The Short List: In a Life Full of Choices, There Are Only Four That Matter

by Bill Butterworth

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (April 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 141431566X
ISBN-13: 978-1414315669

Description (Publisher Website)
If you like The Purpose Driven Life or Your Best Life Now, you’ll like The Short List. Endorsed by Lee Strobel and John Townsend, The Short List teaches four lessons (through storytelling and Biblical examples) that will help readers to slow down and focus on what really matters in life. It will inspire readers to leave a legacy of lasting significance. It offers big, life-changing ideas presented in a way that’s relatable and not overwhelming.
When you’re working too hard, seeing your family too little, talking to God almost never . . . you’re living a life that has gotten out of sync with what’s really important. The good news? There are four choices you can make today that will have an overwhelmingly positive impact on you, your loved ones, and the legacy you will leave behind. Popular author and speaker Bill Butterworth uses his trademark blend of humorous stories and Scriptural examples to remind you of God’s plan for you . . . and to challenge you to make the four most important choices of your life.

Chapter 1: The Lesson from Little League (The First Important Thing: Love)
Chapter 2: The Lesson from Fourth Period Chemistry (The Second Important Thing: Honesty)
Chapter 3: The Lesson from Big Buttermobile (The Third Important Thing: Faith)
Chapter 4: The Lesson from Cruising with the Doctor (The Fourth Important Thing: Courage)
Includes an afterword on parenting based on Bill’s personal story of his father’s death and eulogy.

Author Bio

One of the most sought-after communicators in the country today, Bill Butterworth combines a Mark Twain–like knack of storytelling with powerful biblical knowledge. He has inspired such clients as Disney, Microsoft, American Express, Citibank, and Verizon, as well as teams in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Bill holds graduate degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary and Florida Atlantic University. He is the author of nearly two dozen books, including When Life Doesn't Turn Out Like You Planned, The Promise of the Second Wind, On-the-Fly Guide to Balancing Work and Life, and On-the-Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams. In 2004, Bill and his wife, Kathi, launched the Butterworth Communicators Institute. They make their home in Southern California.

Review
This book begins with an important question that Butterworth asked himself after he realized how much of the time he was gone when his youngest son was little: `How Will My Children Remember Me?' His answer to himself was "I wanted to leave a legacy of lasting significance for my children and everyone who knew me."

Butterworth then lays out four important values that he believes are basic to leaving the right kind of legacy. He feels that love, honest, faith and courage are vital to leaving that legacy. He then goes on to illustrate each of these qualities (his "shortlist") with a wonderful story about his family. These are stories from everyday life that most readers will be able to identify with. Add to that being a master storyteller with a wonderful wit, and you have a great book that will keep you reading. Each story is followed by Biblical references that illustrate the that trait. Butterworth lays out the basis for how our everyday decisions are expressions of the four traits and how in the end they affect the legacy that we leave.

This would be a great book for parents at all stages of parenting to read because it's never too late to make an impact on our children. It would also be wonderful for small groups to read and study using the discussion guide to kick off some great and hopefully insightful conversations. Hopefully it will lead the reader to create his own "short list".

This is a great little book that really packs a wallop. Keeping our priorities straight when parenting can be so difficult with all the influences and invasions on our time these days. It's good to get a bit of a wake up call to redirect where we're going.

Most of all, Butterworth wants us to get our priorities in order so we don't miss out on the most important things in life!




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