Reading is an art that for ages has proven to be a common denominator for successful career persons.
A student once asked Bill Gates, “Sir, if you can choose one superpower, what would it be?”
The universally acclaimed business magnet revered throughout the world for founding Microsoft Corporation responded, “The ability to read superfast”
Dr. Seuss, a successful author of mostly kid’s books wrote, “The more that you read the more things that you know. The more that you learn the more places that you’ll go.”
I’ve been to seminars on leadership for a number I can’t count with my fingers and toes combined, and I was constantly reminded of the popular opinion that the books you read shape who you become. I’ve sat in my house and while channel-surfing found a documentary around the excellent speeches ever made by Ben Carson, and one of the things that hit me profoundly were these words: Between the covers of a book you can go wherever you want to go; you can become whoever you want to become.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Where is he going with this bookish lecture? Buckle up, let me explain.
When a journalist interviewed Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore last year, 12 lessons came from the chat. One of the insights Bob had to give was, read and then read some more.
Now, this is a successful CEO who has for years led his company through thick and thin to remain one of the most visible brands in our country. This is a man who has experienced the meanders in organization leadership and has jumped different huddles in his career to have overwhelming praise stapled on his name. And what does he have to offer as advice? Read and then read some more.
Reading is an art that for ages has proven to be a common denominator for successful career persons. It’s a fact; a no-brainer clear as clear can get. Reading sharpens wit and hikes ingenuity, winnowing out an individual from the net of commoners. But a major problem has been the question- how am I supposed to get time to read when my job has me manacled almost 24/7?
It’s true it can be tough to commit to reading daily, and most people have confessed to taking centuries to flip from cover to cover of a single book. Jobs have intensified their pressure to a point duties leave us with not much time in our hands. But could there be a solution to this? Yes: Let’s try these hacks!
Book summary Apps: These are handy-dandy apps developed to give you the superpower Bill Gates desires to have; that of reading more in lesser time. The cradles of these apps have employed avid readers to do the heavy lifting for you. They read books on various topics and then lift key insights, condense them in concise outlines which can be accessed on the apps. Examples of apps you can download include Blinkist, Joosr, and Instaread.
Book clubs: Sometimes it’s not that we can’t find time to read, we just don’t have the self-drive and we need a prickly poke in the ribs to commit to and maintain the discipline to keep reading. Joining a book club could give you just that
A book a month: Alternatively, you could select books from a store and then decide to read one in a month. That means twelve books a year. If you think that’s hard to achieve, consider former US President Barrack Obama who clearly has a lot in his hands but still, last year December he publicly released a list of 29 books he read in 2018.
Will you still say you have no time to read and be empowered? At whatever level you stand in your career now, you won’t miss something to strum at your heart’s guitar, not with the millions of books available on different topics and different genres.
