Ever Wondered What Successful People Read?
Ever Wondered What Successful People Read?
If you have ever wondered how they shape their thoughts that eventually churn into powerful actions, then this post is for you to explore exactly that.
The first they work with is five-hour rule introduced by Micheal Simmons which involves deliberate learning for at least five hours a week or one hour each working day. The significant part of this concept revolves around reading.
Let's discover CEOs who read and what they read:
Source: Iconic Voices With Jeff Cunnings
Billionaire Warren Buffet who leads Berkshire Hathaway sticks to the "Go to bed smarter than when you woke up." In his interview with Jeff Cunnings, Buffett shared his views on many parts of his life as a CEO, public speaking or staying updated to start with.
And in the above video link, we can see how he emphasised how he learns, "I just read and read and read. I read five to six hours a day." He further added what does he read, "I read five daily newspapers, a fair number of magazines, annual reports and a lot of other things too."
Business Adventures Twelve Classic Tales From the World of Wall Street
Stress Test Reflections on Financial Crises
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings
The Intelligent Investor The Definitive Book on Value Investing
Security Analysis Principles and Technique
Source: Quartz
Yes, reading books is beneficial. But what matters more is how you read the book and do not waste your time and energy. Find out how Bill Gates' views the best ways to read books:
Take notes in the margins: It allows him to write down his thoughts about the topic he is reading.
Don't start a book that you can't finish: He sticks to his rule of reading books he can finish.
Paper Books over e-Books: Eventually maybe the shift may come, but before that, paper books are going to be there.
Block out an hour for reading: No 5 or 15 minutes here and there. Bill puts an hour aside to read at night
The Choice' by Dr Edith Eva Eger
'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell
The Ride of a Lifetime' by Robert Iger
'The Great Influenza' by John M. Barry
'Good Economics for Hard Times' by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo
Source: CNN
An attorney, politician 44th and first African-American President of the United States, and an author, Barack Obama's famous keynote at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 is when he shared his unique biography, is also infamous as a speech that made Obama President. But long before his speech at DNC in 2004, Obama spent years writing ( and failing at writing) his story. What helped him was reading.
While his favourite book is Bible, in college, Obama encountered two approaches to literature: reading for empathy and reading for an ideology which can be also put as reading like a novelist and reading like an English professor. Obama seemed to side with the novelists.
'The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company'
'Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Har
'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernardine Evaristo
'The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890
'Lost Children Archive' by Valeria Luiselli
Source: OWN
Oprah Winfrey is synonymous to a strong personality and her name has to be in the 'successful people who read' article. Oprah's love for reading is not hidden from the world. She has mentioned time and again how the 'joy of reading' cannot be replaced by any other thing or activity. Her book club, Oprah's Book Club inclusive of 86 books.
Listening to her say, "Have you ever met a person who was a great reader when they were young and was not successful?" essentially defines, how important reading is in the life of one of the richest women in the world.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
American Dirt: A Novel
Olive, Again (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel
Becoming by Michelle Obama
These leaders are living examples of how reading can change your world. Their reading lists represent the topics that found interesting, it can significantly display how they think and how much they know.
Yes, the number of books they read is intimidating especially if you are not that of an avid reader. But you can start building your reading list by deciding what interests you, giving it time in your daily schedule and you can become one.
And if you have read any of the books mentioned above. Do let us know in the comments section, how did you feel about them. Here is a reading list of top books every entrepreneur must-read.
Happy reading and growing!
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