A young friend - barely fifty - heard me talk about longing to learn more productive ways of transforming my deepest dreams into reality. I didn't realize when it first came up that this young man was already a successful serial entrepreneur. Turns out that one of the things that gives him great delight & profound satisfaction is helping people discover how to realize their dreams.
He mentioned that when he was starting to think about stepping away from a longtime job for a major company - a job complete with topnotch salary, serious benefits, a certain degree of career satisfaction - a book came across his path, a slim volume that took him nine months to read, nine months he believes changed his life. Mind you, he said, there was not reason I'd have to take so long as he. I could read straight through to get the gist of its wisdom.
Reading the book made me smile, smile & realize how still young my young friend is. At 64, I know - for certain sure - that if I read the same book straight through, instead of as its laid out to be experienced, it would be enlightening, perhaps even somewhat life transforming. But it cannot have the deep wisdom, cannot hold the potential for the profound transformation my friend experienced UNLESS read as outlined, one short chapter read & reread each day for a solid month, then onto the next one.
I was just a year of so older than he is now when I first learned the lesson that things take as long as they take. It is going to take me 10+ months to potentially reap the benefits of reading processing living each chapter - scroll - in Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World.
Mind you, I have no intention of going into sales, but I have more than an inkling that what Og (short for Augustine) covers will help set me on the path I'm seeking. Part of getting the most from what he offers is taking the time to read each "scroll"/chapter three times a day for month - on first rising, at mid-day, aloud before going to bed - before heading to the next. Part of what's required to draw out the wisdom is having the dedication to commit to & follow through with reading as instructed. My guess is that it's how the words are read - at a steady, disciplined pace, respecting what's shared as it is intended rather than rushing forward - that makes the difference as much as what new lights dawn.
I've started. "Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." The story of the thousand sparrows outside the young man's window, yet only one had the courage to make his way through the tightly woven lattice into the room. "You must prove there is more behind your words than air." The counter-intuitive gift the young man gave to parents & their new-born that shifted everything.
I've barely started & already found words that speak to my heart.
My young friend thought I might balk at reading the book as it is intended. Perhaps he thought I'd find the repetition boring & chaff at taking TEN months to complete a slim book. I have some experience under my belt.
Over ten years ago, came across the suggestion that if you read the book of Proverbs straight through, one chapter a night, then read it through again, then read it through one last time, life will shift for you. I did that. Life did shift because something in me shifted, got... tenderized, less stiff, less fearful.
One slim book, 10 scrolls/chapters to read, each one three times a day over thirty days then onto the next.
At 64, I've learned that living authentically takes as long as it takes. Ten scrolls/chapters, following through on what each one shares, not rushing ahead or dipping back, opening & processing each in its time.
Bring it on!
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