مقدمه

Whether life is going well for you or collapsing right before your eyes, we all want to be better. We want to be more effective in our lives. We want to know God better; we want to be better spouses and parents, better community leaders, better employees, and better bosses and managers. God put something deep down inside us that evokes a desire to be more like Him. In our inner being, we hear a voice saying, “You were born for better than this; you are meant to live at a higher level. Don’t be satisfied with less. You can be better.” The question is: “How? What must I do to become a better me?”

In my first book, Your Best Life Now, I presented seven steps to living at your full potential. Today many people are developing a greater vision for their future and are experiencing more of God’s blessings and favor. But even if you are living your best life now, it is important that you do not become stagnant. God always wants to increase us, to do more in and through us. He always wants to take us deeper into self-discovery and then wants to raise us to a higher level of living. He didn’t create us to be average. He doesn’t want us to settle for “good enough.” He wants us to keep stretching, to keep pressing forward into the next level.

Now, in Become a Better You, I want to help you do just that. I want to take you deeper; I’m hoping to help you look inside yourself and discover the priceless seeds of greatness that God has placed within you. In this book, I will reveal to you seven keys that you can use to unlock those seeds of greatness, allowing them to burst forth in an abundantly blessed life. These keys are not complicated or difficult; in fact, their sheer simplicity often causes them to elude many people’s notice. Nevertheless, they are seven key principles that have helped shape me and continue to keep me expecting good things in my personal life, in my relationships, in my family, and in my career. I know these principles work, because I have experienced them firsthand in my own life.

What does it mean to become a better you? First, you understand that God wants you to become all that He created you to be. Second, it is imperative that you realize that God will do His part, but you must do your part as well. To become a better you, you must:

1. Keep pressing forward.

2. Be positive toward yourself.

3. Develop better relationships.

4. Form better habits.

5. Embrace the place where you are.

6. Develop your inner life.

7. Stay passionate about life.

Most of us make some effort to improve in these areas, but to truly see the kind of marked improvement we want, we must start focusing on them in a more deliberate manner. I’ll explain each of these principles in depth: how they work and how you can use them to improve your life and affect generations to come. I’ll help you see where you are, where you have been, and where you are going. As we grow together, God will continue to pour good things into our lives, and He will indeed take us to places that we never dreamed possible.

If you are going through a tough time, take heart. There are better days ahead! God wants to bring you through, to bring you out even better, and to restore everything you have lost, plus give you more!

If you are thriving and enjoying life, you can use these principles to help guard your heart and mind, and to maintain an attitude and lifestyle that is pleasing to God. Be quick to acknowledge God’s goodness in your life, keeping in mind that it is His blessing that you are enjoying and that you are blessed to be a blessing to someone else, and He will continue to fill your life with immeasurable love, joy, and peace.

I must warn you: Practicing the seven keys within this book could be a potentially life-changing process! And while I can’t guarantee that you will become rich or famous, I can assure you that if you follow this plan, you will live a more fulfilled life.

Becoming a better you is all about growing, learning, and improving. The more you learn to trust God, the better you will be. He will continually expand your horizons, and you can become a better you!