The Importance of Reading Widely

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Knowledge is power. This phrase is overused. We hear it all the time. However, if we sit back and ponder about it, how often are we guilty of not wanting to gain knowledge because we are lazy? For instance, I always wanted to catch up on my academic readings, but I'm always feeling lazy and I always think that I can get by because someone else would probably have done the readings and probably be kind enough to share the gist of the readings with me. Sounds familiar?

Recently, I realised that as a successful businessman, one needs to be a Jack of all trades. More often than not, business is about 'faking it', but to be able to 'fake it' successfully, you still need to get your basic facts right! For example, your client loves cars. Maybe you don't really like cars, but hey, a deal is in the making. What I might have done would be to do a bit of reading up on cars, perhaps on Porsche Boxster. If this client were to start talking about his love for cars, how many cars he's got, at least I can still carry on a conversation. True, I might not know much about cars, but at least I know one car, and that's actually more than sufficient to keep the conversation going. If i'm out of stuff to talk about the car, I can move on to other topics that are related, like, public transport. It could spark a discussion on whether fare increases are justified. The possibilities are endless.

That means, one should probably read widely. There are so many things we can read on. Maybe everyone has got their own interests, but it is still inportant to read outside of your interests. You will probably realise the importance of that when you are put in a totally unfamiliar environment, with no friendly faces you can turn to. How are you going to start a conversation? Let's say you are at a wedding dinner, and you do not know the rest of the people sitting at the same table with you. It is basic social grace to at least strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you. Maybe you could start off by asking how is his/her day, but that's probably not going to be enough. Who doesn't like a varied and diverse conversation? So where's that content going to come from? They could be your personal experiences, but I presume the bulk of it would most probably come from the stuff you read. My friend called me this afternoon to say that she's at a wedding dinner dish-tasting session and the members from the bride's and bridegroom's side are not talking and the whole situation was tense. My answer to her was to start the ball rolling by commenting on the weather, or maybe comment of the bride-to-be's dressing or makeup, or maybe share on where is the best or cheapest places to get a pedicure or manicure done. Naturally, one thing will lead to another and everything will just fall in place. Her immediate reply to me was 'As if I know...' What can I say...

The moral of the story is: Knowledge is power. If she bothered to find out more, either through reading or direct interaction, I'm sure it would provide lots of juices for conversational ideas. Therefore, start reading today!