WHO SAID READERS ARE LEADERS?
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What President Harry S Truman actually said: “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Then boom, one I-don’t-know-who from I-don’t-know-where reduced it to, and publicized “Readers are leaders.” Let me tell you this, reader: Your prosperity is in the other people. To be a leader is to lead other people, and books are isolating you from them.
I have friends who read a hundred books a year. I’ve heard rumors of some people who read more than that. I have not yet achieved that feat and I do not hope to, but I have read enough to know that books can sap your energy and make you lose faith in humanity and the humans you strive to lead.
You become a writer by writing, not by reading how to write. You learn a language by speaking it, not by reading about it and consuming its theories. You become a leader by leading, not by reading how to lead. You become anything by being that thing, not by reading how to be that thing. As Robert Greene posited in his book, Mastery, “The natural model for learning, largely based on the power of mirror neurons, came from watching and imitating others, then repeating the action over and over.”
“You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office.” President Barack Obama declared. “You can read about it. You can study it. But until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it is to manage a global crisis or send young people to war.”
The internet is filled with quotes enunciating the sterling reputation of reading. But everything advantageous has disadvantages too. Water is essential to human life, yes. People die of thirst, yes. But also, people die by drowning. People choke on water.
I have friends who read a hundred books a year. I’ve heard rumors of some people who read more than that. I have not yet achieved that feat and I do not hope to, but I have read enough to know that books can sap your energy and make you lose faith in humanity and the humans you strive to lead.
You become a writer by writing, not by reading how to write. You learn a language by speaking it, not by reading about it and consuming its theories. You become a leader by leading, not by reading how to lead. You become anything by being that thing, not by reading how to be that thing. As Robert Greene posited in his book, Mastery, “The natural model for learning, largely based on the power of mirror neurons, came from watching and imitating others, then repeating the action over and over.”
“You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office.” President Barack Obama declared. “You can read about it. You can study it. But until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it is to manage a global crisis or send young people to war.”
The internet is filled with quotes enunciating the sterling reputation of reading. But everything advantageous has disadvantages too. Water is essential to human life, yes. People die of thirst, yes. But also, people die by drowning. People choke on water.
Here are some of the disadvantages of Books:
They give you a sense of smugness and superiority:
They give you a sense of smugness and superiority:
Reading is just like fame, it comes with its own confidence. Famous people, like readers, would always want to be on the right. Others, who oppose their views, must be wrong. Others don’t know how the world runs. An executive who reads will be like, “when similar thing as this happened to Vanderbilt in 1855 this was how he handled it.” Is this 1855? Are you Vanderbilt? Are you dealing with the same people Vanderbilt dealt with? Leadership is being more concerned with whom rather than how. Readers on the other end are people who know how but does not know who.
Granted, it is bad for leaders to think they are the smartest person in the room; it is a grave danger -- for them and their organizations -- to believe so.
They escape you from reality:
Granted, it is bad for leaders to think they are the smartest person in the room; it is a grave danger -- for them and their organizations -- to believe so.
They escape you from reality:
It is a truth generally acknowledged that the best way to escape the crisis and harshness of reality is to turn pages. In most books we know, the hero always win in the end. The anti-hero always, at the climax of their influence, make costly mistakes. The people who hated you will later see the truth and then begin to love you. People will love you because you are good, talented or smart. It is not like that in real life and your good intentions and heart of gold does not guarantee you success. If you are going to lead, it is important you know that.
They kill social skills:
They kill social skills:
If you think yourself a reader and your social skill is still very accurate, you have not read enough. Solitude, media avoidance and social withdrawal are the trademarks of chronic readers. Reading brings about reclusiveness. Readers tend to become independent thinkers -- a good reputation which is seldom managed well -- that destroys people and organizations.
Aside that, innocently while readers talk with people -- people who actually speak to communicate -- vocabularies and lexicons keep dropping. What in the wide, wild world does “The sprawling, undulating terrain is all of China” means?
They bring about unhealthy cynicism:
Aside that, innocently while readers talk with people -- people who actually speak to communicate -- vocabularies and lexicons keep dropping. What in the wide, wild world does “The sprawling, undulating terrain is all of China” means?
They bring about unhealthy cynicism:
Nothing kills an organization faster as distrust, suspicions and disloyalties among her members. Then, how would you read and understand The Prince by Nicollo Machiavelli or The Mafia Managerby V. Or any of Robert Greene’s books and not think everyone has a selfish interest and that everyone wants to harm you? All these books preaches trusting no one; but, who trusts no one and become successful? How else would leaders lead if not by trusting their followers?
In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell opined, in support of several other researchers like Daniel Levitin and Michael Howe that you need a ten thousand hours of deliberate practice to be a leader in any industry. In his words, “Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” Though several other researchers like Frans Johansson and Brooke Macnamara, have argued against Gladwell’s theory, they were never unconcerned with one thing: practice. You have to practice, and you have to deliberately practice.
In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell opined, in support of several other researchers like Daniel Levitin and Michael Howe that you need a ten thousand hours of deliberate practice to be a leader in any industry. In his words, “Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness.” Though several other researchers like Frans Johansson and Brooke Macnamara, have argued against Gladwell’s theory, they were never unconcerned with one thing: practice. You have to practice, and you have to deliberately practice.
Succintly, of what essence is reading if all the mistakes made in the past are still repeated in the present, by the so called readers?
On a final note to the entrepreneurs out there and the aspiring ones: a million copies of How To Be An Entrepreneur cannot make you an entrepreneur or a better one. More than 15 million copies of Dale Carnegie’s Book How To Win Friends And Influence People sold and still till today -- and forever, people are losing friends and manipulating people
On a final note to the entrepreneurs out there and the aspiring ones: a million copies of How To Be An Entrepreneur cannot make you an entrepreneur or a better one. More than 15 million copies of Dale Carnegie’s Book How To Win Friends And Influence People sold and still till today -- and forever, people are losing friends and manipulating people
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