Master a Couple Key Books

One of the greatest success coaches (Bill Britt) that I ever had the privilege to learn from taught a principle that has stuck in my mind for the last 35 years.  The Britt System had approximately 100+ books on their recommended reading list.  They highly encouraged people to make reading a positive mental attitude or success principle book to be a part of their daily routine.  The old adage was “readers are leaders” which is certainly true. 

However, Bill Britt revised his thought process over the years to this – don’t worry about getting through all 100+ books on the book list.  He felt that people were spreading themselves too thin mentally and from a learning standpoint by having a goal of reading a large quantity of books and maybe getting through the entire book list, but never really mastering any of the material being taught in the books.  More times than not, when finished with a book, it gets placed back on the shelf and is never referred to again. 

Instead, he became a proponent of just becoming a master of a couple key books wherein you know them inside and out. Know the scriptures/principles being taught inside and out.  The objective of focusing on a couple key books is to thoroughly understand the content in order to incorporate the principles being taught into our thought process and daily walk.

I call this the “Braveheart Assimilation Principle.”  My son and his best buddy watched the movie Braveheart dozens of times at a minimum.  They could recite every line and knew each scene like the back of their hand.  After seeing the movie 10-20 times, they knew exactly what was coming next and what was going to be said – it just became second nature.  This is what I refer to as “Braveheart Assimilation.”  And that is the goal in mastering a couple key books is to thoroughly integrate the principles being taught into the thought process. 

Bill Britt’s two recommended books were “Think and Grow Rich” and “How to Win Friends and Influence People” – both are considered classics.  He would preach, entice, cajole, beg people to just master these two books – become a walking and talking “Think and Grow Rich” and a walking and talking “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”  Live, eat and sleep these two books to thoroughly reprogram the computer and optimally position yourself for success. 

I agree with Bill Britt’s philosophy and the concept of mastering a few key books vs. reading a large quantity of books.  (And in all probability not becoming proficient with the principles being taught) Although “Think and Grow Rich” and “How to Win Friends and Influence People” are classics, they are secular in nature, and I would not recommend them above other faith-based books. As such, I’ve listed below the books that are my all-time favorites and have made the most impact for me:

• Spirit, Soul and Body – Andrew Womack
• Effortless Change – Andrew Womack
• Better Way to Pray – Andrew Womack
• Financial Stewardship – Andrew Womack
• Trust God With Your Finances – Jack Hartman
• The Treasure Principle – Randy Alcorn

I am cheating here in that I have six books on my “to be mastered” list, not just two.  Each of the six books are faith-based.  If I could only have seven books in my library, it would be these six, in addition to the Word itself.

The first two books, “Spirit, Soul and Body” and “Effortless Change” examine the vital importance of studying the Word and renewing our minds daily in the Word in order to achieve transformation.  “Better Way to Pray” is without a doubt my favorite book on prayer. 

The last three books on finances are by far and away my favorite books for learning God’s laws of finance and stewardship.   God’s system of finance is so awesome, but we certainly never learned these principles while getting our college degrees and being taught the world’s system for finances.

The “cliff note” summaries for each of the six books is in the “Favorite Book Cliff Notes” section of the PH Library.  My goal was to master these six books, to become a “walking & talking” encyclopedia of the key nuggets and wisdom being taught.  My intent was to isolate and focus on the “meat,” the primary principles being taught in the book and consolidate all of these “nuggets” into one document for each book.  Typically, this would take a 200-page book and reduce it to a 20-page document of what is really important – cutting out all the fluff, all the trivial stories, all the insignificant content and get to the heart of what is important – what do I need to know to master the information and make it mine? 

My goal is to get through 3-5 pages of these “Favorite Book Cliff Notes” every day.  I “brain washed” myself for total and absolute success, saturating my brain with the promises and truth of God’s Word, refusing to be influenced by the world, by what the circumstances may look like or what my feelings may be trying to tell me.

I was doing this back when I was building my career and I still aspire to get this reading done every day here in retirement.  I never want to stop growing.  I still want to have a “walking and talking” mastery of the information being taught in these books, as well as the Word itself.   Faith comes by hearing, and hearing and hearing – repetition is vitally important to imparting the principles into your heart and mind.  I still love reviewing these nuggets and reminding myself of these principles and the victory that we have thru Christ Jesus.

We do not live for the blessing; we live for God,
and as we live for Him, His abundant life and blessings are ours.

Renewal is a law of God. Spiritual and mental changes occur as we read and study and renew our minds to the Word of God. We renew our bodies each day with breakfast, lunch and dinner. We renew ourselves each night through sleep. God wants us to do the same things in our spiritual lives. All of us are growing older physically and God’s Word clearly tells us that we should offset this aging process by renewing ourselves spiritually each and every day of our lives.

If we don’t continually read and study and renew our minds, we leave them wide open to doubts, fears and anxieties about the worldly situations that surround us. Our souls cannot prosper unless our minds are under control and our minds won’t be under control unless we can cast out all negative imaginations and bring every one of our thoughts completely in line with the Word of God. If our minds are properly renewed, we will decide what we are going to think about. We will refuse to let any external situation control our thought process.

This transformation of our minds causes us to be different than those in the world. We have a new way of thinking, a new way of acting, a new outlook on life, a new strength and power. We no longer go through the same troubles and despair. When problems do come, we face them with the Word and the Spirit of God, and we overcome them rather than being overcome by them.

The number one reason why people aren’t receiving from God is they have not studied to show themselves approved – they haven’t taken the time to learn the truths of His Word and plant them in their heart to renew their mind and achieve transformation.  Joshua 1:8 says that we will “deal wisely” if we meditate continually on God’s Word. Proverbs 10:14 confirms this great spiritual truth by saying that “wise men store up knowledge in mind and heart.”

And as I said before, this reading is not to replace any bible study you may currently be doing, but only to complement it.  We all have 24 hours in a day.  Taking the time to feed ourselves spiritually and therefore renew our minds is critical in order to walk in God’s wisdom and understanding – I can’t stress this enough.  😊

For Scripture References, refer to the “Renewing the Mind to the Word of God Scriptures” in the “Word of God” section of www.phlibrary.com