Yesterday I shared the importance of reading.  I want to expound upon that idea some more with you.  Overcoming the self-imposed limitation of “I Don’t Like To Read”.  All of us would never consider driving our cars for hundreds and thousands of miles without stopping for gas.  Why is that?  It is because we know after a few hundred miles our cars would be broken down on the side of the road.  We also would never consider going without eating food and drinking water for 3 months.  We know that food and water are fuel for our bodies.  Our bodies simply cannot function without them.  They are a necessity.  The same is true for our minds. What would happen in our lives if we paid as much attention to what we feed our minds as what we feed our cars and our bodies?

The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.”  Just like our nutritional diet impacts how our bodies run and perform so does our informational diet impacts how we think which determines how we live our lives.  This was something that took me a long time to understand.  There are so many messages in the world that can confuse us and distract us from living successful, fulfilling lives.  Unless we are INTENTIONAL about what we feed our minds we will just end up going the way of the world.  If you can understand and accept this truth that we must be INTENTIONAL about what we feed our minds then you can harness it for your benefit.

As I write this post this morning let me share what I have already done today to feed my mind:

I read my scroll from The Greatest Salesman in the World

I read my All Pro Dad email

I prayed for everyone and everything on my prayer list

I read my belief cards out loud three times

I read three chapters in my Maxwell Leadership Bible

I read my daily devotional, Sparkling Gems From The Greek: 365 Greek Word Studies For Every Day Of The Year To Sharpen Your Understanding Of God’s Word

After pouring all of those good things into my mind there is no doubt I will have an incredible day and I will be more focused on the work God has for me to do.  Now to do all of those it required me waking up earlier and it took just over one hour.  I realize that is a lot of time and many of you may find an hour of quiet time in the morning to be too much.  It is not about having an hour of quiet time.  It is about being intentional and carving out time to pour good things into your mind.  Could you begin by waking up 15 minutes earlier every morning and doing a daily devotional and having just a few minutes for you to just be with God?

Here are a few suggestions of things we can do to improve the diet we feed our minds:

#1 Read the Bible – The Bible is the inspired word from God.  God speaks to us through this recorded word.  He not only communicates to us how much He loves us over and over and over again, but he also fills the pages of the Bible with wisdom that can greatly improve our lives.  May I suggest reading one chapter of Proverbs and one chapter of the New Testament every day?

#2 Daily Devotionals – Reading the Bible on its own can be a very daunting task for so many of us.  It is impossible for us as humans to soak in all of the truth revealed to us throughout its pages.  I have found reading a devotional every day can give me a few verses or chapters of scripture to focus on from the day so I can gain better understanding.

#3 Read Good Books – I already addressed this in “I Don’t Like To Read”, but it is worth repeating.  Reading good books gives us the benefits of life times worth of wisdom by committing only a few minutes a day.  If we apply a positive The Slight Edge to our daily reading we will be amazed at where we are in just a few short years.

#4 Good Conversations – This is one of my FAVORITE things to do.  It did not start that way, but once I learned the value of positive, thought expanding conversations about IDEAS with other champions I respect and admire, I have found it very difficult to return to the mundane conversations about cars, SEC Football, and TV.  One of the distinctions in The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class is, “Millionaires talk about ideas.  The Middle Class talk about things and other people.”  Think on the wisdom in that statement and evaluate the conversations you currently have on a regular basis.

#5 Automobile University – All of us drive places in our cars, but not all of us view that time the same way.  Are you spending that time getting from one place to another or are you investing that time into your better future.  I used to listen to the local rock station or the morning talk show.  Now I only listen to audio training CD’s, Amazon Audible Audiobooks, podcasts, or praise music.  Even if they are only 5 – 10 minutes trips around town they will accumulate over time and lead to some significant results in our lives if we begin investing in ourselves while driving.

#6 Seminars – What are you interested in?  Which skills do you wish you had that you do not currently posses? What are areas you want to grow in?  Regardless of the answer there are essentially seminars for just about any interest we have.  Every July my mother in law goes to a week-long quilting festival in Sisters, OR.  Last weekend Beth and I took firearms instructions with a local expert.  Twice per year we go to a business and leadership training called Success School.  Last August I went to All Pro Dad Live with 16 other champion dads.  I can tell you that investing myself has ALWAYS been worth the investment.

Those are just a few suggestions of ways we can help improve what we feed our minds.  I do not have the answers of what you should feed your mind.  The key is for you to develop your plan of how you will grow your mind then COMMIT to implementing that plan.

Question: What is one thing you can commit to doing to feed and grow your mind?  Comment below