Graduation always makes me cry. Heck, who am I kidding? Most of life’s big moments make me cry, even if it’s other peoples big moments. As a high school teacher I have participated in many graduations. I see the graduates at the starting line of a great marathon. The marathon of life. People tell them, but they don’t truly understand, they are writing their future with each step. Some may look at the marathon and only see the race, always fixing their eyes on the finish line, not enjoying each step along the way. Others will veer off the race course always in search of a better/easier race. Many will create their own obstacle course. Making the race, for them, that much more challenging. The most well suited for this race are those that are sure of their path and develop a life filled with positiveness. They also surround themselves with as many positive people as they can. Why do some racers pick the right people to run the race with while others do not? Jon Gordon delivers this message in one of my all time favorite books, The Energy Bus.
This is one of my favorite books to gift recent graduates at any stage of their education. Gordon tells the story of a man who was overwhelmed by his life. Nothing was going well. His marriage was rocky, relationships with kids were troubled, he was in a financial crisis, and he was performing poorly at work. He is fortunate to step on Joy’s city bus and the advice he receives is life-changing.
Joy and the other bus riders teach him 10 Rules to fuel his life, work, and team with positive energy. The book is a very nice back and forth between his time riding the bus receiving inspiring advice and his time living out this advice in life. It is sort of a mix between a self-help book and an expanded story. It keeps the readers interest because we want to see how this new advice is really going to work for George.
By putting Joy’s advice to work in his life, he is able to become a force of positive energy himself.
Any graduate, and many of us, could benefit from such advice. If you don’t know any graduates who could benefit, you may know a child making the difficult transition to middle school. Gordon also publishes The Energy Bus in a child’s book form.
