All Leaders are Readers: How Reading Helps?
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
You will mostly see that successful people have one thing in common, ‘Reading.’ This is one of the best habits a person can keep. It helps in learning, grooming and changing your inner self. Amazing leaders have many excellent habits. However, the most prominent one is reading. In the blog you are about to read, we will provide you with the reasons why they keep this habit and how it makes them more productive and better.
You must have learned about the saying, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, said these words and he was absolutely right. The quote supports the statement that it is not necessary to become a leader if you are a reader. However, if you really want to be a leader, then you must start reading. It is very important for students to read because it opens the mind and takes them far away in a philosophical and imaginary world, which is good for them if appropriately handled.
We would recommend you to consume at least two books per month. You can have them as audiobooks through Audible.com. The genre depends on your taste. You can read three to four books at a time. Sounds strange? Let us provide you with a technique. You can read a religious book for Sunday, a fiction book for when you want to relax, and one or two non-fiction books for when you are motivated to learn. Students, who do not read, eventually ask each other, “Whom can I best essay writing service?”
Following are the reasons why it is important to read if you want to lead or be more productive.
- Reading Helps Us Change The Perspective
Reading can help us in mysterious ways. You might get inspired by a motivational story which relates to your current situation, and that book might steer you in a positive direction. It can inspire you with stories of great accomplishments. It can provide new ideas. It opens your mind and allows you to step back and view the forest while day-to-day we only see a few trees.
Most readers enjoy biographies for this reason. We would recommend you to read Winners Dream, the autobiography of SAP CEO Bill McDermott, and The Innovators, the story of the computer and Internet pioneers.
- Reading Multiplies Our Experiences
Let’s take the example of building a family. It takes almost 22 years to raise a child, and we only get a limited number of children, in most cases. Older couples are usually seen saying that it takes a lifetime to build a successful marriage, and again, opportunities to practice are limited. But when you become a reader and start reading on a regular basis, you can learn from the experiences of virtually unlimited numbers of successful parents and married couples.
Now take the example of leading in business. If you want to become a successful businessman, you must have great knowledge of your business. But you have limited time and experiences in life. Here, a book can help you out. You can learn from the experiences of an unlimited number of leaders in the business world.
- Reading Help Us In Spending Time With Smart People
The problem with the world is that smart people are mostly silent and stupid people never shut their mouths. But you can still have a one-way conversation with smart minds because they write. They might be silent, but their pens are effective.
You might not be able to have a coffee with legends like Andy Andrews, Dave Ramsey, Jim Collins Michael Hyatt, or Peter Drucker (especially because he’s no more). But you can spend as much time with them as you want by reading their books.
Suppose you get frustrated with reading because you read a lot of books but do not feel like you are retaining much of what you read. If that’s the case, we would recommend you to read Michael Hyatt. In one of his podcasts, he mentioned that he doesn’t read with the intent of retaining much. He reads to spend time with smart people.
- Reading Helps Us In Escaping Routines
When thinking about reading for leaders, we normally think about non-fiction, such as leadership principles, self-improvement, biographies, etc. While I primarily read non-fiction, I believe it’s important also to read fiction.
Reading is not only for learning and leading. The people who read for the purpose of learning, they think about non-fiction, such as leadership principles, self-improvement, biographies, etc. But there are also people who want to escape their environment while being in the environment. They are physically there, but mentally, particular books take them far away. Such people usually read fiction, and we believe it’s important to read it.
Fiction is the best way to escape. It helps you mentally disengage from your circumstances, and facilitates rest and recovery. After reading fiction, you can land back to your real life with different plans and tackles your problems with different and more effective tactics.
