Mackenzie Mayer – Shape Your Happiness

Reading books every day is a commitment that everyone should aim to do. If you have struggled or felt not interested in reading, trust me, that was me for most of my life. I am here writing this post as reading has benefited my mindset and improvement in my life. I am here to motivate you to take up daily reading and make it a priority in life! How much should you read daily? You should read at least 30 minutes a day. This answer may differ from person to person, as everyone has a different schedule. Find something that interests you, and go for it! Always remember, there is no such thing as reading too much. Of course, someone who doesn’t read could start even 15-20 minutes a day and ease into it. I personally would set it for a solid 30 minutes, though, and try to ensure that it is a high-quality book. Some Tips On Reading Below are some tips that have helped me with reading. These are just some ideas and tips that I hope will help you with your reading journey! 1. The books purpose. To begin, you should always establish what the purpose is to behind reading a particular book. Like I mentioned, always try to pick a high-quality book. Knowing who you learn from and the information you gather can be quite life-changing, so always look for experts and look into the author's credibility. Ensure it is from experts in their field and put some research into the book before buying and reading it. It is better to learn information from a great book than reading 10-15 not so good books 2. Slow down. Another tip, take your time with it. There is a hype around speed reading and trying to get through the book as quickly as possible. I would encourage you to read slowly and digest the material. Read slowly, try taking some notes, or even highlight. These little techniques can greatly improve the amount you take in from your read. You can always go back and re-look over your notes and highlighted sections to refresh the important points. 3. Take Action. One of the most important reading concepts is to take what you learned from the book and somehow use it moving forward. Even if it was a bad book, you could move forward by doing more research next time before you begin reading a book. In most cases, you probably learned how to improve some area of your life from the advice or experience of the author. Try to apply what you learn in the book and take action on it. Just reading alone may open your mind up to some ideas, but the most important thing is to take what you have learned and apply it to your life. 4. Refresh As I mentioned earlier, it is always a good idea to go back to a book and refresh the content you have learned. If you have taken notes, this can be an awesome way to take key takeaways that you grasped through the first read. If you like using apps, I started using Blinkist, and I have found it to be a simplistic way to refresh past books. They have a set of blinks per book, which are the key topics that are covered. If I have 10-15 minutes to spare, I will look up an old book on Blinkist and go over some key takeaways. It's perfect in instances where you forgot to bring a book and you have some time to kill. The Proof Is In The Pudding I don’t want to give you my opinion on reading and not have some facts. One of the things I enjoy doing is looking at ultra-successful people and figuring out characteristics and habits about them that make them who they are. One key habit that most of them have is their dedication to reading. I will list a few of them below. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader” Warren Buffet – Warren is one of the greatest investors of our time and he states that he dedicates 80% of his time each day to reading. Knowledge builds up like compound interest, and he reads roughly 500 pages a day. As his business partner, Charlie Munger would quote “Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.” Bill Gates – The co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist. He reads roughly about 50 books a year, almost one a week. Bill also takes steps in his reading to ensure he is taking in and digesting the information. Elon Musk – Chief executive officer of Tesla, co-founder of PayPal, and founded SpaceX. Elon states that he loves to read biographies especially the book Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. He also stated that the famous book, “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” by Adams, Douglas had a profound effect on him and his mindset. Some Of My Favorite Book Recommendations Below are some of my favorite book recommendations. I have read all of the following, and I received great value from them. I would encourage you to try one in an area that piques your interest. Outwitting The Devil – Napoleon Hill Your Money Or Your Life – Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl The Tightwad Gazette – Amy Dacyczyn Make Your Bed – Admiral William H. Mcraven(RET) The Miracle Morning – Hal Elrod The 5 Love Languages – Gary Chapman Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki The Starfish And The Spider – Ori Bradman and Rod A. Bekstrom Final Thoughts Reading every day is a habit that even the busiest people seem to be able to do. They make it a priority because they understand how important this habit can be. Reading has several benefits, such as increased vocabulary, improves memory, and reduces stress, just to name a few. Most people have heard of the saying, “who and what we surround ourselves with is who and what we become.” Sometimes in life, we may find ourselves around people where we know they are not pushing us. We tend to want to find role models, but sometimes they are not around. Now what? Well, I encourage you that by reading, you will get in the mind of great people to be around. You can find great books to become your influence and help you grow and stretch. You can get into the author’s mind and see their values, experiences, the mindset in life. You can pick and choose who is going to be your influence. When I was young, I was not an avid reader. Actually, I wouldn't say I liked it a lot. It might have just been my childish behavior of just being interested in other things. I sometimes recall that I was not very interested in the books that I was supposed to read. As an adult, I decided to finish some books as I developed a hunger for knowledge and growth. I wanted to go deep on certain topics and not just scratch the surface like I usually did. From my personal experience, I can say that reading has been a game-changer for me. It has helped me open my mind to things I used to have a fixed mindset on. Reading is never a waste of time. Something as simple as a book can have a huge impact on your life. So start reading today, as your future self will be thanking you!