I’ve finished reading Phil Visher’s autobiographical novel Me, Myself, and Bob. If you don’t remember Phil, He’s the creator of VeggieTales, the computer animated videos with Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. I mentioned this book a little while ago and finally received a copy. The book is written in that quirky style that has made Phil famous and beloved by millions. His sense of humor is apparent from start to finish.

I first thought this would be a book entirely about Big Idea Productions, the company Phil founded to make VeggieTales videos. That’s true, but there’s so much more. Me, Myself, and Bob is the story of Phil and the dream he had to be busy for God.

Phil is only four years older than I am, and we share some similar childhood memories. He’s favorite cereal was Count Chocula; mine BooBerry. Phil attended a Christian and Missionary Alliance church as a child while I didn’t attend church until I was almost 17 – also a C&MA church. Phil’s story is very typical for the 1970’s and 1980’s.

All this sets the background for how and why VeggieTales came to be and how Big Idea grew so rapidly – and fell just as quickly.

Phil’s story is classic for entrepreneurs of our age and temper. His initial struggle just to earn enough to eat, followed by rapid growth and profit, only to fail via bankruptcy. You can read this book like a classic case of business management, for the lesson learned is timeless. You can’t just say "this one thing" caused Big Idea to fail, nor can you say "it’s all this person’s fault." There were several factors involved. Phil doesn’t point fingers at his staff – he hired them after all. No, Phil accepts the blame himself. He does point out the errors that were made by everyone but still manages to bring them all back to himself and his own personal decisions.

You can also read this as the spiritual journey of one man and his search for purpose, acceptance, and ultimately, his search for God.

I mentioned previously the big lesson Phil learned though all this: God is enough. Phil quotes C.S. Lewis "He who has God plus many things has nothing more than he who has God alone." Start plugging various items into the "many things" and that sentence starts carrying more weight. For Phil it was "He who has God plus an amazing ministry impacting millions of lives around the world has nothing more than he who has God alone." For me, it’s "He who has God plus a healthy child has nothing more than God alone."

Phil came to the conclusion that God is far more interested in Phil than in VeggieTales. I’ve had to come to a similar conclusion for me. This is a simple yet tough lesson to learn.

Just to drive the point home, Phil says:

"Finally, and I am very serious when I say this, beware of your dreams, for dreams make dangerous friends. We all have them – longings for a better life, a healthy child, a happy marriage, rewarding work. But dreams are, I have come to believe, misplaced longings. False lovers. Why? Because God is enough. Just God. And he isn’t "enough" because he can make our dreams com true – no, you’ve got him confused with Santa or Merlin or Oprah. The God who created the universe is enough for us – even without our dreams. Without the better life, the healthy child, the happy marriage, the rewarding work."

If you're interested in a spiritual journey or in a management study Me, Myself, and Bob is an excellent book for everyone.