The greatest gift is a passion for reading. - Elizabeth Hardwick.
During the slavery era, one of the unlawful things a slave master could have done to a slave was to teach him or her how to read and write. Quite simply, the only thing necessary for that barbaric act to thrive was to keep the slaves ignorant. That meant that enlightenment through reading was a trigger off rebellion against the system.
The life of Frederick Douglass was one from slavery to freedom. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Frederick recounted how he did everything in his power to learn the alphabets and educate himself through reading in spite of the stiff opposition. As I read this account, one question jumped at me: What would have happened if he had accepted what the system offered? Obviously history would have taken another turn without him. He freed his mental slavery and later became one of the most influential leaders of the anti-slavery movement and a master orator. All these happened through the power of reading.
We live in a free society, but many have chosen the path of ignorance. I read somewhere that the average adult does not read a whole book in his lifetime. Reading is indispensable to any success story. By reading skill, I mean the ability to acquire the right information for transformation. With practice brings improvement, and so any one can cultivate this habit by observing the following tips.
Redeem Time To Read. In July this year, I shared my thoughts on reading with the pupils of the University of Ghana Staff Village School titled Why Read? One of the major excuses I told them to overcome was the assertion that, “I Do Not Have Time To Read.” Chinese philosopher Confucius advises that, “No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”
One of the commodities each one of us has in equal value is time. No more, no less! How you use it is what is important. Do you know that Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and other top richest people in the world have the same amount of time as you do? How do you use your time? Ghanaian columnist and author Terry Mante calls “strands of time” the moments we spend in traffic, we wait for church service to start, we wait in line for our turn at the bank, and so on. It is my conviction that utilising such time will help develop reading skill.
Read For 30 Minutes A Day. Set an achievable goal of reading for at least 30 minutes a day. Reading for 30 to 60 minutes per day will result in one book by two weeks. If you continue with this habit, you can be done with more than 30 books a year.
Author and speaker Earl Nightingale says that, “If a person will spend one hour a day on the same subject for five years, that person will be an expert on that subject.” That’s a good one to keep.
Select Around Your Areas of Interests. Each and every one of us has an interest or two. List your interest areas and select the best books to read. When I developed the passion for reading, I used to read anything I could lay my hands on. Only last year, I read an article by Success magazine publisher Darren Hardy on How To (Actually) Improve From Self-Improvement Materials that tremendously helped me to select books for personal growth. He wrote, “I break my yearly goal achievement plans into four quarterly themes. In each quarter I focus on a particular area of my life or skill I want to improve (e.g., marriage, health, keynote speaking, interviewing, etc.)” He goes on to do research and selects the top 5 books in each area of interest and consumes the materials. This strategy could work for anyone who wants to develop his or her reading skill for higher results.
Discipline Yourself To Read. It takes discipline to read a book or any other material from cover to cover. You can never put all the above factors to use without discipline. Plato said that, “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” In other words, you cannot conquer anything, not to talk of leading others, without first leading your own self. The power to develop your reading skill is only in your moment of discipline.
Malcolm X was a radical touring figure when considering the struggle against segregation in America in the ‘60s. One of the things that he discovered that changed his life when he was in prison was reading. It was through reading that he encountered the ideas of the Muslim leader Elisha Mohammed. Mr. X said in his book Autobiography of Malcolm X (1964) that, “The ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.” That could be the same for you too!
Read…connect…greater minds!
© 2011 Eric Otchere
Email: eric.otchere@ymail.com
(The author is passionate about practical
Knowledge For Effective Living which will see many
people Know, Do, and Give of their best in life.) Tuesday, September 27, 2011
