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Expanding Your Boundaries

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: My late, great mentor, friend, and publisher Charlie "Tremendous" Jones will long be remembered for saying, "You will be the same person you are today, five years from now, except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie was an example of this throughout his life, and the work he began continues as his legacy of sharing inspiration, hope, and possibilities with people around the world through the printed word continues.

Expanding Your Boundaries

My late, great mentor, friend, and publisher Charlie "Tremendous" Jones will long be remembered for saying, "You will be the same person you are today, five years from now, except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie was an example of this throughout his life, and the work he began continues as his legacy of sharing inspiration, hope, and possibilities with people around the world through the printed word continues.

There have been countless surveys and studies done of successful entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 executives. These top-ranked individuals seem to come in all shapes, sizes, genders, social backgrounds, and educational experiences. The one thing they consistently seem to have in common is that they regularly read motivational, instructional, or success-oriented books.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimension." I believe one of the fastest and most efficient ways to gain new ideas is to read books. The most powerful, creative, influential, and interesting people who ever lived on this planet are waiting to share their best secrets with you in the pages of a book.

If you will read one book a year, you will actually be above average. If you read one a month, you will enter the top percentile. As too often happens to us human beings, the easy access to books and information has diminished their worth in our minds. If you will read one book on any subject, you will know more than almost anyone not in that specific field or endeavor. If you will read five books on that same subject, you will begin to emerge as an expert in that area.

Information abounds but knowledge is rare, and wisdom is scarce. Information is nothing more than compiled facts. Knowledge is the process of internalizing these facts. But wisdom involves mastering the knowledge and applying it in the real world. Many people can own a roadmap. Some of them may actually know how to read it and get from point A to point B, but the world belongs to the man or woman who actually makes the journey.

We are limited by that which we know and can apply. The more we learn, the more options we have to explore in the real world. We all understand the employment reality that tells us if you drop out of high school, there are very few jobs open to you. As we finish high school, go on to college, and even explore the possibility of post graduate work, more career options appear on our horizon. Unfortunately, too many people-no matter the extent of their formal education-stop learning immediately after the graduation ceremony. I believe there is a reason that the process of graduating is known as a commencement. Graduation begins or commences your life and the process of turning knowledge into wisdom.

As you go through your day today, continue to learn and expand your horizons.

Today's the day!

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Article Tags: charlie tremendous jones, Jim Stovall, legacy, mentor, possibilities



Related Forum Posts
Re: Balancing Your Man & Business - One issue is the same women face with little kids, if they run home based businesses. If you work out of your home, your man, or your kids, think you don't really work, and its okay to interrupt because it's "only them." But it actually is a major distraction to try to be doing some creative work and having your family coming at you all the time. Boundaries for home workers need to be set, and no guilting them out of it!


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