"Read and Grow Rich"

Reading... a passion for some, a necessity to others and a chore to many more. It is no wonder Burke Hedges tells us in his book "Read and Grow Rich" how reading can change people's lives.


A book published in the year 2000, it is an easy read about how reading can enrich one's life in so many ways. Its easy to read content tells us how reading has changed his life. Then he writes about how reading has changed the lives of many people in the world. After that he shares his thoughts on how to effectively read.
 
Later on, he lists 10 writings that have rocked the world in terms of influence:

1. The Bible
2. The Ancient Greek Philosophers
3. The Magna Carta
4. The Gutenberg Bible
5. Martin Luther's 95 Theses
6. Shakespeare's Plays and Sonnets
7. The Declaration of Independence
8. The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights
9. The Communist Manifesto
10. Mein Kampf

Burke then highlights a good point..."You are what you read". Meaning, reading changes you, for the good or bad. So if you read good stuff, you will be a better person, and vice versa.He then shares a list of classics that (not exhaustive) has changed many lives:

1. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
2. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
3. Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
4. Horatio Alger Stories
5. Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell
6. As a Man Thinketh by james Allen
7. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
8. Think & Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
9. The Power of Positive Thinking by Dr Norman Vincent Peale
10. The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale
11. The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
12. Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
13. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

He concludes by saying that "Standing in a garage does not make you a car" any more than buying books make you a reader. Therefore it is your choice whether you want to read to grow rich.

I don't know about you, but I am going to start reading more.... and you will hear more about it.

Cheers!