023 How reading can lead to your next great beginning

Can reading really help you find your next great beginning? We explore why it’s possible that it may just very well depend upon it.

 

This episode’s Inspire Me quote comes from Mark Twain:

“A person who won’t read has no advantage over the one who can’t read.”

Reading may just be one of the most underrated methods to finding and taking your next transition.

In our fast soundbite culture where Facebook posts and Youtube views have far surpassed book reading, Leary and Armin discuss the benefits of this lost art to finding your next great beginning:

• Slows us down to think. Reading reduces our stress and quiets our brains so that we can think better. Researchers have shown it to be one of the most effective techniques to use when life is overwhelming. And until you have a clear, calm mind, you’ll never imagine your next great beginning.
• Connects ideas. Steve Johnson, in his book Where Good Ideas Come From, writes that “reading remains an unsurpassed vehicle for the transmission of new ideas and perspectives.” When you read, your brain creates a “liquid network” of information.
• Provides a levee When we read, we don’t engage in less helpful diversions such as television. Research has shown that reading increases learning over video because of the way inferences are made when we read.
• Awakens your interests. When you read, you go on a journey that the author takes you along to connect new ideas. This journey can inform you of interests that may be part of your next great beginning.
• Provides a common vocabulary. Many books introduce a vocabulary that helps us to understand the concepts presented. This way of describing concepts can help give shape to the new ideas we are meant to explore.
• Avoid mistakes. You don’t have time to make all the mistakes that have been made. Well written books are our guides around the challenges we might expect along the journey.

Armin shared some suggestions on how to cultivate a reading habit:

1. Find a good time to read, especially if you can keep the time consistent.
2. Pick something you’ll enjoy reading
3. Keep track of what you read. Use a website such as GoodReads.com to do so

The Challenge Me for this episode is simply to clear a shelf in a bookcase that you’re likely to see every day. Then, as you finish a book, put in the on the shelf. The shelf is your visual cue to motivate you to fill it.

Resources mentioned or related to this podcast that may be helpful to you:

• How to read a book, Mortimer Adler’s classic book on intelligent reading