Title: Impactivity: How to Set the World on Fire Without Burning Out
Author: Tracy Higley
I hardly ever read non-fiction, but I gave this one a try and really enjoyed it. This was a most interesting read. I’m not sure all of it applies to me, but I’d very much like to put to use the things that do… I’m currently rating it 4 stars since not all of it applied and I don’t know if it will help, but I hope to find it even more helpful, and if I do I’ll be revising my rating and review at some point. Many of the ideas seem very insightful ones which I’m looking forward to studying deeper and hopefully using myself.
It’s a common thing to read “self-help” books of “advice”… on how to rediscover purpose in life, follow your dream, organize your time and energy, declutter your life, dig deeper into discovering what God has planned for you in your Adventure and what you need to do to throw yourself whole-heartedly into embracing a life of impactful joy and purpose…
This small book is a mix of all those things.
There is often a tendency (especially in this procrastinator) to reread, carefully study, and plan to put those thoughts in that advice book into use… but then to put it off, forget it, let it slide, and return again to the continual frustrations of a life full of stress and lack of focus. It happens to me all the time. It may even happen this time. But I would very much like to implement many of the steps in this book, so I hope to reread it and think about these things further.
It’s a quick read, and written in a gripping, easy to grasp sort of way. It’s from a Christian perspective, which I was glad of, and hit a perfect balance of pointing out that without God at the center, the rest will fall apart, but also of giving helpful practical advice. The chapters of advice are interspersed with chapters of an ongoing fictional story where a group of friends go over the advice as presented to them by another woman–all of which had a sort of richness to it in its writing as well. So it’s half advice, half story, which was rather fun and different-seeming.
This quote from one of the fiction-to-illustrate chapters made me smile:
Victoria nodded. “Adventures are time-consuming. It’s part of what makes them so adventurous.”
Julia felt a little pity at Melanie’s expression. Victoria did have a tendency to say things that sounded more like Gandalf than a real person.
—Impactivity by Tracy Higley
I found this book for free when it came out, so it’s not exactly as though I invested anything into it besides the time to read it, but I’d say it may be worth it for others to pick it up if you’re struggling as I am with a chaotic mass of guilt and todo lists and struggling to find what it is that’s my “dream” and wondering how to escape from the stress of daily life’s vicious cycles. Again, I’ve no idea if these things actually WORK, as I’ve not implemented them. But it may be worth a try.
(And wow, directly after finishing reading the book, I just wrote an entire review-ish thing when I only meant to write a couple of sentences, and I generally procrastinate over writing reviews… This is fascinating. I guess I had more to say about it than I thought?)
Dreams are worth following, aren’t they? Even when one doesn’t know what that dream is yet? Which means it may be time to find out?
(I also may or may not have a certain “I have a Dream” song from “Tangled” skipping around in my head now… Ahem.)
Genre/Category: Non-Fiction
Age Group: Anyone
Published: 2016
Pages: 117 pages
Series?: Followed by five more Impactivity guide booklets
When Read: January 23-24, 2015
Other Notes: Kindle ebook
{Goodreads} • {Amazon} • {Website}
Thanks for reading!
Dream away in those pages!
~ The Page Dreamer
The Page Dreamer 
Oh wow, this does sound like a very fascinating read! I like the idea of it being half story, half nonfiction. I’ve read one other “self help” book like that before and I loved it. I think it’s a neat way to do things, really keeps us reading.
You’re so great to read this. I pretty much never read nonfiction books these days. It’s horrid. I think I used to read more when I was younger than now. I should be reading MORE the older I get not less! Bad, bad, bad. And I definitely have that tendency of meaning to go back and really study and apply these self help books but then…never do. Good for you for taking the time to read it!
Thanks for the review! I may have to look into this one.
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Indeed! ‘Twas an interesting experience! (Goes to show that even in nonfiction, fiction is still awesome and/or helpful. XD)
Aww. *Huggles you* Darling, you absolutely don’t have to! Sometimes I feel bad about it myself, but we SHOULDN’T. Nonfiction can be helpful, yes, and sometimes one wants to learn some things, but if the very idea of it is just kinda unpleasant or one doesn’t feel like it… then don’t! I firmly believe that fiction can teach us just as much or more than nonfiction, in its way, and reading is our happy place, so we shouldn’t feel like we “should” read things we don’t really want to! There’s absolutely no shame in reading not much or less nonfiction, okay? ^_^ It always sounds really dry and uninviting to me, but occasionally I “feel like” it, which is when I read some. But everything can have a balance, I suppose… I don’t even know what I’m trying to say, but I guess it’s basically: I’m right there with you over “never reading any nonfiction”, but I think that’s totally okay! ❤
You're welcome! Thanks for your comment on it! 🙂
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You always make me feel better about things! You’re so right. Reading is our happy place, and we still learn so much in fiction books while enjoying them more at the same time. It’s basically a win-win! So I suppose I shouldn’t feel guilty about it all the time. You’re the best, you know that? ❤
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Aww, I’m glad! Just saying it like I’m learning it! ^_^ I’ve decided it’s silly to feel guilty about books because they’re my happy-place. 🙂 (Still working on the practical application of that, though…) *huggles* ❤
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