A guide to realizing if

your child is at-risk, displaying 

self-destructive behaviors, and

needs your help and intervention.

Will being ADOPTED make adolescence  harder for my child?

How can I deal with the ANGER

 in our family?

Is my teen's BEHAVIOR just normal teenage rebellion?

What do parents and teachers need to know about BULLYING?

How do I find a THERAPIST for my teen?

What is EMOTIONAL ABUSE?

How can I help my OVERWEIGHT

daughter?

How do I find a good OUTDOOR PROGRAM for my teen?

My teen is cutting.  What do I need to know about  SELF-INJURY?

What is 'normal' teen SEXUAL BEHAVIOR and what is cause for concern?

How can I help my teen adjust to our STEPFAMILY?

by Jim Rohn

All of the books that we will ever need to make us as rich, as healthy, as happy, as powerful, as sophisticated and as successful as we want to be have already been written.

People from all walks of life, people with some of the most incredible life experiences, people that have gone from pennies to fortune and from failure to success have taken the time to write down their experiences so that we might share in their wealth of knowledge.  They have offered their wisdom and experience so that we can be inspired by it and instructed by it, and so that we can amend our philosophy by it.  Their contributions enable us to reset our sail based upon their experiences.  They have handed us the gift of their insights so that we can change our plans, if need be, in order to avoid their errors.  We can rearrange our lives based on their wise advice.

All of the insights that we might ever need have already been captured by others in books.  The important question is this: 

In the last ninety days, with this treasure

of information that could change our lives,

our fortunes, our relationships, our health,

our children and our careers for the better,

how many books have we read?

Why do we neglect to read the books that can change our lives?  Why do we complain but remain the same?  Why do so many of us curse the effect but nourish the cause?  How do we explain the fact that only three percent of our entire national population possess a library card -- a card that would give us access to all of the answers to success and happiness we could ever want?  Those who wish for the better life cannot permit themselves to miss the books that could have a major impact on how their lives turn out.  The book they miss will not help!

And the issue is not that books are too expensive!  If a person concludes that the price of buying the book is too great, wait until he must pay the price for not buying it.  Wait until he receives the bill for continued and prolonged ignorance.

There is very little difference between someone who cannot read and someone who will not read.  The result of either is ignorance.  Those who are serious seekers of personal development must remove the self-imposed limitations they have placed on their reading skills and their reading habits.  There is a multitude of classes being taught on how to be a good reader and there are thousands of books on the shelves of the public libraries just waiting to be read.  Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.  We must not permit anything to stand between us and the book that could change our lives.

A little reading each day will result in a wealth of valuable information in a very short period of time.  But if we fail to set aside the time, if we fail to pick up the book, if we fail to exercise the discipline, then ignorance will quickly move in to fill the void.

Those who seek a better life must first become a better person.  They must continually seek after self-mastery for the purpose of developing a balanced philosophy of life, and then live in accordance with the dictates of that philosophy.  The habit of reading is a major stepping stone in the development of a sound philosophical foundation.  And in my opinion it is one of the fundamentals required for the attainment of success and happiness.

Copyright © 2000 Jim Rohn International.  All rights reserved.

Encourage Reading in Your Home

Have your teen see you read and write.  Children learn best by example.

Relate reading to your every day life.  For example, you can read magazines, newspapers, catalogues, menus, TV guides, Internet, crossword puzzles, maps and guides.

Read, watch, listen to, and discuss newspaper articles, television and radio news coverage, journals and magazines.

Visit bookstores and the public library regularly to find materials for pleasure reading.

Subscribe to magazines and newspapers and read together.

Write letters to your teen. Compliment her when she has done something well.  Use cards and notes to let her know how proud you are of her accomplishments.

Keep a diary, journal or log together and share reflections with your teen.  Think about creating a family journal, scrap book or photo album when on family vacations.  Use funny captions or anecdotes above photographs to remember family events.

Ask your teen to write letters, shopping lists, invitations and to-do lists.

Play spelling and language games — like Scrabble, Boggle or Trivial Pursuit — and look for the correct spelling and meaning of words.

Read together as a family and discuss what everyone is reading.  Remind your teen that sometimes adults have "homework" to do as well (i.e., reading reports, doing performance appraisals, etc.).  This will allow him to see the connection of reading to real life.

LIBRARY LOCATOR

Click on your state to find local libraries!

Fostering a Love for Reading:  An Investment in the Future ~ Reading and writing skills are the essential ingredients in almost every subject taught in school.  While many reading specialists and researchers may argue about the best approach to teach these basic skills, there is one thing they, and the research, agree on.  If a child does not know how to read and write by the end of the third grade, that child is clearly at risk.  In our desire to achieve the greatest success with the largest number of children placed in our charge, we must overcome the school-based obstacles that place children at risk.  The way to ensure that no child is left behind is to ensure that reading and writing are effectively taught.

How To Read The Bible ~ How Paul understands things, says St. Augustine, “is a key as to how the rest [of the Old Testament] is to be ­interpreted.”

Motivating Low-Performing Adolescent Readers ~ Readers who have negative experiences with reading generally view reading as a process of getting the word right rather than an act of making sense of the material.  They do not hear a voice on the page; they do not know they can skip words; they do not know that they must do different things with different kinds of materials.

Read the book -- THEN see the film ~ Do you want to read a book before you see the film rather than the other way around?  If so, here are some movies that are based on books.