"When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you."
— Keith Richards

Great Lives / Great Biographies

I love to read biographies, particularly autobiographies.  If they are open and authentic,  I can find myself in the minds of great and interesting people - seeing the world through their eyes, sometimes experiencing major historical events or cultural changes with them.

Over the holidays, I was enthralled with Keith Richards' autobiography Life  I have been doing a lot of thinking about the future of reading and books, and reading this biography emphasized the impact of focus and immersion in a book.  The experience and the words from the book resonated and endured in ways that it would not have through a biographical movie or a scan of biographical content online.  

Here are five reasons choosing to read a biography will be a choice that will benefit you in many ways.

They allow you to stand on the shoulders of giants.

In the 1670`s Sir Isaac Newton wrote in a letter to his friend Robert Hooke, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." That is exactly what reading biographies can do for you - allow you to see further because of what these people have achieved. 

They remind you that history repeats itself.  

Reading about the real experiences of others gives context for the decisions and consequences that we all will face. History (recent or distant) will repeat itself because those who are making history were, and are, human beings.

They promote self discovery. 

A good self help or professional development book will outline specific steps, tools, techniques and approaches to try. These can be valuable and successful shortcuts to help you make improvements and get results in most any area of your life. A biography, on the other hand, won`t be as direct. You will discover ideas and approaches on your own through the stories and experiences of others. This discovery learning process is often far more satisfying, and most always more lasting, than reading a list of steps.

They allow you to see the world in new ways.  

Rather than being completely focused on your professional discipline, looking at the way you and your colleagues always look at things, reading about someone from a different era, a different background or a totally different set of life experiences will give you new perspective. In truth, most great innovations come from taking an idea from one situation, discipline or industry and adapting it to another. Reading biographies is one great way to do this.

They give you mentors at a distance. 

If you have read about the life of Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Churchill or anyone else you select, you have had a glimpse into their mind and now have the advantage or "knowing" them. These people can become your mentors at a distance, if you allow yourself the chance to think about what advice they might give you, or what they might do in a the situation or choice you are facing.