The Podium

Where is the podium in your house? To which books are given "royal assent" by the authority figures in your home.

For me, it is the bible, of the Judeo Christian heritage, which is given that place of reverence. When a bible is read aloud, there floats about the house a bit of holy hush...a quiet thoughtfulness and pleasant absorption.

As I do have a fondness for "success" literature and "motivational gurus", I notice that every single one of them has a profound reverence for the act of reading. Every single big time billionaire places a high value on the simple and yet profound activity of reading.

Some folks prefer to listen to audio versions of their fave books, but that is still "almost" the same as reading, other than that it is more difficult to pause and reflect and/or take notes in the midst of an audio recording.

Having a physical copy of a book in your hand just lends itself to thoughtful pauses and reflection. The art of pondering, the ability to hover over an idea until one can see it from every possible angle.

So, in summary I would like to ask you gently, my good friends, relatives and associates and colleagues....who has the podium in your home?

Peace,

Carla

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"Inside Bill's Brain"...that new Netflix doc

So I've been watching bits and blurbs of that new Netflix Documentary entitled
" Inside Bill's Brain" which is a biographical piece about Bill Gates.

One of the things which strikes me most, is how I am reminded once again, just how important to Bill Gates...is his desire to spend time alone reading. He speaks of it more than once in this new documentary.

That same desire to read and think.....preferably while alone....is something shared by
many great minds of our day. Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and other motivational speakers like
Robert Kiyosaki, speak at length, about how important it is to their own personal and professional/business growth to keep sourcing, and hunting down and devouring books.

It is much more than just a simple "success habit"....
It is much more than just another way to "expand one's mind".

Those who really want to make a difference with their lives are often somewhat obsessed with finding quality reading materials, whether that be books or quality magazines or newsletters pr blogs.

Where you get your information from is so very crucial. What you mentally consume, forms and influences your outlook on life......
What you read will fill you with hope, or with despair. It is your choice. Choose carefully..

What you read fills the void. Hunt down quality mental meat with which to fill your mental void.

Don't accept supermarket tabloids and scammy hastily written blogs. Don't fall for click bait.

Pray and hunt continuously for quality information from trustworthy sources. It may take years to develop the networks you need to be able to sniff out good advice and reliable reading materials. Covet them more than gold.

Peace,
Carla.


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Thought Life....book life

One can not talk anything meaningful about one's thought life without discussing their
book life.

What is a book life? Well, the books you surround yourself with have lives of their own.

I am not even speaking about the book that you are currently immersed in . I am speaking even of the books that sit idly on your night stand or dusty piano, or atop on ole book shelf. I am talking about the text books from the college you dropped out of, that you keep in storage in the attic. Their words still speak. The fact that you haven't disposed of these books, is a testament in and of itself.
Your recycling bin has been seeking to recycle your books, but you have resisted. You have hung onto certain books because they were markers in shifts in your thinking, in your thought life, in your formal education or in your  self led self taught "home" school.

Your books have been markers of your paths of discovery. They reflect that journey to maturity...or painfully show us how far we still have to go....

I think it was Napoleon Hill, who stated that "thoughts are things".

Therefore when we surround ourselves with certain books, we are surrounding ourselves with many millions of "things" belonging to the authors of those books. Their words fill our minds, our space, our ideals. We argue with their thoughts, we discuss and dismiss or else contradict completely what we read. But we always respond to whatever we read. It is merely human nature.

 I have always resented it when someone tried to tell me what I should and shouldn't read....It felt so controlling and intrusive. I have also resented it when electronic book readers try to shove their way into my consciousness. Blogs I have embraced. Twitter too.....but reading the books I am passionate about, I want to hold in my grubby hands myself....in paper format. They may be printed on the cheapest newsprint, or the crispest leather bound hard cover, or they may be pages I've printed off and stapled together in an attempt to produce a "real" book. But it must be old school. It is a book.

 I want to bend the corners back on the pages I visit often. I want to scribble in the margins. I want to Tweet some of their quotable quotes. I continue to become delighted to uncover how great an ocean of knowledge is awaiting me in the land of books. This land beckons me still.

What mankind writes about is a reflection of what it finds important or profitable to repeat.

Soon it will be spring time in this beautiful land of Canada....and with it will come the inevitable urge to purge. Muted books will stumble into my hands and leap toward the recycling bin with reckless abandon. But I must resist. I will attempt to keep at least one book from each of my fave influential authors. Many of their thoughts I have already committed to memory. But I must keep a momento of their position of power in my life. The authors have earned a trophy. That trophy is a space on my book case.

in peace,

Carla.

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It Pays to Know How YOU Learn.....in your own Unique Way

Do you curl up with a thick book and can't put it down until you've mastered the concepts therein?

Or do you have a notepad near your study area and jot down key points just to help you process the information.....even if you never look again at those notes....you find that the jottting down process helps you learn.

Or do you prefer to listen to seminars via audio files on your Ipod or MP3 player?
Do you love audio books?


And then there are tactile learners that prefer to learn only through hands on learning experiences....so they can feel the experience in their very own fingertips. Chefs, mechanics, artists may all have qualities in this category along with many others.


Figuring out how you learn well, will revolutionize your independent learning path.

As for me, I discovered just a few years ago, that I am a very strong "auditory" learner and that I have a HUGE amount of patience to list to the same files over and over again as long as they are in audio form. I learn well with EXTREME  REPETITION and the repetitive style doesn't even make me bored!

I write this post to encourage you.....don't give up on your interest in learning just because some highschool teacher didn't understand your skills or learning style. And don't feel like you have to choose just ONE method of learning.

For example, just because I prefer to learn in an auditory mode, doesn't mean I just stop reading things. Nope, I still dive headfirst into oodles of power packed books. But in the midst of my "self led" independent study I try to incorporate several videos ( whethe via youtube or some other video source) into my educational path. I replay them over and over and over again until I glean what I wish from the video.

Any thoughts? Any comments. Do tell.....in the comment section below.

Peace,
Carla