One of the ways we love our neighbors at ShineTYC Lifestyle is by sharing books, TV, movies, and products that have a positive affect on our lives. I read a lot of books and I review hundreds of products each year for various companies. However, I only share the ones I really love on ShineTYC.com because not boasting negative reviews is also a way to love my neighbor. My mama taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Keeping that in mind, I have a lot to say about Master of One by Jordan Raynor.
Well-written and researched with such excellence, the book itself is a product of its contents. Reading Master of One was scary. It answered prayers that I’ve been praying for months. It answered a very specific question I asked God only last week. Master of One was like having a little talk with Jesus right in my backyard.
I’m intense and hyper-focused when I work. I’ve been this way my entire life. I once dated a guy who said, “If we get married I’ll have to warn the kids that you’ll bite them if they interrupt you while you’re working.” We didn’t get married. But to his credit, over twenty years later my loving husband and marvelous sons do have a few teeth marks. It’s who I am. Raynor’s Master of One gave me a heaping tablespoon of freedom and a healthy dose of validation that I only have the mental and emotional capacity to chase excellence in two areas of my life: taking care of my family and my “one thing” at the moment, working as a creator.
Saying “No” to Good and “Yes” to Best
I wrote a book called, Stay in Your Lane: Know Yourself. Love Yourself. Live on Purpose. Raynor’s Master of One is SIYL on steroids with a “physician heal thyself” for me that only God could deliver. I know that people are most important to God, more important than projects or profits. So when I choose my work over spending time with my friends sometimes I feel guilty. I’m apparently not alone. Raynor points out that we tend to feel guilty when we say “no” to good things to focus on what is best. He writes, “So we begrudgingly agree to ‘just grab coffee’ with someone looking to ‘pick our brain’ even though we know that precious time could be better spent serving others by pursing mastery of our one thing.” By saying “no” to social time with my friends, I am in fact saying “yes” to helping more people with my work. If we focus on the “one thing” God is telling us to do at the moment and use our talent to produce a return for Him, we’ll enjoy his happiness as promised in Matthew 25:23. “Well done good and faithful servant!…Come share in your master’s happiness.” They’ll be time for fun when the work is done.
Sometimes we can get so accustomed to being the one with the answers that we stop asking questions. When we stop asking questions, we stop growing.
New Questions
My favorite thing about Master of One is that it goes beyond the importance of finding your purpose and dives headfirst into what you need to do once you find it. I know who I am and I know why I’m here. So now what? Master of One provides valuable insight into what’s next for those who understand their purpose. Mastery! Get excellent. Sometimes we can get so accustomed to being the one with the answers that we stop asking questions. When we stop asking questions, we stop growing. I’ve answered all the questions I had five years ago. Now, I need to put myself in a focused pursuit— not for answers, but for more questions. Knowing who we are and “why” is just the beginning of purposeful living.
Pivot or Persevere
I realized some time ago that my long, winding road to purposeful living has given me a very strong understanding of who I am and who I am not. I’m glad God sent me the long way without getting stuck in the wilderness. However, every now and then I think, “Boy I wish I would have started this sooner” or “Oh, if I had only started this in my twenties.” Nope! Jordan Raynor helps us see the dots connected from our past endeavors into where we are today and the trajectory for where we are going. When I put it all down on paper it made perfect sense in a Psalm 139:14 kind of way. My life has been filled with pivots and perseverance. Five years ago I started a non-profit. Four years ago I dissolved it. Following the best business advice to “fail quickly ” I recognized early that the level of commitment from our tiny part-time volunteer team would never produce the vision. So I was forced to pivot. As a screenwriter when I was faced with pivot or persevere, I received an “8” on the Blacklist and my script was mentioned in the same sentence as “The Social Network” and “Spotlight” — both Oscar winners. Though nothing more happened with that script, it was enough that I knew I needed to persevere.
The first book that changed my life was Woman Thou Art Loosed by Bishop TD Jakes. I read it at 24 years old and it set me on a healthier life path full of truth, healing, and forgiveness. When I was six years old in the first grade my parents were called to school because I kept crying in class for what the teacher deemed “no reason”. I was crying because the boy next to me was sad and that’s exactly what I told them. It didn’t make sense to them or to me but I knew he was sad. I felt his sadness and it overwhelmed me. I spent the next 30 years knowing things about people without understanding why I knew them. Then, I read Emotional Freedom by Dr. Judith Orloff. It helped me define the “thing” I had and changed my life.
For the third time in my life, I’ve found a book that has left an indelible mark on me. It will inform the way I live from this moment forward. You will undoubtedly get something different than I did from Master of One depending on where you are on your purpose journey and who God has called you to be. Whether you are just starting out or looking at God and asking, “What’s Next?” you will be abundantly blessed by Jordan Raynor’s Master of One.