Jim Rohn was an entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker who became a world-wide expert on personal development. He started as a high-school dropout. In his early 20’s he hired a mentor, Earl Shoaff. One of the first questions Mr.Shoaff asked him was how many books he read a year. The truth was, he read very little. “That’s not a good answer!”, Shoaff said. From that point on, Jim Rohn decided that he would be an avid reader. His mentor knew the truth: High achiever’s read a lot!
Over and over again I find this to be true. Think of the most successful people you know in this business world: Most likely they read whenever they get the chance. When they are driving, they are listening to books or some other form of audio education.
I was reminded of this truth just this week. A client of mine reads constantly. While reading in a spare half hour while waiting for his car to be serviced, he re-acquainted himself with an important management practice that he was falling short on. After further thought, he realized that his management practice of holding a 15-minute team meeting each morning needed to be revived. He remembered that his team was most productive during the COVID outbreak. This daily habit was a critical factor. He began this week with absolute confidence that bringing these meetings back will help lead them back to peak performance.
Bob is an avid reader and he knows the payoff of keeping up with his reading. Are you keeping up with your reading? Are you reading enough? With the New Year about to be started, what is your reading commitment?
