Brian Allain

From “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life” by Henri Nouwen with Michael J. Christensen and Rebecca J. Laird It may be a bit disappointing initially that when we look for clear answers to the burning questions in our lives, we are left only with titles of books, experiences in nature, names of people, and […]

From “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck, PhD Jim Collins set out to discover what made some companies move from being good to being great. What was it that allowed them to make the leap to greatness – and stay there – while other, comparable companies just held steady at good?

rom “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson In the early 1920s, two Columbia University scholars named William Ogburn and Dorothy Thomas decided to track down as many multiples as they could find, eventually publishing their survey in an influential essay with the delightful title “Are Inventions Inevitable?” Ogburn

From “Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner” by Frederick Buechner There are Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians. There are Presbyterians, Lutherans, Congregationalists. There are Disciples of Christ. There are Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are Moravians. There are Quakers. And that’s only for starters. New denominations spring up. Old denominations split up and

From “Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work that Matters, and Make Smarter Choices About Giving Back” by William Macaskill In the first part, I dedicate each chapter to exploring one of effective altruism’s five key questions: Asking these five key questions can help us avoid common pitfalls when

From “Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment” by J. Brent Bill That is where the will of God lies in our lives – in the details. What are some of the details that have revealed God to you? God is at work in everything that shapes and moves and forms us.

From “Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most” by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz What is the shape of flourishing life? It’s what we’ve called the Question. The effectiveness question pushed you to find reliable strategies to get wherever you happened to be going. The self-awareness question pointed you to your

From “The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything” by Stephen M. R. Covey A cynic might ask, “So what? Is trust really more than a nice-to-have social virtue, a so-called hygiene factor? Can you measurably illustrate that trust is a hard-edged economic driver?” I intent to answer these questions emphatically in this

From “The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts” by Jeff Crosby  After reading The Grand Essentials a new life was breathed into a passage in Colossians 3, becoming a guiding verse for my life and my work, whatever occupation I would hold: “Whatever you do, accomplish it from the

From “How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion” by David McRaney “There is no superior argument, no piece of information that we can offer, that is going to change their mind,” he said, taking a long pause before continuing. “The only way they are going to change their mind is by