Why I Wander

At least twice a month, I browse bookstores. All kinds of bookstores, Barnes and Noble, Goodwill, Independent Bookstores, Used Bookstores (that’s where I found an almost new, clearly unread copy of Dale Carnegie’s classic, “How To Win Friends and Influence People” in 1982!)

I like to wander. Why? Because I never know what I will stumble upon. I was having lunch with my good friend and fellow author/speaker Kelly Schols in Mt. Vernon, WA, a lovely town 36,000 people north of Seattle. Across the street from the pizzeria is an extraordinary used bookstore where I purloined a hard copy, first edition of Andrew Carnegie’s Autobiography for $9.00! When the muse strikes, I wander. I invariably find a jewel, a gold nugget, a bargain.  

I read 50 pages a day, every day. That’s anywhere from an hour to two hours depending upon what I am reading. I borrowed that from author— Larry McMurty, an American novelist who wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel in 1985 “Lonesome Dove”.  He reads 50 pages a day. If you want the results other people get, do what they do. Borrow boldly from the best.

It never fails, I get at least one great idea in the first 20-30 minutes of reading a book. Mind you I read from many genres, Biographies, Memoirs, Business, Sales, Spiritual, Self-Help, Sports, Humor—even a Book of Quotes. I am partial to out of print books written before 1950. 

Think about this, if you simply read for 20-minutes a day or 10-pages, that’s 70 pages a week, 280 a month (two books), 3640 pages a year or 20 books a year. That’s 100 books in five years! Can you see how the habit of reading good books can change your lifestyle and income? In that twenty minutes, if you only get one great idea, that is seven ideas a week, 28 a month, 336 ideas a year!  

You only need one or two really great ideas to change your life and business. You can’t afford not to read for 20 minutes a day! They key is making reading a habit. First we form habits—then they form us. Consistency is the key.

“The books you don’t read won’t help.” -Jim Rohn

“People who don’t read have no advantage over people who cannot read.” -Mark Twain

At this point, you might be saying, “Hey, I am not much a reader. I try to read at night in bed and fall asleep.” I get it. If this is you, here are some ways around that:

1. Read first thing in the morning.
2. Listen to audible.com (Books on audio) while you drive.
3. Listen to Podcasts while drive.
4. Have someone read to you while you drive.
5. Buy condensed versions of books. 
6. Go to bookstores and listen to authors read from their books.
7. Read to your Children or Grandchildren.

I recently interviewed author Roy Newey, a very successful business man on my podcast (see link below to listen and subscribe). He is British. His book “Ready, Set, Grow!” is available on his website. He left school at 16. He is dyslexic; he can’t read! He found a way around that. He is a brilliant listener, a keen observer, he has a photographic auditory memory; he remembers everything anyone told him and he solicits others feedback to get the information he needs. He told me a story: “I was head of a committee in Liverpool. I was given a 700 page report to read. I can’t read. So I came up with a plan. In a very large meeting of very intelligent leaders who had all been given the report and had most definitely read it, I said, ‘Let’s go around the room. I’d like each of you to share the two most important things you learned from that report.’ As they shared, I listed them. Everyone was delighted because we pulled the salient points out of that 700 page report and everyone was involved! I never read the report.”

Roy is the exception to the rule. He is a serious student, wildly successful entrepreneur and one of finest story tellers I have ever met or interviewed.

I read two books a week. I don’t tell you that to impress you. I flunked high school English and have a one year of college. I tell you because now you know “Why I Wander!?” I need to keep my funnel of books to read—full.

I think I will stop by Barnes and Noble today. I have a gift card I need to use. I’ll wonder as I wander…

Mark Matteson - Best Selling Author, International Speaker

To order one of my books, go to: www.sparkingsuccess.net/store

206.697.0454 - [email protected] 

To watch a few short videos, simply click the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Jt8ckNfTLjxDxIHiJFmLQ

To Listen to my Podcasts, click on the links below:

Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Igt7mg2ocg5uznucgczjyfbqs3m?t=On_Books_and_People_with_Mark_Matteson

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-books-and-people-with-mark-matteson/id1485933233

“Make it a great day…unless you have other plans!”