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StumbleUpon"Why do you love to read books so much?" asks a child.
"Because I love words," says the mother.
"Why do you love words?" he says.
"Because they tell stories," she answers.
"Why do you like stories?" he persists.
"Because they teach possibilities," she replies.
I could add to the conversation I had with one of my sons recently, by listing -- since lists are so powerful, as suggested by a piece in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, and elsewhere -- some of the other reasons I love to read.
1) It takes me outside of myself.
2) It introduces new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of self-expression.
3) It's exciting, engaging and very often surprising.
This brings me to today's Book Fare book pick for Father's Day, a fascinating and thoughtful book called The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin, which I first read last year in hardcover (May 07, Free Press; now out in paper). Waitzkin's book does all of the above, and it's the kind of book you want to dip back into on a regular basis. Waitzkin was the child chess champ on whose life story the film "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was based. Today, he's an award-winning martial artist, teacher and mentor who is taking his philosophy of learning to a young, hip audience in NYC and elsewhere, to kids who are embracing his messages and who need them more than ever. (He just started his own foundation, geared to kids and schools.) He believes that you don't succeed just by being excellent in your chosen field. Instead, "the key to pursuing excellence is to embrace an organic, long-term learning process, and not to live in a shell of static, safe mediocrity," he says. "Usually, growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety."
He's certainly someone who has pushed himself throughout his life. His chess story began in Washington Square Park in New York's Greenwich Village as a young boy, and as he began winning, studying the game intensely, and winning some more, the game took him far outside his own comfort zone, to world championships in America, Romania, Germany, Hungary, Brazil and India. He eventually became an 8-time National Chess Champion in his youth, playing against some of the toughest chess players on the planet. Today, as a martial artist, he holds at least 21 national championship titles, in addition to several world championships. (You can read more about Josh and his amazing accomplishments at his website).
But here's what interests me most about his story, more than all his awards and honors. Josh believes that to truly succeed you need to win mentally. If two people are equally skilled, the person who maintains his or her focus, drive, and concentration usually wins out in the long run. That's a great message for all of us, no matter what our walks of life. I met Josh when he visited the Reader's Digest offices not long ago, and have had several good follow-up conversations with him since, about the nature of excellence and top performance. And he is for real. Imagine that years ago when he was playing chess in top matches around the world, some of his older, more experienced opponents would actually kick him under the table, or drum their fingers on the chess board, or tap the chess pieces ad nauseum, all in an effort to distract him (or so it seemed). He was too good; they were trying to throw him off his game. But instead of pouting about it, this champion turned adversity to his advantage -- by developing himself mentally so that at the next match, he was literally ready for anything. And that mental strength, no matter what his endeavors have been, has made him a winner in the end.
A young Josh Waitzkin (right) hones his chess skills in Washington Square Park.
All Photos courtesy Josh Waitzkin
More recently, Josh has taken his abilities of concentration and focus from the chess board to the martial arts.
In 2004, Josh took two golds at a top Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands tournament in Taiwan; he's with his team, giving the thumbs up, fourth from right.
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