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    Only You Can Be You: 21 Days to Making Your Life Count
    Only You Can Be You: 21 Days to Making Your Life Count
    Only You Can Be You: 21 Days to Making Your Life Count
    Ebook291 pages6 hours

    Only You Can Be You: 21 Days to Making Your Life Count

    By Erik Rees and Rick Warren

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    About this ebook

    Based on the psychological tenet that it takes twenty-one days for a new behavior to become a habit, Erik Rees presents twenty-one daily principles for reminding readers of their individual importance.

    “Make your life count.” These four simple words spoken at the funeral of a four-month-old child haunted the author, hitting him like a ton of bricks and causing him to wonder if he was making his own life count. Contemplating what kind of legacy he would leave, he wondered if there was anything about the present course his life was taking that would make a difference to anyone in the years to come. Furthermore, it hit him that these are the same thoughts most men and women ponder. This challenged him to write this book focusing on principles that would help people’s lives make an impact.

    By the time many people reach adulthood, they carry so much baggage that the weight of it distracts them from maximizing life and leaves them feeling insignificant for not doing much beyond surviving. The book suggests that there are three great choices that affect every aspect of our lives. These “life choices” relate to who we surrender our life to, how we steward our unique gifts, and the choices we make to help others. Learning to make the best choices in these three areas will influence every aspect of life, and will resolve the “why am I here” questions.

    Only You Can Be You does not offer simplistic choices, which are quickly dismissed because they do not deal with reality, but instead it shows that sometimes life’s decisions require deep courage and strength. The book strongly affirms that you can make the right choices and that when you do, you will ultimately find significance. The message of the author is that by making the best possible life choices, readers will not only find genuine happiness and purpose, but they will also leave a legacy that really makes a difference.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHoward Books
    Release dateJul 7, 2009
    ISBN9781439168356
    Author

    Erik Rees

    For over 15 years, Erik Rees helped people discover and direct their God-given S.H.A.P.E. at Saddleback Church. After the loss of his twelve-year-old daughter Jessie to cancer in 2011, Erik used his pain to help other families and is the CEO of the Jessie Rees Foundation. Through Erik’s leadership, Jessie’s mission to encourage every kid fighting cancer to “Never Ever Give Up” is becoming a reality. He and his wife, Stacey, live in Orange County, California, with their children, Shaya and JT, and their two dogs.

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    Reviews for Only You Can Be You

    2/5

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    • 3/5
      When I first saw this book, and it mentioned how the author had changed his life at the funeral of a 4 mo old baby, I thought it was just what I needed. The problem was that, even knowing ahead of time that he is a pastor it is much to heavily religious. I am a spiritual person, and I am usually able to take something from any book with a spiritual focus. This one, though, was too set in a born again Christiian tone. If you don't accept that premise, you will NOT be able to find yourself in this book. The format is great, and I love the 21 day focus. If you are very into scripture, this book would serve you well. If not, you'll have a more difficult time.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      There was far too much religious fervor for my taste and not enough down to earth, actionable material. After mentally removing the hallelujahs and amens, it came up short. The book recommends three core life choices: surrender your life completely to God, steward your unique style wisely and serve other passionately. Some of the advice isn't bad, but on the whole I was disappointed.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Since I received this book as an Early Reviewer's book back in August of 2009, it has been sitting on my shelf of books I need to read like a lump of coal. Normally I love getting early reviewer books, but I could tell from the moment this arrived that it wasn't what I had expected when I requested it. This book is meant for the fundamentalist Christian audience, and that should have been made clear in the description on the Early Reviewer's page. I did try very hard to read it, but simply could not get past the first chapter, though I did skim the rest of the book. To me, not only is the treacly method of writing hard to bear, but the constant use of the phrase "only you can be you" made me think the author must have been paid a bonus for every time he used it. A book I recommend if you like the idea of becoming a better person through your faith is "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl.
    • 3/5
      The title really grabbed me. Only You Can Be You has a lot of insightful information, just like any other self-help book currently on the market. I lost interest about half way through as the book is focused on Christians and really delves into the Bible and living for God. This book is good for people who are religious and prefer the connection to God as they are seeking to improve themselves.
    • 4/5
      I completely disagree with the other reviewers. I'm not quite finished with all the steps....but so far think its well written and down to earth. I am a Christian so I find the incorporation of God into it a good thing. Will finish review soon.
    • 1/5
      I'm in agreement with the other reviewers, this book is a joke. The concepts are superficial at best and are forced into fitting a Christian model of control and conform. It really reads more like a daily devotional type of book, and it would do best to advertise itself that way. The author is clearly riding the coat talis of Rick Warren using simplified concepts to leave people feeling that if they can't make their life count in 21 days there must be something wrong with them and that they simply don't have enough faith. Along with the other reviewers I was very shocked when I received this book and found that it was religious in nature, the description did not give that insight in advance or I would never have requested it. This is one I will recycle, as in throw away, nothing I would ever want to keep.
    • 1/5
      Poor writing and bad theology make this a book that I wouldn't even put in a garage sale. Unlike the other reviewers thus far, I am a Christian and am serious about my faith. I have books in my library on religion and theology and I also have books on business, leadership, and self-improvement. This book is really no good in either category. It is the theological equivalent of rancid meat, and, because it fails there, the rest of the advice--which is nothing new or fresh--falls flat. I would be interested to know who wrote the descriptive blurb for the Early Reviewer listing. It made no mention that this was a religious book.
    • 1/5
      I also got the book as an Early Reviewer. In line with the other reviews on this site, I cannot bring myself to continue reading this book. I was completely surprised by the sheer amount of religious content since I didn't think that was the main driver behind the book. I thought I was getting something that had general advice or logical reasoning for self improvement. This book does not contain that. Regardless of your beliefs, there wasn't any solid research behind any of the self improvement or esteem building ideas. I don't think the author could go more than a few sentences without saying 'for God' or 'in Christ.' While creating motivation solely with the use of Bible quotes work for some people, it did not for me. I will be giving this book to someone else who may be interested, because I cannot get past the first two chapters.
    • 1/5
      This book is an excellent example of the worst kind of drivel Christianity produces. Why don't Christians rise up and say "we deserve better"? Better writing, better thinking, better ideas? Christian leaders want their followers to stay sheep so that no one will question their religious ideologies. I'm sure the author was well-intentioned when he wrote this, I just believe that he is entirely wrong in his thinking. There is nothing wrong with being who you - with God or without God - but if you decide you have to be with God in your life then you must abandon all self-esteem and be ruled by guilt over your imperfect status, it seems. The message is God and his Christians will not except you if you do not conform to what they believe to be the "truth". This is hogwash. The world is not the problem, the message is the problem because it only seeks to distort. This book was entirely misrepresented by the publisher and deserves to get panned. LT, please screen better!

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    Only You Can Be You - Erik Rees

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