Quick Friday magic for you

So there I am, crossing Glenferrie Road with Harry Potter and Hermione. Wait a minute. Is that Bluey? Yes, it is!

Welcome to Children’s Book Week 2024. This is when Australian schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books, and kids get to dress up as their favourite fictional characters. It sounds fun, and I guess it’s a nightmare for parents scrambling to put together an appropriate costume.

The theme of Children’s Book Week this year is Reading Is Magic.
I agree. Reading is Magic.

I remember spending my hard-earned cash from my first part-time job on something rebellious. I bought a self-help book, Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Little did I know that this rebellious act would shape me in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

Stephen Covey’s brilliant ideas have become such a part of our culture that it’s hard to remember when ‘paradigm shift’ wasn’t casually tossed around like confetti. A paradigm shift refers to a fundamental change in thinking or perception. But back then, I wasn’t sure how to pronounce ‘paradigm’ (don’t judge me)!

Covey’s mastery of storytelling makes his ideas accessible. To explain paradigm shift, he shares this story:

𝐴 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑜 𝐶𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑦 ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠, ‘𝑊𝑒 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑑. 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟’.

BAM. Instant perspective change. That’s the power of a paradigm shift and it takes the right story to make the concept come alive.

Books can shape your perspective, ignite your imagination, and change your life.

What book has had the most impact on you? Please share. I love hearing from you.