Lifelong learning is a journey that never ends. As each milestone is passed on the road to knowledge, another goal appears on the horizon. As your learning grows, so too does your success in business and in life. While there are many ways to acquire knowledge, one of the most important techniques is by reading books.
Books come in several genres. There are fiction and non-fiction works by great writers of the past and the present day. Along with fiction novels, there is poetry, drama, and the short story. In non-fiction, there are full length works, as well as collections of shorter essays. Most blogs fit into the non-fiction category, but there are many novel and short fiction based blogs; as well as those blogged by fiction writers. The choice of reading material is very wide, and the scope of learning available through books is unlimited.
The most daunting task facing an aspiring lifelong learner is the sheer volume of books available. The next most difficult job is creating some time to read the works to add their knowledge to your own mind. There are ways to solve both problems, and to add the wisdom of the ages to your lifelong voyage to knowledge.
The first part of the equation presents a difficult selection challenge. As with many multiple choice open ended questions, there is really no right or wrong answer. In the end, the decision of which books to read, and when, is in the hands of the selector. With that caveat in mind, let's examine a few ways to narrow the literary field to a more manageable size.
Consider reading a book from your area of business. There are many great books related to your industry. Test drive one of them. Next, it's time to expand to a business book that pushes the envelope a bit more than might be comfortable. Consider a book on creative thinking, or even an author whose ideas are in direct opposition to your own.
By meeting, learning and understanding alternative ideas, you can often formulate new concepts by taking the best of both worlds and building a combination. As the third step, read a classic novel or play. Let the great minds of the ages take you into their brave new worlds. As a fourth step, read some poetry, and feel the language and imagery draw you into their web. Repeat the process.
As for time, there is always some hour when reading can be scheduled. In fact, reading and lifelong learning are so essential to your success, it's vital that an hour be created for that purpose. Some people prefer to read early in the morning, others like later in the evening, and still others like to read in mid-afternoon. The choice is yours as to the best time for reading. The key is that an hour be set aside specifically for reading as part of your lifelong learning process.
When you add the wisdom and ideas of a growing list of authors to your own personal store of knowledge, wonderful things begin to happen. You start to understand options that you never dreamed were possible in the past. Ideas will spring into your newly opened mind almost at will. The writers develop your sense of creativity, along with providing thoughts and ideas proven successful often for centuries.
Lifelong learning is a voyage of discovery.
Let a book be your ship as you sail that wonderful journey to the land of lifelong learning.
