“Leaders are Readers.”
If you are in business, you have probably heard that virtually all your life. But have you ever stopped to realize that the saying is true in EVERY AREA of your life?
Think about it. Let’s say that you want to start a garden. What would be a good source of wisdom to help you succeed in gardening? Well, you could just guess. Go out in your back yard and start planting some seeds. That is almost guaranteed to yield you a whole crop…of nothing.
Maybe you want to lose weight. Hey, here is an idea: just quit eating food! Wow, I bet you could lose a whole lot of weight that way…until you die of starvation.
I know. You probably want to save a lot of money by fixing your own transmission. All you have to do is open the hood of your car, and start messing around with your tools. I am sure that you will succeed…at making things worse.
Golly, what else could one possibly do to learn something new?
READ.
You see, the phrase “Leaders are Readers” does not just apply to business. It applies to every area of your life. It applies to succeeding in your:
Faith Walk;
Relationships;
Money;
Career, and;
Health.
Men, when is the last time you read a book on how to lead your family? On how to improve your marriage? On how to be a better Dad?
Ladies, when is the last time you read a book on how to be a better friend? On how to improve your management of the family’s finances? On how to be a better spouse?
Business people, when is the last time you read a book on History? On your favorite hobby? On proper nutrition?
Most people I know are in one of two camps: either they NEVER READ, or they READ ONLY IN ONE AREA. I received some great mentoring one day when a man told me that everyone should be reading 2 books at a time: one business book, and one non-business book. Or one relationship book, and one financial book. His point was that research has shown that, when a person is in two different types of books, the brain actually absorbs MORE than if a person reads just one book at a time. I know it sounds illogical, but it is true. I know from personal experience that sometimes – when I was reading only one book at a time – my mind would wander as I read. Sometimes I would have to go back and re-read a passage, because I was not absorbing the material. I believe that it was due to being bored of reading about one topic all the time.
If you are not a consistent reader yet, I want you to hear what Mark Twain once famously said:
“The man who DOES NOT read has no advantage over the man who CANNOT read.”
Now, quit reading this, and go read a book. You will be amazed by what you learn!
