THE LADDER OF SUCCESS
Over a decade ago, while holidaying abroad, I woke up one morning with this thought ringing in my head: ‘books are ladders … books are ladders’. As I pondered on this phrase I realised the acuity of these words. Books provide us with the insight and inspiration we need to climb swiftly in order to reach our goals in life. A good book will draw out from within you courage and perception that you never knew you possessed. Books are ladders for advancement to greatness.
Brian Tracy once said, if you read 30-60 minutes a day, five days a week, you will read on average a book in a week. That will translate to about thirty to fifty books a year. If you read about fifty books a year on a subject, you will get the equivalent of a PhD in that field in about a year. You can get the equivalent of a million-pound idea just from a book but you never know which book will give you the insight unless you read widely. All you have to do is keep reading lots of material and ever so often, one observation will jump off the page and your whole life will change. One idea from a book combined with a thought in your mind plus the right opportunity can totally transform your life.
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. (Mark Twain)
If we say we want to be great leaders, according to Jim Rohn, the first thing we must do is to check our library. Why? Because what we read pours massive ingredients into our mental factory and the fabric of our life is built on those ingredients.
A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us. (W. H. Auden)
