The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon is one of the best books I have read recently. It’s a really great reminder of the power of being positive.

The book is written from the perspective of a manager called George. George is leading a team who are not functioning well and he also has relationship issues with his wife and kids. George ends up having to take a bus to work over a 2 week period, due to car issues and there he meets the bus driver, Joy, who teaches him 10 lessons about the importance of positive energy. These lessons help him transform his team by creating a shared vision and a culture of positive energy. Thanks to these lessons George is successful in saving his job and his marriage.

What I loved about the book is:

– It’s easy and fast to read, it only takes about 2 hours, or alternatively it lends itself quite well to read one chapter each day

– The messages are really straightforward but powerful

– It’s applicable to all ages and people in all different jobs / walks of life

– It’s an engaging story with great characters that you can identify with

– It illustrates really nicely how being positive can have a huge impact on your life

I’m not going to go through the 10 lessons that are discussed in the book, as you will discover all about them if you read it yourself, but I am going to share the key points that I took out overall:

– You need to take 100% responsibility of your own life and what direction you want it to head in. You are in charge of your life and you influence how it is. This is true for all areas of your life

– The power of positive energy is extraordinary. We can’t control what happens in our life, but we can control how we perceive events that happen to us and how we react to them. If you give out positive energy and are a positive person, you will create positive results. Positive energy helps you overcome obstacles and challenges to achieve great success. This is what we call in South Africa ‘Making a plan’. The fact that if you put your mind to it there is always a solution, as long as you think positively.

– Do everything you can to bring the people in your life long on the journey with you. But if people don’t want to join you, don’t waste your time and energy on them. The author Jon Gordon calls people with negative energy ‘energy vampires’, I like to call them Dementors. People that literally suck the energy from you with their negativity.

– Your positive energy must be greater than everyone elses negative energy to achieve success. In some cases that means A LOT of positive energy is required. But if you can produce that much positive energy you will overcome the negativity around you.

– You must enjoy the ride. Enjoy the process of getting to the desired result.

If you think this all sounds great – read the book! It gives you loads of useful reminders of how and why to adopt a positive attitude. If you love the book as much as I did, you’ll really be able to identify with the key lessons and find yourself following the advice.

Let me know in the comments below if you have read the book and what you thought.