{"id":5535,"date":"2014-07-23T20:21:39","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T20:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/?p=5535"},"modified":"2014-07-23T20:21:39","modified_gmt":"2014-07-23T20:21:39","slug":"readers-become-leaders-only-if-they-do-the-right-kind-of-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/readers-become-leaders-only-if-they-do-the-right-kind-of-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Readers Become Leaders ONLY If They Do The Right Kind of Reading!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Angier<\/a> once wrote that: <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cReading can be a powerful catalyst for thinking; it has the potential for stimulating wisdom.\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I agree\u2026but I would add that the \"kind\" of reading you do, will often be more important than the frequency at which you do it!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For instance, in talking about \"reading\", I\u2019m not referring here to gossip\/entertainment magazines or even religious books!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Those can form part of one\u2019s diet, but they should NEVER be the main course. Otherwise, one is likely to end up with a version of the \u201crickets of the mind<\/strong>\u201d that Jim Rohn once wrote about.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

To get more leaders we need people to read MORE non-fiction texts. Indeed, even those who write fiction have benefitted from doing this!<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s however not to say those who create and innovate, are only those who stay indoors to work\u2026!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m just saying those who \"lead<\/em><\/strong>\" us in that manner often focus on thinking about how to make improvements happen, in their respective fields.<\/p>\n

And very often, if asked, they will tell you they do lots of reading to help that process!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/h3>\n

Click here to read examples about the testimonials by legendary achievers from all walks of life<\/a>, about the impact that reading Napoleon Hill\u2019s Think and Grow Rich had on their personal and work related performances.<\/p>\n

On the above page, celebrity boxers, basketball stars, music stars and even pastors(!), were quoted as saying great benefits accrued to them from reading \u201cThink & Grow Rich\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And yet that book is NOT about sports, or music, and certainly NOT religion!<\/em><\/p>\n

However, we must give them credit for doing it right.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cReading without thinking gives a disorderly mind, and thinking without reading makes one unbalanced\u201d - Confucius.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I have also read \u201cThink & Grow Rich\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/strong>success - in ANY field.<\/p>\n

The road map, and guidelines are clearly given.<\/p>\n

You simply follow them, with unrelenting persistence and faith, to get the promised results.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sadly, our educational system as it currently is does not really teach us to enjoy reading and thinking. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

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\u201d to get full marks in class!<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

Sometime in the past, I watched an inter-schools debate competition aired on a local TV station in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The manner in which they delivered their speeches, however strongly suggested they were simply reciting what they memorized!<\/p>\n

Typically, the teacher would write on paper for the student to \u201cupload\u201d to \"memory\", for later \"download\" during his\/her presentation.<\/p>\n

As a result, the kids rarely made effort to understand what they read.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe that was why some of the students got totally confused, when they missed a line during their \"recitation\"!<\/p>\n

That happened on more than one occasion during the debate event I watched that day.<\/em><\/p>\n

My question is \u201cwhat responsible school teacher or school owner would allow such damage to be done to students\u2019 thinking abilities in order to win a competition?\u201d.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Robert Kiyosaki's book \u201cIf You Want To Be Rich and Happy, Don\u2019t Go To School?\u201d, he wrote about how the traditional educational system was teaching American children to be \u201cmindless parrots\".<\/p>\n

He also quoted R. Buckminster Fuller on how each of us, and our children, can protect our minds from being \u201cnumbed\u201d by such experiences.<\/p>\n

Fuller stated that despite the fact that he was bothered by \u2013 and therefore questioned - many of the things he learnt in school, he found it necessary to give his teachers \u201ctheir\u201d answers in order to ensure he went through school successfully.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He however made sure he never stopped thinking along the lines of those things he felt to be true.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

There is a frustrating dearth of real thinkers in Nigeria\u2026and I dare say Africa in general<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One great thinker we had who - unfortunately - has now passed on, was Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary Afro Beat Musician. <\/em><\/p>\n

Even today, the lyrics of his songs show us how far ahead he had thought about (and \u201cseen\u201d into) the future of this country \u2013 and continent. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

A few of us listened, but the majority have missed it.<\/p>\n

Why? Because those who missed it found it difficult to reflect on what he was saying and understand his concerns. <\/strong><\/p>\n

They simply stopped at enjoying his good music!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u201d - Jay Anderson<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This inability (or unwillingness?) to think is not unusual. Long ago, Henry Ford said:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Thinking is the most exacting job there is, which is why so few people engage in it\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s why we need to discourage ROTE Learning (i.e. cramming) in schools. <\/em><\/p>\n

It is important for people to \"understand\" what they \u201clearn\u201d because we learn new things in order to apply them to productive purposes later.<\/p>\n

For instance, you learn \u201chow to drive\u201d so that you can eventually drive your car around unaided.<\/p>\n

As Robert Kiyosaki explained in one of his books, if we employed the \u201ctraditional\u201d school approach, you would learn all the theory of driving by memorizing the steps involved.<\/h3>\n

But, you would actually spend little (if any) time practicing how to drive the car using your new knowledge!<\/em><\/p>\n

When that happens, you end up unable to drive a car even though you\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t, then you would have a right to challenge your driving \u201cteacher\u201d. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Final Words<\/h3>\n

\"A chapter a day, keeps failure at bay\" - Anon.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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!!<\/p>\n

This is often because they discover that in the real world, the things they\u2019ve been taught are outdated, and irrelevant to current developments in the industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the problem is from their \u201cteachers\u201d 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.<\/h3>\n

And that would be by reading to understand, and then THINKING based on what they have read and understood.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those who do so are the ones who succeed in today\u2019s world. That\u2019s because they emerge as independent learners i.e. person\u2019s capable of learning and apply what they learn to productive ends in the real world.<\/p>\n

In the 21st century and beyond, the world will be depending more on such people, for it\u2019s evolution to new levels.<\/p>\n

The above is why a visionary genius like Alvin Toffler<\/a> once wrote as follows:<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe illiterate of the 21st century, will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn\u201d \u2013 Alvin Toffler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Angier once wrote that: \u201cReading can be a powerful catalyst for thinking; it has the potential for stimulating wisdom.\u201d. I agree\u2026but 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\u2019m not referring here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,133,1,266,87,112,10,103],"tags":[1189],"class_list":["post-5535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-employeescareer-persons","category-entrepreneurs","category-farm-biz","category-general-2","category-my-dn-travel-news","category-parenting","category-public-speaking","category-self-development","category-writingblogging","tag-readers-become-leaders-only-if-they-do-the-right-kind-of-reading"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":1299,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5536,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5535\/revisions\/5536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}