What Good is a Mercedes-Benz if You're Jabba the Hut?

I recently read a staggering statistic. More than 40% of college graduates never read another book after they graduate – EVER – FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES! If you are not among that 40%, congratulations; you are among the living. If you are among that 40%, how are you growing? How are you developing new perspectives? How are you challenging your preconceptions? Who are you becoming? Personal development philosopher Jim Rohn said, "success is not something you search for and find; it is something you attract by the person you become." If you aren’t reading, you are becoming more of the person you already are. Wow! Only 3% of the public in the United States have library cards. Double wow! 3%. All of my previous comments apply to the 97% missing the boat. About 20 years ago, I was the number 2 guy at a medium-sized company. On one particularly spectacular spring afternoon, I was driving to a sales meeting we were conducting. The lady accompanying me was complaining that I wouldn’t let her smoke in my new car, which I was driving at about 70 mph down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. After about 15 minutes of her cigarette tirade, she admonished me to slow down, not because of my unsafe speed, but rather because she said that new car engines should be broken in slowly. I knew that she was right, but my reaction was, "it's a car!" This person was really on top of the requirements for car maintenance, but she was ruining her health with a two pack-a-day habit. What is wrong with that picture?! As a nation, we have become obsessed with "stuff." There is nothing inherently wrong with "stuff," mind you. What is confounding is that many of us value our stuff more than we value ourselves. We validate ourselves with other people’s opinions of our stuff. We eat fake food designed to addict us. We live on debt. We devour reality TV. If Simon Cowell's face is more recognizable to you than that of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, what does that imply about who you are and what you value? It can be different; you can be different. Do these things beginning tomorrow: • Limit your TV watching to five hours per week. • Read one book a month – at least. • Purchase nothing in the supermarket from the inside aisles. That's where all of the synthetic food is located. Buy food from the outside aisles only. • Walk vigorously for two hours per week. These are "bare minimum" recommendations. If your reaction is, "I don’t have the time," please consider your priorities and their implications very carefully. Don't take too long, however. Your psyche and your body are wilting while you wait. Copyright 2011 Rand Golletz. All rights reserved.