Christian, Personal growth
Date Published: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Lucid Books
Everything we do either gets us closer to or further away from becoming the husbands our wives deserve, the fathers our kids need, and, ultimately, the men God intends us to be. 'End Average' is a reality check for men identifying as Christians. Ryan Hansen dives into what it takes to achieve permanent heart change that leads to balanced and consistent growth in faith, relationships, health, and finances. Through examples from his own hard-learned lessons and from wisdom found in the Bible, you'll see what faith in action looks like between Sunday sermons. 'End Average' will challenge you to start living with intentionality and purpose as you seek to glorify God in everything you do.
Interview
What was your main drive to write this book?
I wanted to take away
any, and all, excuses guys had when it comes to starting a men's discipleship
group. By outlining the main topics that came up around my firepit talks with
guys, I tried to make a clear and practical guide that anyone could go through
alone or with other guys. The idea is for people to read a particular chapter
before coming together to discuss it as a group. The End Average app is the
companion to the book and can help facilitate a group as well!
What do you hope readers will learn by
reading this book?
The most important
takeaway in the book is that we need to acknowledge the fact that every little
decision we make either gets us closer to or further away from becoming the men
God intended us to be. My hope is that readers will come away with the
confidence that they can improve their lives with practical and straightforward
growth habits. We really can grow our faith, improve relationships, maintain
health, and find financial freedom.
Did you do much research when planning this
book?
Yes! Each chapter is a
summary of the research I did on the 16 topics. I tried my best to find the top
authorities on each of the specific subjects and then proceeded to read their
books, listen to their podcasts, and learn their platform. After I felt
comfortable that I understood the concepts from various points of view, I'd go
on to write the rough draft of the chapter. The most enjoyable part was to
think about how each topic applied to my own life and story, getting to
implement new ideas and habits helped me hone in on my own strengths and growth
areas.
Did you have any main people who helped you
in the process of this book or influenced you to write it?
The guys in my own League
of Imperfect Gentlemen! This group of guys has shown me that we really are on
the right track when it comes to impactful discipleship. Through vulnerability
and honest conversations about faith, relationships, health, and finances. We
gather around a firepit and really dive into what the Bible says about these
subjects, how they apply to our lives, how we can help each other. We get to
leave feeling invigorated to end average in our homes, neighborhoods, and
workplaces. I wanted to share that experience with the world, so writing the
book was a way to try to multiply the League. It can certainly be used as a
stand-alone book, but the original intent is for the League. I also owe a huge
thank-you to my amazing directional editor, Josh Grubb, for helping me turn a
very rough first draft into the book we have today.
How long did this book take you to write
from initial thought to hitting publish?
I decided to write the
book when I was on a tour of Israel in 2017 with my dad. We had a lot of time
to talk about how I could increase the reach of End Average, that's when I outlined
the sub-topics into the four "pillars" I mentioned: Faith,
Relationships, Health, and Finances. The decision to write it triggered my
personal study into the topics I wrote about, and each subject took weeks, and
sometimes months, of dedicated reading, research, and Bible study. After
writing the rough draft over about a year, I had to go through the somewhat
painful, yet essential, editing process. Overall, it took just over two
years.
Do you have plans to write more about this
topic or new topics?
Time will tell. Honestly,
I prefer other ways of teaching: speaking, doing video content. My absolute
favorite way to connect with guys is to hang out around a fire with a beer –
personal connection cannot be replaced!
If this book turns out to
be as effective that I hope it will be, I will consider writing follow-up books
that go deeper into the main pillars.
About the Author
Ryan Hansen is a coffee-loving author and speaker with a calling to help those around him find Jesus. He is married to his lovely wife, Jenna, and together they are raising their four children in California. After growing up as a missionary kid in Italy and Germany, Ryan joined the U.S. Army and spent eight years as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division and as a psychological operations staff sergeant. After leaving the Army, he earned an MBA while pursuing a sales career in the medical industry. Aside from daydreaming about being able to one day play the guitar well, Ryan spends his time playing with his kids, improving his beer-brewing abilities, and (unsuccessfully) talking his wife out of more Disneyland trips.
Contact Links
Purchase Links
Posts
1 Comments
Thank you for hosting!
ReplyDelete