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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Wednesdays Number 88: What Would Reading More Books Do for You?
Dear Reader,
What are you reading these days? For me, I’ve been enjoying the weather and reading a lot of fiction. It’s so much fun for me to discover a new author, and read all the books in a series she created. In a few days, it’s back to reading books to learn and grow. I find that I learn from fiction. I often pay attention to the characters and how they lead their lives. Remember, the Rainbow Reading Challenge starts on Monday, September 6th.
On some of my online profiles, I write that I’m an avid reader because it’s such a big part of who I am. When people see that, two things usually happen. First, some ask for book recommendations. Recently, on Lunchclub, I met the person who produced the Notebook. To be honest, when I saw the name, I had no idea who he was. We had a great conversation and I recommended two series by Canadian authors, the Ava Lee series by Ian Hamilton, and the Jonah Geller series by Howard Shrier.
The second thing people do when they realize that I love to read, is to ask how many books I read each year. That annoys me to no end. It’s none of their business. It’s not so much about how much you read, but what you read. Quality is always better than quantity. I try to diversify my reading, but I’m not always as successful as I’d like. The Rainbow Reading Challenge will be good for me. Imagine, for a limited time, reading a book that has one of the colors in the rainbow. The books are very different and they are nonfiction books.
The question I asked in the headline, I’ll answer in the Ask Avil section. One of the things I’ll say is that when I read more of the right books, I find that I’m more creative. For the past two weeks, I haven’t been reading any nonfiction books because my focus is on building out the content on my membership site. I’m making a lot of progress, which is a reminder to focus on the things that matter. I’d like to have more than one steady income stream. Therefore, it’s important to pay attention to my product and service offerings.
Will you participate in the Rainbow Reading Challenge? Join my Facebook group Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World.
[Please Read: Introducing the Rainbow Book Cover Nonfiction Reading Challenge]
Two Programs to Help You With Personal Growth
Business Knowledge Accelerator: Read Like a Leader, Digest More Books
Art of Learning Membership Site
Ask Avil
What Would Reading More Books Do for You?
I should have emphasized that I mean reading more of the right books. People often say they don’t read more books because of lack of time. But most times, when you probe more deeply, you’ll find their definition of reading is to read a nonfiction book from cover-to-cover. However, that’s not a good use of your time, since most nonfiction books don’t deserve that kind of time investment.
The problem is that too many books are loaded with repetition and fluff. It’s important to get over your FOMO (fear of missing out). Focus on your reason for reading the book, as well as the questions you’re hoping it will answer. After you’ve done that, it’s time to focus on the sections of the book that will give you more of what you need.
When you read this way, you’ll find that you’re now approaching old problems with new lenses. You’ll bring fresh insights and perspectives to the job. And the more ‘right’ books you read, the more patterns you’ll discover across books. There’s an added benefit because you’re more likely to see what others miss. Another benefit of reading this way is that you won’t lose your focus. You’re getting what you need from a book in a timely manner.
It’s important to step outside your silo of specialization. What this means is that if you’re in finance, you could also read books on global poverty, climate change, and gender parity in the workplace. You’ll also find connections among all these books. There are always themes to tie diverse books together. In my opinion, the gold lies at the intersection of the different topics.
Reading List
I’m enjoying the experience of reading mysteries, thrillers, and detective stories during the summer. I’m reading during the weekends. Last weekend I read about six books. With such hot weather, that’s the only thing I can manage to do.
Additionally, I’m working on creating content for my membership site. I started to dedicate time over a week ago, and I’m on track. By September 18th, I’d love to have 50 Bookish Notes on the site.
Starting in a few days, I’ll get to reading books from the list below. The emphasis will be on books that have a cover the color of the rainbow. I’m taking the pressure off myself and focusing on what matters at this point in time, which is to build out the content on my membership site.
Reading List
- Future Mapping (read)
- Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
- The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy by Leigh Gallagher
- Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal by Nick Bilton
- Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business by Amos Schwartzfarb
- Behind the Red Door: How Elizabeth Arden’s Legacy Inspired My Coming-of-Age Story in the Beauty Industry by Louise Claire Johnson
- Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great by Carmine Gallo
- I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Arrive at the American Dream by JT McCormick
- One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do by Phil Howard Cooke
- Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager Revised Edition: Gain the Mindset and Skillset for Getting What You Need to Succeed by Ken Blanchard and Susan Fowler (read)
The Invisible Mentor Blog
The One Problem
The One Problem podcast series I’ve been doing is slowly getting traction. In fact, I’m interviewing someone today. I’m finding interesting people to interview. People are sharing the interviews on social media and some of them are now reaching out to me to interview them. I think that’s news worth sharing. The videos are short, so they’re easy enough to listen to. If you have any suggestions on how to promote the podcast without using ads, please let me know. At this time, I’m not interested in paying to promote the podcast.
I can’t believe that I’ve published 28 podcast episodes already. To achieve any goal, you have to act. Please help me spread the word. Please forward this newsletter to two of your contacts. Or you can share a couple of the podcasts with your contacts.
- The One Problem Interview: Angela Payne, Founder Leed HR
- The One Problem Interview: Rose-marie Fernandez, Founder Coaching Worx
- The One Problem Interview: Reverend, Dr Cheri DiNovo
- The One Problem Interview: Hillary Sobel, Lawyer
- The One Problem: Janet Zaretsky, BS Brilliance Master
- The One Problem: Julie Foucht, Art of Feminine Marketing
- The One Problem: Evelyn Jerome Alexander, Magellan College Counseling
- The One Problem Interview with Rosalin Krieger, The Unstucker
- The One Problem Interview: Tetyana Dudnyk, Director, Technology Project Management Office
- The One Problem Interview: Maura Lustig, Transformational Coach
- The One Problem: Vicki Saunders, Founder SheEO
- Episode 17 The One Problem: Tara Hunt, Founder Truly Inc
- The One Problem Interview: Melanie Russell Talks About Partnership Agreements
- The One Problem Interview: Anthea Rossouw, Founder of Dreamcatcher
- Germain St. Denis, Consultant, Change Leadership: The One Problem Interview
- The One Problem Interview: Sandra Lisi, Leadership Coach
- The One Problem: Deena Baikowitz, Business & Career Coach
- The One Problem: Kelli Wingo, The One Problem Interview: Kelli Wingo, KMW Catalyst
- The One Problem: Patricia Roberts,Chief Operating Officer of the Gift of College
- The One Problem: The One Problem: Patti Pokorchak, Small Biz Sales Coach
- The One Problem: Adrienne Harris, Managing Partner, Portage Sales
- The One Problem: Kristy Wallace, CEO Ellevate Network
- The One Problem: Margye Solomon Talks about Aging and Relevance
- The One Problem: Deb Boulanger, Launch Lab for Women Entrepreneurs
- The One Problem: Sharon Horne Ellstrom – Stop Being Like Others, Be YOU
- The One Problem: Liz Kitchell from SheMoolah Talks Money Conversations
- The One Problem: Avil Beckford, Author of Digest 30 Books in 30 Days
- The One Problem: Interview With Kelly Daring, Author of Is Love Enough
Product Alert
7 Day Reading Makeover Challenge
7 Day Reading Makeover Challenge
This is an affordable program to get started on leadership reading. Leaders read to learn what they need to know. You’ll also learn how to synthesize information.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!