USING THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER TO GROW, LEARN, AND THRIVE
by Steve Fought
August brings the “Dog Days” of summer. In ancient Greece and Rome, those were the days when dogs and men alike would be driven mad by the extreme heat. Even though times have changed (and we have air-conditioning!) it’s still a good time to stay inside, contemplate, and prepare for the months ahead so we can, indeed, “thrive after 55”.
So, what does it mean to “thrive”? According to the dictionary, to thrive means: (1) to grow or develop well; and (2) to prosper, be successful, and flourish. The first part is preparation; the second part
is about reaping the results.
Many people think of success as a result of luck, circumstance, or good fortune. While luck may play a role in success, the people considered most successful share some common habits of preparation, and maintain their level of knowledge, enthusiasm, and enjoyment.
Successful people read. A lot.
By reading, these top-tier individuals learn from people who have come before and from contemporary masters. Theodore Roosevelt, and Queen Elizabeth I were famous readers. Abraham Lincoln was a self-learner and once said, “All I have learned, I learned from books.” Warren Buffet is said to spend eight hours a day reading in one form or another. Former President Barack Obama, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Oprah, Mark Zuckerberg, Reese Witherspoon, J.K. Rowling and many successful people even share what they read in public.
Locked Out Without Literacy
At the other end of the spectrum, people who can’t read are locked out of much of the world’s knowledge. It’s nearly impossible to learn if you can’t read the material on the page. If you can’t read it’s very difficult to even navigate your way through everyday tasks, understand warnings, alerts, cautions or directions, or even to communicate to others. If you can’t read, hardly anything else matters.
A National Adult Literacy Survey revealed that 70 percent of incarcerated adults cannot read at a fourth-grade level. Other similar studies indicate 85 percent of juvenile offenders are functionally illiterate and, consequently, can’t manage their finances, understand instructions, or fill out basic forms. This, in turn, leads to them only being able to obtain jobs with lower pay, higher rates of unemployment, and limited opportunities for professional or economic growth.
Reading, per se, is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for success or failure. Despite there being no proven causal relationship between reading and success or failure, there is a strong correlation between reading and life’s outcome. The evidence strongly suggests successful people make time to read. And, since you’re reading this, you’ve already decided that reading is important. That puts you well ahead of the power curve.
BUILD A READING HABIT
I’m going to be presumptuous now and offer a framework for selecting reading materials, organized around current events, professional and personal development, and entertainment.
For news, current events, and professional development—and on a regular basis—read a local, regional, national and international newspaper (or e-media), and/or the professional journal in your field. I suggest you pick these sources from across the political spectrum, not just the ones that align with your personal beliefs. I’ve found liberal and conservative sources can report on the same event, but their narratives suggest the reporters were on different planets. I’m fond of the Wall Street Journal for national news and The Economist for an international perspective.
REVISIT THE CLASSICS WITH NEW EYES
For personal development, consider a classic, one no-brainer shoot-’em up, and one on a contemporary topic that piques your curiosity. I’ll not attempt to offer a list of no-brainer novels since the world is littered (literally) with possible choices.
But for a classic text you might consider something you read when you were younger; you’ll be amazed at how your perspective has changed now that you’re a bit more mature. I re-read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath this past year. Gina is reading a series of historical treatises written by David McCullough (e.g., John Adams, Mornings on Horseback, The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Path Between the Seas, etc.).
You might also peruse some of the bestseller lists. I’m waiting for Tim Minshall’s How Things are Made to be available in the Georgetown library. It was recommended by the WSJ and deals with international manufacturing, trade, tariffs, and all sorts of other hot-button issues in today’s political environment.
Gina just finished Kristian Hannah’s The Women (about nurses in Vietnam), Nathalia Holt’s Wise Gals (about the CIA), Robert Edsel’s Monuments Men (saving the world’s art in and after WWII), Queen Noor’s account, Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life (a fascinating inside-look at Middle East culture, politics, and personalities) and is currently absorbing Michael J. Fox’s Lucky Man (an autobiography dealing with Parkinson’s).
Outside this framework, I also have two books I read every four or five years. The first is Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull. That book reminds me of the need to be confident in being different, to separate from the flock, and excel on our own terms. The second is Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s The Ox-Bow Incident. That book is a seminal reminder that one should never, ever, convict anyone on the basis of what you read in the media or hear on the street. Never. Ever.
YOUR TICKET TO SUCCESS
To achieve and maintain success, you need to be systematic in your search for new knowledge and perspectives. That needs to be a way of life. Reading is intellectual travel. Through reading, you journey to parts of the world, at past, future or even present times, and encounter people and circumstances from which and from whom you can learn. These experiences, gained freely and without risk, spark enthusiasm, creativity, and success.
Fortunately, Georgetown has a wonderful library that’s chock full of books, updated regularly, and an expansive e-book collection that can be downloaded. There’s also an array of special programs and events spanning the spectrum of interests, ages, and topics. Finally, they have Words on Wheels (appropriately named WOW!), that delivers books to sites scattered throughout our community. I encourage you to take full advantage of all this and set a pattern of reading during these Dog Days of Summer.
I wish you well on your reading journey.
Go For It!