READ ALL THE BOOKS by Jim Rohn

All of the books that we will ever need to make us as rich,
as healthy, as happy, as powerful, as sophisticated and as
successful as we want to be have already been written.

People from all walks of life, people with some of the most
incredible life experiences, people that have gone from
pennies to fortune and from failure to success have taken
the time to write down their experiences so that we might
share in their wealth of knowledge. They have offered their
wisdom and experience so that we can be inspired by it
and instructed by it, and so that we can amend our
philosophy by it. Their contributions enable us to reset our
sail based upon their experiences. They have handed us
the gift of their insights so that we can change our plans,
if need be, in order to avoid their errors. We can rearrange
our lives based on their wise advice.

All of the insights that we might ever need have already
been captured by others in books. The important question
is this: In the last ninety days, with this treasure of
information that could change our lives, our fortunes, our
relationships, our health, our children and our careers for
the better, how many books have we read?

Why do we neglect to read the books that can change our
lives? Why do we complain but remain the same? Why do
so many of us curse the effect but nourish the cause? How
do we explain the fact that only three percent of our entire
national population possess a library card - a card that
would give us access to all of the answers to success and
happiness we could ever want? Those who wish for the
better life cannot permit themselves to miss the books that
could have a major impact on how their lives turn out. The
book they miss will not help!

And the issue is not that books are too expensive! If a
person concludes that the price of buying the book is too
great, wait until he must pay the price for not buying it.
Wait until he receives the bill for continued and prolonged
ignorance.

There is very little difference between someone who
cannot read and someone who will not read. The result of
either is ignorance. Those who are serious seekers of
personal development must remove the self-imposed
limitations they have placed on their reading skills and their
reading habits. There is a multitude of classes being taught
on how to be a good reader and there are thousands of
books on the shelves of the public libraries just waiting to
be read. Reading is essential for those who seek to rise
above the ordinary. We must not permit anything to stand
between us and the book that could change our lives.

A little reading each day will result in a wealth of valuable
information in a very short period of time. But if we fail to
set aside the time, if we fail to pick up the book, if we fail
to exercise the discipline, then ignorance will quickly move
in to fill the void.

Those who seek a better life must first become a better
person. They must continually seek after self-mastery for
the purpose of developing a balanced philosophy of life,
and then live in accordance with the dictates of that
philosophy. The habit of reading is a major stepping stone
in the development of a sound philosophical foundation.
And in my opinion it is one of the fundamentals required for
the attainment of success and happiness.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn