In 1992 I first learned of the habit of reading one book every week, with most of them being in the field in which you desire to develop expertise.
If you read 50 books on sales this year, will that make a difference in your success at selling? No doubt.
I decided to adopt that habit back then, and now a dozen years later, I have indeed read about 600 books during that time with most of them being broadly within the field of personal development.
You may be suffering from a lack of motivation, but reading about motivation and trying to motivate yourself may get you nowhere.
You may read books on diet and exercise, and then you go out and don’t apply them.
The actual knowledge and the new distinctions you gain from reading are not the main benefit.
My experience has shown me that the real benefit comes not from what you read but rather from the habit of reading.
When you read a new book every week, you condition your mind to keep taking in new knowledge.
Frequent reading fires up your neural activity, even during the periods when you aren’t reading.
It isn’t the reading of a single book that matters as much as the habit of reading every day.
It’s easy to identify people who read a lot because every time you talk to them they have some fresh ideas or anecdotes to share.
When you talk to people who haven’t read a new book all year, their thoughts are more stale, and a month later they’re still saying the same things, complaining about the same problems, stuck in a mental rut.
You wouldn’t say, “Tell me what workout I can do on Saturday to achieve fitness.” And it’s just as silly to say, “Tell me what book I can read to overcome procrastination.” Just as toning your body requires the HABIT of regular exercise, toning your mind requires the ongoing habit of reading.
Within a few weeks of maintaining the habit of daily reading, you’ll begin to notice some powerful results.
An added side effect is that your self esteem will gain a boost as well, especially if you read a lot of empowering books.
Reading a book a week is an enormously worthwhile habit.
All that’s required is to set aside 30-60 minutes each day for reading, sit down, and read. But the best part is that you can double it up with physical exercise.
All of the above applies not just to reading of course but to the general practice of absorbing new information, including seminars, audio programs, meaningful conversations, classes, etc.
Reading articles or blog entries online is also helpful, assuming you’re learning new ideas that challenge you and which make you think.
If you forget it as soon as you read it, it won’t be of much value.
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