Tired of dreaming about changing your life? Ready to change it? You came to the right place.
Jason Jaggard has developed a simple, direct way to practice the art of self-challenge. It requires a willingness to take healthy risks and is energized by the involvement of a small group of fellow risk-takers.
Here are just a few of the Spark insights that lead to lasting · More resources are available to you than you realize. · Living a changed life works best when a few friends get involved. · When you relearn what “good” is, you experience more goodness in your life. · Taking a healthy risk is always worth it, even if you fail.
When you practice the art of self-challenge, you notice that your life and the world around you start changing for the better. It involves doing the one thing that only you can take responsibility for your life. So go ahead and take your first open this book and start reading.
WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group sent me a complimentary copy of this book for my review.
I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church and we would frequently sing the hymn Pass It On – “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…” Little did I know the concept of “spark” would take on a whole new meaning in my later years. In his new book Spark, author Jason Jaggard defines a spark as “…a choice. A small risk. It’s a flash of light that brightens the everyday routine of your life. It’s a decision to move from inaction to action.” A spark is finding something that would make you, someone else, or the world as a whole a better place and actually doing that thing.
Jason Jaggard in his new book, “Spark” published by Waterbrook Press shows us how to Transform Your World, One Small Risk at a Time.
From the Back cover: Unleash change in the world. One Spark at a time.
Ask yourself this: What’s the one thing I could do this week to have an impact on the world around me?
Does the idea of acting on the answer to that question get your heart beating a little faster? If so, you’re probably connecting with an explosive opportunity. God has placed enormous potential inside you for a lifestyle of risk-taking that leads to creative joy, love, strength and peace. All of that needs to be unleashed, one spark at a time.
As Jason Jaggard explains, change begins when you question much of what you’ve been taught and start looking at life in a different way.
Consider these questions:
What does it look like to intentionally take healthy risks? Why do the standard ways that we learn things almost always leave us unchanged? How can we learn in new ways so we can more rapidly become who we are meant to be?
If you desire to do what it takes to change your life and the world, use Spark as a catalyst to start today. Partner with God and others to accomplish something beautiful that serves humanity. When you step outside your comfort zone, your experience of life will become more vibrant and full… Your world will begin to change. One Spark at a time. The Dictionary defines “Spark” as, “an ignited or fiery particle such as is thrown off by burning wood or produced by one hard body striking against another.” or “anything that activates or stimulates; inspiration or catalyst.” Jason Jaggard feels that all we have to do is take one small risk and that one action will be the spark that will ignite our world and be the catalyst for change in ourselves. We manage to get comfortable in our routines. We do practically the same things every day, we may be busy but we are busy in our comfortable routines. We need to create a spark that will ignite something not only in our lives but in the world around us. Jason Jaggard walks us through what we need to know so that change can begin in us and the sparks can ignite. To start the car we need a spark. To get us going in a new manner we also need a spark. Jason Jaggard does a much better job in his book, “Spark” than I ever will. I recommend reading this book and experiencing how to spark new into our lives. You will be blessed. I recommend this book highly!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Jason Jaggard wrote this fun, easy, lite-humored book to motivate the reader to take small risks in their lives and see what magic is sparked from those risks.
I picked up this book after meeting the author randomly in a restaurant. We had a really fun, engaging, laughter-filled conversation, and after he casually mentioned he wrote his first book at 25 years old, I went home, looked him up and bought Spark. It reads well, is entertaining, and is a call to action on the reader to try stepping out of their comfort zone to participate in life with a small risk, compassion, and optimism.
Jaggard makes several references to God, Jesus, and the rest of the crew, but instead of coming across as preachy, he builds off these references and incorporates the biblical messages into our modern, agnostic world. I identify as atheist, but I was not the slightest bit bothered by his biblical referencing-- I actually feel he did a great job in explaining compassion and love and goodness, as the Bible calls for in its followers, making it all relevant with or without God as a motivating factor.
Within the first few pages of the book, I could see why he and I had such a great initial conversation. He had asked me so many questions about myself, my motivations, what risks I've taken for myself and others, and I had very easily opened up in talking to him, and I found him extremely encouraging on such a friendly, optimistic level. If I had found his book 10-15 years ago (its not that old), I might have taken more risks earlier in my life.
The concept described in this book is great, deserving of 5βs. However, the format of the book felt condescending. The point the author is trying to make is spread out to fill pages to make a book. He keeps repeating the same information but in a different context. He explains with religious stories, stories about himself and stories of people he has worked with. Growing up, my Mom pounded into my head about problem solving. Find my own way to fix a problem instead of asking for help. I felt like the author was pounding take a risk into my head.
The author mentioned in the book that Spark Groups do not have a lot of literature or handouts to give to the leaders of these groups because the context is yourself taking a risk. If there is not enough information to give to leaders of these groups, then the book is filled with a lot of nothing. Then, as if the reader still does not get it, the author adds pictures. That is where he pretty much lost me as a reader. For someone who wants us to take a risk and do something good that makes us or life better, he makes me feel like the kid in a classroom that keeps repeating, "I don't get it!"
I was interested to read this, and enjoyed it even more as I read it.
Risk is something I'm comfortable but others in my family aren't, so as I read the book I felt more and more that I should give it to others to read. It is about the positive role that good risk plays in a joyful life.
Easy to read, I finished it quickly; the enjoyment of the content impelled me to keep going.
I was not expecting the book to be Christian, and it is nominally so. I think a non-Christian would have no problems with the content because while it is based on Christian principles there is nothing objectionable to the non-Christian.
Mr. Jaggard has developed something called Spark groups to encourage positive risk-taking, and this book touches on the groups, and provides an introduction to the concepts in the groups. But one need not be interested in the groups to enjoy and benefit from the book.
A wonderful little book that says the same thing over and over again. And it is something that needs to be said, a challenge to launch out into a lifestyle of active risk to make the world and ourselves better. A simple concept, but amazing when applied. What if our default mode was to run towards our fears rather than away from them? What if we began practicing the "art of self challenge"? This book seems to written to a particular audience (spiritual but perhaps disillusioned with religion), and some may complain about the spacing, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking my student leaders through the book.
Side note: I went to high school with Jason and have followed his projects with great interest. It totally makes sense to me that this is what he is doing with his life. Thanks for the inspiration, Jason!
This is a book about taking risks. It opens by asking the two questions:
1. What's one risk I can take this week that will make me a better person?
and
2. What's one risk I can take this week that will make the world a better place?
The author has created a small group setting called Spark Groups in which the members challenge each other to tackle these two questions each week. Unlike other small groups, Spark Groups are meant to be done over a shorter period of time (such as 10 weeks).
Near the end of the book, Jaggard correlates the well-known combination of "Faith. Hope. Love." to "Risk. Compassion. Optimism." It is interesting the second set of words can be seen as a more modern version of the original set.
This book mistakenly looked like an easy read, and it was certainly not difficult in terms of obscure or weighty language, but it will definitely change tour mindset! Loved it!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Waterbrook at a leadership conference, not in exchange for review. Thoughts and opinions are completely my own.
I LOVED this book. Not only is it an interesting, sometimes amusing read, but it is packed full of useful information. It really changed my perspective on the talents that God has given me and my responsibility to make full use of them. The method is simple (not easy, but simple) and I'm excited to go out and start taking more risks to make the world a better place. This one is worth the read for anyone who wants to improve their own life and the lives of those around them.