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Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great
by
Guided by “Akira-sensei,” John comes to realize the greatest adversity on his journey will be the challenge of defeating the man in the mirror.
This powerful story of one boy’s journey to achieve his life long goal of becoming a samurai warrior, brings the Train to be CLUTCH curriculum to life in a powerful and memorable way.
Some things you will learn…
—No matter how it feel ...more
This powerful story of one boy’s journey to achieve his life long goal of becoming a samurai warrior, brings the Train to be CLUTCH curriculum to life in a powerful and memorable way.
Some things you will learn…
—No matter how it feel ...more
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Kindle Edition, 112 pages
Published
December 14th 2015
by Lulu Publishing Services
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Start your review of Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great
Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to read 100 pages of axioms and trite motivational phrases?
Dec 31, 2018
Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
fiction,
advice-how-to,
educational,
self-help,
problematic-content,
inspiring,
philosophy,
2018,
mindfulness
I appreciate what this book is trying to do. But it doesn't work for me. Endless typos and grammatical errors in this edition. As someone who knows quite a bit about Buddhist teachings (you know, for a non-practicing American) I found this dull, disquieting, and in some cases, distasteful. This is a confusing book which allows a modern day American boy to attend a 10-year long Samurai archery school (why, who knows?) and uses sports, pop-culture, and Buddhist references to teach him discipline.
...more
If you overlook the sloppy editing and occasional typographical errors, there's some good - but not necessarily groundbreaking - advice on the process of "becoming great" buried in these pages, wrapped in the trappings of the motivational story of a young man who journeys from America to Japan to become a Samurai Archer.
...more
This book must get good reviews for the wise principles it shares. I agree: the principles are good, but they could have been delivered better.
I listened to this book because my husband had added it to our Audible account. The title had me thinking I was starting a non-fiction book, and I was excited by the promise of learning "How to Fall in Love With the Process of Becoming Great". I wish it had been delivered in a non-fiction format with only inspiring, true stories.
Instead, the reader is giv ...more
I listened to this book because my husband had added it to our Audible account. The title had me thinking I was starting a non-fiction book, and I was excited by the promise of learning "How to Fall in Love With the Process of Becoming Great". I wish it had been delivered in a non-fiction format with only inspiring, true stories.
Instead, the reader is giv ...more
I saw this book, it didn't have a ton of pages so I picked it up, really have never tried any sort of Self-Help, motivational type book before and this one hammered home the point about why I haven't.
I'm not sure if the author actually did any research on Samurai culture as halfway through the main advice giver Akira-Sensei expounds on the lord and his love and it made me think, wait didn't these men practice Buddhism or the native Japanese religion of Shinto? Overall this book just seems like a ...more
I'm not sure if the author actually did any research on Samurai culture as halfway through the main advice giver Akira-Sensei expounds on the lord and his love and it made me think, wait didn't these men practice Buddhism or the native Japanese religion of Shinto? Overall this book just seems like a ...more
This book gets its stars from having great tips for self-betterment, with practical applications included. It could have been a 4 or even a 5-star book if it had done only that.
However, everything is completely overshadowed by the story of John going to Japan to train as a samurai archer. Each chapter agonizingly follows the same lame formula: John encounters a problem, gets told by the sensei that HE is the problem, says “I never thought of it that way!”, and vows to do better. John is an idio ...more
However, everything is completely overshadowed by the story of John going to Japan to train as a samurai archer. Each chapter agonizingly follows the same lame formula: John encounters a problem, gets told by the sensei that HE is the problem, says “I never thought of it that way!”, and vows to do better. John is an idio ...more
This is a book bosses give employees trying to trick them into working harder instead of mentoring them or paying them more. Completely fictional nonsense and regurgitated banal aphorisms. How am I supposed to sympathize with a story where a kid can just move to Japan and attend some samurai archery school? Why did I go to college when that was an option?
I learned a lot of lessons I am capable of inputing in my day-to-day life. I think that's really important because a lot of people focus on long term goals and what will happen. This book focuses a lot on what you can do now. What will change your life now. I like that, I'm very interested in changing not only my life but my everyday BAD habits. I thank this book for giving me the ideas and motivation to do that. Also this book helped me climb 6,800 ft!
...more
Joshua conveys a compelling story of a man named John, who’s childhood dream is to become a samurai archer. Through the mundane work of “chopping wood and carrying water” as well as the many struggles of “beating on his craft” John preserves time and time again. A brilliant story of what falling in love with the process looks like and how to become a master of your craft.
This was a book the COO of my company gave to everyone for the holidays. It has some interesting points about working hard and not expecting anything great to come easily. The thing that resonated with me the most recognize that everything, good or bad, is an opportunity to learn. Quick read.
Happy go lucky and light-hearted. Needed more quotes and depth in the story to push the reader to want to make the changes outlined. A simplified version of every self help book in existence; but too much so.
Q:
Chinese symbol for crisis is the combination of two words: danger and opportunity.
Everybody wants to be great until it's time to do what greatness requires.
Goals actually allow you to shirk responsibility. But a mission? Only the person in the mirror can stop you from living that out.
‘Hu ...more
Q:
Chinese symbol for crisis is the combination of two words: danger and opportunity.
Everybody wants to be great until it's time to do what greatness requires.
Goals actually allow you to shirk responsibility. But a mission? Only the person in the mirror can stop you from living that out.
‘Hu ...more
Joshua Medcalf does a great job of explaining overcoming adversity and life's challenges in his novel Chop Wood Carry Water. This novel is a quick read and is very relatable to young athletes because it provides helpful advice when coming upon a challenge. At the climax of the novel one of the main characters (John) was training to be a professional fighter, but had multiple setbacks along the way. Some include- injuries, losing hope, or motivation. The reader can relate to John because he is a
...more
Two elements; one that builds, one that nourishes. Both can be harnessed but only by using tools. The tools that are used to "chop wood, carry water" aren't the ones you'd think. The proverbial process of chop wood, carry water is what is being talked about here. Although, the process of the physical acts should not be diminished.
Through hardening the mind and stern focus on consistency and production, Joshua Medcalf shows us how to fall in love with the process of becoming great. The question i ...more
Through hardening the mind and stern focus on consistency and production, Joshua Medcalf shows us how to fall in love with the process of becoming great. The question i ...more
This is a great book to read as a group or as an individual! My boss chose this book for us to read as an office to see how we could improve ourselves individually and as a staff.
In this story, John has a strong desire to become a samurai warrior. He goes away to samurai school and quickly learns from his sensei, Akira, that the key to becoming the best samurai warrior is to chop wood and carry water. John learns a series of lessons over his five years with Akira. Some of the lessons he learned ...more
In this story, John has a strong desire to become a samurai warrior. He goes away to samurai school and quickly learns from his sensei, Akira, that the key to becoming the best samurai warrior is to chop wood and carry water. John learns a series of lessons over his five years with Akira. Some of the lessons he learned ...more
My good friend Ian R. loaned this book to me. Ian pushes me to read positive, inspiring books that challenge me to be better physically, mentally, and spiritually. This one did just that. It's a simple read broken into 2-3 page chapters, each of which contains a thoughtful parable related to the story as a whole (young American travels to Japan to become a samurai). The central theme of the book is learning to be process-focused instead of goal-focused. It's the kind of book I'd like to read alo
...more
To be honest, I only gave this book 4 stars because the protagonist was focused on becoming an archer; because of that, I felt I gained some valuable insights into how to improve my own skills.
The actual style of the book annoyed me as it seemed to be written in a choppy manner, perhaps for readers with a limited vocabulary. If not for the archery focus, my actual rating would have been around a 2.5 and I would have gone for 2 stars as a result.
Bottom line: there were some valuable insights and ...more
The actual style of the book annoyed me as it seemed to be written in a choppy manner, perhaps for readers with a limited vocabulary. If not for the archery focus, my actual rating would have been around a 2.5 and I would have gone for 2 stars as a result.
Bottom line: there were some valuable insights and ...more
A short great book
Truly inspiring well written... Highly recommended. I have read it in a day and I see myself going through the book again and again. I will get my daughter reading it for sure
Truly inspiring well written... Highly recommended. I have read it in a day and I see myself going through the book again and again. I will get my daughter reading it for sure
Great and easy read! Wonderful stories and lessons to apply in your daily life.
Feb 06, 2019
Dakota
added it
Great book full of life lessons
Feb 07, 2019
Robbie
added it
Great book to learn life lessons.
A great narrative on following in love with the process. If you’re looking for a book that reminds you of your mission and purpose, this is the one.
Lots of great stories and lessons about living life by principles
Difference between a pest and a guest is an invitation.
This is an inspiring short book, I enjoyed it.
Clear, concise, and well written. I love the ethical principles the book gives, and I also appreciate the story in how the lessons are relayed. Joshua produced a great book that effectively explains what we need to do to become masters of our craft(s). The book is also a short read that is worth rereading.
This might be a deep pull, but when I was a kid we had these cheesy christian devotional story-a-day books and the formula was always some children accidentally winding up in trouble or something and then their parent or a kindly pastor would walk by and notice and say "that reminds me of a bible story..." and go on to tenuously link the small intro anecdote to the mostly unrelated scripture verse.
Chop Wood Carry Water is that but replace the bible verses with Mr. Miyagi quotes.
You don't need th ...more
Chop Wood Carry Water is that but replace the bible verses with Mr. Miyagi quotes.
You don't need th ...more
Content & themes 9/10
Grammar/literary techniques 2/10
Grammar/literary techniques 2/10
This is one of my new favorite books. I will be buying all my nieces and nephews this book for Christmas. I will also be giving this book for graduations. Such great advice for everyone.
Enjoyed this book a lot - easy to read and full of great lessons and reminders of how to get the most out of life.
A great book to read if you think you are in a hopeles situation and can't do anything to improve it.
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