Great leaders are readers

Awareness is always the first step to change.
The lessons I am sharing with you are about awareness. You get to choose what you want to do with your new awareness. If you look at socio-economic studies for low income households, you will find that they may have a copy of The Herald or a Bible in their homes.

If you go to a medium income household you will find a few books (usually by the toilet!) with a glossy gossip magazine in the lounge.

But what do you think you will find in high income households? Perhaps a library of non-fiction books. So the question we must ask is this, is the socio-economic status determined by what people read or does what people read bring the status?

I will guarantee you it is the latter. All great leaders are readers. You will never grow spiritually, emotionally or financially by watching TV news and reading the tabloids.

Remember there are only two things you can do with your brainpower as it relates to time. 
You can either spend it, or invest it. Time spent (wasted) is gone forever. Investment in the form of learning creates a lifetime of payoff not only in knowledge, but in income as well.

1. Reading engages the mind of a person in thought in ways that other types of media do not. Reading is a long conversation with the author of the book. Thoughts, ideas, illustrations and stories are all presented in such a way as to provoke the reader to profound thought on a variety of subjects from the simplicity of beauty to the depth of our understanding of physics.

2. Reading provides clarity. Writing is the most referenced form of communication. What is written can easily be referenced and referred back to. Readers can highlight and underline passages. 
Words can be looked up and examined. Troubling thoughts find themselves explained in the context of the larger work.

3. Reading is reader paced. Not everyone reads at the same pace.  Those who read and comprehend faster can enjoy gaining information at their own personal pace. Likewise slower readers are not hurried through material.

4. Reading is an act of humility. When one submits to read a non-fiction book for the sake of gaining information on a project or concept the reader is admitting that he/she can gain from the insight of others. This is an act of humility.

5. Reading is prudent. You can read anywhere. Reading is a good use of time when waiting in line or for a lunch appointment to show up.

Decide right now that you are going to invest your greatest asset, which is your time, in learning and studying things that will bring you closer to your desires.

Nyaradzo Mavindidze, a motivational speaker, is the Managing Consultant at Avodah Consultants which specialises in soft skills training and coaching. For feedback email [email protected].