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The imperativeness of reading and creative use of mind (1)

By Andrew Zakari
26 October 2015   |   11:35 pm
SUCCESS is not a gift, it is an attainment. It is not willed on people, it is earned through creative use of the mind. The human mind has enormous riches both material and spiritual, which are beyond our wildest dreams. The mind has the ability to return anything we plant in it, thus, it is…

ReadingSUCCESS is not a gift, it is an attainment. It is not willed on people, it is earned through creative use of the mind. The human mind has enormous riches both material and spiritual, which are beyond our wildest dreams. The mind has the ability to return anything we plant in it, thus, it is necessary to plant the seed of greatness in our minds and anticipate the fruit of greatness as well.

W. Clement Stone said: “You are a mind with a body,” everything you see began as an idea in the mind and the physical world is nothing more than a lingering evidence of that which has already taken place in your mind. Lying within your mind is a source of energy stronger and more potent than any explosive unlimited and inexhaustible. Though we are blessed with unlimited powers, we use only a fraction of it.

Every great result or success in life begins on the drawing board of the mind. Indeed, the mind is the epicenter of all activities and the most intriguing and greatest of all human assets. It is from the mind that battles are fought, won or lost. The state and content of the mind remains the major determinant of success or failure in life. The content has to be adequate and active. The mind cannot function above the limit of its content. The level of your exposure to knowledge and information equal the level of your transformation.

It is the creative use of your mind that will make the world to mind you; it is the productive use of the mind that will make you to stand out in the crowd, causing those around you to mind you and give you due recognition and space on earth. If you want things to improve, you must first improve yourself. New information and knowledge will open up your mind to creative ways to enhance your life. You must, therefore, open your mind to new ideas by reading.

Reading is for all ages; you can’t grow out of reading and learning, as life itself is a study. There is something new to learn especially when you desire a change or make impact in your world. In this age, knowledge is the power that moves the world. The world economy is knowledge driven.

Reading does many things: It expands and enriches the mind, clarifies the thought process. It stimulates the mind and provokes research thereby increasing productivity and well being. We must determine to learn new skills, when you have a clear and compelling view of the benefit of learning, you will strongly influence your own future and the attitude of the people around you. No man has ever been successful without preparing himself well in advance. The future actually belongs to the prepared.

Successful people are not those who know everything needed to accomplish a task but people who know how to find the knowledge they need. Knowledge gained from reading and learning can help maximise your opportunities and minimise your mistakes. You are no longer merely reacting to the present; you are creating your future. The ability to read and improve skills distinguishes leaders form followers; becoming a leader at any level is all about developing yourself through effective reading and learning. The inevitable result is growth over time. The ability to lead is really a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved upon. But, the process does not happen overnight, that is why leaders require so much seasoning to be effective.

The seasoning comes from developing an attitude to reading books; through books, Sir Arthur Keith opined: “You can encompass in your imagination the full sweep of world history, you can watch the rise and fall of civilisation, the ebb and flow of mighty battles and the changing patterns of life through the ages.” Indeed, life would be a poor and narrow path without books. Books open the door to the world of creative thought and imagination. You open doors when you open books…doors that swings wide to unlimited knowledge and opportunities. Henry Ford said: “Anyone who stops reading and learning is old whether this happens at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young but becomes constantly more valuable regardless of physical capacity.”

The importance of reading and the creative use of the mind cannot be over-emphasized as the fact remains that the difference between the slave and the master, leaders and followers or the rich and the poor is largely determined by knowledge and skills acquired. If you want to attain great height of successful achievement, it is obligatory to seek the discipline afforded by books and study. When you recognise your lack of skills and begin the daily discipline of self-development, exciting things will begin to happen. Eric Hoofer asserted: “The central purpose of education is to inculcate into people the will and facility for learning; it should produce not the learned but learning people.”

The learning process starts from the cradle through life. Human beings know nothing at birth. In fact, our mind at birth is what the great philosopher John Locke refers to as “Tabula Rasa” translated to mean a clean state with nothing written. We are responsible for whatever knowledge we acquire as we traverse the earth. We can actually progress beyond the level of human development in all spheres of human development that the world has witnessed. At a point in human history, technology as we know it today did not exist, nor instant or remote communication. We could neither fly nor navigate under waters; mode of transportation was limited and restricted but we desire these things and brought them into existence. We have turned those dreams into reality.

We live in a time where not only the things we can imagine seem possible but where the possibilities range from what we can imagine. Indeed, the mind is a great wealth buttressing the fact. William Shakespeare said in one of his classic writings: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but ourselves that we are underlings.” Human minds have no limit except those placed on it by him. If you think you can, you can but if you think you can’t, you definitely can’t.

Skills are developed daily not in a day hence the need for preparation. No man has ever been successful without preparing himself well in advance. The future actually belongs to the prepared; the future does not rest in the hand of fate alone. Abraham Lincoln once said: “I will study and prepare myself and someday my chance will come.” The chance came eventually as the President of America 1861-1865. Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. And Earl Nightingale said:” If your opportunity comes and you are not prepared for it, it will only make you look foolish.’’

Great leaders didn’t become great suddenly; the road to greatness was one slow, continuous growth. They improved on themselves and in time became great leaders. It is said: “Show me a leader who was successful and made impact on the sand of time and I will show you a leader who was a continuous and habitual reader. Conversely, show me a leader who was a failure and a tyrant and I will show you a leader who hate reading and updating his knowledge. In the home of successful leaders, there is a chance you will find a library. Someone said: “Show me a man’s library, the type of books he reads and I will better know the character of the man and with considerable accuracy, I will be able to look far into his future as well.”

• To be continued.
• andyzaks@gmail.com

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