I read a lot about marketing and productivity. That’s my field and I need to keep up. Most of what I read, however, is cumulative: things I know, things I already do and teach. There are occasional new twists on old ideas and changes in technology keep things fresh and interesting. But by and large, when you are an expert, unless you are doing original research, you already know what there is to know.
If you’ve been practicing for more than a few years, you may feel the same way about your area of expertise. Still, we read. There is always something new, something we can learn. But if we only read in our areas of expertise, eventually, we get stale.
I get some of my best ideas from reading about things that have nothing to do with marketing or the law. I read blogs and magazines and listen to radio. I talk to people in different fields. I pay attention to what’s going on in my neighborhood and in world politics. I’m not interested in sports but I know that Alabama just clobbered Notre Dame. I’ve never listened to Justin Bieber or One Direction but I know who they are.
I encourage you to read broadly, outside your field. Keep your eyes and ears open to what is going on around you, in sports and pop culture. Study history and economics. Listen to TED talks on science and psychology.
Alfred Whitehead, said, “Novel ideas are more apt to spring from an unusual assortment of knowledge – not necessarily from vast knowledge, but from a thorough conception of the methods and ideas of distinct lines of thought.”
The more diversity you have in your knowledge, the more ideas you will have and the more interesting you will be in conversation, in writing and speaking, and as a lawyer doing your job.
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