Many people ask themselves the following question (Should I Read Books?) The first answer that comes to their mind after this question is (And Why Should I?). Of course this answer became more common after the development of technology which left people thinking: books are boring, I can get the information from TV, I can search the Internet for a quicker answer, I know that from my experience, I’m old enough to know about that, I don’t have time, I’m too lazy to read books that will take me a week, month or year and the most arrogant answer (I Know Everything, I Know Enough or I Know Everything About That So Why Should I Read More)!!!???.

Can You Surprise Yourself?

I remember I was always saying to people, and to myself, that I hate reading because I like to receive the information visually from TV, DVD or other Visual methods. That’s how my thinking was during my entire life. I think I may have been the world’s biggest hater of reading. So why did that strong dislike for reading change?

What’s the First Step to Start Reading?

How did I start to love reading and what is the first step to make that change? The first step happened after I began my education to earn my second degree. The reason was simply because I started reading about what I love to do. I read about what I’m good at which was very different than what I was reading while pursuing my first degree, I disliked the content very much. So the first step to starting to enjoy reading is to READ ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE or WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT.

The Big Mistake

Many people open a business without having any idea about it. They make this decision because they think the business that they chose will be successful because they saw other successful business owners. It’s not enough to know only from what you see, you need to know more from reading about that subject or business. By challenging yourself to learn more through reading you can save yourself regret caused by uninformed decisions in the future. The information is around you in the libraries, it usually very cheap but very valuable. Now the internet is providing a cheaper and faster way as well through ebooks.

Why Reading Books?

The next step after starting to read about what you love or what you are good at is to START READING ABOUT WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT OR WHAT YOU ARE VERY BAD AT. If you are struggling with anything in your life in terms of business, finance, money, cooking, traveling, self-development, planning, communication or any subject or new challenge, then go and buy a book about that topic. The information is everywhere around you, so take action and go educate yourself about what you don’t know. Learn more about what you are bad at, or any topic or skill that you want to improve.

How To Create Time for Reading?

You don’t need to set aside more than 1 hour per day for reading and educating yourself, but usually the answer is (I don’t have even 1 hour per day). Well you will have time if you know how to plan your day. If you don’t know how to plan your time, then go and buy a book about time management. The easiest solution is if you feel that you don’t have time, even if you are managing your time well, go and buy 3 or 4 books about the subjects that you want to learn about and put them in different places around your environment. You can put them in the car, next to your bed, in the living room, in your handbag or put one e book in your computer, phone or iPad. Then, whenever you feel that you have an extra 5 or 10 minutes, then you have your backup book right next to you to fill that small time more efficiently.

I have done this and now enjoy my time if somebody shows up late for a meeting, or if I have to wait for somebody, or if I have a couple of hours between two meetings. I immediately pull out my backup book and start reading. Usually I keep one book next to my bed, another in the living room, another in the car, another in my Squash bag and another in my computer bag, so my backup books are everywhere.

Reading will positively change your life, business, mindset, skills and so many other things, so take action now and make the change. You are surely in a much better situation and mindset than where I was before I started reading. I will never forget my father said “I’m so impressed and surprised because until a few years ago, you didn’t read any book, not even a story about Micky Mouse) :-).