Successful People and Their Reading Habits
The world's most successful people have been known to be heavy readers. So that means that you should be a reader, right? In a culture of abbrevations and limited character messaging, it could be argued that we do in fact read a lot, everyday. We read social media posts, we read emails, we read blog articles, everything! But that's not the kind of reading we're talking about. Reading is most effective when one is able to learn and stimulate your imagination. It is beneficial to leadership, as it can make one a better communicator and more empathetic. Don't believe us? Here are the reading habits of successful people:
Mark Zuckerberg
In 2015, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg committed to reading a new book every other week for the entire year. He emphasized learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories, and technologies. In his Facebook post announcing this challenge, he said, “Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today. I'm looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books.”
Elon Musk
Tesla's Elon Musk grew up an avid reader. He would read two books a day! In his early teens he was already interesed in philosophical and religious texts. Having an existential crisis and exploring the meaning of life in one's teens is quite unique – and definitely helped set Musk apart from the rest.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah says that books have helped her in her success. She says, “Books were my pass to personal freedom.” Because of this, Oprah has urged other start reading as well – she started a book club online. It include her favorite books and recommendations from others.
J.K. Rowling
The Harry Potter author is now sitting on an enormous self-made empire. You know how she got there? Reading (and obviously, writing). She says, “When I was a child, I would read absolutely anything.” She read tons of childrens' books, and continued to be a bookworm throughout multiple difficulties in her life. Reading as well as writing helped turn her life around, and lead to her career success.
Sheryl Sandberg
Facebook and Lean In's Sheryl Sandberg is a book fanatic. So much so, that she usually owns more books than she wishes she had time for. As a tech professional, she admits to preferring paperback rather than e-readers. She also admits to being a slow reader, saying “I force myself to speed up or to give up on the ones that realistically, I am never going to get to.” This is actually good advice – if you're going to read, invest time for quality reading. Phoning it in won't breed much benefit.
Bill Gates
Microsoft's own Bill Gates somehow finds time to committ to reading. In fact, he reads 50 books a year – which is roughly one book per week! He says, “...reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding”. He also mentions that despite having much success and knowledge in his life, books are still one of the most beneficial ways to gain knowledge. “Each book opens up new avenues of knowledge to explore,” says Gates.
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