I am a big believer in working smarter over working harder. Increasing my knowledge base is a source of excitement and delight for me. When I first met my husband, he told me that intelligent people have 1,000 or more books in their personal libraries. So I spent the next several years collecting the thousand books. Two years ago when I got my Kindle 3G he told me that with electronic books and advanced technology, intelligent people now have at least 10,000 books in their libraries. So, once again I started with the book collecting and now have 3,000 books on my Kindle 3G and am still collecting. However, there is a point to collecting the books.
It is my opinion that knowledge can be obtained from a myriad of sources. My recent hot button book is Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers." I learned about different factors that contribute to success. When I read Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" I learned about candle making, packing a boat for long term travel and food storage. If I am ever stuck in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship, I can catch a whale, make food, fire, and weaponry. As a teenager, I read the original Jason Bourne books and learned about world geography, different cultures and espionage. I believe you can teach old dogs new tricks and it is never too late to learn. 
Recently I have been doing a lot of reading and research on blogging, internet marketing and the power of social media. I am trying to improve this blog and create a lasting brand with a positive impact. The books you see on the left are a few of the books I read within the past month in my search for increased knowledge and better understanding of these areas.
One of the ways we can work smarter instead of merely working harder is to find a book and read about something. There are so many sources for books, even for busy people. Even though many bookstores are closing and their selections are getting smaller each day, libraries are treasure troves of information. The manufacturers of the most popular e-readers, the Kindle and the Nook have applications for your computer, tablet and smart phone to read e-books. I use a Kindle and the Kindle bookstore has thousands of free books on almost every topic. The books listed here on the left were all free when I purchased them.
So, no matter what you budget, no matter what your schedule, you have the ability and resources to get a book and read all about it. My mother-in-law used to say, "Get all you can and can all you get." That was wise advice when she first said it and it is still wise advice today. It is smart to gather information, to learn all you can about all that you do. Information, data, facts, knowledge, no matter what name you call it, if power. It is power that will help you work smarter and enable you to accomplish more.
There are millions of books published each year on thousands of subjects. There are literally billions of journeys to information you can travel upon in your search for information. So, the question for you this Wonderful Wednesday is what book do you want to read to learn to work smarter?
Add a link to your favorite blog post or website about working smarter.
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