Pick up a book and read it. Educate yourself on a new topic, allow your mind to travel on an adventure, and expand your vocabulary and grammar. Jim Rohn said, “If someone went through five years of something and wrote a book about that could help you. For $30 you could save five years of having to go through that.”
Not liking to read is not an excuse; neither is not having the time. We are fortunate to have books available through a variety of avenues. For starters you could go to the local library and read for free, or if you can spare the money then go to the nearest bookstore. If that doesn’t work for you, download the audio version on your phone or mp3 player and listen to it in the car or during your lunch break. Download the E-book version and spare a little time away from Facebook and emails on your computer.
Think of the last book you read. What was the take away value for you? Did this book change your life in some way? This could depend on the type of book you read. When I’m in the mood to just plow through a book in a day or two of solid reading, I pick a book that I can stand reading for eight hours in one day. I find a book that entangles the mind and is irresistible to put down. These are almost always fiction legal thrillers and for the most part add little value to my life, other than making for a good read.
For something with good meat, a solid novel can do the trick. You don’t blaze through the pages because like good tasting wine, you want to take in all of the flavors and be sure to not miss anything. A good novel is also like a piece of steak in that you have to chew it thoroughly, breaking big chunks into smaller bits that are understandable and easier for the mind to digest.
Then there is non-fiction. This encompasses a broad spectrum of topics and styles and is not limited to one method of reading them. A newly released book on a political scandal could be similar to a junky fiction in that the take away value is limited. On the other hand, a book that describes the basics of creating a budget and investing money could give you insight like you cannot believe.
If just a few hundred pages could open up new doors for you and improve your understanding of the world, imagine what reading ten or a hundred books could do for you.
