I’ve always felt that I should be reading more books, but somehow, despite the best intentions, find myself with little time to actually crack open a book and focus. I often buy books (physical and kindle books), read sporadically, make very slow progress and become frustrated knowing I’m missing so much richness by not reading more. It nags me.   Does this sounds familiar to you?   15- years ago, this posed a problem, but not any more!. Enter Audio Books and Podcasts, which offer a rich supplement (or complete alternative) to reading – something that I wish I started using sooner. Trust me — once you start accessing the libraries of audio books and podcasts, you’ll be amazed. I was.

Podcasts: First, try podcasts. They’re mainly free, plentiful and available on virtually any topic and genre. Depending on your interests, you’ll find audio content on pretty much any topic, and you’ll be able to hear from some of the greatest and most interesting authors, big thinkers, creators and innovators.   Check out one of more of the sources for podcasts shown in the image posted at the top of this blog (depending on your mobile device and preference).

Audio Books: Audible.com is the big one and has extensive libraries of audio books on virtually any topic. Audible provides books via subscription which gives you great prices on audio books monthly or you can buy them a la carte. They’re usually a bit more expensive than printed books, but you’re paying for somebody to do the work for you: READ TO YOU!

So, instead of listening to mindless, advertising cluttered music when you’re on a plane, jogging, at the gym, and in the car, why not try some stimulating and enriching podcasts or audio books? I listen when exercising and driving on a regular basis. I find that almost all of the audio content I listen to provides some inspiration and usually a nugget or 2 of value that I can apply in my life. The audio book topics that I seek are typically biographies, memoirs, or historically accurate fiction (and, in some cases, just good fictional stories). That way, most of the time, I’m actually learning something. My podcasts of choice are either based on categories that I happen to be interested in (professionally or personally), and usually they reference business building, entrepreneurship, innovation, self-improvement and general learning.  And, importantly, I listen to some of these books multiple times. Below are a couple of screen grabs of my Audible.com and Podcast libraries on my phone right now.   (Tim Ferriss’ podcast is one of my favorites – not shown in the image below)

Give it a shot… you’ll be inspired and motivated by what you listen to AND it’s so much easier than reading.   Please note that I certainly encourage reading actual books as well, but suggest audio content as it’s much easier to consume in our fast paces lives. Listen to a few podcasts a week and you’ll be following another Smarter Sooner tactic. Happy listening (and learning).