Latest / The Daily Writer / Take a Book Wherever You Go

Transcript

Take a Book Wherever You Go · The Daily Writer

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: These lessons are inspired by great artists, authors, and thinkers, both past and present.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down with one of the world's most successful authors and ask them the secret to great writing?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, fortunately, you don't have to.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Many of the world's great authors have shared their wisdom in books, articles, and interviews.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: One such piece of advice comes from Stephen King who said, if you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others read a lot and write a lot.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now we get the writing advice, but what's going on with the reading part?
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what Stephen King is saying is that the input is just as important as the output.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: As a writer, the best nutrition for your mind, heart, and soul is reading great books.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Here in our modern age, we have instant access to almost any book via audiobook or ebook.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you prefer a print version, you can order it from Amazon and receive it in just a couple of days.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: While this convenience is wonderful, it's also easy to lose sight of the true miracle of the book.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: So what is a book exactly?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: A book is a powerful collection of stories and information that many times represents years of an author's life.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you were somehow able to get in touch with history's greatest leaders, artists, thinkers, and influencers, dead or alive, and you could ask them to have coffee with you, you'd probably not have the clout or the influence or the connections to make that happen.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: However, if they've written a book, you have the opportunity to read a distilled version of their learning and their experience.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes a book represents a whole lifetime of wisdom, and the cool thing is that we can consume it in just a few hours.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: We should never, ever take a reading for granted.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you only read a couple of books a month, in one year's time, you can easily accumulate a whole century's worth of wisdom, learning, and insights.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: It seems crazy that so much of the time we abandon this amazing opportunity just to binge watch a third-rate Netflix show or funny cat videos on YouTube.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: But such is the age that we live in.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: The miracle of a book is that you can access all of history's greatest minds in any learning format you choose.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And as a writer, you should always have a book with you.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Think of all the little spare moments you have throughout the day.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Waiting to pick up your kid from school, waiting for a meeting to start, waiting at the DMV, waiting for your husband or wife while they're in the store, and a hundred other little moments.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So let's do a little bit of quick math.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say you have three of those times each day when you're just waiting for something, and each of those times is just five minutes.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's 15 minutes a day or an hour and 15 minutes for the whole work week.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: In one month's time, you can read two good-sized books just by taking a book with you wherever you go and using those little spare moments during the day.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: In a world full of distractions, it's really easy to skip reading.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But Stephen King's advice reminds us that reading is one half of the equation of being a writer.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Every book you own is a little miracle of learning and personal growth.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And the best part, you can take that little miracle with you everywhere you go.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's episode of the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate your support and hope you enjoyed this episode.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can find more at dailywriterlife.com.