Book Information

Words of Wisdom from a Christian Mentor Book Cover

Welcome to the “Words of Wisdom from a Christian Mentor” book information page

I’ve had the opportunity to work with various young individuals over the past decade or so, most of the time simply spent helping them compose a working resume to facilitate them getting invited in for an interview. Time was also spent conducting mock interviews to help them overcome the trauma and stress of trying their best to sell themselves, even though that is a very uncomfortable feeling, but an absolute necessity. Other mentoring experiences have included spending time together to understand where they are in their life and their goals, in an attempt to see how I could support them obtaining success in reaching these goals.
Over the past year, I have been working intermittently with three young people who have a great outlook on life, have an impressive positive attitude and also possess a strong work ethic. They all knew that I cared for them and that any advice I had for them was for their own benefit. Sometimes it was simply giving advice on key issues and other times it was keeping them accountable for and learning from their poor decisions.
This advice came in the form of short write-ups sent to them every other week helping them understand some key issues, which included some of my experiences and lessons learned. After issuing the first ten “Words of Wisdom” write-ups, my friend Dan suggested I augment them and turn them into a book so that others might be able to benefit from these thoughts and life experiences.
To assist you in really understanding what advice is included in this book, the following is a summary of all 34 chapters. It is my hope that all readers of the book will learn from my experiences and be able to incorporate this advice into their own lives.
It is certainly understood that all aspects of the book will not be applicable to each reader. However, the hope is that many topics will be useful and while the reader is encouraged to read through the entire book and highlighting useful facts and ideas to facilitate implanting them, the reader can selectively read those that are pertinent to their lives today and then refer back to specific chapters when they do become pertinent. For example, not many graduates are ready to buy their first home, but hopefully that time will soon come and at that time, the reader can revert back to the book to learn the basics of buying that home. It is also the author’s desire that the reader also spend time in Part Two, “Your Spiritual Life” to enhance your understanding of Christianity and how to make it more meaningful in your life.
The following sections presents a synopsis of each of the chapters in the book to provide you with a comprehensive idea of the content of each of the 34 chapter.
Click on any of the section names and it will expand to further define the contents of that section.

Part 1: Your Personal/Financial/Business Life

  • Section 1: Personal Life +

    1. Contentment: If you’re not the richest person in America, don’t have the hottest car and are not living in the nicest house/apartment around; then at times you probably anxious to have these be true. However, they are not and you need to learn to be satisfied with who you are, what you have and the life you lead. This is not to say that you should be complacent, but continue to seek success and in the meantime be happy with your circumstances and how you have already been blessed.
    2. Carelessness: Have you ever received a text with so many typos in it that it hard to understand what the sender is saying? With our phone’s auto-correct feature, it is now an all-too-common event. Take the time reread everything you write and get it correct before sending, especially if it’s your resume or a business-related write-up or email. Also, consider what people (and especially your boss) will think of you and wonder about the rest of your work, if you can’t even issue error-free communications.
    3. Live a Healthy Lifestyle: To me, this is the most important “Words of Wisdom” that I can impart to the young reader. Medicine and technology have enabled us to live longer, but look around and it will be quite obvious that our quality of life has become considerably poorer. This is most likely because we have not started at a young age to live a healthy lifestyle. Obesity is rampant in this country and along with accompanying health issues, unless held in check, will severely limit our ability to enjoy your golden years.
    4. Nutrition: I’ve done extensive research on nutrition which when implemented will enable you to eat properly and stay healthy and this chapter addresses ten things I’ve learned from this extensive and documented research. The reason I have included this information is that it provided me with a fairly easy way to eat well and was a successful approach for me in maintaining my weight and a living healthy lifestyle.
    5. Get Organized: Are you spending a lot of time daily looking for important stuff you’ve misplaced. Bring an end to that misery and a lot of wasted time by implementing some suggestions provided in this chapter
    6. Keeping a Positive Attitude: This is one of the most important personal attributes you can have and hopefully you will learn the extensive benefits of being and staying positive in how you think and perform. Think about with whom you like to associate; I bet they are positive people who look for the best in life.
    7. Being Dependable: Ever get frustrated by friends or colleagues who don’t show up when they were supposed to or do not do what they said they would do? If you want to be successful in your personal and corporate life, you will soon see how important it is to be dependable. One of the most important things you can do is to do what you say you will do, all in an excellent manner.
    8. Leaving a Legacy: It’s not too early for any young person to set themselves on a course to leave things better than when they started and make a difference in other people’s lives. That’s the simple definition of leaving a legacy and this chapter gives suggestions on how you can have others remember you for all the great things you have done for others.

  • Section 2: Personal Finances +

    1. Money Management and Budgeting/Home Finances: Just how big of an unpaid credit card balance do you have? How many other loans are you paying off? Will you ever be able to establish some savings for when you will need it? This chapter delves into the all-important subject of money management. Did you realize that money issues are one of the biggest reasons marriages fail? It’s because each person in the relationship may have a different view of the all-important topic of how to manage their money. Read this chapter and learn some all-important messages on money management so you can start properly managing your money now.
    2. Filing your Income Tax Return: Some basic information related to filing your return has been provided here and suggestions as to how to turn this annual dreadful experience to simply another task you need to take care of, without all the heartache.
    3. Basics of Investing: While most of the young readers don’t have the surplus funds available to start investing now, hopefully you will soon be ready to have these start working for you. Once you get your financial house in order (basically, credit card balances paid off!), you will want to know what to do with any savings you have started to accumulate. This chapter will give you a basic understanding of investing and specific suggestions of where to begin.
    4. Understanding Insurance Issues: The subject of health, life, home, car and renter’s insurances may be a real mystery to almost everyone, especially the new grad starting a life on your own. This chapter will provide a basic understanding of all insurances to help you through the myriad of insurance options and decisions you will soon need to make.
    5. Buying Your First Home: Do you know what the first thing you need to focus on when you are thinking of buying your home? Price, location, type/size? Nope, you’re wrong; it’s getting your credit rating up to where you can get a mortgage at a reasonable rate. What a joyous event buying your dream home will be, but it will only come after weeks/months of research, decision making and a concerted effort to buy what you want and can afford. Oh, and don’t forget, you will now need to learn how to best maintain your biggest investment by now learning how to fix things around the house; otherwise, you will soon ascertain how expensive it is to always hire someone to do the work!
    6. Buying a Vehicle: You buy a vehicle very infrequently and you may soon be talking about buying a car with someone who sells many cars every day. Guess who has the real advantage here! So, best you get prepared and do your research before you even step into that showroom and learn how to prepare for this arduous event so you can get the best deal available.
    7. Giving back and Being Generous: This is a great time to learn about giving back to the Lord and others. We all need to be good stewards of our assets (time, money and talents) and bless others who are less fortunate. Doing this with a giving attitude will be a real blessing to them and also to you.

  • Section 3: Business Life +

    1. Writing Your Resume: You need to put your best foot forward to impress the hiring manager that you are able to perform the job being advertised and your resume must reflect this, along with your personal attributes, which will better enable you to get that interview. Getting to that all-important interview starts with preparing and issuing a concise and instructive resume and this chapter delves into what a good resume looks like in this electronic age. (Ever think about implanting a short video of yourself into the electronic version of your resume?) The job search effort is a daunting and frustrating task nowadays as you will be sending out lots of resumes and completing many on-line applications and the vast majority of time, you will never hear back from that institution. So, make the most of that one minute that someone spends looking at your resume.
    2. Interviewing for Your First Job: You have one chance to sell yourself as someone who is best qualified for that job. There are many websites out there which will provide a list of questions to anticipate and reading these is important. However, you need to understand the basic philosophy of interviewing and how to best present yourself. So, put aside all concerns that you are sounding egotistical; but show that you are confident that you can be a useful team player in making the company become a better organization. Many tips are provided of how to dress, what to say and what not to say and how briefly to follow-up after that event.
    3. Early Days of Your Employment: You’re now in the working world and it is so different from anything you have probably ever experienced in your lifetime. How do I act, what’s important to do and how can I succeed in these first few critical years? I always told my young engineering college graduates that you need to work hard, ask questions and above all, understand that you are solely responsible for managing your own career. This chapter embellishes on these ideas.
    4. Leadership Principles: One day, you will probably be a supervisor or even a manager and this chapter presents proven principles for being successful in these roles.
    5. Time Management: You will not be successful unless you learn early-on how best to manage your biggest asset; your time! This is the biggest potential area for failure in getting promoted, so learn the tricks at this early stage of your career.
    6. Tips on Making a Presentation: This can be one of the most stressful areas of your job and by learning some basics and practicing them, you can become a pro. There are numerous suggestions included to overcome your innate fear of standing up in front of an audience.

Part 2: Your Spiritual Life

  • Section 4: Your Spiritual Life +

    1. Making Christianity Meaningful: Going to church one hour a week or not going at all will not enable you to grow in your faith. Some basic lessons and thoughts are presented in this chapter to enhance the spiritual aspect of your life. This chapter also includes discussions on some short but important Christian topics
    2. Jesus, our Savior and Lord: You may have accepted Jesus as your savior, but have you made Him the Lord of your life? This is a truly interesting, informative and important message to learn and enact in your life
    3. Understanding the Bible: There are various parts of the Bible that are confusing to many, but with a little insight and help in learning how to study your Bible, it will become so much more meaningful and useful. In addition, take some time each morning to read your Bible and pray and you will be surprised how valuable this habit can become
    4. The “End Times”: Ever read the book of Revelation and understand what it says about the last days? No! Don’t worry, most people are in the same boat trying to understand this very symbolic and confusing book. This chapter outlines what the Bible says about Jesus’ return and living your life in eternity with Christ
    5. A Successful Christian Marriage: This chapter is not an all-encompassing non-fiction thesis about living together in a marriage and being successful with it. It is simply our experiences and some of the difficulties we had and some suggestions as to how to be successful in this lifelong God-ordained covenant
    6. Spiritual Gifts: The Bible states what spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit can give you to bring glory to God and this chapter will review them all and tell how to best use them
    7. Prayer: How can you best communicate with your Lord? It’s through prayer and this chapter discusses it in depth. What is it and what it is not? How to do it and how to rely on the Lord to answer your heart-felt prayers
    8. Honesty, Integrity and Purity: These are three attributes that are essential for becoming a successful employee, family member and friend. They are simple to learn and understand, but takes a real effort to consistently maintain these attributes. Without them, you will not have the respect of others, regardless of how you have managed your life and career
    9. Being Accountable: We all have faults and need to take corrective actions at times and the best way to do that is to be fully accountable to someone and this chapter provides information as to how best to become accountable
    10. Forgiveness and Reconciliation: You must learn to forgive others when they have hurt you, but that does not mean you need to forget this or even reconcile with that person. This chapter gives an interesting take on the entire subject, which will enable you to leave some of this hurtful baggage behind and move on with your life
    11. Pride and Humility: The second biggest sin according to the Bible is pride (behind refusing to accept Jesus as your savior) and must be dealt with before it changes your entire life. Learn to live a life of humility and inherit the Lord’s blessings
    12. Addictions: This is a monster topic which affects so many young people and this chapter addresses the many types of addictions and the Biblical way to address these
    13. Leading Others to Faith in Christ: Talking to others about Christ is way out of the comfort zone for most all of us. Three ways to doing this are presented and implementing any one of these will help ease your level of discomfort in carrying out God’s command in this matter.