I don't know about you but I have found recently that I have just a ton of books that...
...sit on my shelf ready for me to read.
...and sit...
...and sit....
It's like I think that they are going to jump off the shelf themselves and help me to learn and take action! As most coaches I know have a full shelf of books I wanted to put together some ideas, following from my post on my newsletter about making the most of things we have already invested in - low and no cost ways of learning. (By the way - want to receive these all the time - use the links on the side of this blog to sign up for Lessons for Life)
So onto my tips to make the most of your book investment...
Regularly review your books and make room for new ones.
I've got some books that I got and just used once and are now sat on my shelf. What am I saving them for? If you've got a book that you just aren't reading, take it down and ask yourself what your purpose is with it. Are you not reading it because:
- You haven't had the time
- You've read and learnt from it and are now on other subjects/ at a deeper level
- It's no longer relevant for you
- You tried it and can't get into it.
Realistically, ask yourself whether you will use the book again and if not consider what the next home for it is - ebay, jumble, another coach?
For the books you are keeping...
Prioritise which ones you want to read and the schedule some time in
I have books for different purposes - some are part of courses that I am doing, some are to learn more marketing skills, some are for personal development. As you take on the different elements of learning about you, who you are as a business owner and what action you can take, schedule some time out to start working through the books that you have. Put it in your diary as a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Commitment to yourself. By prioritising it takes away that feeling of overwhelm of having too many books that you could delve into. Fit them into your learning goals and coaching business goals so that you remain focused.
Create a real world link to put action into place in your coaching business.
I recently found when I was working with my supervisor on how I was using books from the reading list from the course, that I got most from them when I was able to practically apply what I had read to my work. So - I read a couple of books when I needed them to learn about my supervision, still learning and growing in training - and then used the knowledge directly with coaching/ supervision sessions that I ran.
Find out if your favourite authors have a community or further information for you to join to continue to take Action and Consolidate your Learning.
I've found some of my fave authors that I get the most from have great websites or communities that I can join that help me work/ chat to other like minded people, or get up to date ideas and techniques. A coupel of examples of this are:
C J Hayden - Author of Get Clients Now!(TM) that I run as a facilitator - she has the Book, a website with links to a community, a licensee group, and is now on twitter and facebook. All places to join and interact. And there is an answer forum. Find out more at her website www.getclientsnow.com
Andy Bounds who wrote the Jelly Effect, one of my favourite books on focusing on outcomes and benefits, also has a website with downloads - http://www.andybounds.com/
