Exceptional You! By Victoria Osteen

Exceptional You! was exactly the book I needed in the month of April.  I was a part of the Hachette FaithWorks book club for this book and there were interesting discussions of it online.  The subtitle of the book is “7 Ways to Live Encouraged, Empowered, and Intentional.” 

Victoria Osteen is the co-pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston with her husband Joel.  In this book, Victoria discusses taking a step back and thinking about yourself in a new way.  She discusses how God would want you to not only strengthen your faith, but for you to love yourself and put your best step forward.  She discusses seven ways to become extraordinary:

1.   Know that You are Chosen
2.  Lift Up Your Eyes   
3.  Keep Your Memory Box Full 
4. Travel Light
5.  Love Well
6.  Live in the Now 
7.  Power Up

The book was broken up into these seven sections. Each section had a couple of chapters on how to put this practice into use in your life.  Each chapter had a personal story in Victoria’s life, an example from the Bible, and then thoughts on how you can implement it in your life.  Each chapter ended in “Exceptional Thoughts” which were highlights from the chapter that you can use as a list to think about implementing in your own life.  An example exceptional thought is “When opportunities come my way, I won’t let my fear of failure or my insecurities or my lack of experiences drown out the yes God put in my heart.  I will stay connected to Christ, my power source, and walk through the doors of opportunity He opens for me.”

I was surprisingly laid off from my job in March.  I had been recruited by the company a year before, and had just received a performance raise in January.  I was busy at work and didn’t see it coming.  Overall my section of the company was down in numbers so they let me go very abruptly.  I was feeling very down on myself, but reading this boast helped me to think positively about myself.  It was a great book for this trying time in my life.

Favorite Quotes:

“Reaching new levels isn’t always easy.  Sometimes God will use people, new experiences, and even uncharted territory to nudge us out of our comfort zone.”

Honestly, I bookmarked about every page of this book, there were so many good inspirational quotes.  I’m not going to type them all here – I suggest reading this one yourself!

Overall, Exceptional You!  is a book that helps you to take a good look at yourself and how you can put your best foot forward using your faith as a guide.

Book Source:  Review Copy as a Part of the Hachette FaithWorks Book Club