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Time is Running Out to Pre-Order Unstuck (and why does that matter?)

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Unstuck releases Tuesday!

Most people tend to wait to purchase a book until it actually releases — which makes a lot of sense!

But there are two reasons to pre-order it now, in advance of launch.

1. To ensure you get your copy next week
When What’s Best Next came out, Amazon and other bookstores ran out within two days. Zondervan did a quick reprint, but it took about another week for those books to get into stock. By pre-ordering, you’ll ensure you get the book on the release date.

2. You get the bonuses by pre-ordering
The bonuses include 4 additional chapters on how to create your mission on a God-centered foundation that I wanted to include in the book, but which didn’t fit. These chapters go into much more detail than the chapter on mission in What’s Best Next and represent some of my most foundational thinking on the subject. I think you will find them very helpful.

Life planning and mission statements are more popular than ever now; yet, I don’t know of anything that goes into the detail on how to be truly God-centered in our mission and life plan like these chapters. Many of the current books and resources on life planning give a helpful framework, but do not explicitly show how God’s purposes relate to, define, and ought to inform our life plans.

I take all the great recent works on the mission of God, being missional, faith and work integration, the creation mandate, exilic discipleship, the holistic plot line of Scripture, and more, and show how it comes together to help us understand and create our own mission and life plan.

So, if you are so inclined, go pre-order How to Get Unstuck! Then go here to enter your email and claim your bonus chapters.

What Does it Mean to be Stuck?

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This is an excerpt from How to Get Unstuck: Breaking Free from Barriers to Your Productivity, coming May 1. (Pre-order and get 6 bonus chapters and a preview of my next book also.)

How do we break free from the productivity obstacles that get us stuck? First, we need to understand the causes better. At root, we get stuck in our productivity in three chief ways:

  1. We don’t know what God wants us to do.
  2. We know what God wants us to do, but we don’t know how to make it happen.
  3. Obstacles in our way are preventing us from doing it.

We Don’t Know What God Wants Us to Do
Sometimes we aren’t sure what we need to do or want to do at all—with our lives, with our career, with the next project, or even with the next hour. When this happens we may feel disoriented, lacking direction, or just confused (that is, stuck!).

Lack of direction is a very significant—and much overlooked—source of being stuck. For you can’t get where you are going if you don’t know where you are going!
The problem here is lack of vision.

We Don’t Know How to Make It Happen
Very often, even when we do know what we need or want to do, we aren’t sure how to do it. We aren’t sure what the path is—or how to chart the path and move along it. This is like being in the water and seeing your destination, but not knowing how to swim. You know where you want to go but can’t move yourself there. This, also, is a much-overlooked cause of being stuck.

Here you can feel trapped stuck in the most literal sense. Stuck in the mud and immobilized. The problem here is lack of planning and execution.

Obstacles Are in Our Way
Beyond that, even when we do start on the path, obstacles threaten to throw us off. These obstacles often take the form of our being overscheduled, overbusy, and overwhelmed. And, interestingly, sometimes fear is an obstacle. One of the biggest obstacles is fear of risk—or even fear of success.

This is the problem of obstacles in the way. We know how to execute and may even be pretty good at it, but our execution has holes. We are more vulnerable to obstacles than we need to be. This is the most recognized cause of getting stuck, and it needs to be addressed. But it can’t be addressed first, because often the obstacles are actually symptoms of being stuck in one of the first two ways.

Summing It Up
We are stuck when we don’t know what we want or can’t accomplish what we want. Not knowing what we want is the problem of lack of vision. Not being able to accomplish what we want breaks down into two subproblems: we don’t know how to execute, and obstacles are in the way.

Lack of vision, lack of execution, and obstacles—those are what get us stuck.

Why Do You Need the Bonus Chapters to Unstuck?

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If you pre-order unstuck, you get six bonus chapters plus the first five chapters of my next book after this.

Why do these bonus chapters matter? It’s not just some nice extra content (though that matters). Four of the bonus chapters take you through the process, in detail, on how to develop a vision for your life on the basis of the Scriptures.

This is something I wanted to include in Unstuck, but it didn’t fit. Hence, we are making them available as bonus chapters.

I was able to keep in Unstuck the chapter on the importance of vision. The natural application of this is to then begin developing your vision. That’s what these bonus chapters enable you to do, and so in a sense they “complete” the book.

The most important thing these chapters do in that regard is look at what the Scriptures teach about God’s mission for us. Why did God create us? What is our purpose here? What values does the Scripture say should govern our lives? What is God’s “BHAG,” and what should our life goal be in light of that?

I’ve found it can be hard, and sometimes almost futile, to develop your life mission. Unless you look deeply at what the Scriptures have to say. That’s when it really starts to connect and you are able to develop a satisfying and useful vision that is based on reliable, motivating, and life-giving truth.

So, pre-order unstuck and get those four chapters, as well as several other bonuses, and may the Lord bless your work in refining or developing your life vision!

Pre-Order How to Get Unstuck!

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My second book releases May 1st. I can’t wait! As you’ve seen in previous posts, it’s called How to Get Unstuck: Breaking Free from Barriers to Your Productivity. 

Instead of waiting until release day to order it, it’s best to pre-order it now. If you do, you’ll get six bonuses chapters that didn’t fit in the book, as well as the first five chapters of my book after this one (yes, that’s already done as well—very glad!).

About the Book

It was my editor’s initial idea to do this book. I got stuck writing my first book, What’s Best Next. But, I figured things out and got it done. Shortly after it released, he said “why don’t you do a book for us on getting unstuck?” I said “that sounds like a great idea.”

In addition to having been stuck before myself (in many ways), this is something all of us have to deal with. Whether we are doing big things like launching a company or fighting global poverty, or so-called everyday things like seeking to excel in our jobs and balance our lives, all of us get stuck sometimes. There are barriers to our productivity, and the ride is often bumpier than we’d like.

My initial strategy to getting stuck was outright perseverance. I just stuck with it. But that’s not the most effective approach. It easily leads to unbalance.

So in this book I apply the principles of personal effectiveness to solve the problem of how we can get unstuck in how we get things done—overcoming the obstacles of busyness, lack of balance, lack of direction, messy workspaces, leadership sticking points, distraction, overloaded task lists, lack of preparation, wrong understandings of “the good life,” plans that don’t work, and much more.

How to Get Unstuck dovetails well with What’s Best Next. First, whereas WBN sought to give a complete productivity system, Unstuck focuses more specifically on overcoming obstacles. So it is a follow-up on a more specific productivity issue. Second, Unstuck brings in principles that are super important but didn’t fit in What’s Best Next or that I wish I could have expanded on in there. Both books stand on their own with unique information and complement one another.

I’m very excited about How to Get Unstuck and hope you enjoy it and that it helps you do God-centered work for the good of others, with less friction and frustration.

Claiming Your Bonuses

Once you order the book, such as at Amazon, go to the book’s website, scroll down, and enter your email and order or receipt number. Then you will be taken to a page where you can download the six bonus chapters and the first five chapters of my next book, Effective in Doing Good. 

So, pre-order Unstuck, claim the bonuses, and spread the word!

Apply to Join the Launch Team for My Next Book!

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My next book, How to Get Unstuck: Breaking Free from Barriers to Your Productivity, releases May 1.

We are now creating the launch team, and would love to have you be a part of it!

What You’ll Get

As a launch team member, you will receive:

  • An advanced reader copy of the book (you will receive a portion of the beginning of the book via email once the team has been selected).
  • Access to an exclusive Facebook group for discussion and collaboration (along with several videos and perhaps Facebook Lives that I will do)
  • Regular updates via email, including exclusive content, videos, etc.
  • Information about upcoming events, interviews, etc.

What You’ll Do

We expect launch team members to:

  • Read the book upon receipt
  • Discuss & engage with the book’s themes and content via social media
  • Leave a review (Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, ChristianBook.com, etc.)
  • Share about the book with their friends and followers in person or via social media (we’ll equip you with tools to share)

How to Sign Up

Sign up to join the launch team here, and we’ll select 300 applicants!

Coming in April: My Next Book

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I have some great news. My second book comes out this April!

It is called How to Get Unstuck: Breaking Free from Barriers to Your Productivity. 

Whereas What’s Best Next seeks to give a comprehensive productivity approach, Unstuck focuses on overcoming obstacles — and what you need to do in order to prevent some obstacles from happening in the first place. In doing so, it brings in many principles I didn’t have room for in What’s Best Next (such as urgency and importance) and puts them into the overall framework of personal effectiveness.

I will have much more to say about How to Get Unstuck in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, you can already pre-order it. Pre-orders are now a big deal in helping Amazon and other booksellers anticipate demand, so pre-ordering would be a great way to help get the book off to a great launch!

Sign Up for Productivity Coaching

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How do you get from where you are to where you want to be?

Many times there are obstacles in the way. You might know the goals you want to accomplish, but not be sure how to navigate the obstacles that plague our productivity. How do you overcome things like the urgency addiction, reactive workflow, procrastination, and distraction? What is the best way to manage your workflow, email, and meetings?

Or you might be stuck because you don’t have clarity on where you’re seeking to go at all. You might feel unbalanced in your life, or have a lack of direction and purpose. Or you might wonder what it means to truly do your work in a gospel-centered way–which is one of the most important issues surrounding our work today.

We have found that coaching is one of the best ways to overcome whatever productivity challenges you may be facing. Coaching helps you go further, faster. Why? Because of the outside input and encouragement that comes from a trained coach. Andy Stanley summarizes this so well in his book The Next Generation Leader: 

You may be good. You may even be better than anyone else. But without outside input you will never be as good as you could be. We all do better when somebody is watching and evaluating.

That’s why we offer productivity coaching. We help you develop the confidence and skills to overcome the obstacles to your productivity and make the impact you are called to make–and do it in a God-centered, gospel-driven way.

Our coaching combines the What’s Best Next methodology with the approach to coaching taught at Columbia University Coaching, both of which are driven by research and evidence from global thought leaders and practitioners. It is professional productivity coaching to help you reach the next level.

We offer three types of coaching:

  • One-on-one coaching
  • Team coaching
  • Learn to coach

You can learn more about each of these options on our coaching page. And if you’re interested, contact us for more information on availability and costs.

Introducing the Updated What’s Best Next

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It’s been awhile! We have redesigned our website and made updates to what we are doing as an organization that we’d love to share with you.

Website Updates

The first thing you might notice is that we now have a much-improved graphic look and organization for the site, making it easier to find and read content you are interested in.

The website also gives more information on What’s Best Next as an organization in the About section. Read especially about our mission, values, and what we mean by “gospel-driven productivity.”

You can also now more easily buy books in the store, and we have more products to come.

I am getting back to blogging again, so there will be new free content coming regularly again. Also, we will be posting new articles, messages, and videos to build out the resources section even more fully for you.

Updates on the Organization

As an organization, we have refined what we are about. Here is what we do: we provide resources and training to help you be more effective, in a God-centered way.

That’s what we do. Why do we do it? So that you can do your work with more peace of mind, greater effectiveness, and in a way that honors God and serves others most fully. That’s where the greatest fulfillment is found!

We will share more with you in the coming weeks on the new services and products we will be offering. To start, here are two key things we’re focusing on right now: workshops and coaching.

Book a Workshop

I’ve been doing keynote speaking and workshops for a while, but haven’t done much to promote them. Now we’re making it more widely known. Check out the speaking page to learn more about how to bring me in for staff training or another workshop.

Sign Up for Productivity Coaching

This is perhaps the biggest new thing. We have provided coaching for a while, but now we are giving it greater focus. We love doing it and have been seeing lives changed.

In a nutshell, reading and doing training are great. But the way to really take things to the next level is to apply gospel-driven productivity with the help of a coach. As Andy Stanley has said,

You will never maximize your potential in any area without coaching. It is impossible. You may be good. You may even be better than anyone else. But without outside input you will never be as good as you could be. We all do better when somebody is watching and evaluating (The Next Generation Leader, 104).

So we’re offering coaching and have begun training other coaches to expand our coaching over the next year. Learn more and let us know if you are interested!

Thanks for being a great website community over the years. We are excited about these new updates and offerings and can’t wait to serve you more fully.

A New Status Update

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We have been working hard behind the scenes to retool What’s Best Next for greater effectiveness.

Look for new content to begin rolling out next week, along with the launch of our new website, and a greater emphasis on our coaching and other services. We will also have updates on upcoming books, courses, and more!

Status Report

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We haven’t been posting new content as Matt focuses on finishing his next book and our small team works on some expanded coaching and training options.

We look forward to sharing more about these as soon as we can. In the meantime, we continue to schedule one-on-one coaching sessions.