Inspirational Books and Movies

   A few weeks ago I asked the readers of my blog to comment on the books, movies and music that inspire them and have helped them deal with difficult times in their lives. The movies that people reported that were inspirational to them are:


Endurance (the story of Ernest Shackleton), by Alfred Lansing
Survivor's Club, by Ben Sherwood
Jump Start Your Brain, by Doug Hall & David Wecker
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John Maxwell
Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will, by Noel M. Tichy & Stratford Sherman
Who Moved my Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, M.D.
The Power of Focus, by Jack Canfield, et. al.
Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
The Laidoff Ninja, by Craig Brown & Javed Ikbal
90 Minutes in Heaven, by Rev. Don Piper


I want to thank Rien, Jim, Sharon, Chuck and Katy for their suggestions. I also recommend:


How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie 
Leadership Jazz, by Max DePree 
Success The Glenn Bland Method, by Glenn Bland 
How to Have Power and Confidence in Dealing With People, by Les Giblin 
See You at the Top, by Zig Ziglar

   These are very good books for anyone in sales or a job search. And as I have said before, but bears repeating, to maintain a positive attitude you need to put positive things into your brain. Reading is the most powerful way to influence your attitude. Many of these books are also on tape or CD. However, listening to a book is great in the car but research cites that a listener needs to hear the recording as many as 4 times to get the same impact as reading. Often I read the book and then get a recorded edition to reinforce what I've read previously.

   Sadly, I found out that if you don't have a Google account, Live Journal, Wordpress, TypePad, AIM  or OpenID account you cannot comment on my blog. I'm sorry for that inconvenience. I also only got two movie suggestions: Jerimiah Johnson and The Outlaw Jose Wales. To that I add the Shawshank Redemption as one of the best inspirational movies. 

   One final thought. Of all the books, movies and songs suggested, I read 90 Minutes in Heaven for the first time. Wow. Regardless of your life situation this story really hit the nail on the head regarding transition. I will be doing a presentation in the near future on "90 Minutes: A Life Metaphor." Before this suggestion, whenever someone had a tragedy in their life, I offered them one of two books to read. First, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold S. Kushner and second The Gift of Peace, by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. Now I have a third book to offer. All three of these books and the stories they contain confirm what Viktor Frankl wrote in Man's Search for Meaning, namely if you believe that you have someone in your corner, you can survive anything and thrive beyond the tragedy you suffer.