Life’S Simple Equation: Ridiculously Easy Ways to Feel and Be Valuable

By Marcus Laster

At some point in your life, you have likely experienced disappointment, pain, hurt, or even trauma. Unwittingly, the impact of these experiences may cause you to search for fulfillment and feelings of self-worth. If you are a professional, you may have sought career goals and money as a way to satiate this thirst. Yet nothing seems to quench it. On the other hand, maybe you're someone who hasn't experienced trauma. You simply want to live a better life and aren't quite sure how to do it. If you fit either of these descriptions, this book is for you. It might change your life.

In Life's Simple Equation: Ridiculously Easy Ways to Feel and Be Valuable, Marcus shares his personal story of pursuing self-worth and the adversity that motivated it. He will challenge you to look into your own life, consider what drives your search for fulfillment and what you're doing to achieve it. After reading the gripping true-life stories, research, and practical Biblical examples in this book, you will walk away with simple faith-based actions that may change your life and the lives of others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490875231

Marcus Laster

Marcus Laster is a former Division One college basketball player, fashion model, TV news reporter/anchor, MBA graduate, professional facilitator, sales trainer, and currently works as a successful sales manager for a leading pharmaceutical company. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with his wife and their two young sons.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 Marcus C. Laster.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7524-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7525-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7523-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905134

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/2/2015

Contents

Foreword

Part I: The Equation

1   Identifying the Equation

Self-Worth Defined

Life’s Simple Equation

Focus on the Numerator

Self-Reflection

2   How Have You Tried to Increase Your Numerator?

I’m Gonna Get Mine

Is the American Dream Attainable?

Does Money Make Us Happy?

Self-Reflection

Part II: The Denominator

3   My Denominator

Insecurity, Fear, and Poverty

Self-Reflection

4   Biblical Denominators

Joseph

Ruth

Self-Reflection

Part III: The Numerator

5   To Increase Your Numerator Start by Communicating

He Made Us to Communicate With Him

Pray in Times of Trouble

Pray in Your Own Genuine Way

God Communicates With Us Through the Bible

God Directs Us Through His Word

Ridiculously Easy Tips

Self-Reflection

6   Feel Valuable by Being Grateful

Gratitude Works

Give Thanks in the Moment

Give Thanks for Life-Changing Experiences

Give Thanks for Special People in Your Life

Ridiculously Easy Tips

Self-Reflection

7   Feel Valuable Through Praise

God Delights in Our Praise

Praise God in All Situations

Ridiculously Easy Tips

Self-Reflection

8   Be Valuable Through Words of Encouragement

Barnabas the Encourager

Words of Encouragement Are Valued

Encouragement Attracts Others

Ridiculously Easy Tips

Self-Reflection

9   Be Valuable by Giving Your Time, Talent, and Treasure

Give Your Time and Talent

Give of Your Treasure

Ridiculously Easy Tips

Self-Reflection

10   Increasing Your Numerator Takes Effort

Biblical Stories of Effort

Learn From My Mistakes in High School

Learn From My Mistakes in College

Ridiculously Easy Tips

Self-Reflection

Epilogue: Discipleship, Simplification, and Minimization?

Works Cited

To my loving brothers and sisters, thank you for being such an important part of my life. You inspire me.

To my mother and father, thank you for making me the man I am today.

—Marcus

Foreword

• 28.3% of children have experienced physical abuse, 20.7% sexual abuse, 10.6% emotional abuse, 9.9% physical neglect, and 14.8% emotional neglect.¹

• Each year, more than three million reports of child abuse are made in the US involving six million children or more.²

• Over 45 million people, which is about 14.5% of all Americans, lived below the poverty line in 2013.³

• Approximately sixteen million children, or one in five, was poor in 2012.⁴

• Over 40% of poor children live in extreme poverty, which is less than half the poverty level.⁵

• About 30% of women have been slapped, pushed, or shoved by an intimate partner.⁶

• Approximately 42 million women in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.⁷

I have been abused by a family member. I have witnessed domestic violence and seen others I love abused. I have lived in poverty. According to the statistics above, you too may have experienced similar trauma, hurt, and pain. Maybe you have been through much worse. If these life-altering experiences have caused you to seek fulfillment, and you’ve yet to find it, I’ve written this book for you. God loves you.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.⁸

Part I: The Equation

31725.png

Chapter 1

Identifying the Equation

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.¹

—Matthew 10:29–31

It was a sunny and beautiful fall Saturday afternoon in North Carolina in September 2010. College football was on the television sets of many in the Deep South. Kids were outside playing. Families were barbecuing and enjoying some other lovely outdoor fall activity. Yet there I was, for a third straight Saturday, in the same place—sitting in a financial management class. I was knee-deep in the working professional MBA program at the Charlotte, North Carolina, campus of Wake Forest University.

At that point in the two-year curriculum, I had spent almost every Saturday over the previous seven months doing the same thing—sitting in class. On this day, one of the topics on the syllabus was a pivotal learning in financial management: net present value. The equation like the one below was in bright lights on the screen in front of the stadium-seated classroom:

NetPresentValue.jpg

In my typical fashion, I looked at this weird configuration of numbers and letters and figured I’d have a better chance becoming fluent in a foreign language. How am I going to understand this stuff? I thought. Yet during the class discussion, the concept of net present value became clearer to me. I learned that it’s a mathematical way for a company to assess the profitability of an investment in something. The equation considers the cash flows the item will earn over a period of time compared to what a similar investment would make.

To compute the answer, take