LensqFrom the time I figured out that going to a book store gives me happiness, I have been visiting it frequently. Every time I visit one, I rediscover myself.
I learnt these lessons today.
1.If you don’t bring your ideas to fruition, others will do it
I had a couple of ideas on what I wanted to write books as, I wrote them all and abandoned them half-way. I thought they were not worthy enough to be finished. Today, I saw books with same ideas on book-shelf.
It is not just about writing a book, but the more you delay working on your dreams by giving excuses the more regrets you will end up with.
Hurry up. Start working on your ideas. Later on don’t cry if your idea leaves you because you are not paying attention to it.
2.Irrespective of how much you deny, you are a judge
According to Kahneman, we think in two ways. The first way of thinking is judging. Even though I don’t want to, I judge a book by its cover. I decide which book I might like based on the way the cover is designed. Then the title. Then by skimming through the content. You might think I am a shallow person but how do I pay my attention to the hundreds of books in the store in the limited time.
If I restrict myself to just one section of the store, I make sure that I do justice to all of them. But if I am falling short of time, I become a judge.
Even in life, we judge easily. We need to put in conscious efforts to avoid that.
3.It is only the mask which keeps changing
You read 2 books on the same topic. Now the third book, will have similar content but written in a different way.
4.Everyone has their own taste
If my mom and I go to the same section, she likes the books which I will never pick up. The reason is simple. She prefers something which is written in a straight-forward way. While I need the book to be written in a heavily researched way.
5.You can become an expert in anything over time
Initially, I used to not know which books I will like and which I won’t. Now I know what style of writing and content I will love. I know how to select the right books for myself.
6.Presentation matters
I saw a book by Bibek Debroy. I opened it excitedly to see if it is based on research on Indian Railways. The book looked like a facts collection than a story which was being told. I haven’t read the book. I am not the right judge. But from its presentation, that is what I felt. Instead if the presentation looked like a story, I would have jumped and bought it.
7.If you go seek, you might hit a gold mine
There were many books in the store which I would not have known if I just searched for them online. To put it in another way, I would not have known that there is knowledge available on those topics if I would not have stumbled on them today.
Sometimes you have to go seek things instead of just searching for what you already know.
What makes you come alive? What is the best lesson you learned from it? Share it with us in the comment section.
Happy living your dreams!
