Impactivity: What if You're Working Hard on All the Wrong Things?

Impactivity Guides

by Tracy L. Higley

You want to make a difference in the world and live a life of impact.
But what if you’re working hard on all the wrong things?

You’ve heard all the advice to slow down, be more of a “Mary” and less of a “Martha.” But you don’t want to slow down—it’s not how you’re wired. Instead, you want to live a full and busy life with purpose and meaning, a life that is balanced and joyful. A life of Impactivity, rather than simple productivity.

Somehow, in all your efforts to be productive, you suspect you’ve gotten off track. You’re experiencing stress and anxiety, or perhaps exhaustion and burnout. You feel guilty when you slow down, but guilty that you work too hard. Life’s out of balance, and underneath it all is the nagging fear that nothing you’re doing matters.

LEARN FROM SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE…

Tracy Higley, bestselling author and successful entrepreneur, has been where you are. After decades of keeping up with publishing contracts, four kids, church ministries and grad school, all the while running a million-dollar retail business, Tracy “crashed and burned.” And learned. The answer did not come from changing her fundamental personality of achiever, but by taking those strengths and fitting them into a structure that explodes productivity while staying balanced, healthy and joyful.

If you are tired of the lack of balance in all areas of your life that leaves you spiritually disconnected, physically run down, emotionally discouraged or relationally distant, it’s time to transform your natural productivity into something more—Impactivity.™

IN IMPACTIVITY, YOU’LL LEARN

How to identify your true calling and motivation in life, a Dream that is custom designed for you
How to Unshackle by breaking free of others’ opinions, ending false guilt, embracing imperfection, and eliminating the multitude of distractions
How to Design a vision and system for your life that will end disorganization and map out a plan
How to Ignite your productivity and multiply your time, money, and energy by learning the secret to creating habits that stick, priorities that matter, and focus that achieves.
How to Recharge your energy as you stop working and enjoy your life, experiencing true rest through age-old practices and celebrating and savoring your life.

Part practical wisdom and part parable, Impactivity will both teach and inspire you to discover the dream that is calling to you, and to pursue it with passion, balance, and joy.

Five Impactivity™ Guides follow this book, each designed to help you dive further into the concepts.

It’s time to bring your dream to life, find the freedom of simplicity, get clear on your strategy, gain energy and health, and learn the balanced rhythm of work and rest.

A fantastic life of Impactivity™ awaits. Get started on your journey today.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 4, 2016

About the author

Tracy Higley has been attempting to time travel through the pages of books since she was a child. She started her first story at the age of eight, and has since authored nearly twenty books, including the acclaimed Seven Wonders Series, and the Time Travel Journals of Sahara Aldridge. She earned a Master’s Degree in Ancient and Classical History, and has traveled to Egypt, Greece, Jordan, Israel, Italy, and Turkey, researching her books and falling into adventures. Peruse her travel journals and learn more fascinating history at www.tracyhigley.com.

Reviews

[Deborah O'Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.'

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, 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.)

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. Parts were really good, but I wasn't a fan of the switches from non-fiction/self-help to fiction...it was confusing at times and slightly annoying. Still, it was an easy read despite the confusion and I appreciated that.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited when I heard that one of my favorite fiction authors was releasing her first non-fiction title! Plus "Impactivity: How to Set the World on Fire Without Burning Out" sounded like it would be right up my alley. The idea of truly impacting the world is exciting to me, and it's something I believe in with my whole heart.

Within the first few chapters I was able to tell that I was not the target audience for this book, because this really was written for vision-oriented Christian entrepreneurs. I do not have the entrepreneur gene. At all. My heart for impacting the world is through relationships - my direct one-on-one contact with the lives I touch. Neither approach is wrong, because God is the originator of those desires, and He made people with different and unique strengths and weaknesses. For my own personality I didn't feel that I gained a lot from this book, but for those who want to build a business or pursue a specific dream, I think you'd find a lot more here than I did.

The principle that I enjoyed the most from this book was Unshackle. Sometimes it is hard to give ourselves permission to lay down responsibilities that do not truly belong to us, or to feel the freedom to follow our own Great Adventure rather than being caught up in Other People's Adventures. This is a message that is quite important for everyone, because pleasing people is such a common setback.

This book is the introduction to a set of five guidebooks meant to delve deeper into Tracy Higley's principles for Impactivity. If you are a Christian entrepreneur, I would recommend checking these out.

This review originated at http://reviewsbyerin.livejournal.com

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like this book wasn't applicable to me. In fact I was beginning to feel a rather annoyed. It made me feel as if the movers and shakers of life are the only ones that can make an impact on others. What is wrong with living a quiet and contented life? Finally I just quickly skimmed through to the end. It was mostly just lists on how to live one's life with a few Bible verses thrown in for good measure and lots of good advice. However, if this author wants to practice what she preaches she should stick to historical / Biblical fiction.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come soon!

[Erin Laramore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will get on the bandwagon of those who said that this book was not quite what they were expecting. Based on the title, I assumed this book was about finding ways to be impactful where you are. This book is more about how to get to a point of fulfilling one's calling or finding one's purpose. As I am not one who has a defined calling and am content in the job and volunteer work I have (and I learned how to say "no" a few years ago), this book was not actually something I needed to read. I did enjoy the writing style though. Ms. Higley begins with her own experiences and then goes through the 6 steps of Impactivity. After each chapter, she brings in a story of several women who are seeking this in their lives. In telling a story, the author gives defined examples of women in various stages of life who are looking for more and how they found it. I found it to be a wonderful and creative way to show how the steps come together practically in specific scenarios. After a chapter of story, was a one to two page summary of each step. I thought the layout was great, and there were references throughout to other resources if you need more detail on any of the steps. Folks who are especially needy of this message would likely be interested in the 6 week study that the author put together as well. As I said, this was not something that I needed for myself at this time of my life, but I woud definitely recommend this to anyone who is dreaming big, but doesn't know how to get there, to anyone who has a calling, but is exhausted in trying to reach it, and to anyone who is busy doing too much of what doesn't matter.

[Tim Suddeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for anyone who has a dream but feels too busy or overwhelmed. Tracy gives us good steps to take to get your life under control and then to enlarge your dreams and goals. A very interesting structure of alternating nonfiction chapters and a fictional group of ladies reaching for their dreams. Good read, very helpful and practical.

[Talena Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring

The format of this book was very engaging, and I loved how Tracy organized her plan. Practical and motivating. Recommended.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still loving it.

[Fire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over all I thought the ideas on how to gain productivity were great. If the book had been just that I would have given it 5 stars, but interspersed with the advice the author splice a story together as a fictional story of a group of ladies that met together and were discussing how to make their businesses better and one of the characters is the one giving all of the advice. So each chapter is half non-fiction ideas on how to increase your productivity, and the other half of the chapter is a fictional account of ladies meeting at a coffee house to discuss what you just read about.

As I said had it been the just the non-fiction advice it would have been a much better book. The fiction seems disruptive and redundant. I think had the fiction part been first and then the nonfiction part be the second half of the book it would have been better, but the way it reads it is too repetitive when you just read the same thing. I think a different format would have made this better.

I'm interested in reading the 5 part guide that goes into more depth on the 5 key points Higley made, my biggest reservation is that if they also follow this same format then I won't get much out of them so I'll probably wait and see how other people review it and if it follows the same format. So my conclusion is that their are some great points made in this book that I see the benefit of and I plan to implement in my own life, but the way it was presented was off putting and redundant.

5 Stars for the ideas, but 3 Stars overall for the book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading a few books on finding my purpose/calling, this was a book I needed to read. No, I am not the super-achiever type, but like all of us I am too busy and often wish I could do more of the stuff I really want to. This book is chock full of practical suggestions to help people like me actually make an impact instead of spending life with my wheels spinning and not getting very far.
No, I have not yet sat down with it and gone through all the thinking and planning it suggests, but I can tell that the principles behind her suggestions make a lot of sense.

Note: this is the overview of her impactivity plan. To get all the details you need to read her 5 related books (all short).

[L.J. Capehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a number of Tracy Higley's books, and truly enjoyed them. Naturally I jumped at the chance to get her 'Impactivity'. I was caught from the beginning. The book is a pleasure to read, but it goes beyond that. I feel she has been truly inspired by God in the writing of this book, giving many like me encouragement, hope, and very practical advice on how to find your way to living MORE in your life...not more busy-ness, but more meaning, clearing away the un-necessary, the clutter, the time-wasters. I've given it a read-through, and am ready to really tackle what Tracy lays out in this book! I think I need the guides to go with it!

[Andrea Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

by Andrea Renee Cox

This book was a bit confusing to me. Some chapters read like a "self-help" book, while others read almost like a novel. The two completely different tones did not flow well at all, and the "novel" chapter only repeated in lengthy analogies the same things discussed/explained in the "self-help" chapters. One or the other were unnecessary.

The content of Impactivity would be helpful for someone who is too busy in life. For those people who need a nudge or shove in the right direction, who need that extra guidance to organize their lives.

This is my honest review.

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I "met" the author through an on-line writing encouragement group. Tracy is one of the experts. I was so taken with several things she shared with us that I wanted more. I wish I'd had her advice decades sooner, but it's never to late to work on your dream. I would have unshackled sooner, taken to heartt he efficiency of silence and solitude and mindfulness, and even finding community. It's an exciting exercise to work through, and there's a chapter by chapter Study Guide included.

[Karlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like the fiction interspersed with the substance of the book. In fact, I feel it lessened it's impact. I didn't find much inspiration in this book but for a quick read had some minor spark. I feel it was more a platform to sell the other parts she references for more detail. A better book would have included those, especially since not all parts are needed in depth by all people.

[Carol Mcpherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

I really enjoyed this book and the ideas presented by Tracy Higley. I am a therapist and have found her concept of following your own adventure to be very useful with my clients. As a Christian therapist, being able to incorporate God's Purpose for our Adventure adds so much more! Thanks for giving me some great tools!

[Stacey Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practical Ideas

I thought the book was well-thought out and gave very practical ideas. Very easy read. Just not my cup of tea.