Last year I made a goal to basically read a book a week throughout the entire year. The idea behind this is that I would write a review for each book I read on this blog. While I did read a LOT of books last year, the reviews sadly didn’t happen as originally intended. I discovered it was a lot easier to take time to read over taking time to write. With that in mind, I’m going to give an overview of my books from the last year (some of which you can find I did end up reviewing on DAPS MAGIC) and share some of my highlights.

The top book of 2019 for me was written by Disney CEO and Chairman Bob Iger. The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company is as much a book on leadership as a look at the career of Bob Iger at ABC and then Disney. It gives some tangible tips that can be used in leadership and also pulls back the curtain of the man at the helm of the biggest entertainment company in the world. 

Throughout the course of of this book Iger takes a hard look at the lessons he learned as he went through the ranks of ABC and then Disney. It isn’t just a book that trumpets his successes. It also shares some of the challenging moments he faced as he made his way through his career. It was nice to see the candor that he shared about the pros and cons of his career.

This is a book I would suggest that anyone who aspires to be a better leader reads. It is also a great book for any Disney fan looking to learn more about the leader of the house of mouse!

Continuing on with the Disney theme, I also read several books by current and former Imagineers, a book that was released leading up to the opening of Epcot, multiple books about Disney movies released in 2019, and several historical books from different figures in The Walt Disney Company. Of all of these, Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career by Kevin Rafferty was definitely my favorite. In fact, it ranks right up there after the Bob Iger book.

I also read some history books throughout the course of last year and some other leadership books. While most of these were good, there were definitely several duds as well that were hard to finish. Just before the end of the year I read Rejection Proof twice with a leadership group I lead. It was a fun and interesting book but probably doesn’t go in my top five leadership books to date. That will have to be another blog at another date though. In the fiction realm, I did read some Star Wars books, mainly due to my friend Chris giving me some for my birthday. I found myself really enjoying them though and wouldn’t mind reading more of them in the future!

In 2020 I intend to continue on reading and learning new ideas. As I pondered 2019 and the leaders I’ve known that went before me, I continued to recognize the important of taking time to both read and think. New ideas (that are sometimes even awesome) come out of these important times. I’m hoping to not only continue to read more books this year, but also read some books I wouldn’t normally read as well. If you have any suggestions for favorite books I should read, please let me know in the comments below! I’m always looking for more books to read and books that come with a recommendation would be even better!

What are you looking forward to read in 2020?

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

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It’s a new year and for many people that means new goals, new dreams, and new opportunities. It’s a time to look forward and decide what path will be taken this year to get to a new place for next year. For some people the goals revolve around health and focus on weight loss, fitness, or eating right. For others, it is about pursuing the ‘American dream’ and getting to a better place financially. Perhaps that means getting out of debt, being able to eat out without stressing, or perhaps it is pursuing and achieving financial freedom. Any of these goals and dreams are possible but it really comes down to making choosing what goals you are going to pursue and committing to go for it.

One tool when creating goals that can help with success is choosing to make SMART goals. As you write your goals make sure they fit into the following criteria:

• S – specific
• M – measurable
• A – attainable
• R – relevant
• T – time based

This is just a way to remember that when you are creating goals, make sure each goal is defined and specific. Specific goals are easily identified not only by you but by others that you are explaining your goals to.  Make sure you can measure that success. Know what the definition of success is and what exactly you are trying to achieve. Be able to see how well you are doing on your goals. Goals should be attainable. They need to be something that you can actually do and not something that is impossible and will lead to frustration. Goals should also be relevant. Basically think if your goal is something that helps you get where you want to go in life, is something that really connects with you, does it fit in your life and align with who you are. Finally, goals need to be time-based. There has to be a deadline. A race where the finish line keeps getting pushed further away will never end. That’s not really achieving anything. It also robs you of your ability to see how quickly you ran the race and how well you did. Set a realistic time limit on when you want to achieve your goals.

Setting SMART goals don’t guarantee that you will achieve every goal that you’ve come up with. They do, however, help set you on the right path and empower you to be able to achieve your goals. The rest comes down to commitment, persistence, and work ethic.

What goals would you like to achieve this year? Are you ready to make it a great year?

About Post Author

Robert A. Laird

Robert A. Laird is an entrepreneur and also Executive Director - Creative for Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church/Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller where he oversees the television show of the same name. He also works with the Reliv Kalogris Foundation as it strives to feed starving children around the globe.

robert.laird@dapsmagic.com

http://robertlaird.me

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