Books | Norma L. Brumbaugh

Books

This page contains the resources that I have found useful in my personal and professional life. Admittedly, it is an eclectic list. It contains everything from quotes and books that I like to podcasts, videos, and slideshows.

If you don’t want to scroll through the entire list, you can click on one of the links below and filter the resources by specific category.

I will update this list as I discover new resources. If you have a resource you think I should add, please email me.

A PURPLE cow stands out no matter how you look at it. Now that is being remarkable. The challenge in today’s overcrowded marketplace is to become VISIBLE rather than to remain invisible in a market with a multiplicity of similar items from which to choose. To become remarkable means the business or entrepreneur must do something which is, in some way, well, remarkable. The product the business or entrepreneur offers to the world must be packaged through an inventive strategy designed to set their product out in the forefront ahead of the competition. According to Godin, purple cow innovation is more than cutting edge. It’s more than mass advertising. It’s more than a recognizable household name. It’s more than tried and true. Instead. It. Is. Original.

Purple cow is offering an item in a remarkable, new way. It’s unusual. It’s consistent. It’s fun! It’s something-you-must-have because it meets a need and is also dependable. Although having a good idea or a useful product is great, most likely in today’s market that is not enough without the purple cow. The product will remain invisible to the buyer and relatively unknown to the masses. This means that businesses must leverage risk by developing something remarkable in order to become visible. For writers, like me, this is important. What good is a writing that is never noticed and never read? Word of mouth matters too.

I read Purple Cow because another author remarked that it changed his outlook and in the process changed his life. I guess what purple cow thinking says is this, what boring is to marketing, conducting business-as-usual is to stale and stagnate–and that is, well, unremarkable. Why not be remarkable instead?

Eden, the main character, is kidnapped from a foster home by her birth mother’s husband and taken to a place where she is immersed in a strange set of circumstances. She finds herself trapped in some things she doesn’t understand. The plot keeps you reading and reading until you finish the book. Lots of suspense. We wrestle with the character of Zeke, the controller, and Katherine, Eden’s over-zealous (and mind-controlled) mother. Then Zeke tells Katherine to do the unthinkable to keep Eden out of commission. There’s a reason he will do almost anything to make her comply to his requests. I liked how the concept of the very human act of forgiveness is woven into the story near its end. Surprisingly, this was my first Ted Dekker book. My daughter is a huge fan. She knew it would keep me on pins and needles. Besides a riveting storyline, this book hits on a topic worth considering. Dekker sort of exposes what cult-like thinking does to persuade people to do wrong in the name of right. The mother in this story will do anything she is told to do because she is beholden to the leader and is unable or unwilling to think for herself. He uses Scripture to convince her that what she is doing is pleasing to God. The Outlaw helps rescue the situation by coming into the picture different times throughout the book. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed in the ending, it seemed to rush too fast.