Do you get shocked when people say they do not read books?
I do. Usually, I say: “That’s ok, Audible and Blinkest count too.”
Then, they say they don’t do that either. That is when I don’t know what to say.
Everyone has their reasons. Some say that they don’t have the time.
To me, that is like saying you don’t have time to breathe…
You are constantly filling your mind. It is your choice to decide what to fill it with.
If you have 3 minutes to read the news or scroll Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or ESPN, you also have 3 minutes to read.
Since more than a quarter of all US Adults didn’t read a book last year, yet watch a few hours of TV per day, those 3 minutes can really make a difference.
If you just read three minutes a day, in a year you would have read for 18 hours. For a slow reading speed of 60 words a minute that is over 3 average sized business books per year! Imagine, 3 books, up from ZERO, on only 3-minutes day.
Could be life changing. You can start today.
Everyone can become a better “reader”. No one is “not good at reading (listening)”, some of us just don’t do it enough.
Reading helps in a variety of ways.
Books can be a source of knowledge. All knowledge is better coming from the source. Find the closest point to the source and soak up that knowledge.
Besides knowledge, there are a few other reasons that reading books can be helpful:
Stress reduction.
Less Stress = Less Anxiety
Reading allows you to step outside of your current problem and look into another world, read the mind of someone else. You can get centered and find balance as you read.
Better vocabulary and writing skills.
The better you express yourself, the more influence you have. Read more so you can do more.
You could live longer.
Yale researchers said so. They studied 3,635 people over the age of 50 and found some incredible correlations. People who read books at least 30 minutes per day lived on average 23 months longer. Now that is awesome. It might not be because of the reading, it might be that people who read are naturally more active, or take better care of their bodies, or have better inter-personal relationships. Or, maybe what they read helped them decide to make better decisions. The actual reason doesn’t really matter, if you read books more, you will probably live a bit longer.
Improved memory.
Not sure if this is proven, I just anecdotally know the people who read the most can remember the most. It is the same with me as well, the more I read, the more I remember.
You could become a bit more open-minded.
Reading helps you see things from different perspectives. By being flexible and adaptable and not always needing closure you can formulate ideas that are traditionally not accepted, thus allowing new opportunities to be born.
Deeper situational awareness.
Your life is made up of intersecting situations. When you read you can see how the storylines, plots, and characters all weave together, and you will be able to notice similar patterns in real life. When you can see the big picture, your actions will always be better.
Since I left university I have read an average of 53 non-fiction books per year for a total of 636 books since June 2006.
The 80/20 rule is real. Of the books I have read so far, 20% really standout.
Here are the top 127 (20%) non-fiction books that I truly think everyone can benefit from. These are the books that have opened my mind, helped define my thoughts and influenced my actions.
They can guide you as well.
None of these books are scripture, none are sacred… yet, I bet they were all inspired.
They are listed by general category and in random order. If you would like to know the order I think they should be read, just send me a message on LinkedIn.
The books:
Personal Development
5. The Power of Positive Thinking
9. Principles
12. The Book of Joy
14. Unwind
15. Daring Greatly
22. I Am
Relationship Growth
4. EQ, Applied
5. The Bonds That Make Us Free
Achievement
2. So Good They Can’t Ignore You
3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
9. Aspire
11. How Will You Measure Your Life?
13. Deep Work
14. GUTS
15. Believe You Can
16. The Art of Work
18. Thrive
Sales
3. The Art of Commercial Conversations
4. Stop Selling & Start Leading
5. Emotional Intelligence For Sales Success
11. Sales Managers Survival Guide
12. To Sell is Human
13. Sales Models
15. Never Split The Difference
17. The Only Sales Guide You Will Ever Need
18. Sales EQ
19. SPIN Selling
21. Whale Hunting With Global Accounts
22. Heart & Sell
24. The Greatest Salesman in The World
25. How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling
30. Sales Management. Simplified.
32. Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions
33. Key Account Hack
35. The Pocket Guide For Sales Survival
37. MegaDeals
Leadership
2. Leadership and Self-Deception
4. The Go-Giver
14. Start With Why
16. Radical Candor
17. Emotional Intelligence at Work
18. The Culture Code
19. The Seven Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty
Marketing & Influence
4. Influence
5. A Technique for Producing Ideas
6. Chief Marketing Officers at Work
9. Drive
10. Top of Mind
12. Captivate
14. How to Get a Meeting With Anyone
15. It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be
16. Buy-ology
17. The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill
Writing
2. The Best Punctuation Book. Period.
4. On Writing
There they are. Now start reading. Books only help when you take action. When you know what to do, taking action is so much easier. Books help you know what to do.
Take some time to read more. You will become a better version of yourself if you read more books.
You are stronger than you think you are. You are more capable than you know.
You will help others and create a lasting impact. You can do it. Keep going.
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