Personal Development: What are you reading?

What you are currently reading?

"I don't have time to read books", said one "reader" of this newsletter. "I can only find time to read my email, and watch a bit of television before it's time to go to bed. Besides which I'm always reading at work, who wants to read when they get home as well."

It has been said by many people, that the only difference to the way your life turns out are the people you meet and interact with and the books that you read. I would like to add a major point to that statement and that is - I believe that what comes out of your mouth is directly related to what goes into your mind.

So if you spend all your time in front of the tv and reading the latest celebrity gossip, guess what you will be talking about to those people with whom you associate most regularly....and what do they spend all their time talking about - yes - what they have done in the last few hours, or days since you last saw them....

I have to confess that I am not a great TV watcher. Yes I will watch the occassional movie, especially when someone brings one over. But my collection of reading material is massive. I visit our local library every few weeks to see what new books are on offer. I make a note of those that I would like to own, and then when funds allow, I make a point of buying a copy for my own personal collection. The reason being, a book should not be read just once, it should be read and studied, especially if you want to get the most from it. But I've also discovered a second hand bookstore that contains a huge range of material at a fraction of the cost of a new one.

And the best bit is that the money goes to charity. You see some of the books that I want to read are no longer in print (being a librarian does have its advantages) and I can't buy a new one...

Along with my book collection are a series of notebooks that I can make notes in - no I will not write in my books - once a librarian, always a librarian !! but the notebooks are a fast way of going back over the main points contained in a book.

But what has this got to do with you?

Well if you are on some sort of changed eating plan and you are following someone's advice, my "advice" to you is to go back and re-read the literature that you have been given. You may find that you are not following the suggestions properly and you may find that your progress has slowed - maybe that is the reason why.

But you may also like to know that the great leaders of our time, and times past are those people who read, and read a lot. They are not afraid to take someone elses ideas and see where they fit into their own situation. Why re-invent the wheel when someone has already drawn up the blueprint and worked out the right materials to use.