It’s true, books really do, “Feed Your Head”. In 1991 there was an award winning MTV campaign that promoted reading. It was a revolutionary, ground breaking, and cutting edge style of mixing literature with a short film. This was when MTV still contained the word “music” in the logo, Tom Freston was the President and CEO of the network, the influence of Bob Pittman was still around, and it offered up value and creativity to viewers. Unfortunately it seems those days have passed.
Because of this campaign to promote reading I was introduced to the works of Franz Kafka and more importantly the works of Donald Barthelme. To me, Donald Barthelme is the master of the short story. I read almost every single day. I will admit that there are days when I am on vacation that I might miss the opportunity to read in exchange for the opportunity to explore a new city.
Many years ago, Jim Rohn (author and personal development trainer) said, “If you read one book every month about your industry, in 10 years you’ll have read 120 books. That will put you in the top one percent of your field.” Mr. Rohn was 100% correct and he was just talking about the lazy way to do it. I once heard someone say, “Skip a meal, but never skip the opportunity to read.” If you just invest 20 – 30 minutes a day in yourself, to read, there isn’t any reason that can’t read at least one book a week. If you were to read one book a week that would mean at the end of year you would have read 52 books. At this rate you would be in the top one percent in two years instead of 10.
For myself, I find that reading in a 80/20 ratio works best for me. Eighty percent of the books that I read are for knowledge and learning. Twenty percent of the books that I read are for humor, pleasure, and escapism. I would personally get bored if all I did was read for learning. I also need to be entertained when I read.
Please don’t tell me you don’t have enough time to read. If you really don’t think that you have the time to read…then I suggest that you at least make the time to read, “The 168 Hour Week” by, Dr. Kevin Hogan.
You can find the time to read. You just have to do it. I truly believe that reading is a great exercise that you can and should do for your brain everyday to keep it healthy and active. Think of your brain as muscle…exercise it and make it grow. The dividends that it will pay you can be huge.
If you’re looking for a new author to read or you want to start reading a new genere of books, then I suggest you take a look at the works of Thorne Smith. You can find out more about Thorne Smith at the blog and and website created by, Michael Walker at http://www.thornesmithblog.com/
Grab a book and start reading today. Remember, “Books Feed Your Head”.
Yours In Health!
G.E. Moon II