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Readers Are Leaders


Readers Are Leaders

“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
Harry S. Truman (President of America)

If I ask you what’s common between Swami Vivekananda, Abraham Lincoln, Amir Khan, and Bill Gates. You can respond it anyway, but these leaders’ from the different field have one thing in common that they were avid readers. We have a long list of such leaders who are readers.
To begin with, Swami Vivekananda, an ascetic highly admired by youth, devoted a big time in reading. He continued reading books even during his Chicago visit. He would go to the library to borrow books everyday without fail. The librarian was amazed by the astonishing memory and speedy reading of Swami Vivekananda.Abraham Lincoln had received very scanty formal education and acquired a lot of learning through free reading. It is said that he spends the whole day in the library and when the library got closed he would sleep outside to continue his study the next day, such was his passion for reading. The enormous knowledge he had gathered from reading deepened his social awareness and crafted an exceptional leader within him; no surprise, later he became President of America. Reading has lot of benefits that I will discuss afterwards, but let’s see what our Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks about reading. Not very long ago, at the Jnanpeeth Award ceremony, PM stressed the need to inculcate the habit of reading among children, he said, “Books are a treasure trove which keep spreading knowledge for generations to come.”
Another book lover is from the film industry. Yes, non-other than Amir Khan a veteran film actor, is a voracious reader. Let’s see the problem of the actor, director, and film maker. "My problem” he said in an interview, “is that I don’t watch many films because I think I enjoy reading a lot more.”  Amir Khan, popularly known as perfectionist further said, “It’s a childhood habit with me. Reading is my big passion and my number one hobby. So when I come home, I pick up a book.”  Bill gates one of the richest person is well known for his reading habit. He reads around 50 books per year. The list includes Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, Warren Buffet, Amitabh Bacchan etc. The list doesn’t end here off course, ask how many book do we read in a year?

Explore the Magic
What does a book do to its reader? A great book casts a powerful spell and kindles magic within the readers; enriches perception and works on attitude; acquaint with wonderful people and places and the most important raise the imagination, a fertile soil for all inventions and discoveries human civilization ever known. I can’t help laughing at some people who in the whim of searching excuses for covering their lethargy and claim I am a practical man I don’t read book. They forget that great scriptures are also book like the Bhagawat Geeta, the Bible, the Quran, and the Guru Granth Sahib, are also books, which have been enlightening humans for hundreds and thousands of years. Here I would like to enumerate some great books which have influenced life of many and brought about a turn around in their lives.
  • You Can win by Shiv Khera
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • The monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin S Sharma
  • The Magic of thinking big by David Schwartz
  • One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
  • The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
  • Awakening the Giant Within by Anthony Robins
  • The Seven Laws of Success by Dr Deepak Chopra
  • Jonathan Livingstone Seagull By Richard Bach
Reading and Youth
Though many people believe reading habit is on the decline in youth. Smartphones or other electronic gadgets are what youngsters are always busy with. Gaming, movie watching, taking selfies, chatting or messaging on social networking sites are outsmarting reading habit. But in my opinion that is not so. We have these days a new breed of writers who are ready to experiment with their subject matter and easy writing they have created a niche in the heart of youth. Chetan Bhahgat, Sachin Garg, Amish Tripathi, Ravinder Singh, Preety Shinoy they all have a wide popularity in youth. Many of them enjoy a celebrity status not only in India but the world over. Ravinder Singh recently appeared in Forbes 100 list of celebrity and Chetan Bhagat, and Amish Tripathi were enlisted in the magazine earlier. Publishers say the new-age writers have a huge following, not just in metro cities, but also in smaller towns. (ndtv.com).

Bestselling authors and bright smiling publishers good enough to hint that not all yet there is an awareness in youth largely due to the gaining importance of English language in every move and every climb of career. They understand they should use smartphones, smartphone should not use them.

Benefit of Reading
The leadership benefits of reading are widespread. Evidence suggests reading can improve intelligence and lead to innovation and insight. Some studies have shown, for example, that reading makes you smarter through “a larger vocabulary and more world knowledge in addition to the abstract reasoning skills.”
Reading helps a person tremendously,whether reading Wikipedia, Rediff news, or Shakespeare, It is one of the quickest ways to attain and absorb new information. Many business people claim that it reading which enlarged their world view and influenced their understanding. Following are the ways the reading develops a person:

 Reading Enriches Our Perspective
  Reading Challenges and Can Change Us
  Reading a gift for Loners
  Reading develops sensitivity and social responsibility
  Reading Motivates and Elevates

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