Coach Kip

Where does inspiration come from? Is it something you read, some one you listen to, is it in nature? I think that inspiration comes from you!

Thats right. I think that inspiration comes from inside you. For example. I don’t know how much you read but I read a lot. For the last year and a half I have read almost nothing but business books, success books, and self development books. It may sound boring, but I have a long way to go to get to where I am want to be, besides it is a lot less expensive than a shrink.

So what do I get out of it? I am glad you asked. I get what I need to get at that time. OK that was a little complicated what does that mean?

First I have observed that most books have the same message. So why do I keep reading them over and over again? First off the voice of the writer, or the style of the writing, sometimes strikes a chord when said by one author, but means completely nothing when a different writer says the same thing. When I read Donald Trump’s Think Big and Kick Ass I begin to think big. But when I read Russell Simmons Do You! and he says think big, it does not hit me the same way. Why? Because when I read Donald Trump that is what I expect to get. I was not expecting that from Russell Simmons. I was expecting to get some more insight into my students and hopefully see things they way they do. Instead I got a whole lot more. Russell Simmons had a completely different message saying the same things that I read from everyone else. BTW It is a fantastic book and everyone should read it.

Second, while I am reading a book I may not be ready for the message that the author is trying to tell me. I could read it 100 times but if I am not ready for the message I will never get it. So when people tell me I should not read all those books because they all say the same thing I tell them “Yes but I was not paying attention to the last one.” I wasn’t. I was not ready for the message so I missed it.

Book clubs, and book discussions are a great place to get something that you did not get before. I never really liked Oprah before. I didn’t get her and I really thought that is was just a place where women went to get their daily instruction. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t watch her every day, but my wife watches her often, and when the topic interests me I will tune in for a little while. So I was convinced to join the online discussion on A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61). What a great experience! For those of you who are not doing so it is not too late to join. We are only on Chapter 2 and you can download all the discussion at Oprah.com in video or podcast form. I get so much more listening to others talk about the book. It is a fantastic experience.

So what is the point? Keep reading, keep learning. Maybe you were not quite ready for the for the message the first time you read or hear something. But maybe now you are. Read as many books as possible, read them often, and re-read them. Take time for yourself to learn. You never know how successful you may become.

Conceive It, Believe It, Achieve It

Coach Kip

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