Business leaders don't always get alone time. From family duties to the grueling demands of running a business or team, we often find ourselves at the end of the day without any time left.
After months and years of this constant flow of meetings and output, our ability to grow will come to a screeching halt. The best leaders are amazing assets to their organizations because they are constantly evolving and growing both within their industry and also as people outside of their industry. They accomplish personal growth through reading.
It does not really matter what you read, what is important is getting your mind engaged in learning while simultaneously doing some self-reflection. Reading the news or your favorite blogs isn’t going to cut it. The amount of clutter and distraction on the web is tremendous and to really achieve results you are going to need focused, quite, alone time.
The goal is simple: read for 20 minutes everyday, for one month. No phone calls, no email, no distractions.
The best way to achieve this goal is to wake up 20 minutes earlier and start your day off with reading. Make learning and growing the first activity of your day. If you want to read a business book that is great, but don’t be afraid to stretch out of your comfort zone and try reading something you normally wouldn’t.
Since this is not an easy task, even though on the surface only 20 minutes a day seems simple enough, you should get some help with this project.
Find a partner at work willing to take the challenge with you, maybe your spouse or a friend, find someone and agree to do this together. You can read different books -- the point is just you both read. Then write down on a piece a paper your commitment to read everyday for 20 minutes until (insert date). Put your daily creed on top of your book next to your bed where you will see it every evening and every morning.
At the end of 30 days, write down what the experience was like and how it felt. Ask your self if you would like to add this as part of your everyday life. It is easy to say the best leaders read. It is an entirely different situation to actually implement this into your own life. Being a great leader is about sacrifice and discipline. Try starting off with one month, and see how it goes.
Jabez LeBret is the author of the Amazon No. 1 bestselling law office marketing book How to Turn Clicks Into Clients. As a partner at Get Noticed Get Found, a legal marketing agency, over the last nine years he has delivered over 800 keynote addresses in six countries. His main area of expertise is managing Gen Y in the workplace, advanced Facebook strategies, LinkedIn strategies, Google+, SEO, local directory optimization, and online marketing.
