A man who says he read 80 books in 2019 believes those who read may not queue to see a mentor or a godfather.
That books are rich in insights people look for at a face-to-face meeting.
That should be very apt an assurance in a society so corrupted people require all manner of networks or support even to cross a rickety bridge in the village.
Sunny Bindra, the avid reader referred to here, says all that you require for a mentor is in the written word or audio.
Neurosurgeon-turned politician Ben Carson says in his book, The Big Picture, that minds interact through reading.
Barack Obama, when he was Senator, said a child convinced to cross into a library can achieve a top goal. Because he rose to become the first black US President, it is safe to conclude that reading can propel a dreamer to the top at home, at work, in the church, and in national politics.
Most valuable ideas are encrypted in books. Hard times and tough questions, including trends in tech disruption require going into books for decoding.
The truth is, man requires more than physical might to survive, live, and thrive. The body requires mental structures to grow a humane soul.
Right information helps in understanding the environment and society. If not, people do the wrong things all the time, which equals hurt and stagnation.
Effective scanning of the environment becomes more possible with reading.
Because the United States of America wants to keep on the right track, they have continued to mould their young generation to be readers. Last year, more Americans visited libraries than those who went to the movies.
Reading, which you can do from anywhere–in bed, on the bus or plane, when waiting for your host, at your office desk, but of course not when walking in the street — reduces and unravels confusion to clarity.
Professionals who read consistently understand the trends better than those who rely on yellow notes.
Surgery techniques or journalism theories of five years ago ceased making sense and experts who are that stagnant neither get useful roles, referrals nor top clients.
When you read as suits your schedule, you save self from the danger of sameness. You think and become different by experiencing the other world unknown to a majority.
And that, in other words, is creating scarcity that boosts profile and actual performance. You experience a rebirth.
Armed with information about the past, today, and attempting to read the future more objectively, creativity juices start flowing more freely.
Perhaps, most importantly, it goes without saying that reading improves memory. We cannot remember everything studied long time ago except through reading.
Reading also improves word power, which is the ticket to powerful speeches and writings that take the world to newer heights.
Vocabulary and wording are appreciated when you read novels, where the authorship reveals themselves as contortionists, not in body but in the way they twist words to create beautiful forms and shapes.
Those who do that are a marvel and are honoured as producers of bestsellers.
Great leaders and agents of change have been readers. Jesus of history would have hoped that His followers embraced the attitude of seeking a higher world order.
He made the devil to understand that man does not live on bread alone but on the very word that comes from the mouth of God.
Like in many of His responses, Jesus often answered the toughest questions by quoting the scripture: It is written … implying he was an ardent reader of the Word.
Reading exposes one to the truth and that is one of the sources of incredible visions in which the best have been revealed to the chosen few.
It is on record that President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama annually release a list of books they have read. And both are authors. Remember their titles? Read.
John F. Kennedy was surrounded by great readers and the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Perez was a renowned reader.
Theodore Roosevelt was known to read at least three books every day. Roosevelt claimed to have read thousands of books in his lifetime.
Unfortunately, reading can be pretty boring to a dull soul. A soul that is not curious to interpret the how, why, and why-nots of life, to discover and understand nature, and think through challenges.
It is sad that even university graduates who are bestowed with ”the power to read and do all that appertains” to their areas of specialisation, soon start trusting nothing but their intuition.
Regardless of the number of degrees and certifications, learn to to continue learning through reading.
As you think about the next book you are going to read, here is a sample: Things Fall Apart; The Power of Unreasonable People; The Measure of a Leader; Imaginations of the Other Place; Words I wish I Wrote; and, Life is Still Beautiful.
Like Harry Truman said, “All leaders are readers”. It is never too late to start.
