Shocking News

 

"If a man is known by the company he keeps, so also his character is reflected

in the books he reads."

– J. Oswald Sanders

1902-1992

Author

 

One of the saddest statements a person can make is, "I don't like to read." That is like saying, "I don't like to eat," which I know people do not like to eat and suffer from the results. Just as a person can starve psychically from not eating, we can starve intellectually by not reading.

 

Several years ago, I read a shocking study by author and leadership expert Brian Tracy (I do not believe the Tracy Group did the research but did publish it). You can find it at https://tinyurl.com/ybxlpsq9

Here is what I found shocking about the study:

ü  33% of high school graduates never read another book.

ü  42% of college graduates never read another book.

ü  57% of new books are never read to completion.

 

This is distressing to me. How can we move forward as a culture or a society when we do not learn and grow? I think of the words of the great science fiction writer Ray Bradbury (1920-2009), who said, "There are some worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." It is not just a crime against our society but a great crime against ourselves.  As Mark Twain (1835-1910) so rightly pointed out, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

 

Reading is one of the greatest hidden pleasures of the human experience. No other creature on the planet has this marvelous gift. Reading allows us not to experience things we would never otherwise be able to do. We can commune with the greatest minds of all time and learn from the brilliant leaders of years past and today. And as writer Mason Cooley (1929-2002) said, "Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are."

 

For the person who desires to succeed in life, no matter the field or career choice, reading is a must. If you read for one hour a day, just one hour, you will be an expert in any subject you choose in five years. It is not the degree that makes the expert. As we see, 42% of those with degrees do not read. The rate of change in today's world; what you learn today is obsolete in a week. You must read to keep ahead of the game. That is why, as journalist Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) said, "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader."

 

Reading is not a drudgery or punishment we must endure. For those who soon discover the joy of reading, they also partake of the many benefits. One of the greatest is learning the love of books. I am an avid reader. I am never without reading material for feeding my habit. One of the results from this has been a love of books. My wife and I are attracted to bookstores like bees to flowers. I love to use bookstores where I can find treasures that not only are out of print and have long been lost, but ones other people have enjoyed and passed on.

 

The ninth-century clergyman and father of famed author Harriet Beecher stow, Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), said, "A book is good company. It is full of conversation without loquacity. It comes to your longing with full instructions, but pursues you never." Spend time in the company of books. You will always be the better for it.

 

You can learn more about Personal Development from the author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey. To get his books, training material, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   

© 2021 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this material may be reprinted or published without the written permission of the author.