Finding inspiration in the lives of other people
ONE of the fundamental prerequisites of my work is that I need to read avidly.
To be frank, during my childhood, reading came a distant second to watching “MacGyver” and “Knight Rider” on the television, playing football in my taman and hanging out in the monsoon drain outside my best buddy Mohan Ganapathy’s house.
It was indeed a miracle for my folks that I passed my law exams. The voluminous number of weighty tomes that you need to read is every law student’s nightmare.
Of course, I worked out a system of reading and deciphering my law books. In the time before the advent of the worldwide web, I had perfected the art of discovering slimmer books that summarised the larger publications that I had to pore through for my studies.
On a recent visit to London, my university mate Elaine Marsh reminded me that I specialised in discovering “nutshell” law manuals in libraries. Nutshells present the basics of law concisely and in an unforgettable way. I really needed these user-friendly, simplified books to pass my exams.
My interest in reading was only kindled in my twenties. Two authors did this for me. The first was novelist John Grisham.
Interestingly, he was an attorney, and was a criminal lawyer before becoming an acclaimed author.
Perhaps reading his legal thrillers resonated with me because I had studied law.
The second, more important author who got me reading voraciously was entrepreneur, philanthropist and life coach Tony Robbins. Two of his most powerful early works were a catalyst in my life.
“Unlimited Power” inspired me to open my first business. And “Awaken the Giant Within” kept me going in the early years of failure upon failure.
This past week I was reacquainted with Tony Robbins’ work. It is ironic that I am espousing the virtues of reading because I was in fact invited to watch a documentary on him.
My friend and Malaysian broadcaster Ezra Zaid and I were having a meal a few days ago, and the conversation drifted to our learning experiences from personal development experts.
Through the course of the discussion, he alerted me to a 2016 film by Joe Berlinger called “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru” that documented Robbins’ annual 6-day personal development event “Date with Destiny”.
I got hold of the documentary and instantly reconnected with the work that inspired my early life as a trainer, management consultant, and entrepreneur.
I was reminded that Tony Robbins’ techniques on improving life really did resonate with me.
His focus on the power of making decisions and achieving emotional mastery helped me understand what I needed to, and still need to do, to keep progressing in my life.
At the core, his philosophy always centred on reframing your thoughts to understand that life is happening for you, rather than happening to you.
Through my work with exceptional leaders in Malaysia and around the region, I know that they all embrace and exhibit this philosophy in one way, shape or form. Each one of them believes that every situation they find themselves in gives them a learning lesson.
Robbins himself recounts that having to deal with an abusive mother did not disadvantage him, but instead made him who he is.
His focus on alleviating suffering comes from this core understanding of the pain that was inflicted upon him.
Reading his books, together with the works of other inspirational philosophers, and attempting to put the learning into practice is a real challenge I relish. These books will change your life.
A recent article in the influential Huffington Post claimed that a study of 1,200 wealthy people found that they all have reading as a pastime. They believed that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge.
However, the research also showed that successful people were selective about what they read.
They tended to choose educational books over novels, tabloids, and magazines. And, in particular, they focused on biographies and autobiographies of successful people.
I want to add that more than just reading, you need to discern the learning contained within.
For example, I had a friend who specialised in buying self-help books.
She would constantly be skimming through all manner of weird and wonderful books in the personal development section in every known bookstore. She would spend huge amounts of money purchasing these books, and would proceed to spend hours reading them thoroughly.
But nothing ever changed in her. She was completely clueless, and thought that reading alone was enough.
Remember that you cannot read a self-help book like you would read a novel. You read a novel for entertainment. But a self-help book is for guidance and inspiration. For that, you need to internalise what you read. Therefore, you need to read to understand.
Only by reading the right books, and applying the knowledge contained therein, will you get inspired to work in a focused manner. And this, in turn, will lead to the results you are yearning for.
Only by reading the right books, and applying the knowledge contained therein, will you get inspired to work in a focused manner. And this, in turn, will lead to the results you are yearning for.