Why You must read Books

Do you have all the time in the world to make all the mistakes and learn from them! The average life expectancy worldwide is approximately 71 years (wiki), out of which we spend one fourth of it growing and becoming aware our own selves. We also spend quality time on our careers, health, family and hobbies. This leaves us with very less time to experience life in totality.

We are aware that we are missing out on a lot of experiences in life and that we don’t have time to make all the mistakes and learn. I know experiential learning is the fastest way to learn yet we can fasten our learning through a tool which is the most recommended one. This tool has been endorsed and used by successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey to name a few. And this tool is called Reading.

Reading helps you widen your mental horizon and experiences. Do you know - Steve jobs read a quote which changed his life and guided him to a path of self-discovery! Oprah Winfrey has an online book club to empower people through sharing powerful ideas and books! Warren Buffet, one of the world’s richest men, is himself an author of best sellers on how to make money! This tool has changed the lives of several people and set them on a path of success and a stress free life.

This tool has helped me find my passion and live my dream life, and if this has worked for me and a million others, it can help you too. Reading has helped me understand that I am not alone in this world having a unique experience but there are others who have already trodden this path and have become widely successful. I’ve read stories of people who are masters in my professional domain and take notes on what all they did that made them unique and successful. Reading autobiographies of Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Branson was like having a conversation with them.

Reading books by motivational speakers like Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Les Brown etc. influenced my work and hence I was successful in distinguishing myself from my peers in the domain of corporate training. We don’t have direct access to leaders but we do have access to their minds in forms of books written by/on them.

You also get a wealth of useful information in one book. The author invests thousands of hours of reading to get multiple ideas, which he ties into a web of words, so that it can be of use to the readers. He helps you save your time and energy which you would have spent in learning those things on your own. There are many people who have accomplished the goals you have today or who have already mastered the domain in which you are still progressing. Read books on such people and find what all they did in their lives which made them successful, what beliefs they carried in their lives, how did they think, who helped them start and run their business, how did they develop their skillsets.

Here is a list of books which have helped me make a turnaround in my life and I firmly believe they will do the same for you - Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles, Man’s search for meaning by Viktor Frankl, Think and Grow Rich by Norman V Peale, The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David Schwartz, Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins, Who moved my cheese by Spencer Johnson, The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy, Mindset by Carol S Dweck.

Just like any other habit, reading takes time to develop and once developed it’s hard to forgo. If you are a starter, then pick up books that interest you. Read material which adds value to your life. One of the legendary US Presidents, Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”. Reading is just like sharpening your axe. It will expose you to contemporary concepts, creative ideas, vital information and key insights, which may help you turn around your career, health, business and relationships.

No matter what you are going through today, know that there is someone who has experienced the same or atleast faced similar situations and has risen above it. Read about such people and learn from them. Reading is just like investing in your future, the more you invest the more returns you get.

By:Nishit lal