A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Posted: 04 Apr 2008 05:33 AM CDT As noted in April's Income for Life newsletter, I have been reading the classic book titled, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. I'm only about half way through the book; however, I stumbled across some very valuable advice that I thought I would share today with you. The foreword of the book describes it as "a book about city life, a story about grinding poverty, a tale of the struggles of immigrants in America." When the family had their first baby, the new mother asked her mom for advice. The Grandmothers response was priceless. See for yourself... "Mother, I am young. Mother, I am just eighteen. I am strong. I will work hard, Mother. But I do not want this child to grow up just to work hard. What must I do, Mother, what must I do to make a different world for her? How do I start?" Great question, isn't it? Here is the new Grandmother's response... "The secret lies in the reading and the writing. You are able to read. Every day you must read one page from some good book t your child. Every day this must be until the child leans to read. Then she must read every day, I know this is the secret." Of all of the things I do in life, reading is the most valuable time I spend. The more I read, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I earn. In almost every book I read, I get ideas that I then implement in my life. I try my best to turn books and newsletters that I read into money. I typically read around 4 books a month. I usually flip flop between books depending on my mood at the time. Some books I read in entirety. Others I take bits and pieces from. I always read books with a pen and note pad in hand. When I stumble across something great, it goes down in my notepad. I then take a minute and I ask myself the following question: Where can I use this in my life? In addition, I underline sentences and I make notes in the margin of the book. I really, really read the book. My 4 year old daughter still asks me why I always write in my books. My response is - "It helps me learn." Hopefully this practice will help her learn as she grows older. This little habit has been extremely valuable to me. Could it be valuable for you, too? If you have children, would Grandmother's advice be helpful for them? A few years ago, I began asking an interesting interview question when hiring someone to join one of my businesses. The question I asked was... What was the last book you read? You would be amazed to find out that the majority of people I interviewed couldn't honestly answer this question. So, I'll ask you - what was the last book you read? What is the last "real" newsletter you read? If you're not reading wealth building books and newsletters on investing, your not very serious about building wealth. You might think that your serious, but in reality, your not. Every single millionaire I know reads like I do. Every single person I know that is struggling financially doesn't read like I do. Stop and think about it. This one action may be the difference between wealth and poverty for you and your children. You have to read with a purpose. You also have to ask yourself the million dollar question, which I have included in this post. See you at the bookstore! Rob Minton P.S. There is actually more to the Grandmother's response. I'll include the rest of grandmother's advice in my next blog post!