If you are a book worm and love to read a lot then there’s great news for you: Reading habit can make you one of the successful leaders.
Yes! Reading is of utmost importance especially for those who are in leader’s shoes or at higher posts. It makes one a better communicator, more empathetic and of course smart.
And these traits ultimately help us to be a success.This is not just a statement given by us.
As per a study of 1,200 wealth makers, researchers saw that all of them have a common string that is they are avid readers, have passion for books and are life long learners.
So now that you know how to get the mind of a successful leaders, lets dig more to know about their reading habit.
What exactly successful people read?
One of the vital things one should note that successful leaders just do not pick up and start reading anything. They mainly select books that are informative that is related to self-improvement, education and success. As per research, average people choose entertaining books over educational ones.
But billionaire bibliophiles mostly go for biographies and auto biographies for inspiration and learning.
Steve Siebold, who has interviewed more than 1,200 of the world’s wealthiest people over the past three decades, noted that reading for self-education is what common trait among them.
What successful people read?
Warren Buffet reportedly, spends 80% of the day reading.
When he was asked his secret sauce to success, he was quick to point out stack of books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
Favourite books of Warren Buffet:
- “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits” by Philip Fisher
- Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises” by Tim Geithner
- Jack: Straight From The Gut” by Jack Welch
- The Outsiders” by William Thorndike, Jr.
- “The Clash of the Cultures” by John Bogle
- “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham
Mark Zukerberg , who leads an extremely busy life, took resolution that he will read a book in every one to two weeks.
He has even commenced a book club called ‘A Year Of Books’ so that he can share and discuss books with his Facebook fraternity.
Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today,” Zuckerberg wrote on his personal Facebook page. “I’m looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books.”
Favorite books of Mark Zuckerberg:
- Why Nations Fail’ by Daren Acemoglu and James Robinson
- The Rational Optimist’ by Matt Ridley
- Portfolios of the Poor’ by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven
- The Three-Body Problem’ by Liu Cixin
Oprah Winfrey chooses one of her favourite books every month for her Book Club members to read and discuss.
Favorite books of Oprah Winfrey:
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
- The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo
- The Seeker’s Guide by Elizabeth Lesser
- A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson
- The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav
- The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
Bill Gates reads around 50 books per year that means 1 book per week. Bill, who is one of the successful leaders , always updates his personal blog ‘Gates Notes’ with book recommendations for his followers.
Favorite books of Bill Gates:
- Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2012′ by Carol Loomis
- Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization’ by Vaclav Smil
- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History’ by Elizabeth Kolbert
- ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined’ by Steven Pinker
There is no sure shot technique or proven formula that can make you successful and great but no one can deny the fact that reading is one of the ingredients for success.
So read good books whenever you are free as now you know that how and why successful people demonstrate this super important habit.
