The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life

by Tommy Newberry

Tommy Newberry's message is simple, relevant, powerful, and timeless. In this New York Times bestseller, Newberry takes a single biblical principle and teaches us how one simple truth can magnify the joy we experience in our marriage, with our parenting, and in our life as a whole. Unfortunately, we live in a society bent on nursing old wounds and highlighting what is wrong with just about everything. As a result, we have grown accustomed to viewing the world, our lives, and ourselves through a lens of negativity—and that negativity stands in direct contrast to the passionate, purpose-filled people God wants us to be. This is where The 4:8 Principle grabs our attention. First, the author skillfully persuades us to acknowledge the link between the thoughts we choose to think and the joy we experience. Next, he shows us how we can grow our potential for joy by refusing to dwell upon the problems and pressures that are enduring and inevitable. Finally, he challenges us to pay the price of joy by becoming “extraordinarily picky” about what we read, watch, and listen to on a consistent basis. The strength of the book, though, is in Newberry's ability to clearly explain how to put this principle into daily practice through a series of quick, easy and even fun adjustments. The 4:8 Principle is loaded with specific suggestions and helpful advice for going beyond the ordinary and experiencing life as it was meant to be.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Self Help, Business, Faith, Personal Development, Spirituality

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 16, 2006

About the author

Tommy Newberry is the founder and head coach of The 1% Club, an organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and their families maximize their full potential. As a pioneer in the life-coaching field since 1991, he has equipped business leaders in more than thirty industries to work less, earn more, and enjoy greater satisfaction with the right accomplishments. Tommy is the author of "The 4:8 Principle," "Success Is Not an Accident," "366 Days of Wisdom and Inspiration," and numerous audio programs, including the best-selling "virtual coaching" series Success Is Not an Accident: Secrets of the Top 1%. Known for his blunt, highly practical, and no-nonsense coaching style, Tommy has earned the title of America's Success Coach. His passion for developing the whole person is clearly evident throughout his live workshops, keynote presentations, books, and audio courses. Tommy's annual Couples Planning Retreat takes world-class planning tools into the family realm, showing husbands and wives how to design a more balanced, simplified, and enriching life together. An avid goal setter, Tommy has earned certification as an emergency medical technician and PADI rescue diver. He has also earned a black belt in the Korean martial art of choi kwang do. Tommy lives in Atlanta with his wife, Kristin, and their three boys.

Reviews

[May Spangler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks Pam!
P. 6: "Joy is not a distant destination at which you arrive; rather it's a path you choose to travel each day." Sounds like a good start!

A few days later: I just finished the book, and I made so many marks in margins I don't know where to start. Yet, I loved the chapter on gratitude most. Listen to this: "Gratitude involves channeling your energy and attention toward what is present and working rather than what's absent and ineffective [...:] Gratitude is an effective antidote to most negative emotions. You cannot experience gratitude and hostility at the same time; you have to make a choice. Which one is it going to be?" Reading this chapter, I realized gratitude is something I often feel in my life, but never thought to intentionally cultivate. I like the idea.
Then, there is a list of obstacles to gratitude, one being worry (and it was those worries that prompted my discussion with Pam, and her sweet gift of this book). I loved that quote from Mark Twain: "I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." That's one worth memorizing!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say I'm a positive person, but that is a conscious choice I've made. I think that naturally, because of our sin-state, we are negative people, but some choose to fight to be positive. I work really hard to find the good in situations, not denying the bad, but refusing to focus on it. There are times and days when it builds up and my journal gets and earful, but usually I am pretty successful, I think.

This book challenged me though in some ways that I didn't even realize I was being negative. I have been thinking some really negative thoughts about myself, under the guise of thinking that they were true. Well, they may be true, but that doesn't mean I have to think them!

I thought I was a positive person who generally thought positive thoughts, but I now see I have areas that can be much improved. Another thing I want to work on is what and how I speak to others. I don't always speak positively into other people's lives.

Great book for positive and negative thinkers alike!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Based on Philippians 4:8, this book helps you understand how what you think and what you fill your mind with (or what you DWELL on) has a profound impact on your entire life -- both in cause and effect ways and this is how God designed it to be. It's amazing to actually sit back and ponder the gunk that we fill our minds and hearts with, every single day -- it's no wonder we are a spiritually dull and feeble people. We are not allowing God to tap into our best possible spiritual gifts because we are stunting our maximum potential by filling our thought life with "trash." Further, we have taught ourselves to stew over and over again on unclean thoughts, not from God. This creates a cycle of negativity and guilt that eventually has a self-fulfilling prophesy in the workings of our lives.
Bottom line: you are what you think!

[Cathy Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my third time to read this book. It was life changing the first time, and I still picked up more. I highly recommend it. You CAN change your mindset, thoughts, and outlook to have a more joy filled life.

[Ashley Provencher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it is based off of one of my favorite Bible verses:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬

The chapters dragged on a little bit but the overall message was great!

[Sydney Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a Bible study that I am in and I thought it was really good for some takeaways and applications for my life, but I felt like the author was really repetitive.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd probably give this a 2.5. The first half of the book seems to really lean into the prosperity gospel & teaches that if you think good thoughts, then good things will happen to you. It sets up a way of thinking that bad things happen because I have done something wrong (had negative thoughts). The second half of the book does provide some practical advice (via thought questions) that help you develop a more positive attitude. There are many things that I disagree with in the book & its philosophies, but there are a few nuggets of useful information.

[Sharilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has some very powerful examples that have literally changed my life regarding the way I view things, particularly when challeneges arise. The 4:8 principle is based on Phillipians 4:8 . . . anything that is virtuous, lovely . . . think on these things. In other words-- THOUGHTS matter!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very practical, Biblically-based guide that describes how to build joy in your life by controlling how you think about and react to the situations of your life. It's like the power of positive thinking, but with a Biblical basis. Since I subscribe to this philosophy, it was very interesting to see how it relates to my spiritual beliefs. There is a lot in the book, and it would be very difficult to live up to the goals completely, but that is part of the book too!

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

The exegesis is poor, leading to terrible hermeneutics. This would be a great book for the secular crowd, since it is very egocentric; however, for the Christian this book has terribly self-centered theology with concepts foreign to the Word of God. If you are a Christian, you're much better served learning solid transformational theology than reading or applying this book.

[Gina Herald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead on about how we allow our thoughts to take us in the wrong direction if we don't focus on them and focus on the 4:8 principle. Another great book to parter with a journal.

[Lily Jansa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit, I had serious doubts when I picked this book up. Hesitation about how 'fluffy' it would be amongst others. I had to enlist one of my favorite mottos while reading it - "you get out what you put in"! I tried to change my attitude and learn something even if I didn't agree with everything and hey, I would even recommend! There is something profound about our thought patterns and I appreciated this book's encouragement to reflect and act upon what Paul says in Philippians 4:8.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” Philippians 4:8 KJV

Notes:
“Our human nature, with an assist from modern culture, promotes the idea that solutions must be deep and complicated to be valuable. In most cases, nothing could be further from the truth. Lasting solutions are surprisingly simple.” P.7

“The 4:8 Principle challenges you to approach the inevitable setbacks and sorrows of life with a positive and forward-looking perspective that allows you to deal with them effectively. Instead of exhaustively redescrbiing your problems, the 4:8 Principle counsels you to marinate in the solutions to your problems.” p.32

4:8 Questions - extract a positive response:
1. What are five things I am thankful for right now?
2. What are five of my strengths or positive traits?
3. What are five of my best achievements so far?
4. Who are the five people that love me the most?
5. What five things am I looking forward to in the next seven days?

“Feelings are not the gospel and are rarely cited in Scripture as a basis for taking action. Left unchecked, your feelings tend to drag you into the worst aspects of human nature, namely, shifting your attention and outlook from the long term to the short term.” P.111

“Starve negative emotions by tuning in to the big picture, by asking:
1. What is your goal here?
2. What outcome do you want in this situation?
3. What’s your vision?
4. Will the negative state that you’re in move you in that direction, or will it move you in another direction?” p.114


“As your coach, I want to encourage you to start living more consistently with a central law of the Bible: Whatever you sow, you shall also reap (see Galations 6:7). Put another way, “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV)” p.133

“How can you minimize the damage if thee is no way to eliminate the exposure?” P.153

“Gratitude is a conviction, a practice, and a discipline.” P.173

“Exceptional gratitude means expressing thankfulness for the little things in life that aren’t so little, such as smiles, hugs, music, indoor plumbing, air-conditioning, clean water, science, education, seat belts, antibiotics, our immune system, and second chances, just to scratch the surface” p.183

[Janae Cashen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to change their mindset. This book equips you with probing questions and wisdom to take accountability and relentlessly choose joy in all circumstances.

[John Dembeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and practical for shifting our mindset and pressing into a joy filled life.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For so many reasons, I loved this book. One of my favorite quotes from it was “Those who experience more joy don’t necessarily have more to be joyful about; they just think differently.” Such a great reminder of the power of being intentional with our thoughts. Change your thoughts and you change your world. Also loved that the basis of the book is based on Philippians 4:8.
Highly recommend this one!

[PollyAnna Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philippians 4:8: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (NLT)

Tommy Newberry's book THE 4:8 PRINCIPLE: THE SECRET TO A JOY-FILLED LIFE doesn't really say much of anything that anyone who has been a believer for as long as I have hasn't already heard before. With that being said, though, I want to clarify that because the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God, any time we can study God's Word does not return void. It is ALWAYS valuable to a person's Christian walk with the Lord to be reminded of such wonderful truths.

It is so easy to get caught up in the daily activities of LIFE as well as just the daily trials of life. When we get too far into them without keeping the Word the main focus, it is also easy to begin thinking of things that aren't true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, or admirable. We begin thinking and believing lies as well as negative thoughts about our own lives as well as about the lives of the people around us.

I know that I have let hurts as well as just the day-to-day dealings with those around me to affect me negatively so that I've begun to think and feel negatively towards certain people in my life--important people. As I've read through Newberry's book, I've thought about these negative thoughts and feelings and where they've come. The reality is that they've come from a bad, negative place.

Have my feelings been hurt? Absolutely.

Do the people who have hurt my feelings deserve for me to think about them as being terrible, awful people who deserve to have terrible awful things happen to them? Not in the slightest.

But I have let negative thinking get in the way of dealing with the problems, the hurts, and finding my way to forgiveness. I hope and pray that I am now at a place where my thoughts have been turned around and that these relationships will be as well.

[Mark Bolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great self-help book about using your faith to better yourself. I highly recommend it.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A God-based book on the Law of Attraction. Loved it!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could be one of those life changing books. There's so much in such a small book. I am definitely planning to read again.

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete secular view of on thinking. While it tries to explain the Biblical principle of Phil 4:8 it misses it by a long shot.

[Becky Giovagnoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best, most practical books I've ever read. This book is a life-changer for me.

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good principles but it's been done before and by better authors.

[Paige Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was kinda weird reading a book about living a joy filled life during one of the hardest and most joyless weeks in recently memory. It felt like every day as soon as I finished reading this I totally forgot what I had read and just got sucked back into the quagmire of life’s problems. But at certain points throughout the day, a faint whisper would sound in the back of my mind, gently reminding me that i’l get more of what I focus on - so it’d be worthwhile to take a minute to intentionally choose what I let my houghts dwell on.
If you decide to pick up this book, I would give you fair warning that the same sort of thing will probably happen to you. You’ll be smack in the middle of reading it thinking how it doesn’t work, it’s not really that great anyways, and maybe you should just give up and not even finish it. If that does happen, please push through it and give yourself the gift of finishing this book and then implementing what it teaches in whatever ways you can.
For me, that has looked like just pulling out one question from each of the sections and committing to work through those daily. It’s a small step. But over time, small things add up to a life. And no matter how hard it is or how much I’m not feeling it at any given moment, I want to take the small steps that have the greatest potential of adding up to a great life.

Favorite Quote: “Think the thoughts you would think if you trusted God’s promises completely.”

[MissyR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will live on my bookshelf and I hope to read through it periodically. A bright spotlight was shone on bad habits of thought, and the convicting way the author wrote had me drawn in to change my thought patterns. An encouraging and Biblical book.

Some of the reviews mention the prosperity gospel being preached in this book, as well as manifesting your own life. I am not the deepest thinker, so filter it for yourself. I wondered too at the start if it was quite making sense to me, to focus on the best version of yourself and you will attract good things, but I felt like as the book went on it settled out for me. Never does the author deny that bad things happen (accidents, trauma, disease, etc) but he just places all the emphasis on what we are going to focus on thru it all.

This book has definitely helped me to live with more joy. My favorite quote "You must forgive everyone in your life, past or present, for all the silly, spineless, nutty, nasty, gutless, cruel, spiteful, harmful, insensitive things they have ever done to you, both real and imagined... Because no one is perfect, you must either develop an ultrathick skin or become a perpetual forgiveness machine-maybe even both."

[Baishali · Rating 4 out of 5]

. The 4:8 Principle challenges you to approach the inevitable setbacks and sorrows of life
with a positive and forward-looking perspective that allows you to deal with
them effectively. It states that whatever you give your attention to
expands in your experience. If you dwell on your strengths, your blessings, your
goals, and all the people who love you, then you will attract even more
blessings, even more love, and even more accomplishments Some great aphorisms from this book.
The secret conversations you hold in the privacy of your own mind are shaping your
destiny, little by little.
As relentlessly as you may try, you cannot think one thing and experience something else.
If you dwell on your strengths, your blessings, your goals, and all the people who love you, then you will attract even more blessings, even more love, and even more accomplishments.
The more frequently you think about something, the tighter the grip.
Start programming your mind by first disciplining your
mouth.

[Paige Meeks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book. It reflected more of a secular self help book with out of context scripture more than anything.
I found many times what the author was describing in the book matched closely with the idea of manifesting what you want. This isn’t a biblical practice.
Another major flaw I noticed was the authors misunderstanding of how the brain works and how mental health works.
A majority of this book was “think happy thoughts, stop being negative, and you’ll be joyful” as well as “dwell on the things you want and you’ll get them”
If you are a christian looking for a book that focuses more on who Jesus is and why he alone is where our joy comes from, then I would not recommend this book.

[Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on the recommendation of a mentor over a decade ago. I have purchased multiple copies to hand out and have a couple on my shelf for reference. This is a great book! The idea is a marriage of an idea in the book of Philippians from the Bible and the neuroscience of reshaping our neuro-pathways.

It includes material from both the faith and scientific world, but the author manages to avoid the drudgery that can overcome both fields. The book is an easy read and makes a strong case for an easily adaptable concept that could change how the reader experiences the life around them.

[Sherriz Mideva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same things we read in all self help books just has bible verses sprinkled through it. Some chapters were really interesting though so I won’t completely discredit it. I was looking for more Bible based books and this kind of scratched that itch. It felt a lot like a law of attraction kind of thing though. I don’t know. I’m on the line. Didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either. Took me ages to finish yet it’s such a tiny book. That should say something about it 🤷🏾‍♀️

[Rick Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book several times, including when our community group went through it. It can change your life in a very good way. I know quite a few people whose lives have improved after reading The 4:8 Principle. One of my favorite ideas in the book is that we must become perpetual forgiveness machines. This one concept alone can be so freeing and launch you into a new walk with Jesus and others.

Thank you, Tommy.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! There aren’t a ton of books on joy so I was excited to read it. I don’t agree 100% with some of the things he says, but overall it has lots of good content. I appreciate the tips on staying positive in a world of over stimulation and negative spins. I also liked that he gave a large connection between gratitude and joy- which I discuss in my own book about joyfulness!