If You Hate Books

I wrote yesterday about the upcoming release of my book, Why I FAILED in the Music Business, and How NOT to Follow in My Footsteps. Yes, it’s a book.

School

I understand if you hate books and I understand if you made a vow to never pick up another book after you finished school. You’re not alone, there are over 25 Facebook Pages dedicated to hating books from school.

This is mostly because of two reasons:

• Most, if not all, of the subjects taught in school are about things we’re not interested in personally. We may like English or Math (most musicians are actually good math students), but we wouldn’t necessarily study them by choice.
• Schools rely almost exclusively on words – spoken and read – to teach students. Kids that learn this way – those with strong linguistic intelligence – succeed in schools (and many of them go on to be teachers). But there are seven other intelligences: Spatial, Logical-mathematical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalistic. Chances are you are stronger in one of these other areas.

Not only do these two reasons lead to people hating books, they often lead to people believing they are stupid. They are not.

Reading For You

I’d like you to consider a few things:

1. You are not stupid (just in case that’s a question).
2. Reading is actually fun when the subject is about YOU and your dreams and goals.
3. Reading for yourself is a “go at your own pace” activity. No one is timing you on how fast you read.
4. It is also a “learn at your own pace” activity. There are no tests other than one: are you learning something you can use?
5. Which means reading for yourself is use-full – literally full of stuff you decide to use in the ways you want to use them.

So, I encourage you to give reading books another chance, I know you’ll be glad you did.