I'm a huge believer in the value of the knowledge found in books. Nothing else takes the amount of energy and thought required to pour ones thinking into these bound pages. It only makes sense to take advantage of this opportunity to expand your own thinking and learning.

Personally I've always been a big reader and a big fan/subscriber of Audible.com. I have a feeling I'm only going to get a bit more prolific having received a new Kindle as an early father's day present (I'm traveling all this week, so it only made sense).

In my own experience there's simply no better way to assimilate information on a wide variety of subjects than with reading. This also provides a number of incredible avenues to connect more deeply with people. If you've read the same book as someone else you can easily slip into a very interesting discussion about the book and the topic. Also, if you're having a discussion with someone, and you think a book you've read may be helpful to them, you can easily recommend it, or even spend the few dollars to buy a copy for them to make a lasting impression.

This is a big reason we're excited about kicking off our own Business Author Series this month. On the last Thursday morning of each month we'll host a different author who's written a book on a relevant topic. They'll give a presentation about the topic, and following their speech we'll do a modified round of NetStorming to discuss the topic at more length with those in attendance. So you'll get well versed information on a topic, an opportunity to connect in a more meaningful way AND you'll always receive a complimentary copy of the presenter's book.

I hope you'll join us at our very first Business Author Series event featuring Liz Alexander, The Book Doula. She's written a dozen books and sold over a half million copies of them. I'd say she's more than qualified to lead a conversation on "Everyday Thought Leadership." She'll be sharing a copy of: Birthing Your Book: Find, Nurture and Sustain the Motivation to Write. Here you'll find the full details and registration information.

Happy Networking!