June is my birthday month and I juggled my brain on what I could give back to you amazing people who have supported my vision and helped me live my dreams with Minute Motivation.  In response to the most asked question - 'How do I develop the habit of reading?', I thought I could perhaps share my experience and what I do.

Apart from school books, I never had the habit of reading and I remember being asked to fill out a 'Fun facts' form at an event I was speaking at. One of the questions was 'What book are you currently reading?' I thought 'Am I supposed to be reading a book?' Well I went back home that day with a determination to have something to write the next time anyone asked me such a question 😊. Still I found myself still reading sporadically until I heard someone say "Readers are Leaders and Leaders are Readers". Well my life ambition is to lead in every sphere of my life and if reading would make that happen, so be it.

Many who know me would agree that consistency in the systems I set up is one of my biggest strengths so I proceeded to write what conditions help me read and which ones slow me down.
Following my analysation, I concluded that
1. I was more likely to read from an electronic device than paper
2. I didn't like the feeling of forgetting everything I had read in the book
3. I liked authors who were conversational in their writing, rather than factual
4. I was more likely to read a book that taught me life lessons or moved me forward in my thinking

With this, I developed my reading strategy -
- I read 1st thing in the morning from my mobile phone. This way, I didn't have to worry about waking everyone in the house up because I switched the lights on etc.
- I read only one chapter a day. This enabled me to have time to think about what I learnt and fully absorb the contents. Also because majority of books were less than 30 chapters, I was guaranteed to read a book every month
- I write down what I understand from the chapter on 1 or 2 sentences. Again this help me comprehend what I've learnt better and therefore apply it better
- I talk about the book with as many as I can. This way I form a community of people who share my enthusiasm and commits me to finishing the book.

Have these tips sparked hope in you?  Why not pick a book today and let me know how you get along?

Book of the month - "Make today count" by John Maxwell