How Are You Consuming Information? | 3 Principles Coaching

I remember reading something about a coach who would read at least one book a week. He was a voracious consumer of information and I thought that in order to be a really successful coach, I needed to do the same thing.

The challenge was, I didn’t tend to read that quickly and whenever I did I found I didn’t absorb what I was reading in a way that was truly effective for me.

When I did read, I would use what I was reading and share it with my clients. I would write a post about it and I would really take my time with any book I was reading because I wanted to get the information in me and have me able to use it and create from that knowledge, as opposed to accumulating more information for the sake of it.

One of the best distinctions I learned from Steve Chandler was the distinction of Information vs Transformation, which highlights why it was better for me to take time with my reading, but get it in me, as opposed to consuming books for the sake of consuming them.

Consuming information gives you just that, more information. However, when you really get what the author is trying to say and apply that knowledge in a way that’s useful for you, that’s what leads to transformation. In fact, Steve used to have a saying “once for information, twice for transformation” (i.e he’d encourage people that, if a book was good, to read it at least twice).

So in a world where we are bombarded with information, rather than trying to consume it all, I encourage you to slow down, take your time with one and apply it so that you can really let it get inside you before moving on to the next piece of information.

With this in mind, Felipe and I recently put together an updated list of the best books for coaches wanting to grow in this profession and have a deeper understanding of the Three Principles within the context of coaching. You can check it below.