The last 8 months has practically been the most engaging time of my life filled with the responsibility of being part of a couple of tech start up but with that I have been able to engage some very valuable secrets that I have used to read 12 live changing books during this period, out which are “Atomic habits” by James clear, “No Excuses” by Brian Tracy, “Excellency in Ministry” by Kenneth Copeland and “Steal like an Artist” by Austin Kleon.
I know you are eager to find out these secrets, but before we get into it, I want you know that there is nothing that affects your life like the information that you take in.
If you refuse to upgrade your thinking and thinking capacity then come next 2 years your mind will remain the way it is, and lastly don’t just read, put what you read to work.
So let’s get into it.
- I only read books that solves a problem I am facing or an area I desired to grow in.
Getting to know this changed my approach to reading books completely, and it also filled fire into my bones to desire more books. Everybody currently has a challenge he/she is facing, then get books that addresses it.
When I was really eager to know what branding (business) was and what it takes to build a good brand, this practically drove me to the net till I found a great book by fresh sparks titled “The ultimate guide to building your brand” which gave me that needed understanding I was craving for.
So how does this relate to you is the big question, you have to be real with yourself, you know you like to procrastinate and just stay lazy all day, why don’t you just look for a book that addresses that area of your life, you will surprised on how impactful the book can be to you.
- I used the 1% rule to ensure I read daily.
If you understand the 1% rule it will change your approach to life forever. The challenge many of us face when developing a new habit is that we over choke our self.
For example:
“Paul is 18 years old but finds it very difficult to read books, he then attends a seminar where a speaker talks about the importance of reading and shared how reading books changed his life, then this motivates Paul that he is so fired up inside and he immediately buys a new book which is about 150 pages and sets out to read it and he keeps saying to himself I must finish this book by weekend.
Paul reads about 20 pages after two days he starts getting tired and by the end of the week he falls back to his old habits of not reading”.
That’s a very good example of what many of us do.
You are supposed to use motivation to set a system that works with your current state and not to crush the current state, because your current state is already an habit that you developed over the years and it cannot just be fixed in a day, it will definitely take time.
So what you will do is to read the book like you are not really reading a book, (a simple way to do it, is to read just 2 or 3 pages of the book daily) so your body does not really feel punished while you are reading, but you are also on the other side building your self-will.
It is as simple as that, the whole point is for you to show up daily for the identity you want to build.
- I used the powerful technique of habit-stacking
Someone might ask what is habit stacking, it is a simple technique of developing a new a habit by
There is something you do daily, then simply attach the habit of reading to it.
Do you want to know how to form a new habit. click Here
For me I know I would be in the office by around past 9 in the morning so what I do is to attach reading to it. Immediately I get to the office before starting the work for the day, I will read about 7 to 8 pages, sometimes 5 pages, but I ensure I read daily before starting work.
At weekends I am a little bit freer so I read more pages when at home.
You can use the same system I am using or find something else that would works for you. It could be that immediately I get out of bed and brush my teeth I will read 2 to 3 pages of the book, or you could probably use the technique of immediately I enter into the bus going to office I will read a couple of pages from the book, that is if you spend hours in the bus when going to the office.
- I read more from my phone ( pdf format)
I am not against reading hard copy books but reading soft copies is a little bit easier for me because I can read it anywhere, anytime and without stress, since I am always with my phone in the first place.
So I mostly download books from some free website like pdfdrive.com and I immediately start reading it.
- I start another book immediately
One thing that you would want to avoid as a person is for you to drawn back into the pleasure cage, so I don’t even give it space at all. Immediately I finish a book, I start looking for the next book to read.
This keeps my mind refreshed.
I hope you find this helpful, don’t forget that putting to work what you read is what really affects your life positively, so don’t just read for the sake of ego but to really grow and develop yourself.
Do you want to know how to form a new habit. click Here