A book that I’m reading is Skip the Line by James Altucher. It has many interesting ideas, but here I’d like to share just one of them with you: reading books can give you virtual mentors. In fact, the author wrote that reading is a “superpower” because of it!
You see, we need mentors to get ahead in life. But in real life, your options are limited to those around you. Compared to the world as a whole, that is a very small circle.
Moreover, there is the danger of getting stuck in a local maximum. You could try to reach the peak of a “hill” as defined by those around you without realizing that there are other “hills” out there with higher peaks! As a result, you could spend years of your time on the wrong “hill”.
Reading books is a good solution to this situation because it allows you to learn from a much wider circle. In fact, not only can you learn from the best people in the world today, but also you can learn from masters in the past! Isn’t that great?
Though these people are virtual because they don’t physically sit in front of you, you can still learn a lot from them. Why? Because they share their decades of experience with you through their books. It’s like listening to their stories while sitting next to them. You can learn about the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them. It can save you a lot of time because you don’t have to learn things yourself the hard way.
Why should it be a book? Can’t you just read an article or watch a video instead? Well, there is something a book gives you that is difficult to achieve any other way: depth. A book gives you the depth of someone’s experience. You will get not just the lessons but also the stories behind those lessons. These stories can give you the context and inspiration you need.
One thing to note: you need to read these books carefully. Don’t just read them quickly to finish them. Take your time to take notes and absorb the lessons. You might even want to reread them after some time. To be clear, not every book deserves this kind of attention, but if it’s a book that you consider important, then do it this way. This is how you can get the most out of your virtual mentorship.
Any thoughts? Feel free to share them in the comments!
