I wasn’t always a reader, in fact, I did pretty poorly in high school english class. Father Richard, a portly older Benedictine Monk at my high school outside Omaha, Nebraska would have voted me least likely to ever read anything I wasn’t required to read for class. But, as time goes on, I seem to find myself reading more and more. I listen to a lot of audiobooks on Audible, but my favorite time of the day is morning with my cup of coffee and a paper book.
Wisdom takes work: you can’t just jump on Facebook or Instagram and hope that wisdom will fall into your feed. No, wisdom takes work. You have to search for it. You have to find it. Books, for me at least, are the best place.
One of the things about reading books like this is that you get to take wisdom from people who you could never meet; whether they lived centuries ago, or they’re so famous they have walls built around their life. Books allow you to have conversations with someone who was willing to hope that someone would someday read their writing and gain their wisdom.
Right now I’m starting the day with What You’re Made For by George Raveling and Ryan Holiday. It carries lessons from a man who has met President Harry Truman, stood next to Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, and lived into the age of AI and computers.
One interesting story in this book is that George had never heard of the term “Mastermind” before. Once he went to a Mastermind meeting of tech executives, scientists, and life-long learners, he was hooked to the concept. The free exchange of ideas and conversations enlightened him; he admits that the wisdom he took from that weekend changed his life.
That’s the experience I have every time I jump on Dental Success Network to help fellow dentists, or whenever I come back from a Mastermind weekend with Dental Success Institute clients. These weekends challenge my thinking, lead me to learn from others who have differing business models, and overall make my life better. Those weekends give me wisdom and challenge me to become a better, more well-rounded person.
Sometimes you will find wisdom from books, sometimes from meeting other people, and sometimes from groups like DSN and DSI. Wherever you find it, make sure you take the time to imbibe what it means to grab that wisdom and take it in. It won’t fall into your lap: you need to work for it!
Be well and do well,
Addison Killeen
P.S. Amazon keeps selling out of my new book, The Shift, so the best place to get the book these days is from Francie and Finch. Check it out and buy The Shift today and learn how to shift your mindset with new wisdom!
