Building an Exceptional Library by Jim Rohn

Photo by Alfons Morales on Unsplash

Below is an exclusive excerpt from the Sound Wisdom edition of The Art of Exceptional Living, available for purchase on August 16, 2022. Preorder it now from all major retailers. 

Having a good library will change your life. I would venture to say that every home worth more than $500,000 has a library. Why do you suppose that is? Wouldn’t that make you curious? Why would every expensive home have a library? Makes a person wonder, right? 

You may think, Well, I can’t afford a $500,000 home. It doesn’t matter what size home you have or what it’s worth. In your present home or apartment, clean out a closet and call it your library. Start the process, like I did. Start building a library that will increase your knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence. 

The books in your library will reveal that you’re a serious student of health and life, spirituality, culture, uniqueness, sophistication, economics, prosperity, productivity, sales, management, skills—values and characteristics of all kinds. 

My mentor Earl Shoaff helped me start my library. One of the first books he recommended was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. 

He said to me, “Think and Grow Rich, doesn’t that title intrigue you? Don’t you have to read that book?” 

I said, “Yes, sir.” I found the book in a used bookstore; that’s where I had to start, in a used bookstore. I paid less than 50 cents for it and I still have it. It’s now one of the rare, hardback editions of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Wow! Shoaff was right.  

There are several key categories to have in your library that will nourish you in the most exceptional ways. These are the different courses—your mental food or food for thought—comprising your total healthy reading plan. It is so very important to nourish the mind—not just the body, but also the mind. Key phrase. The books in your library need to be well balanced. You can’t live on mental candy. Some may say, “Well, I just read books with positive content.” That’s too second grade. You have to promote yourself out of second grade. You can’t just be inspired, you have to be taught, you have to be educated. 

To read more, pick up a copy of Jim Rohn’s The Art of Exceptional Living, now available for preorder from Sound Wisdom. For more than 40 years, Rohn honed his craft like a skilled artist—helping people the world over sculpt life strategies that expanded their imagination of what is possible. Those who had the privilege of hearing him speak can attest to the elegance and common sense of his material. It is no coincidence, then, that he is still widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time, and thought of by many as a national treasure. He authored countless books and audio and video programs, and helped motivate and shape an entire generation of personal-development trainers and hundreds of executives from America's top corporations.

Are You Solving the Right Problem? by Courtney Clark

Photo by Daniele Franchi on Unsplash

I got stuck solving the wrong problem once. When I got engaged to my husband, I was embarrassed about my cooking skills. I had scorched only three pans beyond saving, but that was two more than I felt good about. (Oh, I also set a toaster oven on fire once. But that was in college, so I’d like to think that won’t happen again.) 

When I reached my thirties, I had definitely gotten better at cooking. But my food was just…okay. I was practicing all the time—I worked fewer hours than my husband, who was my fiancé at the time, so I’d pull out the Cooking Light magazine, find a recipe, and cook us dinner most nights. He’d cook about once a week, and his food was just better than mine. Significantly better. He was confident in the kitchen, and his food was so full of flavor. 

I decided I needed to improve faster. I joined cooking classes at Williams Sonoma, and I learned how to roast a chicken. I watched Food Network. I practiced my knife skills and worked on getting comfortable with when meat was fully cooked. I became more skilled at timing dishes so they’d all be done at the same time. I was getting a little better. And then my husband and I went on our honeymoon.  

We ended up in Italy, where I ate what felt like five meals a day, four of which were pasta. Our first Sunday back after we returned from Rome, we were grocery shopping. There, at the checkout, was a copy of Gourmet Magazine: “The Pasta Issue.” And the photo on the cover was of penne salsiccia, which I’d had a LOT of in Italy. I threw that magazine down on the conveyor belt and committed to reading it cover to cover. 

The following Sunday, we were back at the grocery store. This time, I was armed with a shopping list that included ALL of the ingredients for that delicious penne salsiccia from the cover of Gourmet Magazine. As I prowled through the store, I heard my newlywed husband behind me go, “Uh, Courtney? Heavy whipping cream? Butter? Sausage? Is this from Cooking Light?” 

“No, it’s from that gourmet magazine I bought, with recipes for dishes like we had in Italy! I’m going to make penne salsiccia tonight. I can’t wait!” I responded. 

6:00 p.m. I’m starting dinner. This recipe calls for VERY expensive, very fragile threads of saffron to be soaked in water. I’m trying not to panic. 

6:28. I’m trying not to scald the heavy whipping cream in the pan. 

6:47. I’m trying not to overcook the pasta. 

6:52. I carry the plates out to the table. I set them down with a deep breath. For a moment I consider letting my husband take the first bite and tell me what he thinks, but then I think FORGET THAT. THIS WAS MY IDEA. I MADE THIS MEAL. I put the bite in my mouth, and I turn to my husband in shock. 

I can’t believe what I’m tasting. 

“I don’t stink at cooking! Cooking Light must stink at cooking! Because I. am. AMAZING!” I would have said more, but I needed to use my mouth for the important work of eating my phenomenal pasta. 

If you’re not solving the right problem, you’re not solving the problem at all. 

Here’s what I realized: I had been using low-fat materials and expecting restaurant-quality results. No shade to Cooking Light, but there’s a reason full-fat food tastes better. My cooking issue was simply a materials problem. But I had been trying for over a year to solve it with more SKILLS training. No wonder it wasn’t working! You can’t solve a materials problem with more skills training. 

Has anything like that ever happened to you, either at home or at work? You know there’s a problem, so you leap to solve it. But if you aren’t solving the right problem, you’re not solving the problem at all.   

Diagnosed with cancer for the first time at age 26, Courtney Clark went to work for several cancer nonprofits. At age 29, she founded the nonprofit Austin Involved, creating programs to engage young professionals in philanthropy in simple, affordable ways. In the first year of operating Austin Involved, Courtney was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and underwent three brain surgeries. Today, Courtney is an in-demand keynote speaker who presents internationally to organizations on how to adapt faster and achieve more by developing resilience, adaptability and ReVisionary Thinking™. For more tips on how to revise your plan when things aren’t going your way, pick up a copy of ReVisionary Thinking, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers.

The Most Important Thing by Earl Nightingale

Photo by Daniel on Unsplash

Ask yourself: “What’s the most important thing on earth as far as a human being is concerned?” I think it is truth. Truth is knowledge, and truth is honesty. To the extent that a person has knowledge and honesty, they are rich. Mirabeau once said: “If honesty did not exist, we ought to invent it as the best means of getting rich.” Shakespeare wrote: “To be honest as the world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.” Both of them were right. 

To be ignorant is to be poor. It does not have to do with money, necessarily, although one seldom finds a person with knowledge who is not getting along well in the world. They may not be wealthy in the conventional sense, but they have enough for their needs, and they’re enormously wealthy in many important ways. A person will enjoy life, the world, and people to the extent that they move away from ignorance and toward knowledge. Perhaps just as important, or even more so, the degree to which a person has truth and knowledge will determine their degree of freedom as an individual. Every human being has to be born ignorant and, for a time, live in ignorance. But if they remain ignorant, that is their own fault. The fight against ignorance waged by everyone during his or her lifetime must be an individual, personal thing. No one can give us truth. Another person can point out the truth and urge us to strive to make it our own, but it is far too great a thing to be received passively. It must be searched for actively if it is to have significance. We can be inspired to search for truth, but unless we find it for ourselves it will do us little good. 

“The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom—they are the pillars of society.” —Henrik Ibsen 

A strong man cannot make a weak man strong. But a weak man can make himself strong by following a planned course of action for a given time, and of course, a strong man can make himself stronger. 

To my way of thinking, each of us has the opportunity for freedom and the wealth that comes with knowledge and understanding. If we decide to stop before we have reached our riches, we should blame no one but ourselves. I believe a man is poor to the extent that he is ignorant, because the riches and the freedom he seeks—if he is truly seeking them—are all around him. They are under his feet and perched on his shoulder; they are in public library and the corner bookstore. Truth and the riches it brings surround us every day of our lives. If we do not see them, we are poor indeed. Horace Mann put it this way: “Keep one thing forever in view—the truth; and if you do this, though it may seem to lead you away from the opinions of men, it will assuredly conduct you to the throne of God.” 

This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Successful Living in a Changing World, an official Nightingale-Conant publication. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs. Sign up to receive free samples from Sound Wisdom’s Nightingale-Conant Collection here.

Our Changing World by Earl Nightingale

Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. —Benjamin Franklin 

Machines become obsolete because they are unable to change. Times change—they must and will, with ever-accelerating momentum. As they do, the machines of today will be outdated. But human beings are not machines, however fond they are of acting like them; they can change. 

Never before in the history of humankind has it been so necessary as it is today for us to develop a new awareness of ourselves with respect to our changing world. We need to face the fact that in the world of tomorrow, jobs will be radically different; many will be eliminated entirely. What can we do about it? We can take the advice of the former president of the University of Chicago, Robert M. Hutchins: “We can learn!” If we refuse to learn, if we insist on acting like machines, we may find ourselves idle tomorrow. 

Every job is part of a much larger organization. Organizations and industries don’t die; they  just change. The industry that once manufactured covered wagons is still here, but today it is making engines, tractors, and automobiles. 

The minute a person stops learning, our world will begin to pass them by. 

Let us say that through a set of circumstances a young man finds himself working as an attendant in a service station. He might wish he had done things differently, but it does no good to brood over the past. These are the facts: he is working in a service station. He wants to get married and have a home and children. And to do this, he decides that he must earn more money. His first inclination is to look around for a job that pays more. But before he moves to a different job, he should be aware that the move entails not only earning more, but also learning a good deal more than he now knows. Otherwise, the chances are he will be no better off than he is pumping gas. 

I think that instead of just looking at his job, he should look at the whole industry of which it is a part. In our example, this is the petroleum industry, one of the world’s largest and most profitable. Without leaving his job for the present, he could spend his free time studying the industry he is already in. Now, instead of being a service station attendant, he is a trainee in a major industry. He no longer has just a job; he has his foot on the first rung of what can be a fine and extremely rewarding career. By sticking with his studies and doing an outstanding job when he is working, he will soon be able to marry and have that home and, in time, anything else he wants. Learning is the answer. 

The same thing applies to the person working in the supermarket, the local factory, or as a salesperson. Naturally, it is best to stay in school, for school is the best place to learn. But for those who have dropped out, the answer is the same: Learn! Learn all you can and keep learning, whether you are 16 or 60, and you will find your way—a way infinitely more interesting and substantially more rewarding—in this changing world of ours. 

The minute a person stops learning, our world will begin to pass them by. They will be left a lonely and disconsolate figure in its wake. To learn or not to learn is a decision each of us must make. 

This is an exclusive excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Successful Living in a Changing World, an official Nightingale-Conant publication recently released by Sound Wisdom. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs.

Resolve to Read Every Day in 2021 by Jennifer Janechek

Photo by Fabiola Peñalba for Unsplash

Approximately 1 in 4 adults (27%) made it all the way through 2020 without reading a single book—audiobooks included. To be fair, the year came with unprecedented difficulties. But the benefits of reading are too important to be ignored. Consider the following research-backed perks of reading and make a plan to incorporate reading into your daily routine in 2021. 

1. Better Brain Functioning  
   Reading strengthens the synapses in your brain, enabling you to think more coherently and more efficiently. It also forms new cognitive pathways, which improves your memory and aids in self-regulation. 

2. Stronger Critical-Thinking Skills 
   According to Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa in their book Academically Adrift, 75 percent of employers claim that the students they hire out of high school or college lack essential critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Reading and critical thinking are essentially synonymous. As Florida State University Professor of English Robin Goodman says, “Reading is critical thinking and critical thinking is reading.” Even reading for comprehension forces you to evaluate others’ ideas. As you conceptualize, analyze, and assess the information presented in a book, you become more adept at big-picture thinking and think more deeply about the world in which you live. Reading is so integral to building critical-thinking skills that U.S. News & World Report advises adolescents to partake in book clubs prior to entering college. 

3. Enhanced Focus 
   Ever find yourself struggling to concentrate? The pressure to multitask, combined with the cognitive demands of living in a hypermediated world, has chipped away at our ability to focus. Reading for 15–20 minutes a day draws you into the world of the book, focusing all of your attention on the story or concept being presented. The benefits don’t disappear after you close the book, either. Research has shown that those who read in the morning enjoy enhanced focus (and thus improved productivity) during their workday as well. 

4. Expanded Vocabulary 
   People who read regularly boast a better vocabulary than those who don’t. Think a bigger vocabulary doesn’t matter? Think again. Vocabulary size impacts various life experiences, from standardized test performance to job opportunities. Beyond signifying intelligence, an expanded vocabulary improves your ability to communicate—to find just the right word for a given situation (as well as to know which words to avoid). Reading provides contextual understanding of words for which other forms of language acquisition don’t provide. 

5. Opportunity for Self-Discovery 
   Reading forces you to encounter your true self in a way that no other activity does. When you read, you hear your inner voice process the text as well as the thoughts that emerge from it. You have the time and space to explore your interiority and wrestle with questions that promote personal growth.  

6. Increased Empathy and Appreciation for Diversity 
   Encountering the ideas of others—openly, without judgment—increases your empathy, or your ability not only to understand intellectually what someone else’s experience and perspective might be like (that’s sympathy), but to understand and appreciate it on an emotional level. Reading fiction places you in the shoes of all different types of characters, and reading nonfiction exposes you to ideas and lived experiences that you might not have otherwise considered. The more you read, the more you gain an appreciation for diversity in all its forms. 

7. Reduced Stress and Improved Mental Health 
   Research has shown that reading for 30 minutes “lower[s] blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress.” Another study claims that reading could reduce stress by up to 68 percent. Reading can also combat depression by fostering connection—yes, even with imaginary worlds and characters. As you escape from your own world (while reading fiction) or imagine yourself in conversation with others (as through nonfiction), you feel less isolated. Moreover, you can discover others whose experiences might resonate with your own and, with the case of personal development books, learn strategies for growth in areas with which you might struggle.  

8. Better Sleep 
   According to the Mayo Clinic, reading helps you establish a relaxed state that can make sleep easier to come by. Note that for those struggling with sleep, print books might be preferable to screen reading because the light from electronic devices can disrupt the body’s preparation for sleep. 

9. Prolonged Life Expectancy 
   Reading keeps you mentally stimulated, which can ward off age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Moreover, a study published in Innovation in Aging indicated the presence of other physical benefits as well. According to this study, those who read books live about 2 years longer than non-book readers, and those who read for more than 3.5 hours every week have a 23 percent chance of outliving those who do not read. 

All of these benefits are not tied to specific genres of books; each has its own value, so it’s important to incorporate fiction and nonfiction alike into your reading plan. Check out Sound Wisdom’s full list of titles to motivate your personal growth through reading in 2021, and be sure to sign up to receive exclusive offers and notifications about upcoming publications. 

Jennifer Janechek is the director of content strategy for Sound Wisdom and the founder of Work–Home–Life, an online magazine and virtual community for remote and hybrid workers, freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs with home offices. She is also the host of The Sound Wisdom Podcast, which you can watch on the Sound Wisdom YouTube channel or listen to on Anchor or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Recognize There Is Room to Grow by Ricky Kalmon

The human mind has an astounding capacity for learning. Unlike a computer’s hard drive, there is no limit to the knowledge and experiences that can be stored in it. However, some people believe that growth and learning only take place during our formative years, when we receive our formal education. That is not the case. In fact, unlike a person’s height or shoe size, the mind is the one part of the body that has an infinite ability to grow.  

The world around us is constantly evolving, and if we do not evolve and grow with it, we will become stagnant and place our success on a plateau.  

There is always room to grow—the mind has an incredible ability to change, adapt, and improve. This ability does not decline with age or with success. Personal and professional growth actually stimulate the mind, encourage innovation and creative thinking, and increase curiosity. Every new experience and piece of knowledge becomes part of the phenomenal encyclopedia stored in our mind. It is never lost—our subconscious continually refers to it in everything we do.  

Even CEOs and top leaders invest in their growth. They know that there is always room to grow, even at the top. Learning and growing must occur for a business to grow and adapt to changes. The same is true for people; they, too, must invest in their personal and professional development in order to increase their value. 

Learning and growth are like exercise for the mind. Just as we exercise our heart and muscles, we must continue throughout life to exercise our mind to keep it functioning at its best. Recognize that there is always room to grow and invest in learning every day. Don’t take it for granted—make a conscious effort to fuel your success by enriching your growth. Read a book, attend a workshop, take a class, get a new degree, or learn a new hobby or another language. Your mind is thirsty for knowledge and exercise—giving it permission to grow is the best investment you can make in your future. 

Ricky Kalmon is a mindset expert, motivational speaker, and celebrity hypnotist who delivers high-energy and motivational keynote programs that will change the way you live, work, and think. By creating awareness of your thoughts, Kalmon reveals how to enhance your mindset to eliminate doubt and ignite your positive intentions. Hi book Leverage Your Mindset: Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Amplify Your Life! is published by Sound Wisdom and available for preorder from these and other fine retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Books, Google Play, and Apple Books. By purchasing the book, you’ll receive exclusive access to an audio support program on the Ricky Kalmon app. 

The Importance of Reading by Earl Nightingale

The last time I checked the statistics I think they indicated that only about 4 percent of the adults in this country have bought a book within the past year. That’s dangerous. It’s extremely important that we keep ourselves in the top 5 or 6 percent. Reading good books is not something to indulge in as a luxury; it’s a necessity for anyone who intends to give his or her life and work a touch of quality. The truest wealth is not what we put into our piggy banks but what we develop in our heads. 

You do not read a book for the book’s sake but for your own. You may read because in your high-pressure life, you need periods of relief, and yet you recognize that peace of mind does not mean numbness of mind. You may read because you never had an opportunity to go to college and books give you a chance to get something you missed. You may read because your job is routine and books give you a feeling of depth and life. You may read because you did go to college. You may read because you see social, economic, and philosophical problems that need solutions and you believe that the best thinking of the past ages may be useful in your age too. You may read because you’re tired of the shallowness of contemporary life, bored by the current conversational commonplaces, and wearied of shoptalk and gossip about people. Whatever your main personal reason, you will find that reading gives knowledge, creative power, satisfaction, and relaxation. It cultivates your mind by exercising its faculties. 

Books are a source of pleasure—the purest and most lasting. They enhance your sensation of the interestingness of life. Reading them is not a violent pleasure, like the gross enjoyment of an uncultivated mind, but a subtle delight. Reading dispels prejudices that hem in our minds to narrow spaces. You can no more be a healthy person mentally without reading substantial books than you can be a vigorous person physically without eating solid food. 

I’ve often been struck by the meager libraries of so-called business executives. I guess they believe that managerial and creative talent and know-how is supposed to come to them in dreams and that they’re somehow above the need to read the words of others. They’re quite mistaken, and they are, more often than not, holding their jobs only because of a shortage of real management talent today. 

I believe you can judge the reaches of a person’s mind and capacities, as well as his or her real interests, by examining his or her library. I have known so-called experts on various subjects who don’t own ten books on that subject. They just keep saying the same things over and over again, hoping, I suppose, for a fresh audience every time they speak. 

There’s only one way to obtain knowledge, and that is through study—through reading. But as [José] Ortega [y Gasset] said, “Studying is for most people like paying income taxes.” They’ll never do it unless they have to. A good idea would be to provide a bookcase in every junior office. Then, from time to time, make the rounds and watch the bookcases. Their growing contents, or the lack thereof, will give you an excellent yardstick for determining future promotion—or the lack of it. 

This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s The Direct Line, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, Google Play, Apple Books, and other fine retailers. The first beautifully packaged print edition of Nightingale’s famous audio program, this book offers a practical guide designed to help you find real and lasting success in your career, relationships, and finances. Order a copy today and begin the most exciting and rewarding journey on earth—your journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment! Also, don’t forget the accompanying action guide, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble! 

Sign up here to receive free samples from this and other Nightingale-Conant publications. 

When Did You Stop Learning? by Shawn Doyle

Today I am going to address a topic that very few people are talking about right now. I have a unique perspective because I do about 100 training programs a year. Here is what I am seeing. In class, I will ask, “Who has read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?” Out of a group of thirty people, one hand will go up. I am not asking about an obscure book but one that has been on the business bestseller list for thirty years. The rest of the class has never heard of it.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 68 percent of men read at least one book last year. Okay, that is the good news, but here is the bad news: that means that 32 percent didn’t read one at all in a whole year (52 weeks—365 days). 

When I talk to people, they tell me they don’t read (learn) for the following reasons:

• “I have never been much of a reader.”
• “Between work and home I am just too busy.”
• “I read on my device all day at work. The last thing I want to do is read when I get home.” 

There is a whole range of other reasons people give me—way too many to mention. Here is the reality: instead of reading, they are watching TV or surfing the Internet. Is that you? Look, I am not criticizing; I am just passionate about everyone learning all the time.  

I want to help you, and my goal is to convince you why you need to keep learning and then give you some quick tips you can use today.

The following are reasons why you have to learn now:

• There are people in your organization who are reading and studying, and you are not.
• They are going to take your job if you don’t keep up.
• Knowledge is a huge competitive advantage.
• You will be much more likely to get promoted.
• You will be much more motivated and creative when you are exposing yourself to new ideas.
• You will be smarter and more thoughtful. 

One note: If you have never enjoyed reading, that is okay—I am not judging you. Then just listen to audiobooks or watch videos on the same topics online. 

I am asking you to make a commitment to learning now. I am also asking you to commit to reading nonfiction most of the time. You learn so much more from nonfiction than you do from fiction. 

Here are some techniques for finding time to read/learn:

• Cut back on TV. The average American watches 2.8 hours of television a day. So, one simple step is to cut back on TV to one hour, buying yourself reading time. Besides, reading new books is so much more interesting than watching a rerun of a stale show you have already seen. 
• Get up thirty minutes earlier in the morning to read and study. I have noticed an enormous percentage of highly successful people do that every day. Author Hal Elrod calls this “the morning miracle.”
• Read during your lunch break at work. I know you probably get lunch and take it back to your desk. Don’t! Find a quiet place and read at lunch.
• Planes and trains—whenever you are on a plane or a train, pack something to read. Maximize your travel time.
• Learn in your car. If you have to commute by car, listen to audiobooks.
• Training programs—if your company has a training department, see what programs you can sign up for this year.  

The reality is that every year you need to be a different, better, improved version of you. So, let the new you start today. You can do this!

For more business and personal development insight from Shawn Doyle, check out his titles from Sound Wisdom, including his Jumpstart Series, The Sun Still Rises, The Leadership Manifesto, and Two Months to Motivation.