Weekly Thought Archives > What's That In Your Hand
What's That In Your Hand
My good friend, Charlie "Tremendous" Jones loves books. He loves everything about them. He memorizes vast portions of them and quotes them on every occasion. We speakers love good material. Charlie has two lines that are priceless. 1) Leaders are Readers; and 2) Except for the people you meet and the books you read, you will be the same person in five years you are today. Great stuff!
My mentor, Maxey Jarman, told me a story that took root. An older salesman instructed a younger one something would happen to him if he read the classics people would consider him more than just a salesman. I was young and very impressionable. I took much needed money out of our budget to buy a copy of Plutarch’s Lives. Mary Alice didn’t quite get the import of Maxey’s story like I did. Of course, I didn’t finish the book, but I learned a great lesson -- always read above your present mental capacity. That lesson was worth way more than the price of the book.
Too much current literature is junk food. I have a responsibility to serve better quality -- to stretch the palates and appetites of those around me. Andrew Carnegie said, "A reading program should be as carefully planned as the daily diet; for that, too, is food without which there is no mental growth." Empty calories hurt our bodies and our minds.
Great readers develop strong vocabularies. A recent survey of top executives stated two of the common denominators were: 1) a sense of history and 2) a precise, above average vocabulary. The fact a person will stop at unfamiliar words shows me they are reading "tougher stuff" and they pay the price to learn. This inquiring thoroughness is a necessary quality of leadership.
Too many people read to be told what to think. I read not to know what the author has to say, but what thoughts he can spur. Great books put us in touch not only with the best thoughts of the finest minds, but with the greatest thoughts of our own minds.
One of my cardinal reading rules is: never read when you are too tired to argue with the author, nor when you are too rushed to make notes. A writer worth your time is worth your concentration.
I have always asked people, "What are you currently reading?" If I know what someone is reading, then I know what they are becoming. I am now asking, "What are you re-reading?" because that tells me about the strong influencers in their lives.
Think about: 1) What am I reading this week? 2) How does my reading affect my thinking, my life decisions? 3) How do I move from page turner to note taker?
Words of Wisdom: "Great books put us in touch not only with the best thoughts of the finest minds, but with the greatest thoughts of our own minds."
Wisdom from the Word: "It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out." (Deuteronomy 17:19 NET Bible)
