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“Instead of wondering when our next vacation iswe should set up alife we don’t needtoescapefrom.” ―Seth Godin
Take a few minutes for self-reflection. To connect to yourself, get inspired by new thoughts and ideas, and feel fired up to live your absolute wildest dreams (on your terms).
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THIS WEEK'S EPISODES
FOLLOW and rate the podcast 5*'s - please and thank you!!
Ep32: Where In the World Should You Live?
Ep31: Start Reading to Attract Money, Ideas, Opportunities!
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When I talk to people, I hear that most people genuinely want to read more, but struggle to do it.
When was the last time you read a book? Are you reading 'enough' based on your standards? Do you want to read more?
I am going to cut right to the chase as to why people don't read, and what to do about it.
If you struggle to read, it's not a time management issue.
It is not because you don't make the time.
It's because you believe you don't deserve to read with the time you have.
I believe people who don't read have an underlying belief that they don't think they deserve to sit down and read for an hour, when they have so many others things to do.
It's not poor time management that's the problem, it's guilt. It's limiting beliefs. It's what you think you're allowed to do and not allowed to do with your one precious life.
And why do we feel guilty?
In a world where productivity is king; many of us don't read because we are addicted to productivity.
We've somehow associated reading with being unproductive.
In a world where you have a ton of emails to respond to! A project to move forward. Family stuff to deal with. Grocery shopping to do.
Get up and get going, right?
Exhausting.
Watch my 10-minute episode on Reading
The second issue is that if you're not reading, it's not about time management, it's because you're anxious (or have soft, underlying anxiety).
Reading is a very slow, relaxed, deep process. It requires us to sit down. Tune out the world. And go into another world.
Our inner world.
For most people, when they stop and slow down, the anxiety kicks in. The racing thoughts. To-do lists.
The mental noise is so loud, they simply cannot focus on reading. So no wonder we don't read. We've associated reading with increases in racing thoughts and anxiety -- something we want to avoid.
Instead of more avoidance, what if we started to focus on the lesson in all this? What we're meant to learn? Who we're meant to become?
Because I believe learning how to read again is a huge teacher of many spiritual lessons.
Many of us have forgotten what it feels like to just sit down, and have that be an OK thing to do.
But isn't that a worthy aim to get back to?
I know that the only way I can write an email like this is because I've lived it. I've gone months without reading because I was on the productivity machine and high-anxiety lifestyle.
I had forgotten that reading books was always my USP: what makes me unique, different, better at coaching, have creative ideas, solve problems, feel connected to myself.
What we need to do is recognize what's going on inside of us, what's really causing the lack of reading in our life, address that stuff, and then watch the stacks of completed books start to pile up in our house (or on the Kindle).
A favorite book
When I was reading Jon Meacham's book And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln And the American Struggle, wow, I cried a lot.
I became enraptured with the book. The childhood story of Abe Lincoln and how he had only one year of schooling (he learned to read and write). His personal struggles in society and law, and trying to imagine what it must have been him during his Presidency and the Civil War.
Did you know that there was so much pressure on Abe to abandon his plan for abolishing slavery, that probably no other human being could have done what he did, except for Abe himself?!
As I read the book:
As I read the book, I remember why I loved reading.
It was because it sparked something deep inside me. Brought me into unexplored aspects of myself. A place that I can rarely get to without the help of a good book.
Would you like to finally join me in making reading king? That little thing called productivity - in your business or in your life - will follow.
Ten Books I Love Across Genres
Feel free to order one of these or go to a bookstore this weekend and browse around for a book yourself.
Coaching exercise
If you want to start reading again or reading more, start here:
Watch my 10-minute episode on Reading
Then answer these three simple questions:
Please email me at tracey@livlitceo.com and tell me the answers to your questions above. Let me know what's been holding you back from reading more books (the inner interferences). Or ask me for a book recommendation :) I'd love to help you read a ton in Q4 and 2024!
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I hope you got a lot from today's email and this week's podcast episodes.
Thank you for your precious time in joining me this morning and I'll see you on the podcast this week -- and via email next Saturday.
I love you. Let's go.
xx Tracey
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Co-Founder and International Coach at Liv.Lit! Coaching and Training
P.S. Follow and listen to all episodes of Life On Your Terms on: Spotify, Apple, Stitcher, and Libsyn.
P.P.S. Let's hit all of your dreams and goals together: Book a call today
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