Books

 Books

 

In my childhood, it was exciting to receive my textbooks at the beginning of the academic year and it was even more exciting to see the bounded books. There were some favourite subjects and those textbooks were closer to my heart. While the teacher was reading the book, I used to underline a few sentences and

mark them as very important. Sometimes, when I forgot to carry my textbook, my friend used to share it with me. Those textbooks not only taught me the subject, but they also taught me the importance of taking care of my belongings too. 

 

I was introduced to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Dr Kotnis and many more through Amar Chitra Katha. I learnt the need for humour through Tinkle, Tin-Tin, Archies etc. These books introduced me to the world of reading. 

 

During my college days, novels like James Hadley Chase took me to the world of imagination and, as I grew, I was drawn to my filmmaking passion and started reading books on filmmaking. 

 

When I stepped into MBA, I was preparing myself for a career in marketing and, I found some gems like " 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing". 

 

When I decided to become a trainer, I Understood that every book I buy and read is an investment for my career. During my initial days of training authors like Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Steven. R. Covey, Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy, Tony

Buzan, etc. become my Gurus. 

 

I can never imagine a training career without books, and I am greatly indebted to those authors who spoke to me through their pens. When I suffered a business loss, I found the meaning of my life through my favourite author Dr.Viktor. Frankl's work- Man's search for meaning. 

 

In every phase of my life, I found a book that has added value to my life and, today I am drawn more to the writing of Bertrand Russell, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Etc. 

 

Earlier in the past, certain books were for the rich and the famous, but the public library was for the common masses, today technology has brought the books to palms and there are E-Books available on the net, let us change with the times, but let us not stay without a book in the hand. If you invest 5 minutes in silence to reflect upon the books you read and list down the impact they had on your life, you will realize the value of books.

 

In all the stages of life, there are essentially two elements that will help us to lead a better life, those elements are reading and learning. 

 

Let us read to learn and let us learn to live

 

M.L. Narendra Kumar