Book Review: Rise and Go by Cory M. Carlson

This review is of Rise and Go, from Leadership Coach Cory M. Carlson. As a book that is directed at leaders of any organization or business, Rise and Go is all about how to get back up in your personal and vocational lives with courage and it is about how to move forward with confidence when you are facing uncertainty, challenges, and/or difficulty.

Each chapter of Rise and Go, walks you through stories, scripture and simple practices that will help you to pause and reflect on your current realities - both at home and work. You will find that each chapter intentionally builds on the chapter before it. The book first focuses on helping you to rise by adopting a new paradigm and confidence in the mundane and tough situations that you are in at home and work. The book then moves forward in a practical approach to personal and organizational processing and planning that is strategic, simple, meaningful and memorable. In the second section of the book, Cory helps you to go by finding new and renewed strategic direction by focusing on your “goals, mindset, preparedness, peace, commitment, obedience, encouragement, perseverance, consistency, and celebration.”[1] Cory is an experienced entrepreneur and former executive who is committed to encouraging leaders of businesses and organizations, while helping them to find their sweet spot of effectiveness. He describes himself as “passionate about helping business leaders win at home and work.”[2] Over twenty years in corporate America has given Cory some insight and experience to encourage and equip leaders in all sorts of organizations. His experience has helped him speak not only from his successes, but also his failures, and he has worked hard to coach leaders in a way to reverse the brokenness that we find in many leaders around purpose, burnout, lack of focus, strained marriages, and absentee parents. Cory desires to see leaders living lives confidently and to the their fullest.

I first learned of Cory M. Carlson by reading his first book, Win at Home, a read that was recommended to me through the Five Capitals network. Cory is a Certified Coach with Five Capitals and runs his own coaching firm. As an organization, Five Capitals is focused on helping executives lead fearlessly and live fully. They are a community of biblically rooted and business minded coaches who are passionate about helping and equipping both business leaders and employees for growth. With a focus on application, they invest in life-changing tools, content and skills allowing for healthier, impactful and productive individuals (and teams). Though not all of their resources apply to the church, many have great relevance to developing health leadership. Though I have not met Cory M. Carlson, similar to the work of Five Capitals, I have found his books, podcasts, resources, and webinars to be deeply encouraging to me. This book is about developing a manifesto for your future; a manifesto that incorporates a healthy personal/family and work balance. I was challenged by his writings on developing a posture of gratitude – as I often find myself distracted and derailed by discontentment in my life. Carlson writes, “We can use gratitude as a weapon against discontent, boredom and complacency in our lives. There are also emotional and physical benefits to experiencing gratitude in our lives – benefits that can manifest as an increase in dopamine, an improved immune system, better energy, or improved mental health. It is well known that a person can’t be stressed and smiling at the same time.”[3] After exploring this idea, he encourages readers that developing a posture and foundation of gratitude will help us realize that “even in our worst weeks, we all have wins…Focusing on the wins...creates momentum.”[4] In our faith lives, this also helps us to move forward by learning to be okay with where God has us now, learning to “lean into doing life with God and consider[ing] how you can keep from being derailed when things do not go your way.”[5] In working on my personal manifesto, I realize that these practices of gratitude must become an important part of my daily and regular rhythms. I believe these practices will help me not become as distracted and derailed, because as Cory points out, “if we are not careful, we can miss out on beneficial waiting room time by wasting time instead of being intentional.”[6] This idea of gratitude, and being intentional in these tough seasons, will be one that I continue to wrestle with in my life.

I certainly recommend this book for any leader who is looking for a motivational and strategic read on what it means to develop a plan to lead stronger and more effectively in your families and organizations. This book will help you to develop a manifest to get back up with courage and find a way to move forward with confidence.

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Read my favorite highlights and quotes from the book

[1] Carlson, Cory M. 2022. Rise and Go. (Cincinnati, OH: Cloud Rider Publishing), 23. [2] Carlson, Cory M. 2022. Rise and Go. (Cincinnati, OH: Cloud Rider Publishing), 188. [3] Carlson, Cory M. 2022. Rise and Go. (Cincinnati, OH: Cloud Rider Publishing), 40. [4] Carlson, Cory M. 2022. Rise and Go. (Cincinnati, OH: Cloud Rider Publishing), 41. [5] Carlson, Cory M. 2022. Rise and Go. (Cincinnati, OH: Cloud Rider Publishing), 48. [6] Carlson, Cory M. 2022. Rise and Go. (Cincinnati, OH: Cloud Rider Publishing), 69.