The Number One Thing You Need To Pay Attention To

How do you get the most value from a book?

By now I believe that everyone should know that Growth is the Number One thing they should focus on.

And the first step to growth has always been reading.

Reading is something that I have been doing consistently for more than two decades now.

It was something that made people think I would run mad from too much knowledge.

I read everything; from novels and newspapers to the random billboard erected idly on the street corner.

I still remember sneaking the house lantern into my room late at night to read my Clive Cussler novels.

I always read with the faint glow of light surrounding me, the wick of the lantern turned low so that my Aunt won’t see the reflection of light from under my door.

My ears were always alert, prying for any sound like that of a rabbit nibbling in the bush.

The Fox in this story was my Aunt who was out to end my excessive reading career, and this was mostly due to the fact that she could not understand how someone who always read the Bible consistently was still very stubborn.

I confess that I was very stubborn growing up, but the Bible was my favourite book because it contains a lot of stories, and it was the only book that was left to read most times.

I read Bible stories for entertainment as I could not afford to buy the books I wanted yet.

Thankfully I am more gentle now, as I have given the Holy Spirit room in my Life.

Now to how to get more value from any book.

This image has nothing to do with this article, just love the ingredient arrangement.

Most times we rush from book to book in search for insights, while fully applying what we learn from one book can change our life in the said topic.

Whether you are trying to learn leadership, how to be disciplined or even drive sales, there is one book out there that can totally renew your mind in the said topic.

Find it, read it and apply what it teaches.

The Pareto principle states that 20% of the value of any activity comes from 80% of the actions, while 80% of the value of any activity comes from 20% of the actions.

The key here is to identify 20% of those actions that bring more results and focus more on it.

The same goes for books; 80% of the value of a book comes from 20% of the content, while 20% of the remaining value comes from 80% of the content.

I have a dedicated notebook that I use when I read. It’s in this notebook I take note of the most important points that resonate with me.

By the time I am done, a 300–500-page book would have been whittled down to 5–10 pages of bullet points in my note.

Once these major points have been identified, I spend time rereading the points that I have taken down and also meditating on them.

This helps me craft a strategy or course of action.

It is easy to go through a 10-page note than it is to go through a 500-page book. Once you are certain that you have jotted down all the major points, you drop the book and spend time reading your notes over and over again.

When it comes to reading, less is actually more. I love Twitter because it allows people to be brief.

There are tweets with fewer than ten words that have totally helped renew my mind.

Now it doesn’t end at reading ,there is a place of taking action.

It is easy to read and get all hyped up, but if you consistently fail to take action then you are bound to remain stagnant.

For example, there are some people who have consistently praised me for the kind of content that I post on my WhatsApp status, but I have noticed that some fail to take action.

I have started telling some people that I would block them from viewing my status updates because it is easy to get hooked on cycle of just learning without taking action.

You would learn more by learning than taking advice.

Even Seth Godin said in his recent interview with Peace Itimi that the best way to succeed is rejecting most advice.

He said it not because advice was bad, but because it is something that needed to be taken in small doses.

Once you start taking action, you would find out what works best for you.

I hope that you see the reason to start taking action today.

Drop a comment below by hitting the ❤️heart button and let me know the things that have been holding you back from taking action.

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