I had a revelation a few years ago. You see I was just like anybody else. I read books. I attended seminars. I did stuff. And I trundled along. Made profits and had my day in the sun. Till I decided I wanted to have a lifetime in the sun.
So I studied people.
One of the earliest influences in my metamorphosis was Jim Collins, author of ‘Built to Last’ and ‘Good to Great (which you must read by the way).
So there I am soaking in Jim’s amazing knowledge and I stumble on a page that lists out the books he’s going to read. And there are about 100 books on that list. He’s reading about the Dalai Lama, Psychology, Takeovers and God knows what else. (You can see the entire list by going to http://www.jimcollins.com/lib/readingRoom.html)
So there I am sitting and wondering. 100 books. Mmmm. In a year. Mmmm. That’s a lot of books. But if Jim can do it, despite having a crazy schedule, so can I. So I sat down and wrote my goal for the year. 100 books.
That’s 2 a week.
Sure I had to cut out TV. And newspapers. And I started listening to tapes in the car. But heck, I learned. And the more I learned, the more I realised how little I knew.
I’m a certified info junkie now. And you should be too. One year.
One year is all it takes. It can change your life forever, if you have a learning and application goal. I slipped in the application bit there, but it’s important. Possibly even more than the learning.
Learn. Apply. Repeat (I read that somewhere)
And have a learning goal. If you want to go someplace have a map. And get started today.
Summary:
1) You’re not busier than Jim Collins. Drop your excuses.
2) Cut out the crap from your life. TV, Radio, News. They will eat into your life and waste your precious time.
3) You don’t know what you don’t know. And there’s no way you’re going to learn if you don’t read and listen to audio.
4) Read one book a week, if not two. That’s about 40 books more than you’re possibly reading.
5) Apply. There are people I know who are professional students. They learn and don’t apply. Duh!
6) Decide you want to be really smart. If you want a lifetime in the sun, you can’t afford to fluff around. If you have excuses, read Point 1.
7) Notice the headline. It doesn’t say ‘Instant Success.’ It says one year. That’s a loooooooong time away. Start now because today’s almost over.
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