Running Time: 10:26
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[note]We’d love your feedback and book suggestions for the show:
Call us at 615-200-8253
Email us at Feedback@TakePermission.com. [/note]

Steve Brown is old enough to not care anymore and if you read five pages of his book Three Free Sins you’ll find out what I mean. He was a paid holy person (what I call people in full-time ministry) for most of his life and today serves as a professor at the Reformed Theological Seminary, speaks, writes and is the main personality for Key Life Network which you can find out about at KeyLife.org

At the core of this book is a very simple message. Grace. Grace is undeserved forgiveness and the idea of Three Free Sins is that our lives would change radically if we accepted three free sins in our lives. The true message is this…we don’t get three free sins, we get unlimited free sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on a cross around 2,000 years ago. He was perfect so when He died on the cross all of our sins, not just three, were paid for. His perfection was exchanged for our imperfection.

“The only people who get any better the people who know that if they don’t get any better God’s going to love them anyway.”

Steve Brown has a unique way of leading you into a conversation about sin and grace. He takes us down the road into agreeing that grace covers all sins and then asks us why we don’t live like it does. Why do we live like we can earn God’s forgiveness at the same time teaching others that they don’t have to earn God’s forgiveness.

Steve’s journey took a turn when he grew tired of “trying to teach people not to sin”.

He asks the very difficult question, “What if the Christian faith isn’t about getting better?” That started him on a journey to start telling the truth. He started sharing his sin and struggles and how the cross brought him healing.

Steve thinks pretending is stupid and he’s right. “Trying harder doesn’t work. You should know that by now.”

“I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way JESUS came to reveal God’s love.”

People who have experienced sin and grace are equipped to extend that same grace. (page 82)

If you want to attract new people who are outside of the church into it, people from outside the family of God into His family then holiness and goodness will not have the effect. Authenticity draws people in. Humility and authenticity is a magnet for other messed up people…and we’re ALL messed up.

In front of a audience of missionaries Steve opened up about his failures and it caused one member of the audience to get angry because he felt Steve wasn’t worried enough about right and wrong. Another missionary in the audience stood up to defend Steve and said, “Just because someone is honest about not meeting the standard doesn’t mean that he ignores or lowers the standard.”

The lesson of forgiveness, grace and hope always begins with helplessness.

Hey there are some awesome things going on with the Take Permission Media Network. We’re launched a new show called Twitter Conference Conversations and we’re launching the Take Permission Community which you can learn more about at http://www.TakePermissionCommunity.com

It’s the best place to find kindred spirits, get your tech and podcasting questions answered and have great conversations around faith, family and business. I hope you’ll check it out at TakePermissionCommunity.com

[alert]To be eligible for a copy of Three Free Sins head over to http://BooksForABetterYou.com and leave a comment on this episode and then share the episode via Facebook or Twitter. I’ll announce the winner of the two copies on the next episode of the show when I review Brandon Hatmaker’s book – Barefoot Church [/alert]

The post Three Free Sins by Steve Brown appeared first on Take Permission.

Running Time 15 min
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In this episode I review Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist.

[note]We’d love your feedback and book suggestions for the show:
Call us at 615-200-8253
Email us at Feedback@TakePermission.com. [/note]

Inspiration – Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.” – The more I “steal” the more inspired I become unless I get inspirationally bloated b/c I”m not shipping!
Practical – “save your thefts for later” – (21) I use Evernote for that and you can learn more about how I use it at SystemizeMe.com

Don’t wait until you know who you know who you are to get started
Inspiration – Impostor syndrome – (27/28)
Practical – COPY them. Good copy vs. Bad theft (39)

Write the book you want to read
Inspiration – The best advice (47)
Practical – Think about your favorite work (48)

Use your hands
Insp – Work that comes from the head isn’t any good…(54)
Pract – It’s not really good for generating ideas. There are too many opportunities to hit the delete key. The computer brings out the uptight perfectionist in us – we start editing ideas before we have them.

Side projects and hobbies are important – “You don’t try to make money or get famous off it, you just do it because it makes you happy. A hobby is something that gives but doesn’t take.”
Insp – Don’t worry about unity from piece to piece – What unifies all of your work is the fact that you made it. (Marriage, faith, business) – The Take Permission Community
Prac – Take time to be bored (67)

The Secret – Do good work and share it with people
Insp – When you’re unknown there’s nothing to distract you from getting better.
Prac – Share your dots, but don’t connect them. – You don’t…(85) Artists aren’t magicians, there’s no penalty for revealing your secrets (Martha Stewart)

Geography is no longer our master
Insp – Create your own world.” That’s beautiful…make your own world.
Prac – Solitude – Now I have… (92)

Be nice. (the world is a small town)
Insp – You can’t go looking for validation from external sources.
Pract – The best way to make friends on the internet is to say nice things about them – Archie/Linchpin podcast

Be boring. (It’s the only way to get the work done)
Prac #1 – Find a flow…”The solution (124)
Prac #2 – Eat breakfast… (120)

Creativity is subtraction
Prac – The right constraints…(138)
Insp – You must embrace your limitations and keep moving.”

Buy this book.

It’s fun to hold, to interact with and to do. This is an action book. It’s like a comic book for creatives but you get to become a character in the story when you read it. You get to become the hero and bring who you are to the 10 things Austin talks about. It’s affirming, practical, butt kicking, human and most off all if you’re a willing reader and creative then it’ll help you have a happier and longer career making great stuff.

The post Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon appeared first on Take Permission.

Running Time: 11:32
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Speaker, teacher, mother and wife Jennie Allen created a book about her family’s experience with offering God the ultimate permission to mess up their lives. It’s honest. It’s practical. It’s inspiring. Listen to the episode to hear how you can get a free copy! – EXTENDED DEADLINE is June 21st

Have some feedback about the show or a book?
Call us at 615-200-8253 or just click the “Send Voicemail” link on the side of the site.
Email us at Feedback@TakePermission.com
We appreciate your review on iTunes – click here

Show Notes:

This episode of BooksForABetterYou is sponsored by the team at AndyAndrews.com. Get 15% off your order today at andyandrews.com when you use the coupon code betteryou15.

The author:

* Jennie Allen lives in Austin, Texas with her four kids and husband, who pastors a church there.
* She has a video Bible study series called Stuck and her latest book called Anything continues her pattern of authentic perspectives on the Christian life.
* What’s really cool is that Jennie is also my friend and client. I host her show called “If God Is Real” and you can hear that on iTunes or find all the episodes on Jennie’s site, which is JennieAllen.com

 
The book:
* The greatest way to explain this book is to read the introduction so here it is:
* I think most men would avoid picking up this book because of the color, the image on the cover or maybe because the book is pretty raw emotionally. But this book was really good for me to read as a Christian, as a father and as a person who wants to live a better story
* One of the best books I’ve ever read on living a better story is Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in 1,000 years. The reason his book was so powerful and Jennie’s is as well is that they don’t talk about changing your life, they tell the story of how they changed their own. This is NON-fiction at its finest. It’s not preachy or condemning or throwing guilt all over you. It doesn’t cause you to “Should” all over yourself…you know, I should do this, I shouldn’t do that. No Shoulds, just raw, honest perspectives on a life before her prayer and after her prayer.
 
Passages:
– How does one know God? – Read passage = RISK
– Barefoot Church is a book by Brandon Hatmaker, we’ll be reviewing it on a future show and I’m starting a podcast with him next month (June 2012). His book is about a radically different kind of church and church life. His book is all about RISK and I LOVED it. IT’s living at its finest.
– My wife and I were talking last night and we were talking about our dissatisfaction with our church because the first word we both thought of to describe it was “Safe” Well, Jennie gives us a great example of how to get out of “Safe” and get into the flow of plans too big for us but not too big for God.
– There a moments when we read books that cause us to stop and reflect deeply on our lives. Her book made me do that several times but one in particular was very difficult. “I remember the first time it occurred to me that my life looked more like the people Jesus rebuked than the people Jesus drew near to….I felt that way. I also knew nobody really knew it, and I liked it that way.
– So Jennie gets her answer of what she needs to do and her life starts to change. Then her church family starts praying the same prayer and their lives change too.
– They don’t live happily ever after though. Life doesn’t get easier when you surrender it, but the order of authority simplifies. You’re not in charge anymore and that’s scary but freeing for Jennie and her family.
– Here’s where the fear comes in and probably what’s really going to keep you from reading this book yourself. “We all would say God’s character is loving and good, but do we really trust hat the won’t get crazy and dish out the same life he game Job? – We’re afraid of our loving God so we hold onto control. Jennie let go of control in some big areas…her biggest areas, and her life radically changed.

I hope you’ll read Anything. I hope you’ll pray the same prayer Jennie and her husband did and then I hope you’ll listen for what God says because I think you want a better, richer, fuller life. I know I do.

Subscribe to this show on iTunes or get it via email:

The post Anything by Jennie Allen – Books For A Better You Show 003 appeared first on Take Permission.

Running Time: 9:37
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Entrepreneur and all around great guy Chris Guillebeau has created a book that every person who wants to love their work needs to read. Filled with practical advice on starting a “micro-business”, it’s in my top 10 business books now. Listen to the episode to hear how you can get a free copy!

Have some feedback about the show or a book?
Call us at 615-200-8253 or just click the “Send Voicemail” link on the side of the site.
Email us at Feedback@TakePermission.com
We appreciate your review on iTunes – click here

Show Notes:

This episode of BooksForABetterYou is sponsored by the team at AndyAndrews.com. Get 15% off your order today at andyandrews.com when you use the coupon code betteryou15.

The Author:

• Chris Guillebeau – Entrepreneur, solopreneur at TheArtOfNonConformity.com – the title of his first book published in late 2010, subtitled (Set your own rules, live the life you want and change the world). Part of my top ten business books for building the business and the LIFE you want.
•  He knows a lot about building the kind of business that I want to run so when he sent me a book (I didn’t even have to request it…he’s that nice of a guy) I ripped through it in a weekend.

I asked Chris about his goal in writing the book:
Two things: first, I kept hearing incredible stories from people who had started all kinds of businesses, without spending a lot of money and by using the skills they already had. Most of these people didn’t think of themselves as “entrepreneurs” and had never gone to business school, yet they found a way to make a good living doing something that they loved. I found these stories inspiring and wanted to bring honor and awareness to them.

Second, I wanted to craft a narrative from the stories and create a blueprint that readers could follow. There are lots of general resources out there, but we need more than vague, motivational mantras. We need specifics. We need data. We need a proven plan.

That’s what I hoped to provide, but it’s up to readers to be the judge of whether I succeeded or not.

• MAIN PREMISE – It’s a micro business revolution – a way of earning a good living while crafting a life of independence and purpose.
• WHY WE PURSUE THIS -There’s no rehab program for being addicted to freedom. Once you’ve seen what it’s like on the other side, good luck trying to follow someone else’s rules ever again.
• WHERE DID HE COME UP WITH THIS STUFF? – Research based on 1500 different responses to business owners who shared their journey and their income. He took those stories and found the patterns, including the pitfalls of their journeys.
• WHERE TO GET THE IDEA FOR YOUR BUSINESS – Somewhere between your passion and other people’s needs.
• Deciding what people actually want – More Love, less stress / More money, less conflict / More free time, less uncertainty
• Process for asking people what they want to buy before actually building it – I’m doing this myself with a new product that will help you fix your email inbox – you can find more info about that at http://www.FixYourInbox.com
• MORE PRACTICAL STUFF – Also discussed how to handle a product launch on-line – Invaluable, practical, simple…let me thinking “Duh, I should know that.” Well, we usually don’t so save yourself a lot of mistakes and frustration and just get the book. Or listen to the end of the show and hear about how you can get a copy free.

The Business audit.

• The first point is – Where do you make money?
• Duh Chris! No, DUH business owner. This is a constant problem for solopreneurs and micro-businesses who get distracted by everything except what brings us money!

The summary of $100 Startup

• Career changes hinge on answering two questions: “How can I systemize what I want to do and what role will that new business have in the rest of my life?”
• My favorite passages are about permission, since it’s the basis of my podcast network – the Take Permission Media Network
• “Most of this book contains various forms of advice, but don’t confuse advice for permission. You don’t need anyone to give you permission to pursue a dream”
• “Sometimes the best advice is none at all. If you know what you want to do, the next step is simply to do it. Stop waiting. Start taking action.
• You can apply the lessons from these stories and create the new life you want.
• More than competition or other external factors, the biggest battle is against our own fear and inertia. Thankfully, this also means we are in complete control of managing it.

I asked Chris about how he felt about the response of readers to his book:

“Now that the book is out, I’m already hearing stories of fun little businesses that have started up… and this is in the first 14 days of launch! My goal is that more and more people will read the book and not just say “That was interesting.” I hope they’ll say, “I read this book and then I took action on it.”

I hard a time finishing this book because I kept wanting to DO SOMETHING with it…that’s the greatest compliment I can give this book. It caused me to do more than think, it caused me to DO and DOING something is the key to getting what you want.

To get a free copy of $100 Startup…

Leave a comment on what your biggest obstacle is in growing or starting your own business and Tweet or share this post on Facebook using the links on this page. Do this by May 31st! The winner will be announced on the next episode of the Books For A Better You Show.

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The post $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau – Books For a Better You 002 appeared first on Take Permission.

I scrapped my past designs and came up with this podcast logo.

Thoughts? Leave me a comment. I’m shipping this show this weekend no matter what. Can’t wait for perfect…it’s an excuse and a myth.

Check out the designs…

600px

300px

150px (text seems a little crowded)

The post What do you think of this podcast artwork? appeared first on Take Permission.

Thank you to everyone who gave input. I decided on a completely different logo and you can check it out here. Let me know what you think of the show!

If all goes well I’ll be releasing a new show by the end of this week that focuses on books that encourage and inspire readers in the areas of faith, family, business and self-improvement. It seems such a waste to read so many books and then not share their lessons with the world. My podcast artwork artist has created a few options for the show and I need your feedback on which one to choose. I’m going to be making a few tweaks but I’m excited about both designs so I could use your help. (Survey is below the images) Thanks!

Option #1

Option #2

The post UPDATED: Help me choose artwork for the Books For a Better You Show! appeared first on Take Permission.