Jeff Henderson’s “What to Do Next” is a powerful guide for navigating life’s uncertainties and finding the courage to step into the unknown. I reviewed his book “FOR” a few years ago and it really helped give language to what I believe it means to live missionally in community. I’ve enjoyed reading and watching from afar as Jeff navigated a career change from Chick-Fil-A, to Northpoint Ministries, to starting Gwinnett Church, and now into his own “next”.
One of the most helpful aspects of the book is Henderson’s focus on the importance of letting go of the past. He reminds us that our past experiences, both positive and negative, shape who we are but should not dictate our future. Instead of allowing past mistakes or regrets to hold us back, Henderson encourages readers to view the present moment as a starting point for growth and transformation.
Throughout the book, Henderson encourages taking risks and embracing discomfort as essential components of personal development. He challenges readers to confront their fears and step outside of their comfort zones in pursuit of their goals and aspirations. In doing so, he reminds us that the greatest rewards often come from taking calculated risks and refusing to settle for average.
Henderson emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in navigating life’s challenges and the accountability of having a personal board of advisors.. He stresses the need for reflection, gratitude, and humility as we strive to become the people that God created us to be. By cultivating resilience and building on past experiences, Henderson argues, we can better navigate the uncertainties of life and forge a path toward personal fulfillment and success.
I’d strongly commend this book to people in a variety of seasons…people looking to finish well, people looking to start well, and people who desire to live their life in a way that will count for Christ.
I’ve pasted below several things that I highlighted while reading…
- The truth is, there are some things you’ll never know or experience until you open your hands and let go. Location: 314
- Learn all you can and pass it along. There are people just as nervous and excited and sad and intrigued and worried and courageous to find what’s next. Use your story to help theirs. Location: 325
- What’s behind you has shaped you, good and bad. What’s behind you becomes dangerous when it shackles you. What’s behind you becomes helpful when you embrace where you are as a starting point, not a conclusion. It’s why you need to become less judgmental about yourself and much more curious about yourself. Location: 453
- Risk is inevitable, but so is reward when we manage the risk. Sometimes the riskiest decision isn’t to leave. Sometimes the riskiest decision is to stay. Location: 504
- You’re on the front end of one of the great stories in your one and only life. Think of it as a movie script. You’ve been given the starring role, and the conflict in the story is how you’re going to move through this season better, stronger, braver. Location: 546
- Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t leaving; sometimes the biggest risk is staying. Location: 582
- The best form of momentum is a more emotionally healthy you. In fact, the more emotionally healthy you are, the better investigator you will become because you can spot the momentum in your life easier. You can’t microwave character, endurance, persistence, and grit. Location: 681
- “How much opportunity do you have to grow your gifts, talents, and leadership ability where you are?” That answer alone should bring some clarity. And here’s why: if there’s no room to grow, it’s time to go. Location: 702
- Waiting passively squanders the time. Waiting recklessly forces the time. Waiting actively leverages the time. Location: 845
- I want you to come with three specific questions: Looking back, what were some of the most helpful strategies that got you to where you are now? What do you know now that you wish you had known ten years ago? What would you do if you were me? Location: 919
- Who do you know that I need to know? Location: 924
- Would you be willing to contact them on my behalf? Location: 931
- An emotionally healthy person is self-aware, honors others, and completes the work assigned to them. Location: 1,270
- Gratitude is most effective when it’s least expected. Location: 1,301
- The best way to discover the future is to work hard in the present. Going above and beyond is the best way to do that. The second mile is the path that leads to what’s next. Location: 1,451
- So much of walking toward what’s next is letting go of the past. As Dr. Henry Cloud wrote in Necessary Endings, “Getting to the next level always requires ending something, leaving it behind, and moving on. Growth itself demands that we move on. Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.” Location: 1,739
- One of the most freeing decisions you can make is to let people be wrong about you. You don’t have to defend yourself, even though it may feel good. For every moment you defend yourself against what others may say, that’s one more moment you rob yourself of pursuing what’s next. Location: 1,877