Studying Books -- the New Old Mantra

New mantra for men: it's not enough to read. You must study.

I wrote earlier this week lamenting that men weren't readers. Ok. I'm not going to whine or cajole or plead. I will call you to a high standard, and challenge you to step up to your God-given responsibilities and challenges.

Simply passing your eyeballs over the pages of a book will not do. Invest yourself into books (that are worth it) and study, in order to strengthen your mind and thinking.

Some suggestions for study:

1. Select good book, challenging books -- the ones that help you become a better man, husband, father, leader.

2. Write the month and date you start reading a book inside the cover. You'll be amazed when you come back to books later and see how God brought that into your life at that time for a reason.

3. Read in 2 or 3 books at a time. You're less likely to get bored, and the cross-fertilization of ideas and disciplines will turbocharge your learning.

4. Write in your books. Really mark 'em up, make 'em yours. Studying means reading with pen in hand and interacting with the text.

5. Plan to pass along the best material you find, with an explanation of why you recommend it. This forces you to summarize the key ideas and place the book in the context of other books, topics, etc.

Study, men.

I have a whole course on learning faster, if you're interested.