Leadership is forged by learning, practice and opportunity.
Reading plays a great role in learning. It widens and deepens perspective stimulating thought innovation and action.
That is why immaterial of whether they are highly qualified or mere school dropouts, successful leaders, are eager learners, and therefore tend to be prolific readers.
The beauty of reading is that it is open to everyone at any time of their choosing.
Effective reading is a habit and like all habits is most beneficial when cultivated early on in life, preferably by the age of 8 or 10.
I can share the experiences of my own family. We are a family of prolific readers. My father and Uncle, we six siblings, my sons and grandsons are voracious and happy readers.
Our elders were born in Burma early in the last century. Their schooling was rudely interrupted in the fourth grade by the outbreak of the Japanese invasion of Burma, during World War II.
Wanting to get on and succeed in life our elders got their hands on every book, magazine, newspaper they could get their hands on to learn about and appreciate a wide array of subjects and topics.
Our home has always been overflowing with all sorts of publications.
We like all children kept looking for ways to amuse ourselves. Initially we would pick up and browse through whatever lay before us. Comics, autobiographies, fictional and non fictional novels, magazines or newspapers all received our increasing interest and before long we were reading, expanding our vocabulary, developing unique styles of communication, etc. and asking lots of questions.
Elders have always been patient to explain and excited to discuss. Learning has been bolstered by bringing atlases, dictionaries and encyclopaedias into the home. None of us have ever stopped reading and learning since childhood. This trend continues with our children and grandchildren.
To widen the net and lower the cost of getting reading resources we have always been members of various libraries which enriches learning.
Reading is a habit that is cultivated in an environment.
A bar stocked with alcohol in open display and easy access will produce a family of drinkers. A home stocked with reading and learning resources is most likely going to produce a learned family with good communication skills.
Learning involves questioning for greater and deeper understanding and that is the logical extension of reading. Which is a foundation stone for developing leadership.
There is another great benefit of reading. A reader is rarely bored or lonely.
Ordinary people have only big televisions. Extraordinary people also have big libraries.
Written and Posted: March 2023 ~ by Gurvinder Singh
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