Many people spend their free time reading a book, while not all bibliophiles reach career heights and earn millions. We studied the reading habits of famous people and share tips for successful reading.
Multimillionaire Dan Kennedy once said that rich people have a big library, while poor people have a big TV. It really is. Billionaire Warren Buffett reads 500 pages a day and claims that it was this habit that made him successful. Everyone can read a book a day, but not everyone will do it.
American media mogul Mark Cuban reads about 3 hours a day, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates reads 50 books a year.
When Elon Musk was asked how he learned to make rockets, he replied: “I read books”
In order for reading not just to take your free time, but to develop your mind, creativity and entrepreneurship, you need to follow simple tips.
1. Read the right books
According to research by Thomas Corley, who studied the daily habits of wealthy people, we all read for different purposes, which depend on our standard of living.
Wealthy people ($160+ in annual income and over $3,2 million in assets) read to stimulate personal growth, education, and success. Less affluent Americans (annual income less than $35 and assets less than $5) read purely for pleasure.
Successful people don’t stop learning after getting a university degree.
These are eternal students who study all their lives according to their own curriculum. Successful people often find inspiration, motivation, and ideas in the autobiographies of other famous people.
Celebrities share books that are important to them in interviews and autobiographies. If you don’t know which book to start moving towards success with, refer to the lists of favorite books of famous people.
2. Make a plan
After learning about the habits of the rich and famous, we promise ourselves to read hundreds of pages a day, but after a day or two we postpone reading until better times, because we have work, family, problems.
The difference between the powerful of this world and the rest is that the former strive for success 24 hours a day, and not just when they announce Nobel Prize winners, award winners of the Olympics or publish a Forbes list.
If you want to be successful, you will have to form the habit of reading regularly.
It is known that those who draw up a clear plan of action with an indication of the place and time will follow this plan with a probability of 91%. Make time for reading in your diary and treat it like a serious job, without which you will not be able to succeed.
3. Start small
If you are not too fond of reading, you have little chance of mastering the daily allowance of Warren Buffett. It’s like trying to lift a two-hundred-kilogram barbell from the first approach. To get started, allocate 30 minutes a day – during this time you can read 20-30 pages.
At first, it is better to read modern authors who write in simple and understandable language, and not Chaucer or Shakespeare.
4. Bet on variety
Warren Buffett recommends not only investing in different industries, but also reading books from different genres, authors and eras.
So you get more ideas and a variety of knowledge
At first, you will find it uncomfortable to switch from autobiography to historical novel or business literature, but then you will get the taste. In addition, such alternation doubles the speed of perception and processing of information.
About the author: Elle Kaplan is a financial expert, entrepreneur, CEO and co-founder of Lexion Capital Management.