****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
You want to know the mark of a good book? When you step away from it, and as you're driving in your car or taking a shower, the content from that book worms its way back into your thoughts. When you're at a decision point in your life, and the sage advice from the book pops back into your head. When you can't help but talk about the latest fantastic book that you're reading even with your friends who don't share your love of reading.I've already had conversations with my friends and family about how thinking good thoughts and having good values is not sufficient; your actions must align with your moral compass. Also about how after you pray to God, you should not just sit there and wait for an answer, but actively seek out anwers. Also about the concept of surrendering your own plans to God's plan, and identifying the distinction between when to fight harder and when to surrender.Nick Vujicic has this incredible influence on my life. He's a total stranger, and yet both this book and the last one transform the way I view my life. His stories and advice influence my perspective. They not only influence my decision making process, but they help me to see the good already existent in my life. They inspire me to achieve more, but also to be joyful and grateful about all that I have already achieved, all the blessings that are already manifest in my life.I am not a Christian. Perhaps I should have said that earlier in the review, but it didn't seem to fit in well until now. I was raised in Christianity, but right now I don't practice any religion. And yet I still get so much out of this book because, well, to grossly oversimplify, his advice is to go through life with a good attitude. Do what you can to help others, appreciate the good you have, make the most of a bad situation, and trust that you will make it through dark times. I believe that is a good attitude for ANYONE to have, regardless of who you think is or isn't watching over, regardless of what you believe happens after you die, and regardless of whether you believe Jesus died for your sins.Now that I've gotten all the gushing out of the way, I will now give a word of caution about this book. Compared to his last book, there are two significant differences that I noticed and didn't particularly like. The first is that Vujicic spends much less time describing his own life and challenges, and much more time telling other people's stories. (The first few chapters are primarily his stories, but as you delve further into the book he talks less about his own life.) Some of the life stories really didn't pull me in the way Nick's life story did. The other difference is that this book has a lot more specific advice on how to deal with a particular issue in life. For instance, there's a section on coping with having a serious disease or bodily defect, one on bullying, and one on coping with loneliness when you're single. A lot of the specific problems he addressed were ones that I'm not dealing with, and while I can appreciate his taking the time to focus on those issues, it did make it slightly harder to relate to his writing at those points.I have gotten so much inspiration out of both this book and his first book, Life Without Limits. I highly recommend both of them.
