Over 50% of my clients confess they haven't read a book in years. They either never have the time or just aren't really interested in reading "boring stuff" as they call it. So, my response to those is, make time. Reading is Fundamental. Remember hearing that as a child? Our teachers and parents would always emphasize the word fun. I remember hating those 3 words every time I complained about reading for homework. The truth is, as kids, we were never really explained how significant the word fundamental was when it came to reading. So here it goes.
fun·da·men·tal
adjective
forming a necessary base or core; of central importance.
- noun
a central or primary rule or principle on which something is based.
So what does this mean when it comes to reading? It means that reading is the foundation of everything. The success of your career. The success of your brand. The success of your business. The success of your company. You cannot move forward and achieve the success you desire unless you read, read, read. It is impossible to succeed without doing so. But here is the truth. Those who say they don't like reading have not yet realized that they actually do like reading. We all read and we all like it. You read everyday. You read almost every waking moment of your life from the time you open your eyes until the time they are closed. What is the first thing most of us do when we wake up? We grab our smartphones or laptops and do what? We read. We read our texts, our emails, the news, our Facebook news feed. What do we do while commuting? We read billboards while we ride in the passengers seat of a car. We read those same ads we see everyday on the train on the way to work. We read celebrity gossip. We read blogs on beauty tips. We read up on the latest sports news. We read those articles that always pop up about relationship advice. I could go on and on. The point is that we do in fact read. Why do we read these things if we don't like to read? We read them because they interest us, inform us and occasionally educate us. So why do we roll our eyes when it comes to reading a book that will give us knowledge, educate us and help us propel in our career or business? Why? Because subconsciously we are led to believe that reading is something that we have to do and not necessarily something we want to do.
When I was a child I loved reading. I could read all day as long as I was reading the books I wanted to read. Hand me a textbook or a book from the school reading list and I thought I was going to die. I told myself that I hated reading. That it was boring. That was far from the truth. I just loved reading what I wanted to read. I wanted to read the things that I was interested in. This is why people tend to not want to read books, especially books that would help them advance. I understand. I've been there. I spent months as a business owner with not one dime being made because I didn't know how to run a business. I didn't know how to get clients. I didn't know how to make money. I didn't know how to market my business. I didn't know that I could march into Barnes and Noble and find a book dedicated to my business that would give me almost all the information I needed to make my first dollar. Eventually I did. About a month later, I had my first client. Fast forward to today and I have a library full of books about business, health, wealth, investing, tax strategies, mindful thinking, autobiographies, biographies, leadership and everything else you could think of.
I am constantly reading. I am constantly learning. I don't have to force myself to read. I do it naturally. I do it because I love it. I do it because it interests me. I do it because I love business and I love money and reading is what helps me make more money. Don't you want to make more money? Then read. Read when you wake up. Read during breakfast. Read while on the treadmill. Read while on your lunch break. Read while sitting on the train to and from work. Read while taking a bath. Read before bedtime. Just read. You have time. You have always had time. You just chose to do something else with your time such as reading all the memes on your Facebook page while on the toilet. You want to know what I do while on the toilet? I read. That's right. I have a book sitting on a shelf in my bathroom and whenever I know I'm about to spend a great deal of time in there, I pick up the book and read. I know. I didn't have to share such details with you. That may be too much information but I'm trying to make a point. I'm trying to make a point that we all have time regardless of our lifestyle or schedule. So stop making excuses. You want to be successful? You want to be the best YOU that YOU could be? You want to retire before you hit that mid-life crisis? Read.
Before you complain about not knowing where to start or what books you should read, here are a few books that I highly recommend. You can find them at your local Barnes and Noble or Amazon
-The Young Entrepreneur's Guide To Starting & Running A Business (Steve Mariotii with Debra Desalvo)
-Be Obsessed or Be Average (Grant Cardone)
-Super Rich – A Guide To Having It All (Russell Simmons with Chris Morrow)
-The 4-Hour Workweek (Time Ferriss)