How do you read a good book?

I was listening to an interview with Bob Proctor, of The Secret, the other day, and he said something that just jumped out at me like a ghost on Halloween. (I'm sorry, it's October 30th and I couldn't resist). Anyway, what Bob said was when most people read a book, they think they've read the book.


Now I know this may sound a little strange, but let me explain the context from which this statement came. Many people are seeking desperately for an answer. They want change in their life, and they think reading a good book will give them the answer they seek. And the truth is that there are a great many books out there that do answer the question of how. I've even written one of them.


Reading a good book is like getting into the mind of the writer. Depending on where this writer is coming from, that can mean having access to some very wise counsel. Take Napoleon Hill's famous book, Think and Grow Rich. Mr. Hill spent something like 12 years studying the 500 richest and most successful people of his time to put together a formula for others to follow to become successful themselves.


Evidently he did an excellent job at this too. After all, there are dozens of successful people today that credit this book as the basis for their own success. Bob Proctor repeatedly mentions this title as the initiating spark that set him on a path to success.


With testimonials like this, it is no wonder this book and others like it make their way to the best seller lists. There are thousands who want to have this same experience, or so we hear. But there really is more to the story.


Often times, someone will hear of a good book, and they will go out and buy it. They read it, and nothing happens. They may even do everything the book suggests. Still they get no real results. Then they may feel frustrated, but there is something more.


When Bob Proctor was given Think and Grow Rich, he didn't just read the book. He read it this book again and again and again. I've heard him say that he is still reading this book. He's also read a few other books. I heard him say he has something like 3,000 books in his personal library.


Beyond reading the book, Think and Grow Rich, Bob said he even got the recorded version. Mind you this was in the day of the vinyl records! He said he got an adapter to play this recording in his car as he was driving around. Came you imagine the dedication to not only receive the message of the book, but to get that message planted into his subconscious mind?


This is tenacity. Bob often mentions Wallace Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich as another book he has read countless times. One other was James Allen's As a Man Thinketh. By the way, I've read each of these books a number of times and agree that they are awesome books.


I have always been a rather voracious reader myself, and I do have certain books that I continue to read over and over again to the point I know them like the back of my hand. When I was really struggling I knew there had to be something in these books I was reading that would help me if I just kept at it long enough. This something I just knew instinctively.


It was when I was reading one of Brian Tracy's books that I learned I was doing the right thing. He suggested reading a book every week. He pointed out how far this would get you in the way of an education after a year, or after five years. It really is amazing when you stop to think about it. You can have the equivalent of a PhD after a few years of this. The years are going to pass by regardless of what you do, so why not get yourself a top rate education?


Dr. Joe Vitale is only too eager to point out his love for books. Les Brown says the same. The list goes on and on. The books are valuable, but you have to know how to use them. I don't know how others read but I do have a peculiar manner of reading a good book. I'd like to share it with you. You might want to try it. I'm not saying it is the best way for you, but I would suggest you give some thought as to how you read as well as what you read.


I really get into a good book while I am reading it. I want zero distractions. I demand this much. I'm thinking about the words and trying to get myself into the head of whoever wrote those words. When I come to something that is particularly deep or profound, I read that part through a second time and underline the words while I am reading them.


After I have done this, I pause to reflect on what I had just read for a few minutes. I first take in the depth of the meaning in its whole. Then I find a relation to the concept in my own life experience. I take my time on this. Sometimes I even write a short note in the margins of the page to remind me when I read this book again at a later date. I am in no hurry to move on when I am contemplating something profound.


Finally I will read this part through one more time before I do continue on. If the book I just finished reading was very good or intense, I will read it a second time immediately after finishing it. Then I usually move on to another book. At some future date, I will surely go back and read this book again.


I read daily. I do not read a new book every week any more. I did this for about five or six years. Now I am constantly going back and forth between new books and my many favorites, including the above mentioned titles. I also haev become a big fan on listening ot books on my MP3 Player. I will easily listen to the same book over and over again for a week straight and love every minute of it!


And by the way, I also read the books I've written, over and over again. I learn much from reading them as well. Reading is one of the best pass times you can choose. Especially when you are hungry to grow.



I want YOU to succeed!!



Jeffrey Brandt

Author of Close Your Eyes To Find Your Way, Manifest By Design Now.




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