Drink coffee with Gandhi

Drink coffee with Gandhi: Reading is one of the best disciplines I know of to stay “on your game” and at your highest. Reading from a great book is really all about having a conversation with the author. And we become our conversations. Just think, tonight-—by reading Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, 'My Experiments with truth', over a cup of coffee—you can get behind this great man’s eyeballs and learn what made him tick. Want to hang out with Madonna tomorrow? Grab her book. Same for Jack Welch, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, Bob Proctor or the Dalai Lama. And reading a book by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you. As Oliver Wendell Holmes observed: “A mind Once stretched by a new idea can never return to its original dimensions.” When I was growing up my father once told me: "Cut back on your rent or cut back on what you spend on food but never worry about investing money in a good book." That powerful thought has accompanied me through life. His philosophy was that all it takes is one idea discovered in a single book to lift you to a whole new level and revolutionize the way you see the world. And so our home was filled with books. And now I try to devote at least an hour a day to reading. That habit alone has transformed me.Perhaps my greatest gift to my children when I die will be my library. I have books on leadership, relationships, business, philosophy, wellness, spirituality, great lives and many of my other favoured topics in it. Many of these I’ve picked up in bookshops from across the planet when I travel on business. These books have shaped my thinking. They have formed my personal philosophy. They have made me the man I am. To me, my books are priceless.  The old expression is true: “Knowing how to read and not reading is almost the same as not knowing how to read." Make the time to read something good each day. Fill Your mind with big ideas and dazzling thoughts. Use books to flood your soul with hope and inspiration. And remember, if you want to lead, you really need to read. Oh, and if you-like me—have the habit of buying more books than you can ever possibly read, don’t feel guilty—you’re building your library. And that’s a beautiful thing.