great people create their lives
“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.”
Michael E. Gerber `Author of The E-Myth RevisitedÂ
In response to last weeks two messages about the book “10 Ways to Make it Great” just over 50 of you ordered a discounted copy of Phil’s book.  You should be receiving that copy today. I have mine but am going to wait until next week to start sharing my “accomplished action items” so that more of U.S. can be doing it together. Â
I did pull the following piece out of the book….page 24 from the “Never Stop Learning” chapter. Phil writes…
           Most adults never read another book - for business or pleasure - after they graduate from high school.  Jerrold Jenkins of the Jenkins Group reports the follow shocking statistics:
- 33% of high school graduates will never read another book for the rest of their lives
- 58% of the total U.S. adult population has never read another book since high school
- 42% of college graduates will never read another book after college
- 80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year
- 70% of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
- 57% of new books are not read to completion.
Phil and I have been talking about books and the importance of reading for years and many of you know my story of having a leader years who gave me some strong encouragement to “read more books with less pictures”. Â And my response to that challenge was to set a goal to read a new business or idea book every 30 days. Â This practice has literally changed my life forever.
Think about it this way… with most of American not reading the bar is really low.  So if you and I read just 2 or 3 books this year we’ll be looking like HIGH JUMPERS!! Â
Too read last weeks two blog posts on “Making it Great Click Here Â
Post 1 http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2009/02/12/goal-primer-make-it-great/
Post 2Â http://kirkweisler.com/t4d/2009/02/13/knowledge-not-just-information/
Kirk Out
February 18th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I had to respond to the book reading thing. WE moved into our home ten years ago. My husband is retired and I work full time. I know the living room carpet is blue because it was there when we moved in. We have not seen it since the first year we moved in. We do not have enough book cases to handle the stacks and piles scattered throughout the house. Recently, my husband took seriously ill and was on life
support … upon his return home we had to install oxygen generating equipment which we have affectionately named r2d2 - a a myriad of medical equipment. Then came the visiting nurses, technicians, therapists, physical, occupational, mental, the visitors and blah, blah,< blah.... everyone was astounded to see all the books, magazines, and other printed materials sitting on every available free space in the room. Needless to say, no room for visitors so his recovery has been good as there have been few interruptions 'cause they got no place to put their butts down'. Every single person has asked the same question, has anyone ever read any of this stuff? My husband tells them, "My wife has read every single thing in this room and every other room in this house - she could be Marian the Librarian - she calls this stuff her brain candy".
My point here is this, if you do not read, you stop growing, your brain atrophies and your life stops being in your control as your first quote aptly points out. My question to you Kirk, is this: If I was looking like such a high jumper, how did I get so overweight in the first place? When we can answer that one, we will have made major progress!
tung in cheek, I love your stuff, don’t stop sending it. ella
February 18th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Two or three books a year?!?! I track what I read each year and I average about 20 to 25 per year, maximum has been 30. Last year was a little low because War and Peace is rather lengthy. I’ve read the entire Bible in a year several times. How can people NOT read? Reading opens our minds to how other people think, creates opportunities for new perspectives, inspires us to achieve more, refreshes our spirits.
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Paul Farmer should be required reading for everyone. One person can make a difference. Want a little insight into cultural differences? Try The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. Insight into Afghanistan and their culture, try The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
These are all easy reads and open us up to new worlds.
Or, as the current TV commercial says, you can just sit and watch TV and turn your brain into mush.
On a personal note, thank you, Kirk. You have encouraged me through the last few difficult months.
Paul Hypki
Risk Management Officer
February 18th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Kirk - you’re doing good work my friend! If we don’t read we have to find some other way to learn the lessons others have already paid the price to learn, and it is always more expensive that way! I’ve been assisting instruction for www.abundantreadingsystems.com for a few years now, and it is amazing what kinds of limiting beliefs people have about reading. The human mind is a fascinating study!
February 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
[…] friends… before we dig into today’s meaty T4D let’s talk about “Making it Great”. A whole bunch more of you ordered your own discounted copy this week. And you most likely […]