You need to read more.  No, I haven’t been stalking you and writing notes about when you read, what you read, and how many pages you read.  It’s just a general statement that I think pretty much applies across the board.  People don’t read enough – and there are some significant advantages if you increase your consumption of printed material.  Reading is the fastest and most direct way of expanding your abilities by accumulating knowledge.

Not just any printed material, though.  In some ways, we are reading more than ever.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of magazines, new websites pop up every second, and the latest blockbuster novel easily sells into the millions of copies.  Barnes and Noble stores dot the landscape and Amazon.com lists millions of titles.  So maybe I’m not talking about the quantity of your reading; I’m talking about the quality of what you read.

I’m not trying to be elitist, but reading fluff doesn’t help.   There’s nothing wrong with reading for entertainment, but if that’s all you do, you’re in trouble.  It’s like TV – there are some fascinating shows on PBS, but if all you are watching is reality shows on MTV, it doesn’t matter.   You have to be aware of what you are letting into your “sphere of attention”.  If it’s just the latest celebrity gossip, there might be some room for improvement.

There is so much information out there; it is getting harder to sift through everything to get to the good stuff.  The signal to noise ratio, the amount of “static” to the signal, is incredibly high.  Because there is a glut of information – most of it vacuous – you have to be much more deliberate if you want to get to the valuable material.  It’s like listening to an old AM radio station; sometimes you really have to tweak the dial to get the signal.

So what do I think you should read?  Things that make you think.  I’m not talking about reading a newspaper to find out the latest soundbite about politics and thinking you are informed.  There are a lot of great books, magazines, and websites out there that offer you the opportunity to work your brain a bit.  If you like reading fiction, for example, there’s nothing wrong with reading the latest Crichton book, just balance it with some of the classics that will challenge you (as a side note, those books they made you read in high school are a lot better when no one is making you read them). 

Why do I think you should read more?  You have to exercise your brain.  Reading is a great way to gather information so that you can have more options when you respond.  “Respond to what?” you might ask.  Life, the universe, everything.  You don’t have to agree with everything you read; in fact the more you read, the more you’ll be able to decide whether or not you do agree with the author.  Being educated isn’t based on a diploma, it’s based on continually learning.  Reading is a way to continually re-examine the way you are navigating through life. 

Instead of coming up with ideas all on your own, you can get input from wise people.  Some of those wise people are individuals in your life, some of them are at the local library.