Would you like to improve your financial situation or improve your performance at work? Would you like to learn how to improve relationships with others? Are you a new parent learning how to raise a child? Is there a new hobby that you’re interested in? What can you do to improve your situation, develop new skills, and grow as a person? There is a universal answer to each of these questions… read.
Improving at Work
I’ve talked before about the big challenges I faced recovering from my brain injury. My performance at work was substandard, and I was frantic to figure out how to get my act together. One of the biggest helps during this time was a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen. Among other things, this book convinced me I needed to stop depending on my memory and come up with a system to capture all of my thoughts. The book provided a framework for that system, and helped me make progress at work.
This was one of the most dramatic examples of how reading opened my mind to new information to improve my life. Maybe you’re thinking, “Duh, Marc. Of course reading can improve your life.” But this was such a dramatic experience for me that I want to share a few points as you consider how much and what kind of material you’re reading.
Improve Your Reading
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Learn to love learning. I wasn’t the best student in college, mostly because I didn’t enjoy the learning process in most of my classes. And that mindset carried with me for several years. Then after my brain injury, I was forced to find new ways to work around my memory problem. I found the process of learning during that period of my life surprisingly refreshing. I started reading more books to improve different areas of my life: professional skills, hobbies, personal finance, relationships, etc. Then I stumbled my way into non-fiction history. It’s been a fantastic experience. In grade school and college, I found the learning process boring. But now I’m more interested and curious than ever.
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Act on what you learn. Because I read alot of self-improvement books & blogs, I’m always finding a new way to improve. All of that learning means nothing unless I act on it. You don’t have to do it all at once, but apply what you find most valuable and see if you notice a change. It’s pretty awesome when you find something that really makes a big difference in your life.
Creating Opportunities to Read
Making the Time
According to this article the average American watches 5 hours of TV per day. The article wasn’t clear if that includes time on YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, etc. I don’t think TV is inherently bad. It’s definitely a nice way to relax. But what if we cut some of that time back and use it to read, especially if it’s a non-fiction or self-improvement book? There are so many things to learn about. Just pick something you’re interested in and start reading.
If you don’t have time to read, check out audiobooks. With audiobooks, you can read while you drive, run, walk, or bike. Audiobooks are great. When I’m writing this, if you set up a new account with Audible, you can get two free books. This is the best deal I’ve seen from them in a while. If that interests you, click here. You will need to give Amazon a credit card to get them. If you want to keep the subscription ($15/month), great. Otherwise be sure to cancel it before the month is up so you don’t get charged. Don’t worry. If you cancel, you get to keep the books.
Finding the Money
Books can be such a powerful way to change our lives! Like, what if you spent that Netflix subscription ($8.99/month) on a book to improve your performance at work? You could read a book like Getting Things Done ($9.99 on Amazon), and your new skills would improve the efficiency of your work. You can get more done and take on other responsibilities to add value to your company and be promoted faster. And all that happened because you spend $9.99 and read a book.
Or what if you read a book like The Total Money Makeover ($15.41 hardcover on Amazon)? You could learn a proven method to get out of debt, save money, and invest for the future. Where else can you get that kind of value from $15?
There is a stat that I’ve heard for a while, and I found this brief article about it. If you want to be financially successful (another post entirely), one of the best things you can do is read. And the kind of books you read matters. Again, I’m not saying TV is bad, but consider how much time you spend doing it.
I’ve made a list of the books that have been influential to me and helped improve my life. To be transparent, if you buy a book from my links I get a little money. The same goes for the Audible link above. I’ve also included a couple free resources that you can check out. Don’t ignore these free resources. The consistent influence of them has helped me refine my life vision and work towards it. I’m confident that they can help you too.
What books have impacted you and how? What do you do to get the most out of reading? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave them in the comments below.