Book Review: Make Today Count by John C. Maxwell

“The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda”

Introduction

The premise of Make Today Count is summed up by its subtitle, “The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda”. Maxwell points out that what we become is the result of what we do today, that every day is preparation for the next. Therefore, the only way to change your life is to change what you do daily.

Maxwell approaches this task by listing his “daily dozen”, the 12 areas of life that he focuses upon in order to make his own life a success. Dedicating a chapter to each of these areas, Maxwell gives practical advice and examples from his own life on how each area can be developed. At the end of the book, he encourages the reader to make their own list, using the “daily dozen” as a model, and to work on these priorities daily in order to live a successful and fulfilled life.

Maxwell’s Daily Dozen

Attitude

Choose and display the right attitude daily.
Decision: “I am going to keep a positive attitude and use it to influence others.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I will make the adjustments necessary to keep my attitude right.”

Priorities

Determine and act on important priorities daily.
Decision: “I will prioritize my life and give focus and energy to those things that give the highest return.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I will live my life according to my priorities.”

Health

Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.
Decision: “I will take good care of myself by exercising and eating right.”
Daily Discpliine: “Every day I will eat low-fat foods and exercise for at least thirty-five minutes.”

Family

Communicate with and care for my family daily.
Decision: “Success meant having those closest to me love and respect me the most.”
Daily Discipline: “Everyday I work hard on gaining the love and respect of those closest to me.”

Thinking

Practice and develop good thinking daily.
Decision: “I will think on things that will add value to myself and others.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I will set aside time to think, and I will determine to think on the right things.”

Commitment

Make and keep proper commitments daily.
Decision: “If something is worth doing, I will commit myself to carry it through.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I will renew my commitment and think about the benefits that come from it.”

Finances

Make and properly manage dollars daily.
Decision: “We will sacrifice today so that we can have options tomorrow.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I will focus on my financial game plan so that each day I will have more, not fewer options.”

Faith

Deepen and live out my faith daily.
Decision: “I will accept God’s gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, as my Saviour.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day to live and lead like Jesus.”

Relationships

Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.
Decision: “I will initiate and make an investment in relationships with others.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I make the conscious effort to deposit goodwill into my relationships with others.”

Generosity

Plan for and model generosity daily.
Decision: “I will live to give.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I will add value to others.”

Values

Embrace and practice good values daily.
Decision: “I will lead others on the values I embrace.”
Daily Discipline: “Every day I review and reflect on my values.”

Growth

Seek and experience improvements daily.
Decision: “I will develop and follow a personal growth plan for my life.”
Daily Discipline: “Ever day I will grow on purpose with my plan.”

Presentation

The book is well written. It has a clear objective, is well structured and divided into self-contained chapters. The writing is concise, uses plain language and contains plenty of concrete examples to illustrate Maxwell’s points.

The book is relatively short – at around 160 pages (3.5 hours audio), it makes for a fairly quick read. The narration of the audio version is evenly paced, and I found the narrator’s voice neither tiresome nor grating. Maxwell’s occasional humorous remarks were delivered rather deadpan, but I admit that this is vastly preferable to over-emphasizing the jokes. I also found the pace of the narration a little slow. Indeed, I turned playback speed on my player up to 120% without missing a word.

With its smart, business-like cover the printed book would look quite respectable on bookshelf or in any briefcase or handbag.

Maxwell’s World-view

Faith is a subject of an entire chapter of Make Today Count, and I was intrigued to see how Maxwell presents his religious convictions in the book.
Maxwell’s earlier books have had significant success amongst business leaders and in other secular markets. Nevertheless, in Make Today Count Maxwell unashamedly proclaims that his Christian faith has formed the basis of his life’s work, and cites the Bible as the source book for many of his ideas. For him, faith is fundamental.

Is the religious dimension too much? Some people may find any reference to religion off-putting. However, in Maxwell’s defence, he is simply stating what has worked for him. He doesn’t say that his list of priorities is right for everyone, rather that it is a model upon which we can base our own personal list.

On the other hand, for some believers, Make Today Count may appear be too secular. Maxwell contends that his principles are to be found in the scriptures, but he provides few references to back up his assertions. If you want in-depth Bible-study on these topics, you will have to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, the topics that Maxwell covers in Make Today Count are certainly important to believers, so I suspect that many Christians will find that Make Today Count has a lot to offer.

Value for Money

According to Amazon, much of the material in the book was covered in his earlier work, Today Matters, so readers of the earlier volume may not find much new material here. Others may find much of the material self-evident or common sense. Frankly, I envy such people! For the rest of us, there are valuable lessons to be learned from this book. As such, I think it is well worth the cover price.

Conclusion

Apparently, Stephen Covey called this book,

A persuasive, inspiring, and greatly needed message!Stephen R. Covey

I can’t help but agree. I found it profoundly challenging, and will undoubtedly read it again.

Acknowledgements

Numa Tea Salon Blog from which I drew inspiration.