Episode 70: Unlocking Your Influence and Leadership Potential One Page at a Time with Jeff Brown

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What do Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk all have in common? Each of these three men is an avid reader. Behind every great leader, you will often find a great reader. Today we are unpacking why you should be making a daily habit of opening up a book. With us is our guest Jeff Brown co-author of, Read to Lead, where he unpacks the simple habit to expand your influence and boost your career. It’s no secret that many of the struggles you run into on a daily basis, other great men and women have gone through before. You can access all their solutions to problems you face every day just by reading. Buckle up for today’s episode as we drive into the number 1 way to accelerate your income, grow your intelligence, broaden your mind and live a more fulfilling life. 

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3 Key Takeaways

1. Start building a daily habit of reading. Make small reading goals and don’t overdo them.
2. Create your own summaries of books to internalize what you’ve gleaned and share your findings with your people.
3. The best way to foster a reading culture in your business is for your people to both see you reading and living out what you’ve read.

Episode 70: Unlocking Your Influence and Leadership Potential One Page at a Time with Jeff Brown

What brought Jeff from a podcaster who interviewed authors to being an author himself.

• Jeff definitely felt the pressure of writing a book geared towards his podcast audience as his first published work. He even considered writing a children’s book to ease his way in.
• That was when Jeff met Jesse who had an idea to write a book about reading books geared towards the business and self-help sector.
• Jesse had shopped the idea of the book around to publishers but was being turned away as he needed a strong following to be considered. 
• He reached out to Jeff and the result was the two set off to co-author a book geared towards Jeff’s existing podcast following. 

"When Jesse approached me, the idea of Read to Lead really intrigued me and I felt that with a co-author some of the pressure is off and maybe I can actually do this thing called writing a leadership, personal development focused book."  - Jeff Brown

What was the relationship and process like in co-writing a book?

• People always say co-writing is much harder than solo writing, however with Jeff and Jesse it was easy.
• First, they put together a new proposal with Jeff’s audience numbers, a new marketing plan and signed with a literary agent who began to shop the proposal around to publishers.
• Within a month they started getting offers from publishers which ended with signing a contract with a publisher. 
• It then came time to write the book. Jesse and Jeff worked out their individual strengths and where their strengths overlapped, worked out a game plan for structure and table of contents, and began to work.
• We would then come back together and compile and re-work and flesh ideas out together. The whole process was incredibly smooth.

"People tell me all the time, Jeff you could have written a book yourself years ago. And while that may be so, it took me a long time to believe that. Belief is something that always holds us back. We need to act first and believe second." - Jeff Brown

 Why reading like your career depends upon it is so important. 

• The shelf life of the average skill is shrinking. 
• If you are constantly reading to absorb new skills, improve yourself and adapt yourself to the business climate you will always be ahead of the curve. 
• Reading will separate you from the majority of what stats show is a business workplace that doesn’t regularly read.
• So many people are worried about just the here and now and making it through each day that they aren’t focusing on continually re-inventing themselves and growing.

 "Colleges are often teaching skills that won’t be useful to the student learning them in the next five years." - Jeff Brown

Eight transformative benefits of reading.

1. Reading increases your professional opportunities.
2. Reading improves your decision-making skills.
3. Reading reduces your stress level.
4. Reading helps you to sleep better.
5. Reading improves your ability to lead.
6. Reading makes you smarter.
7. Reading makes you more creative.
8. Reading improves your communication.

"I cannot deny that I, as an entrepreneur, consume too much screen time. When I read off a page it does feel different. I long for that kind of rest that I find in reading." - Seth Buechley

What was Jeff’s own journey with reading?

• Jeff’s mother raised him to be an avid reader with regular trips to the Library.
• However, the older Jeff grew the more school sapped out the desire to read. The school system takes a one size fits all approach.
• Leaving school Jeff was anxious to not have to pick up a book again and for most of his 20s, he really didn’t.
• When he was in his 30s a mentor introduced Jeff to Seth Godin’s book Purple Cow. It revolutionized how Jeff thought of reading.
• Jeff admits he previously was entirely unaware after his experience in school that there were books that actually helped solve very real problems.

"It’s embarrassing to admit, based on my current book and platform, that I was completely unaware that there were real people who had written about problems I was currently facing and that all I had to do was read to understand the solutions." - Jeff Brown

How to develop a fine-tuned reading rhythm?

• It’s very easy when starting a new habit to overdo it and burn yourself out.
• When it comes to reading goals, don’t be afraid to think small. 
• Begin with reading a single chapter and then reward yourself somehow with each chapter you read. That gratification of enjoying something received from reading will trigger a response in your brain.
• Set reading as an appointment on your calendar, it will help you treat it as more of a priority.
• Turn off social media notifications to further prioritize your schedule. And then just like reading, set a schedule for when you allow yourself to check social media.

"Maybe your habit anchor is when you sit down to sip your morning coffee you agree to read just one page. You’re rewiring your brain to equate the habit with something you enjoy." - Jeff Brown

What are three takeaways from starting an organizational book club? 

• Oftentimes leaders that try to inspire a culture that reads, fall flat with the people’s buy-in because it appears to many like the “latest fad of the CEO.”
• Truly make sure before you attempt to start a book club that your people have had ample opportunities to actually see you reading by example.
• Don’t be afraid to share the wisdom you have gleaned from books with your people in your meetings and conversations.

 "If your people aren’t not currently passing by your office and catching you reading at your desk, it’s too soon to start a book club." - Jeff Brown

Resources For You:

• Order your copy of Read to Lead at https://readtoleadbook.com/
• If you need help building (or selling) a valuable business, reach out to Cathedral Consulting at [email protected]
• Questions for Seth? Send us your feedback at [email protected] 
• Pick up your copy of Ambition: Leading With Gratitude