A person starts to learn and retain information from the very first day it was born, the first years doing it subconsciously, but absorbing everything like a sponge. In the beginning, we begin to learn out of curiosity, and then by experimenting.
It comes a time that our curiosity and sense for experimentation start to decrease, and it is up to us to expand our knowledge with other sources of learning that we have at our disposal, books being my personal favorite.
Everything you read gets into your head and it is accessible for your own personal benefit whenever it may come in handy, of course, it´s impossible to retain everything we read, but if we just remember one idea per book, it´s time well spent. The more knowledge we acquire, the more equipped we are to face the challenges presented in our footsteps.
The cool thing about today is that people who have a really hard time reading a physical/ digital book can have access to other sources of information, for instance: Audiobooks, podcasts, online courses, newsletters, social media (well applied), ed-tech gaming, etc.
Reading and entering a continuous learning environment either for yourself, your team, coworkers or family is one of the best practices that a person could follow.
Here are some quotes of what people have to say about it:
“Reading is to mind what exercise is to the body” – Joseph Addison.
“The content of a book holds the power of education and it is with this power that we can shape our future and change lives” – Malala Yousafzai.
“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity” – Malcolm X
“Books were my pass to personal freedom”– Oprah Winfrey
If we are lucky enough to have access to any of these sources of information, it is our duty and responsibility to ourselves, loved ones, and to people that are counting on us, to maximize our opportunities of being the best version of ourselves, and to contribute to our society in the best ways possible, entering a continuous learning cycle will help us do just that.