books

Christmas was just three days ago (it’s hard to believe that there’s only 362 shopping days until the next one) and many of you are probably still digging out from under mountains of discarded wrapping paper, cardboard boxes and all the various flotsam and jetsam leftovers after Christmas. Vickie and I have moved toward simplicity — with music and books being our primary gifts to each other.

Thinking back though, I remembered the best Christmas gift I ever received and the funny thing is, it wasn’t really a Christmas gift. It was the gift of literacy (I think health is my second favorite). Why is literacy my favorite gift? Because reading gives me the opportunity to have adventures in space, go back in time, see dinosaurs, kings, queens, be a detective and explore new lands, foreign countries, the past and also the future. I’ve traveled to worlds that I could never have imagined (but am glad someone else did). I love reading fiction, non-fiction, business, educational (technology of course!) and even the occasional self-help book to keep my brain from turning to mush. Reading also enabled me to graduate from both engineering and law schools. I wouldn’t be here today without the ability to read; instead, I’d probably be digging a ditch somewhere.

Every Christmas when I receive a book, my first reflection is on the best gift I ever received, and I mentally thank my parents and all those extremely patient teachers for it. Take a moment today and ask yourself, what is the best gift you ever received? I sure hope it was literacy or health.

Keep on techin’,

Tom

This morning, while having my cup of healthy green tea, I looked over and found Tom reading a hardback copy of Next of Kin by Joanna Trollope. After the double-take, I asked him where he’d found it and he told me “on your bookshelf.” Then I remembered, all the books on the bookshelf I’ve talked about in my earlier blog are ones that we’ve read and, for whatever reason, have decided to keep. They’re paperbacks, hardbacks, a few legacy books, novels, biographies, travel books, fiction, science fiction (Tom), history, one on gardening that must have been a gift and my book Inside Every Woman published in English, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian and Chinese (Soon to be joined by the Korean version!).

The book Tom was reading came from another set of bookshelves, one in the closet of my home office where I keep a different array of books. The closet contains my law books, my published works on legal nurse consulting, medical references and most importantly, all the books that we haven’t yet read. You know, the ones you get for birthdays, Christmas or just buy and put up to read later. We’re voracious readers and even more voracious book buyers.

I asked Tom what he thought about the Trollope book and he told me it was pretty good – he’d read half the book and he was enjoying it even without a single terrorist being blown up. That made me think, what sort of books are you reading? Do you ever read books outside your own favorite genre? Or do you get stuck in the rut of reading one type of book just like you do with your morning cereal – rarely a change in variety, just different portion sizes.

As Certified Legal Nurse Consultants we’re busy. I know one CLNC^® consultant who reads nothing but murder mysteries and another who rarely reads for fun at all. I believe that it’s essential for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to read a rich and varied diet. Just as you can’t feed a thoroughbred horse a diet of potato chips and expect him to win the Kentucky Derby, you can’t feed your mind a steady diet of nothing but trash novels or People magazine and expect to perform to your best ability. The books we read influence not just our thoughts but our way of thinking, the things we concern ourselves with and where we apply our ultimate energy and efforts.

I have three books on my night stand. One is for my emotional and spiritual development and two are for pure relaxation. My business books are banned from the bedroom and live only in my office.

Take a moment to look at your own bookshelves or your bed stand. What books are in your personal library? Was the last book you read something that enriched your legal nurse consulting business or you personally, something that challenged your mind or just a fun read?

Is it time to stretch your tastebuds?

Success Is Inside!