I heard someone say that libraries are going away. People just don’t read paper books anymore. Bookstores themselves don’t have the foot traffic they once had. There are a few exceptions, but those exceptions usually have a Starbucks in the lobby. Seems there’s no time to sit and read when there are so many other entertaining venues for learning. Video, podcasts, social media, internet, and eBooks have taken the top place on the information highway. Books have gone the way of the dodo bird. I suspect one day we will take a pill or put on an electronic device that will download anything we need, like in the movie “The Matrix.”
Old school parenting
Until that day, if it comes, I want to go old school. Not to say I don’t like, enjoy and use all forms of social media, podcasts and video teaching and training. I love it. But there is a comfort food aspect to sitting in a comfortable chair and reading. Someone much smarter than me said that any leader worth their salt reads more than they talk. I think it was James who said, “Be quick to hear, slow to speak.” Good counsel. Most parents do the opposite and I’m no exception. But parenting has a bunch of “old school” woven into the texture of training. If kids don’t learn the value and importance of reading, they won’t go as far as they could. You’re smart and you already know that. You probably also know that the best motivator is you. If you’re not reading, you’re not learning. If you’re not reading, those that carefully watch you won’t either. Can you blame them? After all, you’re a hero and who doesn’t want to be like their hero?
Okay, I can already here your protests, “I’m an auditory learner.” “I can multitask, doing five different things at the same time.” Oh really? I used to call myself a multi-tasker, but evidence reveals that the vast majority of us can barely walk and chew gum at the same time. Multi-tasking may be a bit of a smokescreen for doing a bunch of things at an average level. I’m just trying to say it the way it is – the way you intuitively already know– that learning, through all five senses is hard work, and worth it in the end. Lead the way with your family. Set a goal. Let your kids see you do the hard work of learning. You’ll never regret it… I guarantee it.