Success factor – Are you getting your reading in?
photo by zitona
"You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet." – Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones
I really like this quote from Charlie Jones. I believe most people want to grow, want to learn and want to evolve into a better person, but just wanting something doesn’t make it happen, you have to learn new things, take new actions and meet new people in order to really become something more than you are today.
As a business owner or professional today – you are really busy! No doubt about it. However if you don’t make the time to learn new things or think about how you can change…you’re going to have a hard time getting ahead.
The good news is there are some great resources out there that can help you out of this conundrum.
Buy and Read books
The first resource is 800CEORead – an online only book store and ‘think tank’ of sorts. They only deal with business books and they do a lot of research and review of everything that’s out there, so hopefully you can find something that fits your situation faster than you might by just staring at the aisles in the library or bookstore.
The guys behind this wrote ‘100 Best Business Books of All Time’ so they know what they’re doing and they live and breathe business books – which should give you a good shortcut when it comes to deciding where to focus your time.
They also have some pretty good deals in terms of pricing and bulk discounts. If you find a book that all of your clients or employees should read, they can customize your bulk order in a lot of different ways (which might make a pretty cool gift).
Buy and Listen to books
The second resource is Audible.com. I will admit that until last year I was fairly against anything other than the written page. I had listened to books on long car trips, but for business books I didn’t really see it as a viable alternative plus I like having the bound book in my hands…!
However as I’ve continued to get busier and have clients who are farther away, I’ve found listening to business books a great way to stay caught up on my reading list while I’m driving around town or sometimes even at the gym. I still think hard copies are better…and I often find myself buying or wanting to buy a hard copy when I find a book I really liked listening to, but in terms of convenience and making good use of my time – Audible gives you a great alternative.
One caveat on listening to business books – they’re not all created the same. If a book tends to be dry or overly detailed, it’s going to be much, much worse to listen to. The best choices are those books that have a story to them (The Go-Giver was a great choice to listen to) and have some personality.
How much do you read business books? Have you found other great ways to find (and consume) new ideas? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Shawn Kinkade Kansas City Business Coach