This January, the DBD Team is making resolutions to help us be better. Today Mike offers a bold resolution… and a straightforward way to make it happen.
How’s this for a bold resolution? Let’s all become richer, smarter and more emotionally intelligent. The good news regarding this resolution is that there is an easy way to make it happen for all of us: resolve to spend more time reading.
Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, when asked about the key to success, pointed to a stack of books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will.”
Related research shows that Buffet-inspired reading habits could benefit all of us in several ways:
- Interviews with 1,200 of the world’s wealthiest people indicate that they read extensively, everything from self-improvement books to autobiographies.
- It turns out that the encouragement you got from your parents and teachers to read more because it makes you smarter is supported by psychology and neuroscience research.
- Several studies have found that people who read literary fiction show higher levels of empathy and emotional intelligence.
- Research also finds that people who engage in mentally stimulating activities like reading, experience slower memory decline than those who do not.
I’ve always been a consistent reader and manage to make my way through several books a year. My favorites in 2017 include Stephen Ambrose’s “Nothing Like It in the World – The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869”, Michael Oren’s “Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East” and Angela Duckworth’s “GRIT – The Power of Passion and Perseverance.”
While I’m not in a position to commit to reading 500 pages a day, I am resolving to read more in 2018, and to create the time for doing so by reducing TV and computer screen time. To that end, my reading resolutions for 2018 are to:
- Read at least three newspapers per day, including the Wall Street Journal, to which I’ve now subscribed. Warren Buffet reads five newspapers per day, so I’m headed in the right direction!
- Read at least 15 books during the year, including fiction, non-fiction, biography and business selections. Bill Gates reads 50 books a year, which is still a bit beyond what I can hope for in 2018.
- Read from the Bible daily. My days always start better when they begin with a scripture reading
Not Warren Buffet-level reading commitments, but I’m confident these modest reading resolutions will begin to provide some of he benefits others have found from reading more, and position me for even greater reading commitments in the future.
What about you? What are you reading that you’d recommend to others? Sound off in the comments below.
