What Does It Take to Live a Fulfilled Life?

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX—Many of us dream of living a richer and more significant life—the kind of fulfilling life that, when rated on the scale of one to ten, would score a definitive ten. Inviting us to awaken to the TEN Life is the theme of a new book by Terry A. Smith, lead pastor of The Life Christian Church in West Orange, New Jersey. A gifted communicator, Terry is a national and international speaker with a passion for challenging and encouraging others, especially those who are completely unaware of their own unique power and potential.
                        
Based on the tenth verse of the tenth chapter in the Book of John, Ten: How Would You Rate Your Life? (Higher Life Development Services, Inc) is a guide to living the life God dreams for us. “We can only know life in all its fullness,” he explains, “if we live the life God dreams for us. And part of the TEN experience is to try to figure out what that means for each of us as individuals.” Smith’s easy-going style of writing, coupled with his broad scope of reference, makes the book appealing to any reader wanting to create a richer quality of life.

But while the book does most certainly provide structured steps toward a more fulfilling life, it is far from being the typical “all about me” self-help book. Rather, it is an others-help book. Throughout its pages, Smith links our incredible potential for a superior life to the exponential power of leadership, exposing the bond between creating your own better life and helping others create better lives for themselves. No matter what our inclinations or natural giftings might be, Smith stresses that we all have the ability to lead ourselves and others to the best possible future.

It was while endeavoring to cheer on his wife during her first ever marathon run, Smith explains in the book’s opening, that he began to realize that, even while we yearn for someone to witness our lives, we also have a driving need to be a supporting witness for others. And just as we want desperately to cheer on those we love, he believes God is also desperate to cheer us to a preferred future and be the ultimate witness to our lives. “And if God be for us,” he asks, “then how can we do anything but believe our best possible future is within our grasp?”

Ten is about grasping God’s dream for our lives and then taking the necessary action to make that dream come true. Within the pages of Ten, Smith offers sound advice and gives the reader seven inspired steps specifically designed to lead to a better life:

• Awaken: Wake up to God’s dreams for your life.
• Discover: Learn how to discover your life’s calling.
• Imagine: Learn how the discipline of imagination makes the future real.
• Grow: Develop the life infrastructure necessary to sustain success.
• Act: Take action to create your future.
• Lead: Learn to lead yourself and others to the best possible future.
• Go There: Accept the call to get started living the life God dreams for you.

Through application of these seven steps, Smith reveals how each of us can experience life in all its fullness, moving forward from wherever we are toward a TEN. In this way, we can create the best possible future for ourselves and those around us. We can achieve total fulfillment. We can take our lives all the way up the scale to TEN. All we need is the desire to do so.