When the last of the big bookstores go out of business, I will have to rethink a few things. Maybe it won’t happen for a while. I could have been a bookstore owner. Maybe in heaven that’s what I’ll do, pass out books, or scrolls or Kindle readers, or something to read. I get a lot out of reading. You have figured that out by now.
So here’s a book. I recommend it highly. I call it a field guide to relationships. It’s by Fred Smith and the title is You and Your Network. Fred Smith died a few years ago. Here is a website that was setup to bring some of his wisdom online.
Here is a nice bio of Fred.
The thing I like about Smith is that he took the Bible for his guide and source of wisdom on how to run his business and live his life. From his writing you could see that he did his best to apply the Bible to every area of involvement. Relationships were central to him.
Today, I believe we have a deficit in Relational Intelligence. To put it bluntly, we don’t know what to do with people. Just what are people good for anyhow? What is my role in getting along with them? How can I serve someone? What do I do with those who dislike me? How do I form lifelong friendships? How do I find a mentor? How do I relate to my boss? My family?Yourself?
Fred was not a philosopher, he was a people person. He built his business by building people. He took a lot of his cues from Jesus. His writing is practical and simple, but profound and doable.
Check out his website and maybe it will encourage you to find his book (s) online for sale where I imagine you can shop all day and all night long, the bookstore may never close.
About half of my books are reference books and I read or use them differently than the rest. The other half I read through once. Fred Smith’s books get read over several times. Good reading to you.
