Michael Angier once wrote that:
“Reading can be a powerful catalyst for thinking; it has the potential for stimulating wisdom.”.
I agree…but I would add that the “kind” of reading you do, will often be more important than the frequency at which you do it!
For instance, in talking about “reading”, I’m not referring here to gossip/entertainment magazines or even religious books!
Those can form part of one’s diet, but they should NEVER be the main course. Otherwise, one is likely to end up with a version of the “rickets of the mind” that Jim Rohn once wrote about.
In truth, if everybody spent their quality time only reading jokes, or books on religion, sports, comedy and entertainment in general, this planet would die a rapid death.
To get more leaders we need people to read MORE non-fiction texts. Indeed, even those who write fiction have benefitted from doing this!
It’s important to remember that many resources (e.g innovations) that make the world progress, were developed by people who spent (and spend!) their quality time THINKING up new and better ways of doing things.
And they do not do that by sitting in front of the TV, or going to comedy shows, or reading religious books round the clock.
Instead, they spend (and spend!) considerable time in research stations or other work spaces, to create, innovate and invent for mankind to take MORE quantum leaps forward.
That’s however not to say those who create and innovate, are only those who stay indoors to work…!
I’m just saying those who “lead” us in that manner often focus on thinking about how to make improvements happen, in their respective fields.
And very often, if asked, they will tell you they do lots of reading to help that process!
Interestingly, even the sportsmen and entertainers who excel at the highest levels in their fields, have reported that READING and THINKING played a great part in their phenomenal evolution.
Click here to read examples about the testimonials by legendary achievers from all walks of life, about the impact that reading Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich had on their personal and work related performances.
On the above page, celebrity boxers, basketball stars, music stars and even pastors(!), were quoted as saying great benefits accrued to them from reading “Think & Grow Rich”.
And yet that book is NOT about sports, or music, and certainly NOT religion!
However, we must give them credit for doing it right.
When they read that book, they did not stop there. Instead, they did what the author said, and went out to apply what they learnt from it. And that was what led them to success.
“Reading without thinking gives a disorderly mind, and thinking without reading makes one unbalanced” – Confucius.
I have also read “Think & Grow Rich”.
And in many of my past write ups, dating as far back as 2002, I have attested to the amazing insights it provides about achieving personal success – in ANY field.
The road map, and guidelines are clearly given.
You simply follow them, with unrelenting persistence and faith, to get the promised results.
Sadly, our educational system as it currently is does not really teach us to enjoy reading and thinking.
We all know that in many schools and institutions of higher learning today, the student only has to memorise notes given by the teacher, and do a “verbatim return to sender” to get full marks in class!
Whether the student can explain what he has written down, apply it in real life for a productive end is never an issue as far as the teacher is concerned!
Sometime in the past, I watched an inter-schools debate competition aired on a local TV station in Nigeria.
I was amazed by the ability of the students to make their arguments by reeling off one point after another, employing sophisticated vocabulary (that even university undergraduates would struggle with!) in the process.
The manner in which they delivered their speeches, however strongly suggested they were simply reciting what they memorized!
Typically, the teacher would write on paper for the student to “upload” to “memory”, for later “download” during his/her presentation.
As a result, the kids rarely made effort to understand what they read.
I believe that was why some of the students got totally confused, when they missed a line during their “recitation”!
That happened on more than one occasion during the debate event I watched that day.
My question is “what responsible school teacher or school owner would allow such damage to be done to students’ thinking abilities in order to win a competition?”.
In Robert Kiyosaki’s book “If You Want To Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go To School?”, he wrote about how the traditional educational system was teaching American children to be “mindless parrots”.
He also quoted R. Buckminster Fuller on how each of us, and our children, can protect our minds from being “numbed” by such experiences.
Fuller stated that despite the fact that he was bothered by – and therefore questioned – many of the things he learnt in school, he found it necessary to give his teachers “their” answers in order to ensure he went through school successfully.
He however made sure he never stopped thinking along the lines of those things he felt to be true.
By so doing, Fuller was able to protect his own genius from the damaging impact of the traditional educational system. The rest of us can learn from this approach, and teach our kids to use it as well.
There is a frustrating dearth of real thinkers in Nigeria…and I dare say Africa in general
One great thinker we had who – unfortunately – has now passed on, was Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Afro Beat Musician.
Even today, the lyrics of his songs show us how far ahead he had thought about (and “seen” into) the future of this country – and continent.
He had reflected deeply over the problems of the black race in Africa, and tried to open our eyes to the folly of the ways we chose (or were advised to follow).
A few of us listened, but the majority have missed it.
Why? Because those who missed it found it difficult to reflect on what he was saying and understand his concerns.
They simply stopped at enjoying his good music!
“The mind must be exercised if it is to grow and strengthen. The more you use your mind, the more it will improve your ability to think” – Jay Anderson
This inability (or unwillingness?) to think is not unusual. Long ago, Henry Ford said:
“Thinking is the most exacting job there is, which is why so few people engage in it”.
That’s why we need to discourage ROTE Learning (i.e. cramming) in schools.
It is important for people to “understand” what they “learn” because we learn new things in order to apply them to productive purposes later.
For instance, you learn “how to drive” so that you can eventually drive your car around unaided.
As Robert Kiyosaki explained in one of his books, if we employed the “traditional” school approach, you would learn all the theory of driving by memorizing the steps involved.
But, you would actually spend little (if any) time practicing how to drive the car using your new knowledge!
When that happens, you end up unable to drive a car even though you’ve been to driving school! Thankfully that is hardly ever the case, because it is easy to assess the value of the training given you in a driving school.
When you complete your driving lessons (and IF you have been a diligent student), you should be able to drive a car by the time you are leaving.
If you can’t, then you would have a right to challenge your driving “teacher”.
Final Words
“A chapter a day, keeps failure at bay” – Anon.
I have personally met many graduates of computer science from Nigerian universities, who after graduation go on to enrol for courses in private computer schools to gain basic computer appreciation skills!!
This is often because they discover that in the real world, the things they’ve been taught are outdated, and irrelevant to current developments in the industry.
If the problem is from their “teachers” and the students are unable to (or unsuccessful in) getting them to change their methods, such learners MUST invest personal time and effort to LEARN using the proper methods.
And that would be by reading to understand, and then THINKING based on what they have read and understood.
Those who do so are the ones who succeed in today’s world. That’s because they emerge as independent learners i.e. person’s capable of learning and apply what they learn to productive ends in the real world.
In the 21st century and beyond, the world will be depending more on such people, for it’s evolution to new levels.
The above is why a visionary genius like Alvin Toffler once wrote as follows:
“The illiterate of the 21st century, will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” – Alvin Toffler
