Man can live without books.
But man cannot live fully as was purposed without books.
Thus living without books has varying degrees of mediocrity. What is the best book you have ever read in your life? Might you have encountered a worse one too? How did you come by them? In the midst of this era of information overload, it is important to select and read relevant books which can provide you with tools and strategies to experience “Turning Point” in your life.
As an avid reader of great life-changing books, I have come to realize that not all books are to be read. You don’t need to read every book on leadership to make you an outstanding leader. But there are some books that have their relevance steadfast in time. And so the big question is: How do I select and read these books? Well, I find the following five points helpful in selecting and reading the best of books whether in personal or professional life.
Choose With Your Interests In Mind. I asked a friend of mine Ekua about her interest(s) and she told me “love and relationship”. “I find,” she added, “myself struggling to read materials dealing with technicalities and reasoning.” That’s Ekua, what about you? What are the areas you love to argue about, watch about, or listen to anytime anywhere? Make a list of them. Streamline your list to about six (because I have six areas of interests.) The list may include leadership, communication, marketing, spiritual, etc. Your interests are a pointer to what you are passionate about.
Conform to Your Career Pursuit. What is your career ambition? Is it to become an entrepreneur, author, speaker, journalist, or what? Be decisive about this. This is tied to your interests that you have already list. The importance is this, once you know you career aspiration, you know which books to pick and which ones to ignore. I will not spend my time reading books on medicine and music because I have never dreamt of become a medical doctor or musician. Of course this is not to say that you must narrow your reading list to only your career path. You must broaden your knowledge base.
Consider The Top 10 Experts List. Every field has somewhat a few people who are at the cutting edge. They are those who make the real impact. They are those who sell a lot because the market has come to accept them as best voices to provide necessary tools to equip them. To name a few: one of the revered leadership experts is John C. Maxwell, author of the 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership. Locally, I can mention the brand name Albert and Comfort Ocran which has gained reputation as personal and professional development therapist with over dozen books amongst which is Career Starter Pack.
Choose From Recommendation. Good books get recommended. There are so many books on any topic but good ones get reviewed by authors and experts. Check out the bibliographical part of any good book and good resources come handy.
Check Out The Best Selling List. I do this to choose a lot of books that I read. There are so many best authors but few best selling ones. Because there are few great authors and many average and good selling authors. The New York Times and the Amazon.com publish bestselling lists.
One of the oldest ways to nurture the mind is through reading. Nurturing our mind is nurturing your next level in your career or personal life. Because your net worth is dependant on your self worth. The English author and philosopher Francis Bacon said that, “Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some few to be chewed and digested.” This is very true with regards to your effort at acquiring Knowledge For Effective Living through reading.
Read…connect…greater minds!
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.) Monday, September 19, 2011
