By Justin Mwita David “It is WRITTEN”“God revealed and it was written and it shall happen as it was written” When Jesus was arrested after being betrayed by Judas, one of His disciples cut the earof a soldier and Jesus rebuked him saying that He could ask God to send angels but Hedid not because it was written that He is captured that way. He also asked the Phariseesthat he was with them all day yet no one arrested him and here they are arresting Himlike a thief, so he said it had to happen as such to fulfill what was written (Mathew 26:5156).It is very important to understand that what was (divinely) written will always happenno matter how we feel about it or how we desire it manifest, it doesn’t matter how andwhat we want, it only matters what God’s will is. The great Harry S. Truman stated, “not all readers are leaders, but all leaders arereaders.” The quote carries multiple layers of context that we should use as a frameworkfor leadership development in every aspect of our personal and professional livesespecially the African youth. Truman knew the power of continuous learning and achievement, which is why hisreading list extends from Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography to the ancient Stoicstudies of Plato’s Republic. Truman used the power of individual study and learning frompeople’s past mistakes to help him guide his decision making during his two terms as thepresident of the United States, which proved to be a foundational guiding principle formany to follow in his footsteps. Leaders of the 21st-century must learn from the past’s great minds to create a betterfuture. Books allow us to dive into the thoughts of those who lived before us to provideus invaluable information to help us develop solutions for our current problems. 1.) The Past Always Repeats ItselfLeaders are readers because they know they have a lot to learn from those who havelived a life before them. They also know that history repeats itself, usually taking placein a different color, shape, or form of an event. As George Santayana stated, “Those whocannot remember history are doomed to repeat it.” If we decide to neglect the past, we are actively taking steps to avoid a significantamount of information that could change our lives’ future direction. Because as WarrenBuffet said, “It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’smistakes.” Reading texts, articles, and books about the past can guide our thought processes andcreate a mental road map to solve today’s problems using yesterday’s solutions. Sincethe human brain hasn’t changed for over 40,000 years, it is safe to say we can still learna lot from our ancestors. Our quality of life, dependence on technology, and culturalchanges may have vastly differed from the past, but our inner thoughts and feelings arestill the same. 2.) Reading Changes Our Perspectives of LifeIt’s exciting to read about influential individuals who overcame the odds, lived their lifefrom rags to riches and seemed to defy all conspiring factors going against them. Itappeared as though they were able to overcome every hurdle placed in their way andmaster the game of life. Stories like this inspire us to be a better version of ourselves. No matter what life hashanded you thus far in your journey, history shows us that at some point in time,someone has inevitably had it far worse than you and was able to overcome it. Readinghas the power to vastly change our perspectives of life because it can humble us. Whileour narratives may be unique to us, our struggles and battles against adversity arenothing new to the human race. When we can change our perspective, we’re able to change our future. This conceptgoes even deeper than words of inspiration, as cognitive neuroscientist DonaldHoffman has worked for over 30 years on understanding how our brain’s perceptions ofreality are predominantly false, hiding our true objective potentials for reality.Reading allows us to change our outlook on life, facilitating new ways of thinking,creating, and achieving our life goals. 3.) Our Brains Remodel Through ReadingAs a leader, it is your responsibility to find innovative ways to solve problems and guideyour team to success by any means necessary. Leaders who are continuously learningand acquiring new skillsets understand the importance of being life-long learners.Much like learning a new skill or starting up a new hobby, changing how one performs atask subsequently changes our neural circuits within the brain. Reading keeps our mindactive and healthy. It also strengthens the wiring and connectivity between multipleregions involved in cognition, visuospatial awareness, and higher levels of mentalprocessing. Reading can also change how we interpret language, which can provide significantadvantages in the workplace and our personal lives. It can help us show greater empathytowards others, allowing a higher level of connection and communication within ourteam members and coworkers. And most of the circuits involved with reading areinvolved with verbal language processing and communication, which provides furtherbenefit for team building and connecting with our colleagues. Daily Readers Are The Best LeadersMuch like any activity, the more you do it, the better you become at it. Reading issomething that many may take for granted, but the few who understand the power ofreading are the ones who see the most significant benefit from it. Warren Buffet is said to spend nearly 80% of his day reading and stated he read up to600-1000 pages a day during the early days of his career as he was learning the trade.While this reading volume may be extreme, you don’t need to spend vast amounts oftime reading to get the benefits. By merely reading for 10-15 minutes a day, you will start to rewire your neural circuityand change your brain, which in turn, could vastly change the trajectory of your career.