Book Title: Make Today Count

Author: John C Maxwell

Brief Summary: No messing about 😀 - this book starts off with statements/quotes that get you thinking straight away. Below are a few:

- “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine”

- “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily”
It focuses as TODAY as being the most important day for success and builds on the content of the book with the following
thoughts:
To make everyday a masterpiece, master DECISIONS & DISCIPLINE !
Good Decisions MINUS Daily Discipline = A Plan without a Payoff
Daily Discipline MINUS Good Decisions = Regimentation without Reward
Good Decisions PLUS Daily Discipline = A masterpiece of potential

This book is divided into 12 chapters, each one covering what John describes as the ‘Daily Dozens’ and what it means to live
today full by focusing on them. They are:
1. Attitude: Choose and display the right attitude daily.
2. Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily.
3. Health: Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.
4. Family: Communicate with and care for my family daily.
5. Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily.
6. Commitment: Make and keep proper commitments daily.
7. Finances: Make and properly manage dollars daily.
8. Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily.
9. Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.
10. Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily.
11. Values: Embrace and practice good values daily.
12. Growth: Seek and experience improvements daily

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 Chapter-By-Chapter Summary

Chapter Summary Probing Questions & Action Steps (as

listed by the author)
Chapter 1 - Your attitude can make a difference in your life and impact those Based on the decision you made concerning attitude,
Attitude around you. what is the one discipline you must practice today and
You can change the course of your life by seeing yourself as how you every day in order to be successful?
want to be and acquiring the skills of those you admire and want to
be like. The chapter continues with suggestions of decisions you can
make daily in pursuit of a great attitude

Chapter 2 - Aligning priorities right makes work lighter as there is a shift to doing Based on the decision you made concerning priorities,
Priorities what is necessary as against doing what you feel needs to be done. what is the one discipline you must practice today and
In this chapter, John goes from 'making the decision to act on every day in order to be successful?
priorities daily' to 'managing the discipline of priorities'. I also
particularly like his suggestions on finding and staying in your strength
zone.

Chapter 3 - This chapter begins with John's personal account of his heart attack Based on the decision you made concerning health,
Health and how it drove him to the decision to take care of his health and what is the one discipline you must practice today and
nutrition. The key thing here is that living a healthy life is a choice - every day in order to be successful?
one which many of us would rather not take. However we must
understand that eating right and exercising right daily mounts up to a
well-balanced and potentially, sickness-free life.

Chapter 4 - And this chapter might be the most defining I have read in a while. Based on the decision you made concerning family,
Family John was bold enough to say that there's really no success if your what is the one discipline you must practice today and
family is not part of the journey. He goes on to suggest ways to every day in order to be successful?
define family rules that grow and support family members. I like the
fact that his personal experiences of success in family life are shared
here.

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Chapter 5 - The sum total of this chapter is that your thoughts are linked to the Based on the decision you made concerning thinking,
Thinking information you put in your mind through exposure to books and the what is the one discipline you must practice today and
like. I also like the thought that thinking grows and is every day in order to be successful?
multifaceted. John describes the 11 types of thinking. It is important
to facilitate your THINKING everyday by setting aside a time & place
to make it happen. It is also important to document your ideas and
enhance your thinking by getting around thinkers consistently

Chapter 6 - This book raises an interesting concept - recommitting yourself to Based on the decision you made concerning
Commitment your goals daily. Commitment is not easy but anything worth having is commitment, what is the one discipline you must
worth fighting for. I particularly love this quote - practice today and every day in order to be successful?
"Your choices are the only thing you truly control. You cannot control
your circumstances, nor can you control others’. By focusing on your
choices, and then making them with integrity, you control your
commitment. And that is what often separates success from failure."

Chapter 7 - Our financial discipline can be broken into four: Based on the decision you made concerning finances,
Finances - learn what is the one discipline you must practice today and
- earn every day in order to be successful?
- return
- reduce debts
Also worth considering is the authors suggestion of his 10-10-80
formula for disbursements his finances.
Managing your finances daily is summed up in your decision to work
hard and maintain a heart of gratitude. There is also the importance
of spreading our wealth. Gun Denhart said “Money is like manure. If
you let it pile up, it just smells. But if you spread it around, you can
encourage things to grow.”

Chapter 8 - Faith drives our perspectives and our core principles. We must Based on the decision you made concerning faith, what
Faith understand our commitment to our faith and make a conscious effort is the one discipline you must practice today and every
to live it out daily. As we stay true to our faith it gains the possibility day in order to be successful?
of growing and becoming attractive to others.

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Chapter 9 – To build positive relationships, you need to understand people. In this Based on the decision you made concerning
Relationships chapter John goes on to suggest ways of getting to know and relationships, what is the one discipline you must
understand people. I like his summation so good, I had to post it practice today and every day in order to be successful?
here.
. People are insecure . . . give them confidence.
• People want to feel special . . . sincerely compliment them.
• People desire a better tomorrow . . . show them hope.
• People need to be understood . . . listen to them.
• People are selfish . . . speak to their needs first.
• People get emotionally low . . . encourage them.
• People want to be associated with success . . . help them win.
Later on John talked about main a conscious effort to deposit in his
relationship with others, ensuring that he never starts the relationship
with an ulterior motive. He advises to find the one thing you like about
a person and encourage them with it.

Chapter 10 - True generosity is about serving others and finding ways to add value Based on the decision you made concerning generosity,
Generosity to them. Generosity is not just about giving money but about giving what is the one discipline you must practice today and
time and adding value. To add value, every day in order to be successful?
- value others
- know what people value
- add value to yourself
- do the things God values
Being generous is about keeping your eyes open to give to everyone -
time, money etc.
It's not about what we earn but the decision we make. I like that John
says we don't give from the top of our purse but from the bottom of
our hearts

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Chapter 11 - You must extol your values and keep it front & centre of all you do. Based on the decision you made concerning values,
Values This chapter encourages us to move from just merely being successful what is the one discipline you must practice today and
to actually being men/Women of value. We should focus in our values every day in order to be successful?
as this brings success our way. Our choices should always be
measured against our values.
It is obvious, from the authors account in this chapter that those that
stand the test of time in business, family life are this who celebrate
their values, regardless of the situation in which they find themselves.

Chapter 12 - Straight into the chapter, John emphasises the importance of having a Based on the decision you made concerning growth,
Growth plan for personal growth. He pointed out that the gap between your what is the one discipline you must practice today and
vision and your reality can be filled by making a choice to maximise every day in order to be successful?
your potential. Focus on 3 aspects of growth - requirement, reward
and return. Spending 1hr a day on a subject for 5 years will make you
become an expert on the subject.

In conclusion, John writes "By making today great, you can make your
life great, because when you take care of today, tomorrow will take
care of itself."