Lee Child-7/17/13

60. 20 Things I've Learned As An Entrepenuer by Alicia Morga-7/18/13

61. Called To Write by KM and Rev. CM Logan-7/18/13

62. Being Happy by David Tuffley-7/18/13

63. Ten Interesting Things About Human Behavior by Suzanne L. Davis-7/18/13

64. How To Start A Successful Blog In One Hour by Steve Scott-7/19/13

65. Cougar Cub Tales: The Sneezy Wheezy Day by Sharon Cramer-7/20/13

66. Princess Diadora: Ordinary Princess by Eddie Bee & Teri Lee-7/20/13

67. A Different Princess: Space Princess by Amy Potter-7/20/13

68. The Rainbow Stick Boy by Michael Santolini-7/20/13

69. Cougar Cub Tales: I'm Just Like You by Sharon Cramer-7/20/13

70. Cougar Cub Tales: Lost and Alone by Sharon Cramer-7/20/13

71. App Design Checklist by MindSea-7/20/13

72. What the Fox Learnt by Four Fables by Aesop-7/20/13

73. 7 Reasons Why Your Blog Is Failing by Terry Anders-7/22/13

74. How To Start A Blog That People Will Actually Read by Mike Omar-7/23/13

75. In Too Deep by Katheryn Shay-7/24/13

76. The Dirty Dozen Abdominal Workout by Pete Genot-7/24/13

77. Forbidden Disclosure: A Billinaire in Disguise by Terri Marie-7/24/13

78. The Workout Series: 4 Week Home Bodyweight Workout by Arnel Ricafranca- 7/24/13

July Totals: 31 Days-32 Books

79. Ransom River by Meg Gardiner- 8/3/13

80. How Childen Succeed by Paul Tough-8/4/13

81. Expert Blogging by Nick Thacker-8/6/13

82. How To Discipline Without Shouting or Spanking by Jerry Wyckoff-8/10/13

83. Useful Things by Thomas Faustin Huiskiny-8/10/13

84. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by C.S Lewis-8/12/13

85. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S Lewis-8/13/13

86. Rhythm of the Game by Bernie Williams-8/18/13