READ - The Big Deal About Reading

READ is out! I give all the glory to Jesus. What's the big deal about reading? That's the question the book addresses. The aim is to encourage people to read productively and expand their knowledge base.

This book is special to me for some reasons. First, it is my first printed work. I have published some of my writings online and won prizes for a few, but this is the first time I'm publishing in print.

Secondly, this work is special because it is independently published. I have closely followed the evolvement and growth of indie publishers online. Following tips shared by them, I decided to give it a try and here is the product.

Well, I'm not completely satisfied, but this is just the beginning. I like the cover which I and my graphic designer put together. There are some problems with the layouts and some typographical errors, but these have not in any way tampered with the message of the book which I think is life-changing.

From doing this book, I have learnt some more about taking steps towards achieving your dreams. You don’t get things done by wishing, you get things done by taking positive, productive steps.

If there is a book in you, I encourage you to write it. Write it now!

Enjoy God’s Exceeding Grace

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EASY WAY TO LEARN

I love life stories.

History and literature were my favorites in high school. I’m interested in people and their history. I have been, since my teenage years, when I started reading autobiographies of celebrities. It made me feel like I knew them personally. I also love to ask questions and learn about people; what they do and how they do it. When I was a kid, I would ask so many questions, my mum would scold me. It was only natural that I ended up a broadcaster and I enjoyed all my ten years of working in the media.

The habit remains. I still ask lots of questions, just to know and learn, and my husband sometimes nudges me discreetly when I switch into the interviewer’s mode with people. 

I have learnt so much from all the stories behind people’s glories, defeats and struggles. It has not only helped me to be a good counselor and life mentor, I have applied some of these lessons personally. Life stories, orally or written, present to us a lifetime of experiences and lessons in a few hours of reading. It may be in the form of a profile, memoir, diary or autobiography. 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer says, there are three ways to learn:

The Easy way - Learning from other’s mistakes;

The hard way - Learning from your mistakes;

The Tragic Way - Learning from neither;”

No wonder the bible is an encyclopedia of biographies. God wants us to learn the easy way, from bible heroes and villains. His laws and principles are better understood through the lives of these characters.

Some advise you read biographies of successful people only while some recommend you read the good, the bad and the ugly as long as your objectives are clear. You learn from the good how to be good and from the deficient, how not to fall from grace. You learn from people’s great exploits as well as their failings.

Former UK Prime Minister

Instead of learning life’s lessons the hard way, you could take an easier route by standing on the shoulders of those who have gone ahead.

Here are some values I have gleaned from reading other people's stories.

MARGARET THATCHER

"If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and you would achieve nothing." 

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

"No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions, he had money as well." 

NELSON MANDELA

"There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."

"I have learnt that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." 

ANNE FRANK

"I think a lot. I don't say much." 

"No one has ever become poor by giving." 

MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR.

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensely and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
JOYCE MEYER

"You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are."

"The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday." 

We are a most blessed generation with the crowd of leaders we can learn from. Why not pick up a biography of someone you admire and want to pattern your life after. It's a less difficult way to grow into greatness.

Enjoy God’s Exceeding Grace

READ READ READ 2

Image courtesy of healingdream/freedigitalphotos.net

I’ve been trying to read two books in the last six weeks, one is titled ‘Favor’ by Joseph Prince and the second is on writing, ‘Writing your Way,’ by Julie smith. Six weeks I tell you and I’m not yet in the middle of both. In between though, I do loads of reading and writing. I read my bible, snippets from Christian books and articles on a wide range of topics depending on what I’m writing on. I read people’s works that I’m editing or proofreading. I spend an average of ten hours every day reading and writing. That’s my job, more of a passion, apart from attending to other commitments.

So I understand, when you say, “I don’t have time to read.”

Time to read is always an issue, even for a writer, especially if you don’t have to, considering all the other productive and unproductive things you do daily.

You have to work and earn a living.

You have to study and pass your exams, if you are a student.

You have to attend to family and social commitments.

You have to sort through your E-mails. That may very likely take you to your Face Book page, which lures you on to twitter, a blog or a video stream on You Tube. Meanwhile your phone rings and beeps with new messages every other minute.

It’s crazy, and it reminds me of a quote I saw on my Face Book page.

“Life was much easier when apples and blackberries were just fruits.”

It made me laugh and think.

And so, after a busy day, some of which you may spend in heavy traffic, after you have endured or enjoyed the lure of the internet, all you can do is relax in front of your TV or climb into bed. Reading is far from your mind. Your brain is already overloaded.

There goes the day.

I really do understand when you say, “I don’t have time to read.”

The truth is nobody has time enough to do everything they ought to do. We just must make out time for what we think is important. You only have time for what you consider vital. If reading is important to you, you will find time for it.

You need to read. No matter whom you are or what you do. Seeking to know more about your career and other matters relevant to your need will set you ahead. Knowledge empowers.

Here are a few benefits of reading excerpted from my book, ‘READ - The Big Deal About Reading.’

READING HELPS YOU TO UNWIND

Experts advise people who have problems with sleeping to get a good book, get on the bed and read. Waiting anxiously to sleep drives it farther away, especially if you’ve had a rough day. The many matters on our minds often cause sleeplessness.

You can unwind by distracting your mind with a good leisure book, not an intellectual one that will task your brain. As you relax and read, sleep cannot elude you.

You can also slow down in the middle of your busy schedule with a good book. There should be a time during the day when you shut down, get to a quiet place and read for about an hour. It ventilates your mind and relieves stress.

READING IMPROVES YOUR MEMORY

The fastest way to lose your memory is not to use it. Scientific studies attest to this. Task your memory with reading and productive thinking and you will not have to worry about memory loss, even as you grow old.

Materials contained in a book are often more than those in magazines or internet posts. This makes reading a book more demanding. It takes more brainpower because you need to focus and concentrate for a long time. This of course exercises your memory muscles as you work to remember the details of what you are reading.

I know a dear friend, who travelled out of Nigeria to live in Europe with her husband for over fifteen years. At her return, she joined a bible study I organized. I noticed she could not read fluently or even write coherently like she used to do.

She told me she didn’t read a single book and hardly read at all for fifteen years! Not even a bible. That sounded unbelievable and I told her so. She explained she worked two to three jobs at a time, and the jobs were menial. She never did anything that had to do with reading or writing. She confessed this had affected her ability to reason intelligently and understand easily.

“When you stop learning, you start dying.” Dr. T. L. Osborn

READING GIVES YOU FRESH IDEAS

There is no faster way to overcome the dearth of ideas than by reading. It empowers your mind and fresh ideas spring forth. If you arrive at a dead end on any issue or you have lost the zeal for a project or a commitment, get down to reading about it and you will receive fresh ideas and energy to continue.

Quality ideas come from quality thoughts produced by quality reading amongst other things. When you rub your mind with greater minds, it sharpens you. Iron sharpens iron.

As a television producer and reporter for ten years, I know how valuable fresh ideas are. We are taught in TV College to always generate good story ideas. That’s one of the things that make a good reporter or program producer. We are always on the hunt for ideas, consciously or unconsciously. Our minds are permanently on the alert for good story ideas because that’s what makes good news and programs.

One of my bosses, Frank Olize, told me if I wanted to be a good reporter, I must be a good reader and be interested in as many issues as exist. I found that daunting at the time. I hated politics and sports, but then there were times when I had to do interviews on them. I had to start reading. The more I read, the more my interest and knowledge grew.

Reading gives you fresh ideas. It gives you new perspectives on how to tackle old and persistent challenges.

Accomplished Writers read a lot. That’s one of the things you must do to be a good writer. Challenge your mind and provoke your thoughts with good books.

I love John Maxwell’s Hot Poker Principle:

“If you place a poker near the heat of a fire, it becomes hot.

To succeed, follow the Hot poker principle:

Be around great men and women;

Learn from their experiences.

Visit great places.

Attend great events.

Read great books.”

Wow! What an interesting way to succeed.

Create the time. An hour a day is good enough. You will soon see the benefits.

Grace Olumayowa Aideloje is a Writer, Editor and Proofreader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to write and publish their works. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

Request a free PDF copy of ‘READ - The Big Deal About Reading.’ by sending me a mail. penparables@gmail.com

©2012 PenParables

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's signature, and all links intact.

READ READ READ 1

“If you are interested in reading, you could actually learn anything you wanted to know.”      - BEN CARSON 

If these words are true, then everyone should read.

This age is called The Information Age. Everything we do, in fact, life itself thrives on correct, healthy information. God says in Hosea 4:6 , “My people perish because they lack knowledge.” We all need knowledge to grow and to live.

Reading is one of the ways we learn and grow. There are many other ways; hearing, seeing, observing, etc. but reading remains the best and most effective means of learning.

 “I guarantee you that the NO 1 asset that you are going to bring to whatever it is you are going to do is reading. We, the human race, have not ever invented anything that can surpass reading as a way of learning.” - HISTORIAN STEPHEN E. AMBROSE

Reading means much more than looking at words that are written or printed and understanding their meaning.

Reading is feeding your mind with information that can affect it positively or negatively.

Reading is digging for information that you need to achieve a purpose.

Reading is stretching and developing your mind for maximum productivity

Reading is acquiring knowledge that can make or mar your destiny.

Reading is rubbing your mind with the mind of the writer of what you are reading.

Reading forms your habits, attitudes and character. It changes your mindset and charts the course to your future. Reading shows you the right way.

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

History has shown that great people are ardent learners.  
“I sleep in the midst of books. I breath knowledge.”  -    DR DAVID OYEDEPO

Eleanor Roosevelt was a first lady in the United States. She, unlike many presidents’ wife, did the unconventional. She performed more than the traditional ceremonial roles by getting involved in political and social matters, making positive impact.

She said, “Only through a book is it possible to explore the most fascinating things in the world - another person's mind. I had really only three assets: I was keenly interested, I accepted every challenge and every opportunity to learn more, and I had great energy and self- discipline. Example is the best lesson there is. I never let slip an opportunity to increase my knowledge of people and conditions. I considered reading essential if people are to reach greater intellectual attainments.”

In spite of her busy work schedule, she found time to read. She saw her travel time as an opportunity to catch up on her reading.

Her grandson, David Roosevelt wrote about her: “She never stopped trying to learn. Ever inquisitive and always curious, she never stopped learning from others: about people, events and life itself. In public as in private, my grandmother was forever a student of life.” No wonder, she is still one of the most admired women in the world.

Mother Theresa became a world figure by reading. She loved to read, and through her studies, she learned of the terrible poverty that the poor in India suffered. That   was how   she   started   her humanitarian work. Pat and Ruth Williams in their book, How to Be like Women of Influence, remarked that, “her constant effort to learn gave her greater depth and wisdom.” She was honored in 1979 with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

It is mere time wasting to read just for reading sake, especially as a writer. We deal in information and since we can't give what we don't have, reading is a must for us. Not just reading but purposeful reading. A writer must read to develop his thoughts. He must read to marry fresh ideas and information to the understanding he already has. Great writers are ardent readers. That's the only way to keep your writing fresh.
Out of the abundance of his knowledge, a writer writes.

Brian Tracy is a brilliant writer. He says, “One way to become an international expert in your chosen filed is to read 100 books on the subject."  

Reading a hundred books?

That’s a tough order, you may say, but I think Brian is only emphasizing how reading can expand the depth of your knowledge.

If you aspire to be an accomplished writer, you must Learn to Read and Read to Learn.

This article is culled from my book: READ- The Big Deal about Reading. 

Request a free PDF copy by sending me a mail. penparables@gmail.com

Grace is a Writer, Editor and Proofreader. She teaches Writing Classes and motivates young writers to write and publish their works. Her passion is to empower people through knowledge sharing. She is the initiator of the Christian WAR Forum.

For more helpful articles on Writing, visit her blog: http://www.penparables.blogspot.com

E-mail - penparables@gmail.com

©2012 PenParables

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article on your website, newsletter, or eBook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's signature, and all links intact.