I was so excited about the next day’s event. We were going to go for a grand shopping. I was thinking about the lots of stuff I am going to be buying for myself and my little one. The excitement spread to my little daughter as well. We were sure to have a blast the next day.
TMOD, toastmasters and guests very good morning!
Any guess where we were going to go for the shopping?
We were actually heading to the YMCA book fare that happens once in a year. It is such an exciting and the most awaited moment of the year for our family, as all three of us are book worms. I truly feel that, the greatest assets that we are going to be leaving behind after us will be the treasure of books for our children. I am not going to talk about our shopping. I am rather going to talk about a more exciting task – reading!
Why should we read?
For people who ask, ‘when I have enough work to do at home and at office, how will I get time to read?, I was one among you. When we get to know the benefits of doing something we automatically start allotting time for that. Just like how we spend our Sunday mornings here after working hard for five or six days of the week out of pure passion.
1. When we read a book, it is more like having a conversation with the author. Who you are depends on the people you talk to. Why limit yourself by talking only to your friends and family when you have the privilege of talking to Steve Jobbs or even Mahatma Gandhi. Just imagine, having a cup of tea with Edison as he discusses his inventions. Our brain will be gradually tuned to think in the lines of big leaders. Our perspectives will start changing for the betterment and renovation of ourself. This helps us to transform ourself from what we are now to what we actually deserve to be.
2. Life is short lived! When we tend to achieve something big in life professionally, personally or spiritually, books provide a big guidance to us. Things we are trying to achieve now were already achieved by a bunch of leaders who have documented their success stories as well as their failures and their learnings. When we read such books we do not repeat the same mistakes they had done. This helps us achieve our target with less mistakes in a lesser span of time. Books on failures teach us more than the ones on success stories
e.g. Wings of fire is a book that talks more on failures rather than success though it was written by the most successful scientist of India. Whenever I feel down I grab this book and it gives me energy to face the failure.
3. Books rejuvenate us and give us the required hope in life. We lead our life not just to earn money and reputation and die one day. There is a bigger picture. When we start thinking for a while, we will understand that each of us have a purpose in life which makes our life meaningful. But we have to strive a life time to find out the meaning which is hidden.
When ever I undergo big challenges in life, and feel that I will never be able to come out of it, I read this book called ‘Man’s search for meaning’. It gives me lots of hope that even the worst of situations in life like being caught in holocaust, will come to an end and there is always a spring after harsh winters.
That was about why we have to read books.
My experience with books
There are several books that changed my perspective towards life. During different points in time I had fallen for different genres.
· As a school kid I used to be crazy about Enid Blyton’s books like The enchanted wood, The famous five, Adventures of the wishing chair. I used to be an adventure loving person. Later on I started reading books like Sherlockholmes, David copper field, Tom Sawyer etc.
· When I was in college I was obsessed with Shakespeare. I used to be thorough with all the characters in his play that you ask me in my sleep, I could say who was Rosalind, Julius ceaser or Othello I had read all Shakespeare’s books in our college library. I never spent a penny on buying books before my marriage. I mostly used the library books and the e-books.
· After marriage I was in fact very happy to see a treasure of books in my husband’s book shelf. I would not have been so happy even if I would have seen gold or diamond. From then on I was convinced that spending money on books is an investment and you get the returns in terms of wisdom.
· I started reading a lot of Robin Sharma’s books later like Who will cry when you die, Monk who sold his Ferrari, Greatness guide etc. A lot of inspiration to read more books is from Robin Sharma
· Walden is a book that taught me how much important it is to live close to the nature.
· ‘Tuesday’s with Morrie’ taught me that when you know the day you are going to die, you will lead a more meaningful life.
· ‘Man’s search for meaning’ is a book that taught me that suffering in itself is meaningless and we give meaning to suffering by the way in which we respond to it.
· Communist manifesto taught me the values of equality in a society and the politics behind it.
· Believe me I even read books on philosophy like – life and death of Socrates. 😀
· Shoe dog is a book that taught me how life has to be adventurous and out of the normal to achieve unusual heights.
· On a lighter note I also read Ruskin bond, r.k Narayan and Chetan Bhagat for fiction.
· ‘My experiments with truth’ taught me the real value of being morally right at all difficult times and how difficult it is.
There are so many such books that inspired me.
Having said that books play a vital role in grooming our personality to become better people in all aspects as well as to face our everyday challenges in life, it is important to choose the books we read.
Hope you all get inspired and invest in books.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
A home without books is like a body without a soul.
Today a reader, tomorrow a Leader !!!
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