This book was recommended to me by a group of highly successful entrepreneurs from the Team. All the books they have recommended have helped me, I hope they can help you out as well. What is the Entrepreneurial Myth? 
It is the assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of industry can successfully run a business that does that technical work. This is the reason Michael Gerber gives for the high failure rate of small businesses. 
The beginning of the book talks about the reality in business; that most small businesses are not started by entrepreneurs, but rather by people that just want to do their profession without having a boss. These people lack, as Gerber puts it, the "Entrepreneurial Perspective." That is, it's not the commodity or work itself that is important. What's important is the business; how it looks, acts, and does what it is intended to do. 
The book goes on to describe the Turn-Key Revolution. This is based on franchising models of having a systematic way of running the business. Gerber encourages people to work on their business, not just in their business. This section of the book is really helpful for anyone with a small business. The author describes in detail how to go about working on your business to be able to make it run smoothly, even when you are not there. 
In the last chapters of the book there is a section on marketing and sales that is very eye opening and thought provoking. I would recommend anyone in business or sales should read this section in particular. This book really challenges your thinking about how to make a business successful. I really recommend the entire book for for anyone in business or thinking about owning a business. -Paul

Are you a great thinker? Do you have scattered thinking like I do, or do you just not do much thinking for yourself? It's interesting to actually look back on a day or week and see how little thinking I actually did, especially intentionally. This book is a great interactive study on thinking. 

One thing that hit me at the beginning of the book was not even that I don't think but that I don't do enough thinking about things that will make progress, as Maxwell said  "successful people focus their thinking on progress while unsuccessful people focus their thinking on survival or at best maintenance." Another quote I really liked of his was, "If you want to live on a new level, you need to think on a new level." How often do we strive to get better and move up to the next level in anything, but yet not have a care about moving our thinking to that level? 

Something that I agree with Maxwell on is the importance of having special places to go off by yourself do think, reflect and meditate, without distractions. I find for myself that early in the morning in my office or in the summer out on a deck or by a lake I seem to think the most clearly. I challenge you to find your "thinking spot" and certain time of day that you can set aside to think. What do you think about? Well here are the 11 Thinking Skills Maxwell goes through in the book.

1. Big Picture Thinking
2. Focused Thinking
3. Creative Thinking
4. Realistic Thinking
5. Strategic Thinking 
6. Possibility Thinking
7. Reflective Thinking
8. Questioning Acceptance of Popular Thinking
9. Shared Thinking
10. Unselfish Thinking
11. Bottom-Line Thinking

To learn more about the thinking skills I listed, I would recommend that you read the book. I know that understanding these skills has helped me bring my scattered thinking into focus a little bit more. I hope that this book can help you be more intentional about your thinking, or at least get you to think! -Paul

Not, going to lie, this book took me FOREVER to read. NOT because it was boring, I think I just needed to take the time to go through it so that everything would digest properly!! There was so many good nuggets in this book, I wish I could go through them all, (So that I can remind myself what I read!!!) but I won't, you really will just have to read this book. Another awesome part about this book was that in about EVERY paragraph there was a reference to scripture. I never knew there was so many passages that related to our words and how we treat others. 
Are you like me, do you find yourself rambling on with words in a conversation and then all of the sudden, you find yourself bitting your tongue, praying that what you just said, you really didn't say? Are you sometimes prone to gossip? To lie? To exaggerate? to murmur? to anger?  to boast? to flatter? to swear? to be sarcastic? As this book says, our culture, especially Christians need a transformation of our tongue! Stowell says that it should be a top priority for those committed to spiritual growth. WOW, really? I honestly never really thought about things I say having an effect on my relationship with God, let alone my spiritual growth. But it truly does. Like Jesus said in Matthew 15 :17-19, "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of  a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person." If I am to have the Holy Spirit living in my heart, yet I have these things that defile me coming out of it, then do I truly have the Holy Sprit within me? (just a question to think on) Now, I understand no one is perfect, but I can't stop thinking of how much the things I do reflect upon my relationship with God and how in tune I am with the Holy Spirit. I know that I have the Holy Spirit within me, yet sometimes I feel I place him in a jar, screw the lid on top really tight so I can "say my few words" and in doing so I'm refusing to let Christ do his full work in me. Are my words, attitudes, actions always a reflection of the Holy Sprit in my heart? (I'll answer that for myself....no, they aren't)  Anyway, I just babbled on again, sorry, it's just a really great book that made me think a lot about the life I live, and the life I should be living. Feel free to comment or question what I just wrote, especially if you've read the book, I love to hear other's thoughts.  I'll post a few quotes from the book below just to spark your interest...Enjoy! 

--We tend to tolerate a bit of "fire" in our speech, thinking it can do no harm. But fire spreads quickly--often before we realize it. And after a raging fire has done it's damage, it doesn't matter whether or not it was intentional. (p.18)

--We need to pray for wisdom in our speech (James 1:5). We should train ourselves to search for the truth in every situation. (p.32)

--Rumors, whether true or false, are devastating for many reasons--one being that they are irretrievable. I recall the story of a young man during the middle ages who went to a monk and said, "I've sinned by telling slanderous tales about someone. What should I do?" The monk replied, "put a feather on every doorstep in town." The young man did just that. He then returned to the monk, wondering if there was anything else he should do. "Go back and pick up all those feathers," the monk told him. The young man replied excitedly, "Thats impossible! By now the wind will have blown them all over town!" Said the monk, "So have your slanderous words become impossible to retrieve."  (p.36)

--Galatians 5:13-15 "You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another"

--Exaggeration erodes trust and credibility, two building blocks of successful relationships. It is a violation of God's will for us. (p. 55)

--Perhaps that the root of our problem [taking the Lord's name in vain]--we don't appreciate the real value of God's name. too often we interpret God from our limited point of view instead of conforming our thoughts to who God says He is. Our shortsighted perceptions of God insult Him by attempting to bring Him down to our level. the result is distorted thinking and idolatry. (p.68)

--(I'll end it here I promise!) All talk is really heart talk. Granted some people's spoken thoughts never seem to reach down to the heart (or up to the brain for that matter). But even empty flattery, thoughtless comments, automatic responses and mindless greetings are reflections of an insincere heart. Christ recognized that all talk is heart talk He said: Either make the tree good its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give and accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:33-37) (p.77)

Betcha didn't think you'd be reading most of the book! LOL, sorry, but there was so many more verses, many more quotes that were so meaningful and helpful to myself, please read it for yourself, then tell me what you thought! Love to you all! Britt