Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot

Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot by Max Lucado. 2005. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group. 220 pages, Hardback, $22.99

Intended Audience: A, B, C, E, F

Major Headings from Table of Contents:

Use Your Uniqueness; Make a Big Deal Out of God; Every Day of Your Life; Sweet Spots: Two People Who Found Theirs; Sweet Spot Discovery Guide

How is the book most useful for its intended audience?

For career changers, it helps them discover their uniqueness and use their strengths to find the best career fit. For career coaches and counselors, it can add a spiritual perspective to their work with clients who want that perspective.

The top five things you learned from reading this book:

1 . To trust God with my career.

2. To give more attention to what I enjoy doing rather than doing things just because they pay well.

3. To "think outside the box" with myself as well as my clients.

4. To use some new techniques with clients who are open to adding a faith/spiritual perspective to their career exploration.

5. To appreciate even more than before each person's uniqueness and special place in God's universe.

We all have an idea about what it's like to live in your sweet spot. It is that place where you are so engaged in the present moment that time Stands still and you are transfixed by the activity in which you are engaged. Max Lucado, best-selling author and pastor, begins Cure for the Common Life with the premise that God gave each person a region in which they were made to do well. He tailored each life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle." He further explains that life makes sweet sense when you find your sweet spot. This is not a new idea. Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, wrote that we were all created by God for His purposes and we will never be totally fulfilled until we find our purpose in life. Lucado, like Rick Warren, uses Biblical references to back up his beliefs.

After discussing your sweet spot, he begins Section One with stories of people from George Washington Carver to Moses to illustrate how God gave them all the "tools" they needed to perform great things. He then encourages each reader to study their own S.T.O.R.Y, an acronym for: Strengths; Topics (interests); Optimal Conditions (motivations); Relationships (how you like to interact with others); and Yes! (those moments when you feel your "sweet spot"). Lucado then cautious the reader to not consult their greed, because greed can cause you to lose purpose as you pursue greater monetary rewards and seduce you out of your sweet spot.

In Section Two, Lucado encourages readers to use their uniqueness to "make a big deal out of God" through how they live every day. He uses the parable of the three servants who were given varying talents (money) while the master went away on the trip. When the master returned, he asked for an accounting of what the servants had done with his money. The first and second servants were given 5 talents and 2 talents respectively, and each had doubled their money. To both, he said "well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things." The third servant had received one talent, which he buried in the ground, because he feared losing it. The Master had harsh words for the third servant because he failed to use his talent. Lucado challenges the reader to discover and use their talents for the good of God and the world, and to not be deterred by fear of failure.

Lucado makes a strong plea for those who are not Christian believers to accept the gift and grace of salvation. He states, "God grants us an uncommon life to the degree we surrender our common one." He suggests that ego often gets in the way of faith; "When you're full of yourself, God can't fill you."

In Section three, Lucado challenges readers to 'Take your job and love it." He encourages the reader to examine their attitude and to work as if they were working for God. He concludes that if everyone worked to please God, they would work to the best of their abilities. They would not cheat, overcharge their customers, engage in work that is negative to the overall good, or demeans others. Lucado encourages readers to take their time away from work to "Pause on Purpose." He remarks that to stay centered in your sweet spot, you must stop, withdraw, and recalibrate. It is in these times that each person can refocus in order to move forward in their work or change to work that is more fulfilling.

Lucado shares how a purposeful pause pulled him out of a spiritual desert in his ministry. He said his church was growing, enthusiasm was mounting, and they were making plans for a new building, but he was feeling "hollow, robotic, and mechanical." A friend encouraged him to clarify his sweet spot. He sought the help of an executive coach, Rick Wellock, and wrote out his S.T.O.R.Y. This system of exploration and discovery was developed by People Management International, Inc.

Cure for the Common Life includes a section called Sweet Spot Discovery Guide, which guides the reader step-by-step through the process of discovering and analyzing your sweet-spot experiences. Reminiscent of the exercises in Richard Bolles' What Coloris Your Parachute? the first assignment is to write about some of the occasions in your life in which you did something well and enjoyed doing it. Next, the guide outlines how to summarize those experiences to develop your own S.T.O.R.Y: your Strengths, how you get things done using your unique gifts; your Topics, what you want to work with; your Optimal conditions for motivating you to effectively accomplish the tasks; your Relationships, the roles and relationships to others you seek in the tasks; and Yes! the moments that you feel the joyous affirmation that you are fulfilling the purpose for which you were designed (your "sweet spot"). The Guide is filled with good examples of people's stories and good ideas for how to implement the process in your own life. It also includes a study guide for those who would like to study the book in more depth, either individually or in a group discussion.

This book can be an excellent tool for career coaches to use with clients who want to include a spiritual perspective in their career exploration and planning. It is well written with many interesting examples of people who found their sweet spot and accomplished their unique purposes in life. It will challenge and inspire, as well as give hope to those who have lost perspective.

Reviewed by Joyce Shoop

[Author Affiliation]

Joyce Shoop, Career Action Associates, 8350 Meadow Road #272, Dallas, TX 75231, 214-378-8350, joyshoop@sbcglobal.net