A Book Review: ‘Stand: How To Rise In Your Calling With Confidence To Leave A Lasting Legacy’ by Laura Luna

When life gives you lemons, Laura Luna believes you should make lemonade. The Christian author gives a practical plan for navigating the difficult times to ultimately gain victory in her book, Stand: How to Rise in Your Calling with Confidence to Leave a Lasting Legacy.

Everyone Has A Calling

Laura Luna believes no one is on planet Earth simply for the sake of being here. She is convinced everyone has a calling they should fulfill. Whether or not humans discover and walk in their destiny is another story. 

The purpose of Luna’s book is not to convince readers to follow what she thinks they are supposed to do in life. Laura’s mission is to, instead, provide tools for individuals to follow so they can be successful. 

Shame Off You

One concept of Stand that remains with me is the notion of “Shame Off You.” In her book, Laura talks about a speaker at a conference who spoke against placing shame on people. 

Shame, according to the speaker and Luna, causes people to shy away from what they are potentially meant to do. You may not be inclined to run a 5K, for instance, if you haven’t held a workout routine in years. The shame that may come from other people could sound like, “You can’t even walk around the block. How are you going to run three miles? Shame on you for waiting this long to get in shape.” 

Laura and the speaker agree on the notion of words having power. As such, questioning an individual’s ability to do something can bring about doubt and shame. Furthermore, telling someone outright they cannot accomplish a goal or even saying they should be “ashamed” to take risks suffocates growth. So instead of saying, “Shame on you,” Laura suggests telling people, “Shame off you,” to encourage personal evolution.  

For Christians and Non-Believers

It is quite clear that Stand: How to Rise in Your Calling with Confidence to Leave a Lasting Legacy was written with Christians in mind. Laura Luna isn’t just talking to the believer, though. 

Even atheists can take something from her concept of grounding oneself and restrategizing instead of giving up when things don’t go as planned. And who doesn’t want to break free of damning thoughts?

In all, Stand: How to Rise in Your Calling with Confidence to Leave a Lasting Legacy is a book for individuals looking to upgrade their lives.