I Hate Reading.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about having the patience for reading.

I am hesitant to admit how much I have always disliked the activity of reading, especially fiction or any books written solely for the purpose of enjoyment. I find that reading stories requires me to slow down my imagination to keep pace with the author. It is a struggle to maintain focus, and I simply don't have the patience for learning in such a passive way.

Some of the most influential people I admire, and whose character I wish to emulate, were known to be avid readers. They had access to the smartest thinking from all periods of history and tapped directly into that knowledge. Knowing that my historical heroes have attributed a portion of their success to how much they loved reading, I have struggled many times to pick up and get through one book or another. On the rare occasion that I was able to read through an entire book, I celebrated its completion with relief.

Some years ago, I explained to a colleague my displeasure with reading and the guilt associated with my preference for ignorance. Seeing how badly I felt about the whole thing, he offered me a generous condolence by quoting Albert Einstein, who said, "Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking."

I've never forgotten these words, as they have given me permission to let my mind wander without restraint. In that moment, I was set free from the confines of the printed page and started a new chapter in the exploration of knowledge. The irony is that once I released the heavy burden of reading, I somehow discovered a great love for writing. Perhaps even more ironically, we are publishing a new Marketing Cookie book this fall. Who knows, maybe I'll read it.

I suspect, if you've made it this far in today's post, you, unlike me, probably enjoy reading. If that is the case, I shall always be envious of you. I hope you find great pleasure and wisdom in whatever book you choose to read next. Perhaps today's fortune will come true for you as it says, "By reading a good book this month you will gain new insight."