Why I Read As Much As I Do
Why I Read As Much As I Do
People often ask me why I read as much as I do. Long before I even learned of the real physiological and emotional benefits of reading, my answer simply was because there is something about reading that just makes me feel good. That wasn't always the case. In fact this fairly new practice in my life would have been as foreign as aliens from outer space just a few years ago. So what's changed?
As I've written about numerous times, a few years ago I challenged myself to read one hundred books in a year. I took upon this challenge because I had read about the benefits of reading books and I also read about the reading habits of some of the most successful people in a wide variety of industries. This inspired me to do the same. Along the way I developed a habit of reading. I now make it a point to read no less than one book a week. People marvel at this when they first find out about my reading habit but in all reality if you break it down, reading one book a week is simply reading forty pages a day on average. This pace is probably no more than an forty-fives to an hour and a half a day dedicated to reading depending on your pace. In a time when surveys estimate that people average five to seven hours of screen time a day (via television, smartphone, computer, tablet) that is a mere blip on the radar in terms of time and it is time well spent because it is time invested in improving yourself.
I won't get into all the specifics about the benefits of reading books because that information is available in abundance. I will however cheer unseen benefits of reading. Since I started my reading habits I have hit a productive stride that shows no signs of letting up. I've written five book manuscripts, I started a blog, I've self published three books, I've started my own company, I started to get paid speaking engagements, in short I have more ambition, energy, drive, and determination than I have had at any point in my entire life. On a personal note I have accomplished more since I have started my reading habit than I have in my entire adult life combined up until that point. And my reading habit is only two and a half years old.
The book challenge I took changed my life. Knowledge changes our world. We are wired for progress, learning, and mastery. Developing a habit of reading is such an important foundational element towards taking these steps. Thirty eight percent of third graders never read a book after the third grade and forty percent of college graduates never read a single book after college. These are dismal statistics. Only twenty-four percent of Americans read a single book last year.
This is an excerpt from Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame. He was interviewed by billionaire Ray Dalio and asked how learned about rockets. "Did you study astrophysics in college?" No I did not. "So how did you learn about rockets?" I read books.
Anything and everything you could ever want to know or learn has had a book written about it that can be your foundation to building your mastery. The average person will be hard pressed to offer a reasonable excuse to not to start to read. What will be your excuse?
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
People often ask me why I read as much as I do. Long before I even learned of the real physiological and emotional benefits of reading, my answer simply was because there is something about reading that just makes me feel good. That wasn't always the case. In fact this fairly new practice in my life would have been as foreign as aliens from outer space just a few years ago. So what's changed?
As I've written about numerous times, a few years ago I challenged myself to read one hundred books in a year. I took upon this challenge because I had read about the benefits of reading books and I also read about the reading habits of some of the most successful people in a wide variety of industries. This inspired me to do the same. Along the way I developed a habit of reading. I now make it a point to read no less than one book a week. People marvel at this when they first find out about my reading habit but in all reality if you break it down, reading one book a week is simply reading forty pages a day on average. This pace is probably no more than an forty-fives to an hour and a half a day dedicated to reading depending on your pace. In a time when surveys estimate that people average five to seven hours of screen time a day (via television, smartphone, computer, tablet) that is a mere blip on the radar in terms of time and it is time well spent because it is time invested in improving yourself.
I won't get into all the specifics about the benefits of reading books because that information is available in abundance. I will however cheer unseen benefits of reading. Since I started my reading habits I have hit a productive stride that shows no signs of letting up. I've written five book manuscripts, I started a blog, I've self published three books, I've started my own company, I started to get paid speaking engagements, in short I have more ambition, energy, drive, and determination than I have had at any point in my entire life. On a personal note I have accomplished more since I have started my reading habit than I have in my entire adult life combined up until that point. And my reading habit is only two and a half years old.
The book challenge I took changed my life. Knowledge changes our world. We are wired for progress, learning, and mastery. Developing a habit of reading is such an important foundational element towards taking these steps. Thirty eight percent of third graders never read a book after the third grade and forty percent of college graduates never read a single book after college. These are dismal statistics. Only twenty-four percent of Americans read a single book last year.
This is an excerpt from Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame. He was interviewed by billionaire Ray Dalio and asked how learned about rockets. "Did you study astrophysics in college?" No I did not. "So how did you learn about rockets?" I read books.
Anything and everything you could ever want to know or learn has had a book written about it that can be your foundation to building your mastery. The average person will be hard pressed to offer a reasonable excuse to not to start to read. What will be your excuse?
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
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