Last year I finished 112 books and the impact was life changing. I became more inquisitive, exposed myself to new perspectives, learned new skills, and tapped into great minds such as Elon Musk, Robert Greene, Bob Iger, Brian Tracy, and Ryan Holiday. Reading can be an entertaining distraction, but for me I enjoy reading the most when I’m learning something new. If there’s a topic I find interesting, a skill I’m focused on improving, or in need of beefing up an area that I’d like to be more knowledgeable of I’d hit the books. Over the last year I rode this wave of passion and read topics ranging from autobiographies, biographies, personal development, and what I call inspirational fantasy (a clever spin for fantasy books like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones).
I’ve always loved reading, even though my reading and comprehension scores were low growing up, looking back I can tell you it’s because I got bored easy. If I found a topic, story, or author I enjoyed I could speed through a book faster than Moses through the Red Sea (Braveheart reference 1992). As life became busier in the mind of a teenager I read less and less until I was in college. As a double major in history there were assignments that required reading 2-3 books a week, digesting them fast, and producing an essay before the upcoming Monday. As I burned through assigned readings I had an epiphany. If I could apply myself to read nonsense books about topics like maritime history, what about books that I was actually interested in?
At that moment, I became a dangerous addict. I began ordering books from the library, buying second hand online, and borrowing from friends. I had stacks of books next to my bed, on my desk, and even one or two in the bathroom. Of all the addictions to have this is probably the most benign.
To go back to 2023, what I experienced can be summed up by an idea from Friedrich Nietzsche.
“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die.”🐍
The more I read, the more I noticed my thinking evolve. The way my mind processed ideas became more mature. I asked questions, made comparisons, analyzed, found meaning in personal application, and could find parallel ideas to other authors I’d read. The idea of “shedding one’s skin” reminds me of applying updates to one’s skills, emotional awareness, and intelligence. When reading learning and development books, I’d find common ideas or success principles repeated by multiple authors. I’m compiling a list of those and I’ll share it in a future blog, more to come on that. One of those is the ability to keep moving forward with learning regardless of circumstance. Brian Tracy calls this the CANEI principle, which is, Continuous And Never Ending Improvement 🏋️♀️ Patrick Bet David in his new book Choose Your Enemies Wisely stresses the importance of never remaining complacent, even after achieving big goals. In the corporate world a healthy company will allocate 2-2.5% of its budget on learning and development for its employees. To reemphasize the message here, successful people are made by closing the gap between ignorance and knowledgeable.
On an organizational level I’d relate this concept to the critical process tech companies schedule regularly, and that is software updates. These updates are aimed at enhancing protection against viruses, data safety, optimizes efficiency, improves performance, minimizes costs, and patches needed fixes. When it comes to applying software updates look no further than Apple. Their products are constantly undergoing changes, and not just to hardware. Every quarter there are improvements to security, performance, and features related to the user experience. Their actions align and represent their slogan, “Think Different.” As a result, their success and innovation has expanded from computers into phones, watches, tablets, animation, streaming and now immersive reality.
The process of undergoing software updates can certainly be applied on a human level. Famous examples include Shaquille O’Neill or even 50 Cent 🪙. Shaquille O’Neill played in the NBA for 19 years, but instead of staying exclusively with basketball he’s developed a very diverse portfolio of skills. As an entrepreneur he’s started fast food restaurants, gyms, pretzel shops, car washes, nightclubs, shopping centers, and movie theaters. It’s also worth mentioning he’s a touring DJ known as “DJ Diesel.” 🪩 And in 2012 he obtained his EdD. Curtis Jackson, commonly known as 50 Cent has maneuvered his career and pursued opportunities that with a Google search of what he’s doing now returns an impressive list. He’s a rapper, a television producer, a screenwriter, record producer, an author, and investor. Recently I finished the 50th Law, which was written by 50 and Robert Greene the author of The 48 Laws of Power. He shares a bit of wisdom that’s aligned with the message for pursuing continual learning and development.
“Let go of your preconceptions and even your most cherished beliefs. Experiment. Force yourself to hold the opposite opinion or see the world through your enemy’s eyes. Listen to the people around you with more attentiveness. See everything as a source for education—even the most banal encounters. Imagine that the world is still full of mystery.”
The key to experimenting with your beliefs, preconceptions, or as 50 said “forcing yourself to see the opposite opinion,” is to actively seek opportunities for learning. We’re fortunate enough to live at a time when knowledge and expertise has become democratized. All that wisdom, insight, and thoughts from history’s GOATs is at our fingertips. How cool is that you can go grocery shopping, commute to work, go to the bathroom, or sit in bed with individuals like Elon Musk, Napoleon Hill, Sun Tzu, or Stephen King whispering in your ear? Don’t take me literal here, I just think it’s funny to imagine these individuals accompanying you everywhere while they drop million-dollar wisdom and experiences with you. My point is that you can listen or read anywhere you go, and the fact that we have access to the minds of the greats so readily available to us is a privilege and an underutilized resource. I’m wildly biased when I say this, but reading in my opinion is the most beneficial medium for absorbing knowledge. Our brain digests and presents that information in our imagination which then creates a personalized unique experience.
Another way I think about reading, is it’s like downloading someone else’s wisdom and experiences into another brain🔌. If you’re wanting to improve an area of expertise, develop certain attributes, or find inspiration you can immerse yourself in that topic. When I’m reading to learn, I’ll typically get a fat stack of books in the subject of interest and binge. And I love binge reading, but only when it’s focused on a topic. That way the information received supports one another, provides other perspectives, or cements itself in the mind as those principles are repeated across several books and authors.
As a disclaimer 🚨 I’ve found that binge reading is more effective when there’s a focus. If there’s no focus, it’s like going to the gym without a plan. It’s beneficial to go regardless, but if there’s a specific muscle group for that session, your muscles will get a better exercise as compared to doing a random mix of lifts. The idea is to get the highest return from your efforts. 💪
Here’s an example of a process that’s worked for me:
1) I identify a subject based on your current itch. I practiced this last year, for 30 days I would dedicate at least an hour to reading/listening to experts in the field I’d chosen.
2) Google and compile a list of books in that genre or field. Last March I focused on becoming more financially minded, so I read books and listened to Podcasts ranging from Dave Ramsey, the Psychology of Money, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and the Richest Man in Babylon.
3) I’ll order those books from several resources. I use Libby which provides free electronic and audiobooks. If it’s not there I’ll use an Audible credit or buy secondhand from ThriftBooks or Amazon. And if you’re very limited on time, try out websites like Blinkist to get the main ideas and principles.
4) Read/listen to as many of those books as you can in 30 days. I commit to a minimum of one hour every day, but you can certainly do more or less.
In the example above about becoming more financially minded, I drowned myself in books and information about investing, budgeting, side hustles, and best practices for managing money. Throughout this process I turned my brain into a mining pan and was able to catch metaphorical golden nuggets⛏️ . Below I’ve included a quick snapshot of quotes and ideas that I found beneficial.
Richest Man in Babylon 🏛️
“The more of wisdom we know, the more we may earn. That man who seeks to learn more of his craft shall be richly rewarded. If he is an artisan, he may seek to learn the methods and the tools of those most skillful in the same line. If he laboreth at the law or at healing, he may consult and exchange knowledge with others of his calling. (And) If he be a merchant, he may continually seek better goods that can be purchased at lower prices.”
“Study thoughtfully thy accustomed habits of living. Herein may be most often found certain accepted expenses that may wisely be reduced or eliminated.”
Rich Dad Poor Dad 👨
“The rich buy assets. The poor only have expenses. The middle class buy liabilities they think are assets.”
“The poor and the middle-class work for money. The rich have money work for them.”
The Psychology of Money 💰
“Being a successful investor is not about making the right decisions. It’s about consistently not making the wrong ones.”
“Wealth is hidden. It’s income not spent. So the real measure of financial success is not the size of your income but the size of your savings rate.”
And that was my software update to become better with money. As more and more blog posts come out, I’ll include my 30 day personal challenges so you can pick and choose what will help you grow and improve. To summarize what I’ve discussed I’ve included 3 takeaways. Reading provides:
1. Software Updates to Your Brain 💻
2. Power for the Mind 🧠
3. Wisdom from Goats 🐐
To knock this out of the park I’m going to reference a story from Get Smart! by Brian Tracy. Einstein was asked by a teacher how he could justify giving the same test to his students year after year. His response to the colleague, “the answers have changed.”
With new discoveries it’s important to expand and update our brains. It pays dividends in the form of wisdom, building a fierce mind, establishing independence from group think, becoming more teachable, prepares for career pivots, a competitive advantage from those around you, it enhances the ability to recognize opportunities, and avoid dangers 🛡️.
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In conclusion, it’s 1:00am and as I write this I’m exhilarated to be releasing what will be the first of many posts. As Michael Jordan once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I’m an advocate for taking shots when the opportunity presents itself, and this is something I’ve been itching to start. I’m excited to be opening up about one of my passions. I want to thank you for taking the time to read this first post. With the myriad of things online screaming out for attention, I’m humbled you’ve given me yours. I promise I won’t disappoint, please DM me if you have feedback, book recommendations, bookstores I should visit, or are interested in collaborations.
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