How I Read 7 Books A Week

How I Read 7 Books A Week

Do you remember when you were a little kid and your parents and teachers would always tell you to read? You had to read a book or two over the summer and write a book report, not to mention the books you had to read during the school year. If you’re like most people you dreaded the summer reading and put if off to the last minute and you most likely equally disdained the assigned reading during the school year. And if you’re honest you probably used Google or spark notes to write your book report. No doubt some of you read the entire book and some of you may have even enjoyed it, but I don’t have to tell you that you’re in the minority. Why is it that most of us dislike if not hate reading so much? Each person has their own reason; the common ones are all centered around time. It takes a good amount of time and effort to read a book. You have to really want to, or else you will likely give up and just turn to the internet. Some other common excuses are, I read to slow, I don’t like what the book is about, I don’t have time or my personal favorite I can’t. No matter what excuse you choose to give the result is, all the same, you don’t read the book. What interests me so much is why do we have such an opposition to reading when there are such clear benefits to doing it. Is it that these benefits are not properly articulated? Is it perhaps that it is because our parents and teachers were the ones telling us to do it so naturally any self-respecting kid wants to do the opposite? Maybe you didn’t grow up with parents who read all that often so you never wanted to emulate them. Again, it is probably a mix of these reasons. The one thing that is certain is that the vast majority of people, especially kids, don’t read all that often. The other thing that is certain is that the vast majority of people would be better off if they did read. Knowing that we should all be reading more, let’s figure out how to best accomplish that. First, we need to go over why reading is so important and why we should care about reading. Next, we will go over the most common excuses people give for why they’re not reading. Then we will look at some keys to being able to read all the books you want, along with going over the specifics of what you get out of all that time and effort you put into reading.

Before we can dive into what exactly we get out of reading, we need to make sure we understand why reading is so important? First and foremost, nearly all successful people read. This is just a fact. Take some time and look at most of the extremely successful people out there and more often than not they make it a habit to read. The next reason for why you should read, and this could be the most important reason, is that you’re getting the collective life wisdom from the author in a few hours where it took them a lifetime to gain that knowledge. I cannot think of a better trade off, a few hours of your time in exchange for a lifetime’s worth or wisdom and knowledge. The next reason that reading is so important revolves around knowledge. We all know that books contain some type of knowledge, albeit, not always interesting or earth-shattering information. However, the more books you read, the more knowledge you pick up, the more knowledge you pick up, the better chance you have to directly apply that knowledge to your life. Knowledge and information accumulate in your brain and builds on itself. The more of it you have and can actually apply the better.

Why Reading Is So Important

• All successful people do it
• You’re getting collective life wisdom from the author in a few hours where it took them a lifetime to gain that knowledge
• Importance of having knowledge and being able to apply it
• Knowledge and information accumulates and builds itself

Now that we know why reading is so important let’s look at the most common reasons/excuses we give for why we’re not reading. The first excuse is also the most common, and that is that we don’t have enough time to read. Yes, it is true that we are all extremely busy, but I’m willing to bet there are a few things in your life that you make time for even though you are very busy. You probably do one of these things at least a few times a week: Watch your favorite TV Show (Game of Thrones anyone?), exercise, eat lunch or dinner out, hang out with friends, look at social media, and compulsively check email. The reason you do most of these things is first because you want to but if you’re so busy how do you possibly find the time to do any of these activities? The answer is simple it is because you make these things a priority. Now I’m not saying that you have countless hours of free time to be pursuing these leisure activities, the point is that you probably have some things in your life that you simply make time for. The key is that reading has to evolve into one of those things. The next common excuse is that you don’t enjoy reading so you don’t do it. In my experience, the large majority of people dislike reading. Sure you will stumble on the occasional bookworm here and there, but most of us don’t really enjoy it all that much. Reading is similar to working out, you simply have to start, no matter how small and how painful it is at first. The simple act of starting and making yourself do it will in most cases make you slowly begin to enjoy it. Now I’m not saying you will transform into a reading machine but just like working out you are sure to get better at it and it will be less painful. The final excuse that is thrown out often is you don’t know what to read. This is certainly not due to a lack of information, with Amazon you can find virtually any book, however, with so many options it can be difficult to choose one. The same advice applies here as it does to the excuse that you don’t enjoy reading and that is to just start. It doesn’t really matter what book you choose to read simply choose one and start from there.

Why You’re Not Reading

• No Time
• Don’t enjoy it
• Don’t Know what to read

Now that we know why reading is so important and we understand the excuses we make for not reading it is time to look at some keys to being able to read all the books you want. The first and most important key to reading all the books you want is to make it a habit. This is the same tactic for any type of behavioral change. By making reading a habit, you remove choice from the equation, and it will begin to happen on its own. The best way to make it a habit is by setting standard time every day and sticking to it. That could be in the morning, at lunch, or before bed. The important thing is that it is roughly the same time every day. Also as part of making it a habit, it is important to set goals for yourself. Start with small manageable goals and then build up over time. For example, set a goal to read a certain number of pages each day. Then you can build upon that and set a goal to read a certain number of books each month. By completing your smaller goals and making it a habit, you will achieve your larger goals. The next key is to read what you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy the topic, then you won’t be able to put in the time required to finish the book so make it as easy as possible for yourself and read what you enjoy. That is directly tied to the next key which is learning how to quit. If you start a book and don’t enjoy it, then don’t force yourself to finish it, quit and go on to the next one. The next key is a basic one, and that is learning how to read faster. There are many tips and tricks on how to accomplish this, but the best one that I have come across is a speed reading article by Tim Ferriss. It increased my reading speed by 200% — 300% with no drop in retention. You can easily see how this would help you read more. It only takes about 20–30 minutes of practice to notice an increase in your reading speed. The next key is very simple as well, and that is listening to audio books. There are many times in a given day, whether that be while driving, working out, or eating a meal that you have time to listen to a book. It’s obvious that you will get through more books if you’re listening to them along with reading them. Those are the major keys to reading all of the books that you want to. However, there are a few others that are important as well I will put them in the bulleted list that follows.

Keys To Reading All Of The Books You Want

• Make it a Habit
• Morning and Night
• Certain number of pages
• Read what you enjoy
• Learn how to Quit
• Learn how to read faster (Tim Ferriss)
• Audiobooks
• Remind yourself why you’re doing it
• Accountability partner
• Join a book club
• Celebrate your wins

Now that we have looked at specific keys to reading all of the books that you want we need to finally look at what you get out of reading. The two most obvious things you get out of reading is all of the knowledge and the increase chance of success. The less obvious ones are things such as becoming a more well-rounded person along with being able to live a more fulfilled life. Overall, the tradeoff is a beneficial one, and I implore you to consider making a concentrated effort to read more often.

What You Get Out Of It

• Makes you a well-rounded person
• You will be more interesting
• All the Knowledge
• Increases chance of success
• Helps you live a more fulfilled life

Link To Tim Ferriss Speed Reading Article: http://tim.blog/2009/07/30/speed-reading-and-accelerated-learning/