I've read thousands, if not tens of thousands of books over the years. I am the owner and CEO of a multi-million dollar tech company, have served as a director for several company boards, and have a great family, so I believe I would be considered successful by most people's standards. So is it my habit of reading daily that makes me successful?
Reading Habits Alone Don't Make You Successful
Yes, my reading habit helps me be successful. And no, reading alone will not make me successful. If it isn't reading alone that makes me successful, what is it that does, and how does reading come into play?
It is true that most highly successful people have a habit of reading. They tend to read books more than social media and news blips because they are better thought out and contain focused information on whatever subject they are interested in. They often read self-help books and biographies of successful people.
To Be Successful, You Must Take Action
All of that reading does not automatically translate to being successful, though. You can read all day, every day, and still not be successful. What makes people successful is when they STEP UP and take ACTION! Only with action can you produce results using the ideas gathered in your reading.
Stepping up and taking action is what makes the difference between the majority who merely consume material and those who are truly successful. I believe reading is a great way to cultivate ideas, but to be truly successful, you must take the next step and do something with the new information!
Here are some of the books I recommend if you want to develop yourself: Power Up! – Books for Personal Development.
Warren Buffett once said,
Generally speaking, investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you. They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less. You can have all kinds of things happen. But if you’ve got talent yourself, and you’ve maximized your talent, you’ve got a tremendous asset that can return ten-fold.
If you want to be successful, by all means, spend time reading and investing in yourself. Make sure you don't stop there, though, go do something with your new knowledge!
