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Reading and self improvement is a great investment.
Sometimes it is difficult to figure out what to share with all of you. I am very curious to know who all of you are so I know how many are really paying attention to the YAG dashboard. I hope I am not just talking to myself, but hey sometimes that is therapeutic.
My thought today is what or how much are you investing in yourself through reading?
I think this is valuable, important and healthy. Someone once told me “as you grow your personal library the more successful you become”. Think about that for a minute……………………..
How big is your library? Are you reading? Do the two correlate? I don’t know if there is any empirical evidence of this but it sounds good. Seems like every successful person you see on TV or in portraits the back drop is a grouping of shelves hosting numerous books.
So do you read on a regular basis? Are you building your library? Are you working on yourself/investing in yourself through reading?
I usually am reading several books at the same time. It seems like I have always done this by habit and the fact I do get tired of one subject so I can jump to another and read a little in each book until I finish them. Here is what I am reading right now.
“Orbiting the giant hairball” Gordon MacKenzie almost done….self improvement book
“Life, God, and other small topics” Eric Metaxax Philosophy
“The Escape” David Baldacci Novel for entertainment
“Good to Great” Jim Collins Business improvement
“New Testament” Spiritual/Philosophy
“Mindfulness for Beginners” Meditation Self improvement
“The infinite Atonement” Religious
National Geographic Informational and just fun
As you can see I am reading 8 at the same time. Many different categories. I try to read a little in each book each day.
So my questions to you:
What books are you reading?
Do you have any recommendations?
What is your favorite?
I just thought it may help motivate you to read and see what I am currently reading. Let me know your thoughts on the investment questions above.
Thanks all and please keep improving yourself………..it is the best investment.
sysr
We have read a couple of books as a Young Auto Mall team.
The Power of Habit. Charles Duhigg
Sell or be Sold Grant Cardone
Personal list
It’s Your Ship. D. Micheal Abrashoff
Eat to Live. Joel Fuhrman
PS I love book recommendations so I say keep them coming
I took your advice last year when setting goals and reading was one I completely surprised myself with.
I’ve always read weekly, but the goal was to read each night even if all I had energy for was a page.
Last year I read a book a month, and it is a continued effort to keep the habit.
Current reads (not as many as you)
Knowing your value by Mika Brzezinski
Allegiant (divergent series) by Veronica Roth
I also dive into any Agatha Christie book I have at home (several) when I’m bored of the current reads and want to read old English murder mysteries.
Great post and advice!
Unfortunately, I do not read as much as I should. I do like to study the standard works and have caught myself reading articles on LDS.org. All in all, I’m sure I could do much, much better in this department.
I LOVE to read!!! All of my family are big time readers, when my kids were younger and at home I took reading away as a punishment instead of grounding them. I know, I know, I am not in danger of winning Mother of the Year Award. Personally I love fiction, anything from the Classics to Sci-fi, I also learn a lot from “good” historical fiction. A few of my favorites are; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Stand by Steven King, You Before Me by Jojo Moyes and of course Pride and Prejudice. Non-fiction I usually do better listening to when driving back and forth to work unless the book is a short easy read. I have read The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason and highly recommend it. So there is my 2 cents worth.
I read more last year than probably the previous 10 years combined. I really enjoy being part of a group that encourages self-improvement and mastery, not just on the business side, but in all things. I have even began reading each evening I am home with my wife as we prepare to retire for the evening.
As Jake mentioned, as a team we read a few books last year, and I read several more on my own. I recently finished High Altitude Leadership by Chris Warner. It was an awesome book. Right now I am in the middle of the following books:
Sell or Be Sold (Grant Cardone, selling skills)
Far World: Fire Keep (J Scott Savage, family entertainment)
It’s Your Ship (Michael Abrashoff, management skills)
Great and Terrible Series (Chris Stewart, family entertainment)
12 Disciplines of Leadership Excellence (Brian tracy, leadership)
There are several others that I reference regularly, but too many to include here. Additionally I enjoy reading magazines and articles on mountain biking skills and backpacking, so I am prepared to maximize my time away from work also.
Thanks for the articles. They are always nice to read, and always make me think just a bit more.
Although I am generally an avid reader, I have had more time on my hands during my knee surgery recovery. Currently my spiritual guidance is found in the pages of the Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister and the Book of Mormon. I am also reading a book Kelly Moss gave me entitled Winners Never Cheat, even in difficult times. Never too old to gain spiritual and temporal guidance not only through great literature, but from our successes and failures in life.
A few years ago, at a manager’s meeting, you challenged us to invest in ourselves by reading a book a month. I finished 3 books the following year, very short of the goal. Two years ago I completed 5. Last year I finally completed a book a month. The last few books included: “The Tipping Point” ( Malcolm Gladwell ), “Good to Great” ( Jim Collins), “The 360 Degree Leader” ( John C Maxwell ) and” High Altitude Leadership” ( Chris Warner ). I am in the middle of “A More Beautiful Question” The power of Inquiry to spark breakthrough ideas ( Warren Berger ) and just started “Financial Intelligence” ( Karen Berman & Joe Knight). Due to a longer commute, I decided to make good use of the extra drive time by opening a Audible account and listening to books. Reading these books has expanded my view.
Reading is SO important – it provokes thought and stimulates mental growth! The Wall Street Journal (my preference is the paper version!) starts my day; David Baldacci’s Will Robie series (makes me want to buy a gun) is my current “no-brainer” obsession; Charles Koch’s “Good Profit” was the last non-fiction read, which I thought was excellent; and I am in the process of re-reading “Good to Great”. My Mother was an elementary school Principal and reading was never an option growing up – I was encouraged to be “productive” and cannot imagine a life without books!
Lengthy title coming here:
YOU2, A High-Velocity Formula for Multiplying your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps.
Thanks for the great article Spencer, and for your investment in each of us through your guidance and support. Some of my favorite recent reads include Leadership and Self-Deception (The Arbinger Institute) High Altitude Leadership (Chris Warner) Creative Onboarding Programs (Doris Sims) and The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg). I’m currently re-reading The Anatomy of Peace (The Arbinger Institute) and because a friend and I had chatted about Chris Warner, he just gave his copy of beautiful Illustrated Copy of Into Thin Air (Jon Krakauer).
Long hours and seemingly endless task lists were derailing my plan to read each day so I’ve started setting aside 30 minutes early each morning regardless of how late I went to bed the night before. It’s quiet peaceful time for myself, and I’m better because of it.
Thanks again for the wisdom and the reminder!
Recent favorite reads are Leadership and Self-Deception (The Arbinger Institute) High Altitude Leadership (Chris Warner) The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg) and Creative Onboarding Programs (Doris Sims). I’m currently re-reading The Anatomy of Peace (The Arbginer Institute) and because a friend and I were chatting about Chris Warner, he gave me an old but beautiful illustrated copy of Into Thin Air (Joh Krakauer). I’ve found that setting aside 15 -30 minutes each morning, regardless of how late I went to bed the night before is a gift I can give myself that changes my day.
Thanks for wisdom and support Spencer, and for the investment you make in each of us!
I love to read. I don’t get to read as often as I like to. I read more for entertainment than anything else. I love books that help me escape from my own reality, even if it’s only 10 minutes a day. I don’t read anything deep and thought provoking. I love Richard Paul Evans, anything he writes, you feel like you are actually there.
I have a hard time reading out of books. Luckily there are a lot of great books on audio so I listen to books more than read books. some books I am reading / listening to are
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle – I continually listen to this one
Steve Jobs Biography
Good to great
I don’t read as much as I should. I work more than the average person should. But when I get sometime before bed or on my day off, the book I’m currently reading is “Lessons from the Mouse” By Dennis Snow. It is a great book and it is about a success to your organization, your career, and your life.
I like all of you find it hard to find time to read, however I have been reading a book by Wendi Toliver a friend of mine who is an author called Speak softly it is just a book filled with short inspirational stories as well as motivational thoughts and quotes. I like the inspirational quotes just because they simply make you think more positive about life in general. My oldest son (I know thinks I’m a weirdo) but I print them and leave them on his dresser or sometimes in his car so he has a positive outlook on each day.
Thanks Spencer for the reminder to try and find time to learn more and achieve more.
I think one of the most powerful goals I set was about 5 years ago. I said I was going to read a book a month and half of them were going to be a classic book. Since then I have not gone a month without reading one or two books. I just finished The professor and the Mad Man. I am just starting 365 Thank Yous and I am hoping to find a good parenting book next.
Currently I’m in the middle of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.