How I Learned to Love to Read and Found Life Changing Books
I went from hating to read to reading over 100 books in ten years (24 of which were in 2021). Growing up, the only way I would read books is if it was a school assignment or if there was a Pizza Hut pizza at the end of that book. That relationship with reading continued through college and into the first few years of my professional life. That all changed when I made a conscious decision that when I was flying for work, I would fire up my Kindle instead of my laptop. As I reflect back on that transition, I found a few key learnings and a number of books that impacted me most. Here they are for you.
Key Learnings
Just Start Reading
I used to worry about not knowing what to read. I quickly found that mindset had no merit as I ran from book to book with new recommendations from almost every book I read. I just followed the trail and let the books I was reading guide my interests. Every book led to more books that I wanted to read.
Set Time on Your Calendar
I set at least 30 - 45 minutes a day aside for reading. I found that the morning time, after eating breakfast, worked best for me. While consistency may vary due to busy schedules or urgent deadlines, I found that I can quickly return back to that schedule.
Invest in a Comfy Chair
Literally, zero regrets. Nothing more to say here.
If You’re Not Feeling the Book, Stop Reading
This was a struggle for me. I initially felt like I had to finish every book I started. That got old real quick. I realized that for many personal development books, they had two to three solid chapters of content with a lot of fluff. If I stopped getting value or was dreading opening up the book, I simply stopped. To my relief, no one popped around the corner to judge me.
Find Your Genres
You won’t find a lot of fiction books in my list. This isn’t intentional. There was a short affair with spy novels, but that quickly wore off. I found I enjoyed the visual depiction of movies better and would rather spend reading time engrossed in thinking exercises rather than visual interpretations of the scenes.
My Genre Breakdown
As you can see from the graph below, I gravitate towards personal development, business, and biographies. A good friend once asked me why I liked personal development books so much. The question stumped me. After much thought, I replied “because I can always find ways to improve”. I found that while reading business and biographies, I was making mental models of what worked and what didn’t. I always found that if you could be better than you were yesterday, things tend to work out. Best to learn from others in addition to my personal experiences.
Book genre breakdown as of March 2022
Books that Forever Changed Me
When I say “forever changed me”, I mean my mindset. Many of the books listed taught me a new concept or way of thinking - a new perspective on the world. Some of these shaped my way of viewing finances and investments, others on leadership. For the biographies, I see it as a time machine into their thought processes and how they viewed life. I think that is why I continue to read now - why I switched my viewpoint on reading. It allows me to gain insights from other people - their experiences, their lives. It’s a cheat code for leveling up faster.
Eats, Shoots, & Leaves - Lynne Truss (Personal Development)
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion - Robert Cialdini (Personal Development)
The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene (Personal Development)
Washington: A Life - Ron Chernow (Biography)
The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century - Steven Watts (Biography)
Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki (Personal Finance)
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller - Ron Chernow (Biography)
How to Win Friends & Influence People - Dale Carnegie (Personal Development)
Money: Master the Game - Tony Robbins (Personal Finance)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey (Personal Development)
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't - Jim Collins (Business)
Start with Why - Simon Sinek (Personal Development)
Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink, Leif Babin (Personal Development)
The Captain Class - Sam Walker (Personal Development)
Thinking in Bets - Annie Duke (Personal Development)
Leonardo Da Vinci - Walter Isaacson (Biography)
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell (Personal Development)
Trillion Dollar Coach - Alan Eagle, Jonathan Rosenberg, Eric Schmidt (Personal Development)
It's Your Ship - D. Michael Abrashoff (Personal Development)
Essentialism - Greg Mckeown (Personal Development)
Atomic Habits - James Clear (Personal Development)
A Minute to Think - Juliet Funt (Personal Development)
Good Strategy Bad Strategy - Richard P. Rumelt (Business)
The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel (Personal Finance)