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Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow's Success (Maxwell, John C.)

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Can you expect to win a gold medal in the Olympics if you start preparing the day of the try outs for your country's team? Probably not.

In the same way, each of us needs to develop ourselves spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and socially if we want to accomplish more in the future. Many books take one aspect of life and suggest daily activities to strengthen that part of one's life. Dr. John C. Maxwell has taken that important idea further in this book and suggested what you need to do each day in 12 different areas.

The 12 areas are:

Choose and display the right attitude

Determine and act on important priorities

Know and follow healthy guidelines

Communicate with and care for your family

Practice and develop good thinking

Make and keep proper commitments

Make and properly manage your money

Deepen and live out your spiritual faith

Initiate and invest in solid personal relationships

Plan for and model being generosity

Embrace and practice good values

Seek out and embrace personal improvements.

Each section comes with negative and positive examples so you understand the point Dr. Maxwell is trying to make. I often found the negative examples to be more instructive than the positive ones. I don't want to be like those people!

At the end of each section are a series of questions to help you make the decisions and take the actions you need to do to accomplish what you want to in life. So, you're not modeling on what Dr. Maxwell does specifically . . . but rather turning a spotlight into areas he's found to be valuable in his own, very successful life.

I often marvel at how much Dr. Maxwell accomplishes. He writes lots of books. He gives many speeches. He trains enormous numbers of leaders. He inspires millions more. For a long time, I've wondered what the discipline was like that he uses. Now that I have read this book, I know. And I'm very impressed. This is a level of self-discipline and focus that I had never considered before.

Mid-way through the book, I found myself becoming intimidated by all that needs to be done . . . and began to despair if I was up to the challenge. It was with a great sense of relief that I found this problem addressed in the conclusion to the book. Rather than attacking the whole Mount Everest of opportunity for daily self-discipline all at once, he suggests starting with two areas where you are doing well and one where you are not. Then, switch focus as you get one of the areas you have been working on where you want to get it. I think that's a reasonable plan, and only wish he had suggested that approach in the beginning of the book.

Personally, the book would have worked better for me if I had read it in this order: faith, values, attitude, thinking, growth, health, family, relationships, commitment, generosity, finances and priorities. I suspect that the right order for you will be different from either Dr. Maxwell's or mine. The book is modular enough that you can reorder your reading of the chapters after the first two to provide a focus that fits with the way you like to organize your thinking and actions. I encourage you to do so.

Although this book will make a tremendous difference in your life, it will make even more difference if you share and discuss it with those you love and care about. So be generous in sharing this remarkable volume.

"Today Matters" may be the most effective and practical John Maxwell book for personal development to date. Taken together with his recent work "Thinking for a Change," this is a poignant manual for managing the decisions of life.

The central theme in "Today Matters" is making and then managing the core decisions that define who we are. He has done an excellent job of partitioning the major practical themes of life in to 12 major categories. You could probably add to the list if you really wanted to, but the set he offers are sufficient to capture 90+ percent of the essential themes in life. Personally, I was stricken by how important each of them is to determining the course our lives travel. In my own reflections while reading this book, I could see how my decisions, or indecision, in each of these areas has shaped my life.

This book is an excellent microscope for self-examination. But more than that, it is an excellent instruction guide to aide the reader in making these critical decisions. There are practical exercises that conclude each chapter that tie up each topic. Fortunately, Maxwell does not try to tell the reader what these decisions should be. Rather he leads the reader to pursue individual answers.

If a person were to implement the tools from "Thinking for a Change" with the process from "Today Matters" they would have a blueprint, irrespective of their personal or professional goals, for making the most of their lives. Maxwell presents universal concepts that will aid in the ultimate pursuit of a life well lived.

As an aside: I have read a lot of Maxwell, enjoy most of it, learned something from all of it. However, I find that his books have tended to overlap, sometimes a lot! For example, when I read "Developing the Leader Within You" there were times when I felt like I was re-reading "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership". His last two books seem to mark a decisive change for the better. I really enjoyed the way the two books dovetail together in a very complimentary fashion rather than overlapping and becoming redundant.

Kudos to Maxwell on continuing to improve his craft. This strikes me as someone who is living out the example he is teaching. That is "do as I do, not just as I say".

This book is inspiring. The author explains twelve principles that he believes will improve every aspect of the reader's daily life if he or she commits to working on those principles each and every day. Of course, some of the ideas are not new - they have been included in self-help books for years. The difference in this book is that Maxwell makes it easy to understand how to implement each principle in the reader's life. It's one thing to read a self-help book and another to follow its guidance.

Maxwell uses inspirational stories, quotes, and his own personal experiences to share his joy for today and to explain how we can become our best. He also poses some questions at the end of each chapter and provides space to allow the reader to think about their life now and ways they can improve it. One chapter is fairly religious (as should be expected, given that Maxwell is prominent Christian leader), but I enjoyed it because I share his same beliefs. All in all, this is a quick read that deserves to be read more than once. It is a great book and I am going to try to read it (or at least parts of it) once a year to keep me focused on my goals and my attitude positive.

TODAY MATTERS is a fine book by John C. Maxwell, best-selling author of "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." A noted expert in leadership and ethics, he has written an engaging blueprint to maximize our day, while developing lives of purpose and meaning.

Maxwell offers a holistic and spiritual focus, touching on the integration of body, mind and spirit. In his "12 Practices," he examines attitudes, priorities, health, family, thinking, commitment, finances, faith, relationship, generosity, values, and growth. I particularly enjoyed the reflections and exercises at the end of each chapter. The material is both timeless and fresh; often, the author presents what we already knew, but need to remember.

I have embraced many of Maxwell's suggestions. In doing so, I have improved myself concerning organization, persistence and determination, while achieving a greater sense of inner peace. The structure of the book allows for both thorough reading as well as selective exploration of those areas in which the reader recognizes the need for improvement.

I enjoy reading and trying to improve. I especially enjoy John Maxwell because he, like no other man of today, has helped me to think. Yes, I know we all think, but Dr. Maxwell has given me insights that never crossed my mind and really taught me how to THINK! I have learned about leadership, relationships, and now, with this book, building blocks for tomorrow. My only regret it that I didn't have this book forty years ago, when I was going into college. I honestly thought he had covered all the bases of life, but this book is, perhaps, his best book yet. It definitely is something we can all use. It is the perfect gift for the graduate, or even newlyweds. The lessons taught in this book are a MUST READ for everyone. Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" helped us discover what life is all about. John Maxwell teaches us how to discipline those purposes into our lives and make each day our "masterpiece". DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!!!

John Maxwell is a unique author who has been able to make the subject of spirituality acceptable in the study of leadership. His background in the religious world always brings a different perspective into his writings like in his highly successful book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.



In Today Matters, Maxwell again taps into his deep personal philosophies of the essential value of sound decision-making and discipline. This book lists 12 daily practices (he calls them the "Daily Dozen") which can help the reader to build a better life. He believes it is not only important to make good decisions but also to know what decisions to make and this requires a daily agenda. He defines success as, "If you make a few key decisions and manage them well in your daily agenda, you will succeed." His successful philosophy is based on the belief that the right things we do today will give us a better tomorrow. With an optimistic perspective he believes that any given day can become a masterpiece, a term he borrows from former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. This book is written around what Maxwell believes are the two ingredients of a daily masterpiece... good decisions and daily discipline.



Today Matters is fourteen chapters long and twelve of them focus on the individual practices that should be embraced each day. These include attitude, priorities, health, family, thinking, commitment, finances, faith, relationships, generosity, values and growth. He discusses these twelve practices in detail, and each chapter ends with exercises which can help you to apply them to your life. In the book's conclusion, Maxwell emphasizes that "it's impossible to tackle all twelve at the same time". He provides direction on how to slowly incorporate the "Daily Dozen" and presents a way to rate your present progress. This book is easy to read and Maxwell's many personal stories and famous quotations make it a delight to study.



If you are wondering how you can glean the most out of each day of life and reorient your priorities, Today Matters is just the book you are looking for.

Success depends upon a daily dozen, according to the author. Before you get your hopes up that he means a dozen doughnuts or eggs, the dozen is twelve principals on which to base your life. Before explaining what these are, Mr Maxwell helps you realize that today is important, each one has the potential to be the most important one of your life. Then, methodically, he explores the daily dozen; attitude, priorities, health, family, thinking, commitment, finances, faith, relationships, generosity, values, and growth. Using both is own experience and that of others, the lessons are taught clearly then followed by a "workbook" section to help apply what you were taught.

**** While seeing Mr. Maxwell speak in person is the ideal; if that is not possible, this is the next best thing, or even better. You can schedule it on your own time. While faith is the foundation of the entire book, the religous aspect is not overwhelming. A secular person can derive almost an equal benefit as a Christian. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

This is the second book that I have read by John C. Maxwell, and boy am I glad I did. I am currently on my second reading of this book.

This book is the kind of book that you can review every so often to just make sure you are still on track, and firm up some decisions you may have made, but are letting slack.

I chose to read this book a chapter per day. This means that it actually takes two weeks to read if you don't skip a day, though it can be read MUCH faster. I just read it the first time through and didn't do any of the practical exercises that follow each chapter. I don't recommend you do it this way.

If I had to do it all over again, which I am doing, I would do the practical exercises as I came to them. I think you will get the most benefit by putting things into action. Start moving on them right away, and you will begin to see a change.

This book is very readable, it isn't dense at all. The material though simplistic, which is a good thing, can bring about deep changes if you apply it.

If you have read other books of the self-help, motivational type you might read an example or two that you have read elsewhere. This wasn't a problem for me, and all of the examples are very appropriate for the material presented.

I liked this book so much that I bought a copy for my Mother. I hope that she reads it and passes it on to the rest of the family. This seems like a book that would be good to read as a family, and would benefit from discussion. The sooner you get your children reading this book, the better. If they buy into it while they are young, look out world!

The key concepts in this book for me were the following:
Settle critical issues once and for all - Then you will not have to revisit them daily. John Maxwell talks about how the earlier you settle the critical issues in your life the greater the potential for your success. Thus by avoiding procrastination on these key choices, you will no longer feel the guilty feelings associated with them.

The concept that the "pain" of discipline is
"momentary" but the benefit of it is long lasting (lasting the ENTIRE day - 16 hours of the day)was a revelation for me.

The funniest part was the morning prayer he included:
"Dear Lord - So far today I am doing alright,
I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or self indulgent.
I have not whined, cursed or eaten any chocolate - however,
I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes and I will need a lot more help after that."

I highly recommend this CD. I find myself listening to it again and again, stopping it and jotting notes down.

Finally, I really found the values section in the 12th daily dozen to be unique and original. I haven't found anything like it in ANY other book of it's kind
This CD is a BUY

John Maxwell's daily dozen are worth learning.

So what are the daily dozen? Attitude, priority, health, family, thinking, commitment, faith, relationships, generosity, values and growth. Note faith is listed. Maxwell realizes not everyone is spiritual. He allows readers the concept of refusing this goal. Maxwell includes examples through others as well as himself to get his points across.

Maxwell is adamant when he emphasizes the wisdom of practicing daily discipline in one's life -- think things through; settle your matters everyday; take care of your financial matters daily; surround yourself with positive people; and most of all remember what you do today impacts your tomorrow.

_Today Matters_ has the ability to empower its readers. Once we learn, we must practice. That's the key to empowering today and having a successful tomorrow. Highly recommended.

Brenda @ MyShelf.Com