Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”




"With a little perspective, you can live a life of permanent purpose." These are the words that helped transform Andy Andrews from living a life of homelessness to a living a life of purpose. After embracing the meaning behind the words his unlikely mentor gave to him, Andy rose to become a very successful author and speaker.


The Butterfly Effect chronicles the lives of people who have changed history through the basic decisions that they made in their everyday lives. These decisions have caused “ripples” that we feel even today.



Dynamic Uno here: Have you ever wondered if you really matter? If the things you do every day have an impact on the people around you? These are questions I ask myself frequently—especially since I deal with teenagers on a daily basis. The Lord knows that I definitely want to have a good impact on them; to show them that even the smallest decisions they make now will affect their lives later on—choosing not to do assignments, skipping, drugs, sex…all of these.

The Butterfly Effect gives concrete examples of how one person’s decision over a century ago affects us today. Did you know that George Washington Carver was almost killed when he was stolen by a group of psychopaths called the “Quantrill’s Raiders”? Did you also know that he was given the second last name of Carver by the family who rescued and adopted him? Think about all of the things we have today from George Washington Carver’s research on the peanut. None of it would have been possible if it hadn’t been for the Carver family who saved and rescued him. That little action caused a “ripple” that we know today.

Yes, I know you’re thinking—“but I’ve never saved anyone’s life.” Haven’t you saved your own? What about your family? Don’t you provide food and shelter for them? Haven’t you instilled values? What about the people you come in contact with on a daily basis? What if your kind words or actions helped ease their burden—even by just a little? What would that “ripple” cause for the generations to come?

The Butterfly Effect is a short but very powerful book with a message. What you do--matters. You may not see the effects in your lifetime, but other generations will. I think if more of us lived knowing that what we do with our lives today matters—for ourselves and for those to come—we might live with more purpose and not live as carelessly as we do now. (This is definitely a message that I need to be reminded of daily.)

You need to get a copy of this book--available here and here.  You will not be disappointed. Happy Reading!

(Let me know what you think! Hit me up in the comments section).





1 comment:

mad4books said...

Our boss read a portion of that book to the assembled faculty on the first day of school!!