50 days to 50 – day/lesson 22: ‘”Wonder, adventure, knowledge, history all begins in a good book.” I have loved books and reading for as long as I can remember. Anyone who has ever visited my office knows where my heart is…which is in a book. Books are the 8th wonder of the world. Why? You ask. Because they are the most powerful and inexpensive way to enhance who we are as people. They whisk you away on an adventure; inform and train you in a new content area or skill; open your heart and mind to the new possibilities of love (or hate, at times); takes you to new villages, towns, cities and countries never visited or even known; gives you the opportunity to consider a different perspective…walk a mile in another’s shoes, if you will; stimulates your creativity; and deepens your understanding of the world around you…which simply is a broadening of your view of the world – and that’s always a good thing. Reading increases your discipline, patience and vocabulary. It helps you to focus, interpret and learn. It also increases your ability to converse with others, and to share your passion about a subject, author or idea. Its benefits are endless… So you’re not a reader, or you have not been but as a result of this post, you want to give it a try; or, you may simply need a recommendation of some sort, here’s my advice: Start with an area that interest you and go for it. • Maybe you want to read a good biography or memoir on US Presidents…George W. Bush’s book was good and anything Jimmy Carter is so worth the buy. • Maybe it’s a challenging novel you’re looking for…Middle Passage by Charles Johnson was one of the most difficult but riveting and passionate pieces of work I’ve ever (and I read it 24 years ago and am still affected by it); • or you want some cutting edge business book, then Patrick Lencioni may be your guy. His 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Death by Meeting, Getting Naked, any and all of them are wonderful; • thriller – my old time fav author is Robert Ludlum, though I have many others; • religious – Frances Chan and Ellen G White top my list; • chick books – anything Sophie Kinsella; • great autobiography – Anderson Cooper or Malcolm X. There’s more, so many more…. It matters not what you start with as long as you start. Pick up a book or two and commit 30 minutes or more a day to simply read…I tend to read 2-4 books, in different genres, because there’s never enough time to get in all the books I enjoy reading. I’m nuts like that…wouldn’t have it any other way. On my reading table right now: Race for Relevance, Going Public, The Forgotten God, The Other Side of the River, the Hampster Revolution, and I’m re-reading the Price of Stones. All great reads, all very different. I also have a list of what’s next, long enough to take me to 2020! LOL! “Oh the places you’ll go”…if you pick up a book. #countdownto50
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 02:21:15 +0000
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