Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Joe Pettigrew, PhD, is an authority on the issues affecting senior executives. He is a highly distinguished leadership consultant, speaker, and founder of Leaderpoint. A former college dean, Pettigrew has consulted with more than half of the nation’s Fortune 500 corporations.

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Living Life in the Zone

Thomas Nelson

Contents

Acknowledgments.....................................................................................................xvPregame Huddle......................................................................................................xviiWhy a Forty-Day Study-Just for Men?.................................................................................xixDay 1: With God Going to Him First.................................................................................2Day 2: With Yourself Having Some Alone Time with God...............................................................9Day 3: With Your Wife A Lifetime of Sacrifice......................................................................17Day 4: With Your Children Talking the Talk-Walking the Walk........................................................25Day 5: With Your Friends Developing Real Friendships...............................................................32Day 6: At Work Would Your Coworkers Be Surprised that You Are a Christian?.........................................39Day 7: Regarding Your Future Living Above It All-or Simply Going with the Flow.....................................46Day 8: Going Against the Trend Staying Faithful in an Unfaithful Generation........................................54Day 9: Loving an Imperfect Woman Rekindling Your Marriage..........................................................61Day 10: Improving Your Sex Life God Invented Sex-It's OK to Enjoy It...............................................69Day 11: Building Up Your Spouse Creating Your Real Dream Team......................................................76Day 12: Don't Look for Trouble Faultfinding Is Not a Sport.........................................................84Day 13: Dealing with Unexpected Baggage Loving the Family that Comes with Your Wife................................91Day 14: I've Got Her Back Loving Your Wife-Unconditionally.........................................................100Day 15: An Important Role Played by Today's Man The Protector......................................................110Day 16: Defining Your Legacy What Do You Want to Leave Your Children?..............................................117Day 17: Dealing with Daily Stress Your Actions Speak Louder than Your Words........................................124Day 18: Home Improvement Making Your House ... God's Home..........................................................131Day 19: Someone Is Always Watching Being an Example-Every Day!.....................................................138Day 20: Making Time for What Is Important You Must Not Leave Your Children to Themselves...........................144Day 21: What You See Is What You Get Being Honest with Your Family.................................................153Day 22: Making Wise Choices Show Me Your Friends; I Will Show You Your Future......................................160Day 23: Can You Keep a Secret? Women Don't Have the Edge on Gossiping..............................................167Day 24: Becoming a Great Friend Keeping Each Other Focused on the Prize............................................174Day 25: Seek to Understand Men Are Better Problem Solvers than Listeners...........................................181Day 26: Iron Sharpens Iron Men Need Other Men as Real Friends......................................................188Day 27: Calling Men Up When Silence Is a Sin.......................................................................195Day 28: Friends Walk in the Same Direction If Your Friends Follow You, Where Will They End Up?.....................202Day 29: Being Real at Work Tired of Trying to Be Someone You're Not?...............................................210Day 30: Living Up to Your Potential Life Is a Terrible Thing to Waste..............................................217Day 31: Determining Your Priorities The Eternal Balancing Act......................................................224Day 32: Letting Go of Your Wants and Needs Knowing that God Will Provide...........................................232Day 33: When Is Enough Really Enough? Is Daily Bread All You Really Need?..........................................239Day 34: Getting Even Is Up to God Everything Will Be Made Right....................................................246Day 35: Climbing the Ladder of Success While Keeping Your Feet on the Ground.......................................253Day 36: Fighting the Battle Delivering the Message.................................................................262Day 37: Becoming the New You Who Do You Really Want to Be?.........................................................269Day 38: No Worries Doing the Right Thing Is Sometimes Difficult....................................................277Day 39: An Audience of One Who Will You Please Today?..............................................................283Day 40: The Day Has Finally Come I Will Now Be a Better Man........................................................291Appendix 1: Discussion Questions....................................................................................299Appendix 2: In The Zone Ministries..................................................................................313Appendix 3: Featured Playmakers.....................................................................................319Notes...............................................................................................................321

Chapter One

With God

Going to Him First

Thought of the Day

God desires to be your first responder, not your last resort.

The Coach's Corner

When things are going well in our lives, we sometimes believe it's of our own doing, when in actuality it's really God working through us. At times, we become bigheaded and prideful and assume we don't need God because everything is just fine. And after we have unsuccessfully tried to solve our problems, fix the situation, or change the outcome, then we think of going to God. But then it hits us! Bad luck strikes in our lives, and we realize that our well-being is totally outside of our control. We realize that we are not in control of our own lives or our own destiny, as we had originally thought. God uses these experiences to draw us closer to Him or at least back to Him. However, when things are going great with our marriage, our kids, our friends, and our work, it's hard to acknowledge that we are not in ultimate control.

True happiness is found only in Jesus and His Word. We are to be a part of the fallen world but not controlled by it.

The bright lights and culture of New York's Madison Avenue work desperately to define who we are and what we need to be happy in this life. If we buy into the hype, then clearly all we need in order to be successful is to stay in a Holiday Inn Express; and all we need to become irresistible to women is to buy AXE cologne. They convince us that a pill or a five-minute workout will have us looking like the ripped guys on TV, and that if we purchase our wife something skimpy from Victoria Secret then ... well, that doesn't work either. So we find ourselves searching for happiness. It seems as though life should be ideal since...