Don't Speed Through Your Self-Improvement Reading!

In the network marketing industry, we are encouraged to develop ourselves and spend considerable time reading good books.  My first thought about this would be that the more self-development books I can read, the better.  So therefore, the faster that I can read, the more books I can read, and the faster I will grow.

Right??

Maybe not.

I read a quote from Chris Brady that challenges that viewpoint.  He said, "Someone once asked me about my method of reading, implying that I must naturally read quickly or have some speed-reading training.  I replied that I don’t read any faster than the average person, but my approach to reading has made all the difference.  In short, I don’t read-------I STUDY!  I underline text, write notes in the margins, fill the back pages with ideas and comments, and , if necessary, argue with the author between the lines."

He went on to say, "Books are to be devoured, recordings are to be memorized, and conferences are to be experienced to the maximum."

That quote has changed my way of thinking about reading as well.  I used to get a little stressed because I had so many things that I needed to be reading, but I didn't have near enough time to read them all.  I found myself flying through the books so fast that most of the time I didn't really remember what I read by the time I was finished with the book.

Have you ever read a paragraph, and as soon as you finished reading the paragraph, realized that you had no idea what you just read? Did you reread the paragraph or did you plow on to the next paragraph, hoping that everything will make sense when you finish the book?

I've changed the way I read for self-improvement now.  I follow Chris's method.  I don't necessarily write in the margins or argue with the author, but I read much slower and really try to understand what the author is trying to teach me.

I also find myself rereading a book more than once.  I usually get something different from each reading.  Sometimes it's a minor difference, but some times it's a whole new perspective.

At any rate, I am internalizing the information.

So I am reading fewer books.  But what I am reading is sticking to my soul and changing me in little ways.

And isn't that the point of reading self-improvement books?

-- Roger Cox