42. Read Several Books At Once .

So, now I get to talk to you about reading several books at one time. I am a big fan of this and have been ever since I started really getting into reading non-fiction books. Now, what’s so wonderful about books in general is that someone has spent their life, efforts, and time in learning something that you get to learn about it within a few hours and usually for less than $20. To me, it’s one of the best investments that you can make to get the best someone has to offer for just a few dollars.

I have personally loved reading books ever since I was a child. There have been many times where your grandmother, my mom, caught me reading books well past my bedtime with the flashlight underneath the covers. I stayed up late just reading because I enjoyed it so much and it didn’t matter if I got tired in the morning. It was just something I wanted to do and enjoyed doing so much. I have carried that love of reading with me my entire life and I am hoping that you always have that love as well. If you don’t enjoy reading, then I think you need to find the right material to read and get things that you can and will enjoy reading, because a love of reading will add so much richness to your life. Reading will make your life so much better and can allow you to learn things so quickly.

As far as the advice, I think it’s good to have at least two books going at any given time. I prefer to have at least one non-fiction book going, and only one fiction book. The non-fiction book can be read (or listened to) when I’m feeling in the mood for it. I always like to have a book going that helps me solve a problem professionally that I otherwise would not know how to solve. The fiction book is used to wind down at night. . .usually on the kindle.

You should only ever read a book for one of two reasons: you enjoy it or it’s useful to you in some way. That’s usually to gain knowledge that you don’t have.

What I would suggest is to have a plan for each book. Ask yourself specifically, “what do I want out of this book?” Have an outcome for it and what you are hoping to gain.

What’s useful and beautiful about this is that there is a book written for nearly anything and any problem that you would ever have. It’s easy as downloading something--it takes a few seconds to get the knowledge of the entire cumulative world at your fingertips (which is just amazing).

I am also a big Audible fan and I use that to turn driving time into learning time. It’s a great way to learn and get at least another book going in the meantime. So, if you’re counting, usually I have a fiction book going, a nonfiction book that I am reading, then also a nonfiction book that I am listening to at any given time to learn something specific .

Now the last point I will make about this is that a lot of learning seems to end at graduation, but really that’s where it begins . In schools, generally you are told what to read and what you should learn. Someone else is dictating for you, whereas when you get out of school, you get to decide what you want to learn, pursue, and master!

So with that said, I hope you know that you are loved and I encourage you to go out and read.

Advice in Practice:

• Develop a reading list. Ask for some recommendations on good fiction books, ask your friends, put out a post on Facebook to see what others recommend. Ask what books have changed their lives and get some good things to read. You can also see what Amazon recommends for you. Keep a list of these books you’d like to read in an Evernote file, or save them in a “wish list” in Amazon.
• Think about your career and mission and what knowledge will be useful to have. What’s  something that would make a big difference in what you do every day? Make your professional reading list, and here is the important part—ask what you plan to get out of the book. Set an intention for those books, write it down, and read with a purpose in mind.
• Get a kindle. Right now, I use a kindle paperwhite and it has a backlight on it, so I can read at night. It’s been wonderful for me. It has a very low light level, and it doesn’t keep me awake at night. Also, with the kindle you can always highlight and take notes on it too…and export them should you want them.
• Order an actual book for your profession/career/mission from Amazon. I am more encouraged to write things out on it and really use the book as my slave of personal knowledge. I would suggest you write out on the inside cover your intention for the book, then keep that question in mind while reading.
• Another piece of advice is getting an Audible account if you can afford it. Right now, it’s $15 a month and you get a book a month. Usually, the books cost more than that, but the real value is that it’s something that encourages you to keep doing your reading via listening.
• The last piece of advice I have is to think about reading some of the following books that I have loved from non-fiction that are great and those books are:

The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Choose Yourself by James Altucher

Bold by Steven Kotler and Peter Diamandis

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne.

Please consider reading those books. As always, you know that I love you tremendously.