If you only read the books everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.
— Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami
That’s why I chose to do away with self-help books. Everyone’s reading it and regurgitating what they’ve learned. I think we’re living in a world that’s full of self-help gurus who want to help people who don’t want to be helped! Why? Because they already know the “stuff.”
If you expect reading to grow you intellectually, you have to read books outside your comfort zone. Just the other day, I bumped into a friend who’s reading Think and Grow Rich. He was “blown away” by the wisdom and philosophy of the book.
When he asked me what am I reading these days, I responded:
Organisational Behavior by Robbins & Judge
“Norwegian Wood” by Haruki Murakami
Kissinger by Walter Issacsson
He gave me this weird look. I smiled and sipped on my coffee. Not because I’m any better than him. But I knew he and I weren’t on the same plane of thought, which is okay, but you know where I’m getting at, don’t you?
Read the hard stuff. It’s good for you. And it will set you apart.