Why Re-Read Some Books

  

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Do you have some books on your shelf that you re-read from time to time or maybe even once a year? One of my friends re-reads The Lord of the Rings every year. Through each reading experience, she sees something new about the story.

For many years, I have been reading and re-reading a single book, The Bible. Reading The Bible is how I begin my day. Each year I choose a different version and this year, I’m reading The Daily Bible NLT. With each reading, I learn something different.

There are merits to re-reading and that’s what I want to examine in this article and give you a couple of resources to read and then re-read. If you follow me on one of my social media platforms like X/Twitter, you know I am a follower and fan of Darren Hardy and his Darren Daily. For years, I have posted them five days a week, because I watch them each time and believe in his encouragement to become “better every day.” 

As I’ve written in these articles, new books for my limited reading pour into my office several times a week. I rarely re-read a book but recently I re-read

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy.  I got this bestselling book directly from the author--and you can too if you follow the link. For the postage of $6.95, you will receive the book but also the audio version. As I read through the book again, at the same time, I listened to the words. Each time I go through the book, I have different insights about how to apply the information to my writing life. I hope it will be a resource for your writing life. 

With personal stories and insights, Darren Hardy gives the honest truth about how to survive and thrive in the middle of the ups and downs of life as an entrepreneur--and every writer is an entrepreneur (whether you call it that or not). Hardy compares it to the thrill of riding a roller coaster. The book also includes worksheets and other resources for you to apply the information to your life.

After re-reading The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, I returned to Darren Hardy's first book, The Compound Effect. If you follow the link, you can also get the hardcover version and the audio book of The Compound Effect for only the postage of $6.95. As I re-read the book, I’m listening to the audio of each chapter. I’ve learned to download them to my phone and can listen to them anywhere. I love the flexibility and the insights for my writing life from listening and reading this information.  

The essence of the compound effect is how making small incremental changes in your life, can give you the edge you need to find success. The book is aligned with Darren Hardy's hashtag for Darren Daily #BetterEveryDay. If you make small changes in an area of your life, it can have big results. For example, no one sits at their desk and writes a complete 50,000 or 100,000 word book. Instead you write a page, then a chapter, then another chapter over a series of days and weeks until you complete the manuscript. The writing process is a mirror of what Hardy is discussing throughout The Compound Effect. 

Do you re-read books on a regular basis? Which books and why? Let me know in the comments below. 

Tweetable:

Some books are worth re-reading. This prolific author and editor gives a couple of examples and some resources for every writer. Read the details here.  (ClickToTweet)

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Several Ideas to Face the Daily Challenge

I've been in a reflective mood and maybe it comes from passing another birthday this coming week. As I grow older, I begin to understand why the Bible calls that our days are fleeting. Each of us have the same 24 hours in each day. The key detail is how we use this time. 

As I think about the challenges of each day, I understand several facts:

1. Everyone has interruptions. Yesterday I spent several hours at the Apple Store because my wife's iPhone 5C was having screen problems.  At the store, we upgraded her phone to an iPhone 7 Plus and it took several hours that I was not planning on spending. These types of unexpected situations are part of our life. Yet do you wisely use the time which you do have available to you?

2. Not everything gets done. Yes on the surface I may look like I get a lot done. I do tweet almost 14 times a day with great content. Also I have over 100 new followers a day on Twitter. Yet the bulk of my day is spent as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, talking with authors, emailing authors and others about their books.  Despite the things I accomplish in a day, I know and understand that not every email is answered. Not every phone call gets made or returned.  As an editor, I work hard at customer service, answering key concerns and returning calls—but there is still more to do.

I have magazine articles to write and books to finish and websites to update. If I paused to make a list, it would be endless and to be honest I'm assuming that you have a lengthy list of things to do as well which and while you chip away at it, everything does not get done.We have to live with this fact.

3. Use the right tools to have the best results. Through trial and error, I've learned to use different tools on my phone, different computer programs and other ways to cut down on time and get things done. For example, when I travel, I continue to write on my AlphaSmart 3000 which I purchased years ago on Ebay for about $30. The AlphaSmart is not connected to the Internet, runs on batteries and holds large volumes of information with a full size keyboard. This tool is not right for every writer but it is one that I've used repeatedly to get my writing done.

Are you experimenting with different tools and programs to see if they help you get more done in a shorter amount of time?

4. Balance is important. Every one of us need to have a certain level of balance in our daily lives. Have you listed your key goals and priorities? Just the act of writing these goals can be a great first step. Then have you broken those goals into small steps that you can accomplish? 

As I think about the big picture of my own life, I have a number of things which are a key part of my day. I need Time for Faith (reading the Bible and prayer each day). I need Time for Family (the connection to my wife and children—even if they are grown children). I need Time for Work. I also need Time for Health ( and I build exercise into almost every day). I need Time for Relaxation (yes some of you may find it hard to believe but I go to movies, I read for fun and I watch television). Finally I make Time for Friends. Admittedly some of my days are out of balance but it's part of the way I'm wired and working to attempt to have some level of balance in my life and work.

These are my ideas to help you face the daily challenges of life. Are they helpful? I hope so. Do you have other ideas? Tell me in the comments below. 

Tweetable:

Get Some Ideas to Face the Daily Challenges called Life. (ClickToTweet)
 

A Different Look At The Book

The most recent issue of Publishers Weekly that I received (October 15) had a Bible and the cover story words, "The Bible’s New Versions, From Manga to DVD, the Oldest Story Enjoys New Tellings." The article highlights audio and video Bible products from different publishers.

The opening sentence of the article implies these products are a new trend to help people from every persuasion to use the Bible. From my many years of writing about Bible products, I understand publishers are constantly producing new Bible product and in every category--print and audio. Like other areas of book publishing, the publishing houses are eager to meet the needs of new generations and new readers. It is nothing new. Publishers are always looking for a way for more people to read and absorb the words of Scripture. I think it's one of those stories where people in the church know they "should" be reading their Bibles but will they take the time and effort to do it? Sadly few people invest the energy in this direction toward a book which can change their daily lives. Yes, intellectually they may know it but will they carry it out with consistency.

Over 15 years ago, I wrote a little magazine article which has been reprinted in a number of different publications called "Listening Through The Bible." I wrote it in the days before CDs and referred to the Bible on tape. Here's a startling fact that I've known for years: if you listen to the Bible for 20 minutes a day, then you can make it through the entire Bible text from Genesis to Revelation in four months. I love the Bible on audio and have a number of different versions which I use from time to time. Yet for me, I continue to be committed to reading the printed Bible. This year, I've been reading through The Daily Message by Eugene Peterson and I've completed 298 days toward reading the entire text.

Let's apply this consistency to your writing life. Do you have a plan or a goal? Are you consistently writing toward that goal? Break it into bite-size chunks and continue to move toward it. You will be surprised how much can be accomplished with this consistent action.