Bill Gates is worth an estimated $135 Billion, and he has never hidden the fact that one of the secrets to his success is that he reads at least 50 books a year.
This is on average at least one book a week. While he admits that having conversations with other people and traveling have helped his success, the way he tests his understanding and learns new things is by reading.
So does reading lead to success?
Reading definitely helps to succeed in life. It gives you priceless knowledge from experts who have already succeeded in a certain field. However, reading and then taking action is required to succeed in life.
Why reading will help you be successful?
If you can flashback to your earliest days in school you'll probably be able to remember how your teachers explained that reading is essential to fulfillment and success.
Most people know someone who is hard-working smart and successful. If you ask them if they read a lot, chances are they'll tell you that they do. Research is indicated that being an avid reader can help you be successful because reading helps with the following
1. Help increase your ability to focus
Focus is crucial to success and the ability to remain committed to a task for a long period of time could ensure that the process passes more successfully and quickly.
Savage readers struggle to put down good books as they derive so much pleasure from the process this focus is easily transferable to other tasks that readers are passionate about
2. Setting goals is easier
Most readers commonly said goals when they find the time to sit down relax with a good book. What's this school is to finish one chapter or a certain number of pages within a given time is irrelevant.
Is that reader's actively set pursue and achieve goals I say transfer this skill to the workplace goals are just a normal part of their everyday life
3. Time management skills
Not everyone is Warren Buffett, we called delegate 6 hours a day to read. Instead, we might have to grab 20 minutes here and there to enjoy our latest book.
However, this time is always used valuably and it's a trade of successful people that when they have the opportunity to accomplish a goal or learn something new they rarely have ever wasted time.
Understand how important it is and that you only have 24 hours in the day. These hours need to be spent wisely especially if you need to find time to pursue your reading hobby
4 Reading offers a unique perspective
Avid readers don't just focus on one topic they're happy to read a wide variety of different types of literature which offers them different perspectives on certain topics and issues.
For example, Bill Clinton stated that two of his favorite books were "I know why the caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou and "The Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison. He explained that his novels offered him a unique inside and perspective when it comes to dealing with the complex nature of race relations especially as it pertains to politics.
One of the key skills you'll learn as an avid reader is the ability to put yourself in someone else's situation and view topics from their perspectives this would provide you with invaluable skills for the rest of your life
5. Reading can help you reflect
On top of gaining a different perspective on a topic or issue reading allows you to reflect on what you have learned apart from being able to see a topic or issue from someone else's perspective reflecting on this topic can help you become more productive and it's a consequence simply reading some words on a page I can't have a profound impact on your life and your overall success.
6 Become a better communicator
Reading will undoubtedly help you with your speaking and writing skills. Some of the world's greatest auditors were enthusiastic readers.
Whether you're discussing Nelson Mandela, Lincoln or Demosthenes, all of these are role models for orators across the world, and part of their story surrounds their passion for reading. If you could be listed as better public speakers as they have the passion as well as the knowledge gained from decades of reading
7. Helps you remember
The more time you spend reading the better you'll begin to understand the power of your brain and more importantly your memory. Despite what you may have been told your brain has a virtual unlimited capacity to absorb information.
The more you study the more you read the more you can learn it's as simple as that. The Lord I may spend a book the easier it will become for you to retain information. Too many people prescribed to the belief that learning something new simply pushes something old you've learned out of the equation.
This is simply not the case if you commit to reading on a regular basis you'll quickly see your memory increasing and as a consequence your ability to learn more
8. Helps keep you up to date and fresh
Reading doesn't necessarily mean reading a book. You can read and if I do different shapes or forms to be honest most people spend their days reading on their smartphones.
Whatever medium you use, remember your brain is a muscle the more you exercise it, the better shape it will be in to keep your mind sharp and in shape feed it with information and knowledge.
By exercising your brain on a daily basis what do you doing brain teasers crossword puzzles are reading you will become happy to be successful as you will view challenges just as something you need to overcome and you will see your mind's capacity to resolve virtually any issue that's what in front of it
9. Reading helps you relax
Most successful people in the world admit that reading is just a way for them to tune up and relax. Well, this doesn't mean that they're completely switching themselves off from the opportunity to learn they don't see the problem with picking up a graphic novel or a trashy magazine every now and then.
Reading the gossip columns and sometimes just be as beneficial as reading the latest out of biography. Either I'm going to be better than wasting your time in a bar on a Friday or Saturday night. Successful people don't waste any minutes of their day they take every opportunity to improve themselves and keep their minds as fresh as Focus as possible
Do all successful people read books?
This is a difficult question to answer with absolute certainty, but when you look at the list of the worlds most successful people, most do agree that they enjoy reading, and they appear to read quite a lot.
For example, Warren Buffet says he spends at least 6 hours a day reading, Bill Gates spends hours reading books. The list can go on and on...
I'm pretty sure most successful people read books. Also, I'm pretty sure that not every successful person read a book.
I think that reading is a rule in the world of success, and there are many exceptions to this rule.
What books will guarantee you success in life?
When you're talking about some of the world's most successful people did you share many things in common outside of being extremely wealthy?
One of the things that they all agree upon as being a secret to their success is that reading has helped them in many aspects of their personal and professional lives. Here are just five books recommended by some of the world's most successful people
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Bill Gates, recommends everyone should read “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, By David Epstein”.
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Mark Cuban, recommends you read “Rework by David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson”.
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Mark Zuckerberg, recommends that everyone read “Zero to One by Peter Thiel”.
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Oprah Winfrey, recommends you read "A Return To Love" by Marianne Williamson.
- Elon Musk, recommends everyone read “Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes”
How often should you read to become successful?
Research is indicated that if you read more than seven books a year you are nearly 125% more likely to be a millionaire than someone who reads less than half that. This information comes from the renowned so socio-economic experts Randall Bell. Successful people are lifelong learners and reading is an essential part of the time they spend.
It needs time to get the opportunity to pick up a newspaper of their phone or book they simply want to assemble. They take any opportunity possible to expand their horizons and increase their knowledge base.
Whether they're reading autobiographies, fictional novels, or fantasy, anything that can help them learn a new skill that they can carry into their lives both personal and professional will be grasped with both hands.
Is reading alone enough to make you successful?
Obviously not, information alone is not going to make you successful but reading will provide you with many of the skills and tools you need.
How successful you are is usually down to what you do with the skills you learn. Most successful people read a lot, but they also do the following;
- They eat healthy to feed their bodies and brains.
- They consistently try to improve
- They get up early
- They live balanced lives
- They remain positive
- They meditate
- They try to be as productive as possible
