The reading habits of successful people

It's the habit that keeps on giving

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s business partner and one of the smartest people in the world, is known for being a prolific reader. 

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time—none. Zero” – Charlie Munger

In our digital society, we have very poor attention spans. This makes reading difficult and uncommon for most adults.

But this means that if you do read, you will have even more of an advantage over others. 

By reading, you can increase your cognitive ability faster than it would be possible otherwise. It’s through reading that you will be able to enrich your mind with knowledge that would otherwise have been unavailable to you.     

How can you apply what you’ve just learned? What’s the most important lesson you’ve just learned from a book? This is what you have to focus on everyday.     

Since you are reading to learn, it has to be applicable to you. One of the most powerful habits you can develop is to connect everything you learn to every situation in your daily routine you are in.       

Daily, you should ask yourself these questions, ‘What can this new information I’ve just learned can do for me now?’, ‘What can I apply this new information too?’, and, ‘How can I make this new information useful to me?’ This is called “active learning”. In today’s fast paced world, taking action is more important than reading or memorizing.      

By actively applying knowledge you will be able to use your new skills to improve your work, and to close any skill gap you have with others.   

It’s easy to understand how reading has helped to create some of the most successful and brightest people in our lifetime. You can be smarter than Elon Musk, Adele, Warren Buffet, Michael Jordan, or Bill Gates.      

It’s easy to be smart- you just have to read, a lot.