- Transform your personal and professional life forever.
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free”. – Frederick Douglass
Reading is one of the most human things that we can do. When we were able to read, humans were able to capture and share information from generation to generation, from culture to culture, and from century to century. We often draw upon the literature about events of the past to understand what is happening in the world today.
Similarly, in our own personal and professional lives, today, if there is just one thing that we would develop that would have the biggest contribution to our lives, it would be to develop a daily reading habit.
Developing a daily reading practice has so many benefits. Reading allows for bringing in different perspectives from people across time, cultures, and
countries, who have been through and faced perhaps the same problems that we are facing today, and it can help draw from their learnings, that can be re-applied today. Whether it is in the form of a direct solution or even a principle that can be applied to our lives or even offer some comfort that someone has been through this before, and we can learn from their lived experience.
“Great books help you understand, and they help you feel understood”. – John Green
Reading also increases our empathy and our ability to understand other people’s experiences. For example, reading the diary of Anne Frank transports us immediately into her world, her surroundings, and the people in her life at that time.
1. Read a little a day.
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. – Joseph Addison
The best way to start a reading habit is to start a little day. Maybe, just a sentence, and planting the seed of reading at the right spot is key too. Find a daily time that is consistent for you to start reading. Maybe when you are having your first cup of tea for the day, or when you just get to bed.
2. Read for depth and breadth, and for fun.
Read a variety of things. Go deep into a subject that you are interested in. Go far into a work matter. And go fun with your hobbies. This helps the mind to move in a more holistic manner, and draw upon different sources when being creative and approaching a problem or finding a solution. Perhaps your reading about the Roman Empire could help with a workable solution or reading about bees could help with the concept of teamwork. The brain draws upon all our resources in finding solutions.
3. Get great reading recommendations from mentors.
“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
One of the common complaints people share when asked to read is that they don’t know where to start or how to begin and what to read. One of the simplest ways to get started is to ask a friend for a recommendation for a book. And when you read a book, within that book look for a recommendation for the next book, and so on.
4. Read to Lead and Shine.
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”. – Margaret Fuller
It has been said that “Leaders are Readers” If you research you will find that all the great generals, rulers, and statesmen had a great love of reading and learning. Reading allowed them to access the great wealth of experience and knowledge of civilizations gone by, and learn from their experiences and events.
Reading also lights the way for future generations to learn from.
“Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time.” – E.P. Whipple
If you want to immediately start shining, start a daily reading practice, and reap the benefits for a lifetime. You will not regret it.
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