I’ve learned from my own life-experience that there is beauty in being true to yourself – being true to your DNA. So many people are seeking others to define who they are – what they should be, what they should do, what they should say, how they should think, how they should act, how they should dress, where they should go, what they should like, what they should buy… the list goes on. We’ve even gotten ourselves into this hip/cool trend of mimicking other people’s success. Sad, but true.

I just finished reading yet another amazing book.

This one is entitled “Thinking for a Living” by Joey Reiman.

For those of you that may not know, Joey is a thought leader and a thinker who – through the years – has learned how to harness the power of thinking in every area of his life. It has not only allowed him to pursue his passion in launching the world’s first ideation company – BrightHouse – but it has also enhanced his personal life as a husband, father, and spiritual believer.

This book delves right into an area of conversation that I think so many of us overlook…

“Thinking is a lifestyle that can be applied to every area of life.”

This is my takeaway: We don’t value our ideas. We don’t value a lifestyle of thinking in our society. Even our educational system has settled for telling our kids WHAT to think instead of teaching them HOW to think. We’ve built a society of executioners – people who are good at punching the clock Monday through Friday, and we have failed to develop thinkers – people who find ways to better their lives while creating a better world. It has been hypothesized that we use roughly only 10% of our brain to think.

Where’s the conversation about how do we develop and leverage the other 90%?

Let us not forget that it was thinkers who changed our world; who developed ideologies, processes, and inventions that we continue to live by today; who inspired us to do things and try things that were unheard of beforehand. Take into account Socrates, Plato, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci and so many others. Their thoughts, ideas, and insights have modeled how we think, how we communicate… even how we live.

I’ve made it my mission to THINK for a living. Period. In all aspects of life.

Here are a few snippets from the book that I liked…

“Today the most valuable piece of real estate measures less than one foot and is worth trillions, yet most of it remains uninhabited. This place is called your brain.”

“People who think outside the [box] run circles around people who don’t. These big thinkers inspire us, enlighten us, and change the way we think forever.”

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

“Racism is the absence of thinking. When you don’t think, you become ignorant.” -Martin Luther King Jr.

“Faith – true, abiding, empowering faith – is one of the biggest thoughts of all.”

“Greatest ideas are often met with violent opposition from mediocre minds.” -Albert Einstein

“Today, many of us are paid not to think. In schools, the answer has always been more important than the thought process.”

“The bottom line is that the biggest idea in the world is and always will be God.”

“No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking.” -Voltaire

“Air keeps us alive, but thinking creates our lives. How we think affects our health, impacts our wealth, and most importantly gives meaning to why we are here.”

In what areas can you begin thinking for a living?

I love studying topics on marketing and brand development. In my usual web research, I ran past something that I thought was pretty interesting. I’ve seen this book at Barnes & Nobles and I’ve heard some buzz about it over the blogosphere, but it wasn’t until now that I realized that I gotta get this book and add it to my library. The book is called “Groundswell”. What I recently ran pass was an article about the book.

The article – written by the actual authors of the book, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff – discusses the idea behind Groundswell. From the short research that I did about the book, I discovered that Groundswell is about how Web 2.0 is having a major impact on businesses and organizations. The power controllers of the marketing and publicity of businesses today is shifting from the hands of powerful newspapers and corporate heads to the computer screens of bloggers, social media mavericks, and everyday web surfers. However intimidating this may be to most companies, the authors of Groundswell present an amazing opportunity for businesses and organizations to partner with the growing power of Web 2.0 to build stronger brands, relationships, and networks.

Since the introduction of Web 2.0, more and more people are seizing the many opportunities that are now being offered through blogging, social media, online video, viral marketing, etc. Here’s the great realization: Never has there been a time when a college student – like me – can sit in his dormroom, connect with the world instantly, say almost anything his heart desires, and draw an audience of millions in the process. Today, students, bloggers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, marketers and the like have already begun to use the concept of the Groundswell to do just that. Businesses are starting to see that partnering with and satisfying those who have a voice in the web is helping them build momentum in their business in ways they could have never done alone.

But that’s not what’s really rocking my world right now. Think about this…

Can you imagine what sort of impact churches, church leaders, and organizations could make if they found unique ways to leverage Web 2.0 with a clear understanding of the Groundswell? What kind of people could they impact that may never take a foot into their church or organization physically? What kind of buzz could they create within the web that would make a difference or get people talking or thinking?

How can you leverage the Groundswell for your church, organization, or business?

Check out the article and the book.