As a kid, I hated to read. I had reading comprehension problems. I couldn’t remember or recall what I had just read. I didn’t look forward to reading. I never went to bookstores. I used Cliff Notes to pass most of my tests in high school. Just ask my parents.
But I always LOVED to write. Creative writing was something I was good at. Weird how someone could LOVE to write but HATE to read. I even minored in English when I went to college to focus on creative writing. Someone who hated to read minored in English. But I had to give that up because my teachers assigned over 100 pages a night and I had to practice percussion 4-6 hours a day. Something had to give, and it was my English minor.
But I continued to write and started to write and publish articles in my field. What a feeling that is to see your words in print for others to read. And then for them to LIKE it! What a feeling of satisfaction, pride, and fulfillment. Eventually I started to enjoy reading when I discovered my passion for leadership. Now I LOVE to write and I LOVE to read. I love to go to bookstores and shop on Amazon or Barnes and Noble and see what’s new.
As I write this in my home office, I notice all my books on the shelves. What separates a great book from a mediocre one? I was always told a great book “makes you want to turn the page.” A great book gets your juices going. It makes an impact on you. You look forward to returning to it. You are so excited to continue reading it, that you almost finish it too soon, and then what? Hopefully you will find another great book. There are many great books out there. But you really never know. There are also very many mediocre books out there, where the topic might interest you but the author fails to connect. Fails to get your juices going. Fails to make you turn the page. My dad calls these “duds.” Sometimes we buy a book, or order it online, rush to the mailbox to see if it has arrived, and once it finally appears, we are disappointed. Dud.
I have written two books and hope they make a difference in your life. I hope they get your juices going.
