Reading Changes You
One of the all-time great motivational speakers, and a prominent member of the Speaker’s Roundtable, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, once said, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read.” That’s a really compelling idea, and one that motivates the work of my guest on this week’s “Aim Higher” podcast, Jeff Brown.
My friend Jeff has been doing his “Read to Lead” podcast for around eight years. He’s had the chance to interview more than 300 leaders, including folks as varied in their success as Alan Alda, John Maxwell, Simon Sinek, Stephen M. R. Covey, Liz Wiseman and Nancy Duarte.
Now he’s taken the time to distill his wisdom about the power of reading into a book, Read to Lead: The Simple Habit that Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. Jeff has done an outstanding job packing this book with the research that demonstrates the power of reading.
Listen to the Aim Higher Podcast here.
If you’ve listened to my podcast or read my blog (or book), you know that I’m a voracious reader. For me, the problem isn’t finding time or motivation to read, but knowing when to stop. For Jeff, reading wasn’t as natural, and so he needed to create and maintain a habit of reading as part of his career journey. He schedules time every day, and longer periods during the week, to read. Why? Because, as he told me, “Leadership means surrounding yourself with people smarter than you… and that includes authors.”
Reading has added so much to my personal and professional life. I can’t recommend Jeff’s book enough, and if you listen in on our conversation, I think you’ll understand why.
For more information about his book, see Read to Lead: The Simple Habit that Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career.
Image Credit: Alexandra Fuller
