READ TO RENEW, RELAX & REVITALIZE YOURSELF!
“A man only learns by two things,” Will Rogers said. “One is reading, and the other is association with smarter people.” Well, you might not always be able to control the company you keep, but you certainly can select the books to nourish your soul.
So, what are you reading? If you’re not reading, you’re not growing. Jim Rohn used to say that poor people have big screen TVs, while successful people have big libraries. You are what you read, so read good stuff! But in today’s fast-paced, information-overloaded society?
WHY READ?
I know, I know. I’m preaching to the choir. Unfortunately, the choir shrinks a little each year.
Have you ever heard the expression “readers are leaders?” I am not convinced
of that. I have met a fair share of folks who read plenty and never get around to applying anything that they read. It reminds me of something I often used to hear when I taught: good readers are good writers. That was not always the case. I have met plenty of good readers who are not necessarily good writers, but I have never met a good writer who is not an avid reader.
The same is true for leadership. I have met plenty of readers who may not necessarily be leaders, but I have never met a leader who does not devour a healthy diet of books, magazines, newspapers and other reading materials.
Translation: LEADERS = READERS.
The power to succeed today lies within you. If you have any desire to be a leader, know that you must be a reader. A lot of people reading this are thinking, I’m just a teacher – I’m not a leader. JUST a teacher? Are you kidding me? Now, more than ever, we need leaders who set good examples, and teachers (along with parents) are the most critical leaders we have. Also realize, though, that reading is not enough.
I used to always tell my students that education is valuable, but execution is priceless. W. Clement Stone said, “little hinges swing big doors.” Show your students the importance of reading, by considering this…
SO, YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT?
“I am not educated,” Richard Nixon once said. “But I do read books.”
Consider:
• John Adams had more than 3,000 books in his library, including works by Greek philosophers such as Cicero, Plutarch and Thucydides.
• Thomas Jefferson acquired so many books in his library that his personal collection became the foundation of what later became the Library of Congress.
• While he had access to limited schooling as a child, Abraham Lincoln was an ardent reader, whose father often punished him for neglecting his work in favor of reading.
• It is well documented that President Theodore Roosevelt read a book a day –
and sometimes three books a day – often in French, Italian and German, as well as English.
• Harry Truman was the last American president not to have completed college, but he was a voracious reader. In fact, many credit Truman’s boyhood reading of the Bible as a strong factor in his support for establishing the country of Israel in 1948.
by
Danny Brassell, Ph.D.
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