Rating: 
Summary: Good Practical Material to Effect Change in the Reader
Review: "Today Matters" may be the most effective and practical John Maxwell book for personal development to date. Taken together with his recent work "Thinking for a Change," this is a poignant manual for managing the decisions of life.
The central theme in "Today Matters" is making and then managing the core decisions that define who we are. He has done an excellent job of partitioning the major practical themes of life in to 12 major categories. You could probably add to the list if you really wanted to, but the set he offers are sufficient to capture 90+ percent of the essential themes in life. Personally, I was stricken by how important each of them is to determining the course our lives travel. In my own reflections while reading this book, I could see how my decisions, or indecision, in each of these areas has shaped my life.
This book is an excellent microscope for self-examination. But more than that, it is an excellent instruction guide to aide the reader in making these critical decisions. There are practical exercises that conclude each chapter that tie up each topic. Fortunately, Maxwell does not try to tell the reader what these decisions should be. Rather he leads the reader to pursue individual answers.
If a person were to implement the tools from "Thinking for a Change" with the process from "Today Matters" they would have a blueprint, irrespective of their personal or professional goals, for making the most of their lives. Maxwell presents universal concepts that will aid in the ultimate pursuit of a life well lived.
As an aside: I have read a lot of Maxwell, enjoy most of it, learned something from all of it. However, I find that his books have tended to overlap, sometimes a lot! For example, when I read "Developing the Leader Within You" there were times when I felt like I was re-reading "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership". His last two books seem to mark a decisive change for the better. I really enjoyed the way the two books dovetail together in a very complimentary fashion rather than overlapping and becoming redundant.
Kudos to Maxwell on continuing to improve his craft. This strikes me as someone who is living out the example he is teaching. That is "do as I do, not just as I say".
Rating:
Summary: Daily Disciplines to Keep You on the Path to Success
Review: Can you expect to win a gold medal in the Olympics if you start preparing the day of the try outs for your country's team? Probably not.In the same way, each of us needs to develop ourselves spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and socially if we want to accomplish more in the future. Many books take one aspect of life and suggest daily activities to strengthen that part of one's life. Dr. John C. Maxwell has taken that important idea further in this book and suggested what you need to do each day in 12 different areas. The 12 areas are: Choose and display the right attitude Determine and act on important priorities Know and follow healthy guidelines Communicate with and care for your family Practice and develop good thinking Make and keep proper commitments Make and properly manage your money Deepen and live out your spiritual faith Initiate and invest in solid personal relationships Plan for and model being generosity Embrace and practice good values Seek out and embrace personal improvements. Each section comes with negative and positive examples so you understand the point Dr. Maxwell is trying to make. I often found the negative examples to be more instructive than the positive ones. I don't want to be like those people! At the end of each section are a series of questions to help you make the decisions and take the actions you need to do to accomplish what you want to in life. So, you're not modeling on what Dr. Maxwell does specifically . . . but rather turning a spotlight into areas he's found to be valuable in his own, very successful life. I often marvel at how much Dr. Maxwell accomplishes. He writes lots of books. He gives many speeches. He trains enormous numbers of leaders. He inspires millions more. For a long time, I've wondered what the discipline was like that he uses. Now that I have read this book, I know. And I'm very impressed. This is a level of self-discipline and focus that I had never considered before. Mid-way through the book, I found myself becoming intimidated by all that needs to be done . . . and began to despair if I was up to the challenge. It was with a great sense of relief that I found this problem addressed in the conclusion to the book. Rather than attacking the whole Mount Everest of opportunity for daily self-discipline all at once, he suggests starting with two areas where you are doing well and one where you are not. Then, switch focus as you get one of the areas you have been working on where you want to get it. I think that's a reasonable plan, and only wish he had suggested that approach in the beginning of the book. Personally, the book would have worked better for me if I had read it in this order: faith, values, attitude, thinking, growth, health, family, relationships, commitment, generosity, finances and priorities. I suspect that the right order for you will be different from either Dr. Maxwell's or mine. The book is modular enough that you can reorder your reading of the chapters after the first two to provide a focus that fits with the way you like to organize your thinking and actions. I encourage you to do so. Although this book will make a tremendous difference in your life, it will make even more difference if you share and discuss it with those you love and care about. So be generous in sharing this remarkable volume.
Rating:
Summary: Daily Disciplines to Keep You on the Path to Success
Review: Can you expect to win a gold medal in the Olympics if you start preparing the day of the try outs for your country's team? Probably not. In the same way, each of us needs to develop ourselves spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and socially if we want to accomplish more in the future. Many books take one aspect of life and suggest daily activities to strengthen that part of one's life. Dr. John C. Maxwell has taken that important idea further in this book and suggested what you need to do each day in 12 different areas. The 12 areas are: Choose and display the right attitude Determine and act on important priorities Know and follow healthy guidelines Communicate with and care for your family Practice and develop good thinking Make and keep proper commitments Make and properly manage your money Deepen and live out your spiritual faith Initiate and invest in solid personal relationships Plan for and model being generosity Embrace and practice good values Seek out and embrace personal improvements. Each section comes with negative and positive examples so you understand the point Dr. Maxwell is trying to make. I often found the negative examples to be more instructive than the positive ones. I don't want to be like those people! At the end of each section are a series of questions to help you make the decisions and take the actions you need to do to accomplish what you want to in life. So, you're not modeling on what Dr. Maxwell does specifically . . . but rather turning a spotlight into areas he's found to be valuable in his own, very successful life. I often marvel at how much Dr. Maxwell accomplishes. He writes lots of books. He gives many speeches. He trains enormous numbers of leaders. He inspires millions more. For a long time, I've wondered what the discipline was like that he uses. Now that I have read this book, I know. And I'm very impressed. This is a level of self-discipline and focus that I had never considered before. Mid-way through the book, I found myself becoming intimidated by all that needs to be done . . . and began to despair if I was up to the challenge. It was with a great sense of relief that I found this problem addressed in the conclusion to the book. Rather than attacking the whole Mount Everest of opportunity for daily self-discipline all at once, he suggests starting with two areas where you are doing well and one where you are not. Then, switch focus as you get one of the areas you have been working on where you want to get it. I think that's a reasonable plan, and only wish he had suggested that approach in the beginning of the book. Personally, the book would have worked better for me if I had read it in this order: faith, values, attitude, thinking, growth, health, family, relationships, commitment, generosity, finances and priorities. I suspect that the right order for you will be different from either Dr. Maxwell's or mine. The book is modular enough that you can reorder your reading of the chapters after the first two to provide a focus that fits with the way you like to organize your thinking and actions. I encourage you to do so. Although this book will make a tremendous difference in your life, it will make even more difference if you share and discuss it with those you love and care about. So be generous in sharing this remarkable volume.
Rating:
Summary: John Maxwell does it again
Review: I enjoy John Maxwell's books because they are easy to read and uplifting. This book has some great examples that add credibility to his assertions. I recommend this book for a light good read. I also strongly recommend Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self which supplies roadmaps to maximize any situation, master emotions and bring out the best in others.
Rating:
Summary: Just when I thought he had covered it all
Review: I enjoy reading and trying to improve. I especially enjoy John Maxwell because he, like no other man of today, has helped me to think. Yes, I know we all think, but Dr. Maxwell has given me insights that never crossed my mind and really taught me how to THINK! I have learned about leadership, relationships, and now, with this book, building blocks for tomorrow. My only regret it that I didn't have this book forty years ago, when I was going into college. I honestly thought he had covered all the bases of life, but this book is, perhaps, his best book yet. It definitely is something we can all use. It is the perfect gift for the graduate, or even newlyweds. The lessons taught in this book are a MUST READ for everyone. Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" helped us discover what life is all about. John Maxwell teaches us how to discipline those purposes into our lives and make each day our "masterpiece". DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!!!
Rating: 
Summary: weLEAD Book Review from the Editor of leadingtoday.org
Review: John Maxwell is a unique author who has been able to make the subject of spirituality acceptable in the study of leadership. His background in the religious world always brings a different perspective into his writings like in his highly successful book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
In Today Matters, Maxwell again taps into his deep personal philosophies of the essential value of sound decision-making and discipline. This book lists 12 daily practices (he calls them the "Daily Dozen") which can help the reader to build a better life. He believes it is not only important to make good decisions but also to know what decisions to make and this requires a daily agenda. He defines success as, "If you make a few key decisions and manage them well in your daily agenda, you will succeed." His successful philosophy is based on the belief that the right things we do today will give us a better tomorrow. With an optimistic perspective he believes that any given day can become a masterpiece, a term he borrows from former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. This book is written around what Maxwell believes are the two ingredients of a daily masterpiece... good decisions and daily discipline.
Today Matters is fourteen chapters long and twelve of them focus on the individual practices that should be embraced each day. These include attitude, priorities, health, family, thinking, commitment, finances, faith, relationships, generosity, values and growth. He discusses these twelve practices in detail, and each chapter ends with exercises which can help you to apply them to your life. In the book's conclusion, Maxwell emphasizes that "it's impossible to tackle all twelve at the same time". He provides direction on how to slowly incorporate the "Daily Dozen" and presents a way to rate your present progress. This book is easy to read and Maxwell's many personal stories and famous quotations make it a delight to study.
If you are wondering how you can glean the most out of each day of life and reorient your priorities, Today Matters is just the book you are looking for.
Rating:
Summary: Developing your Character based on Values and Committment
Review: Maxwell's teachings are both insightful and practical. The concept of developing the twelve fundamental aspects of success in professional and personal life - habits he collectively calls the Daily Dozen- is the main theme of this book. The identification of these "work areas" effectively helps us untie the knot of our cluttered and busy existence. Maxwell guides us through the commitments and decisions that we have to make on each aspect of our lives in order to be highly succesful people. More importantly, Maxwell strives to make us realize that success is not achieved at a future date through much work and effort, rather, he teaches us success is both a mindset and a lifestyle.
Maxwell delivers his insights in a refreshing and affirming manner, walking us through the benefits and demands of each Daily Dozen component. The fact that he shares with us his own walk toward mastering the Daily Dozen inspires us to realize we have what it takes to live on a higher level. The main theme behind his insights is that we must develop the courage to maintain our commitments, practice good thinking and live out our values.
Those who are ready to exercise the courage needed to implement these habits in their lives are bound to find this title of trascendental value. If we take Maxwell's advice, we would find ourselves amazed at the indifference (or ignorance) in which we approach ourlives and to the extent our day-to-day actions might be hindering our development and slashing our likelihood of being usccesful.
I recommend reading this book with the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
Rating:
Summary: Will Shift Your Prospective on Each Day of Your Life
Review: Other than the fact that the author made a slight narcissistic impression, and the fact he was slightly insensitive to people who do not entirely share his viewpoints, within this book I was pleased to find many unique and enlightening ideas to approach my day and make the best of it, which quickly made me forget everything negative. However, this book is not so much an uplifting book, it assumes you're already motivated enough to change, it just hands you the insightful advice after a lifelong research by the author's quest to make the best of his days. It is neither a specific action book, the author does not spoon feed you, nor hands you his daily schedule. He does however give you an outline of the most important activities of a person's day followed by convincing and logical truths to support his claim. And whether you agree with him is a matter of your opinion, I for one, do (well, mostly).
Most influential chapters are: attitude, priorities, thinking, commitments, relationships, and values.
A great companion to this book would be Life's Greatest Lessons: 20 Things That Matter by Hal Urban, it is an inspiring book. If this Today Matters is mostly about effectiveness and growth, Life's Greatest Lessons is about the value and greatness of life. Both are extremely helpful and they would go better together.
Here's my first review ever, hope it's been helpful. :)
Rating:
Summary: Good...
Review: Success depends upon a daily dozen, according to the author. Before you get your hopes up that he means a dozen doughnuts or eggs, the dozen is twelve principals on which to base your life. Before explaining what these are, Mr Maxwell helps you realize that today is important, each one has the potential to be the most important one of your life. Then, methodically, he explores the daily dozen; attitude, priorities, health, family, thinking, commitment, finances, faith, relationships, generosity, values, and growth. Using both is own experience and that of others, the lessons are taught clearly then followed by a "workbook" section to help apply what you were taught. **** While seeing Mr. Maxwell speak in person is the ideal; if that is not possible, this is the next best thing, or even better. You can schedule it on your own time. While faith is the foundation of the entire book, the religous aspect is not overwhelming. A secular person can derive almost an equal benefit as a Christian. **** Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Full of Great Ideas and Action Plans
Review: To be honest it's been a while since Maxwell has written a book worth reading, but this one makes up for his lack of material lately. The 12 practices he discusses are great ideas and the chapter on "Thinking" really got me thinking if you will. Full of great quotes and of course best read in order of the practices you can apply immediately.
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