He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. – Confucius
Reading is a high-level way of sourcing ideas, and ideas are the currency that makes the world go round. Mark Twain once said, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” Reading is a pastime that is generally on the decline due to many factors, such as our collective inclination for screen time and low attention span. We would rather Netflix and chill than read a good biography, we read more Facebook timelines than a good book, and we would instead read a tweet than get wit through curiosity.
“One hour per day of study in your chosen field is all it takes. One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you’ll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.”– Earl Nightingale
33% of U.S. high school graduates never read a book after high school. 80% of U.S. families have not purchased a book this year. 50% of books started are never read to completion. 70% of adults have not been in a bookstore in the past five years. 1 These stats are quite alarming as it is often said, “Readers are leaders.” American humorist Mark Twain quipped, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that ain’t so.” The world is constantly evolving, hence the need to update our knowledge constantly. You cannot give what you do not have.
Some of the world’s biggest technology firms were started as a result of the curiosity of the founders and their love for reading. Here are some examples of companies started by curious founders:
- Jeff Bezos – Amazon: Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com after he read a report that showed that the web is growing at more than 2,300 percent yearly. Bezos has always been a voracious reader, and his curiosity has led him to become one of the wealthiest men in the world. In Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos 2, a book he co-wrote with biographer Walter Isaacson, highlights the core principles and philosophy that guided him in creating, building, and leading Amazon and Blue Origin.
Jeff was a voracious reader with an adventurous mind. His grandfather would take him to the library, which had a huge collection of science fiction books. Over the summers, Jeff worked his way through the shelves, reading hundreds of them. Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein became his favorites, and later in life he would not only quote them but also occasionally invoke their rules, lessons, and lingo.
While working at the hedge fund in 1994,
Bezos came across the statistic that the web had been growing by more than 2,300 percent each year. He decided that he wanted to get aboard that rocket, and he came up with the idea of opening a retail store online, sort of a Sears catalogue for the digital age.
- Microsoft: Bill Gates and Paul Allen – In his autobiography, The Idea Man 3, Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen writes about how curiosity led them to the idea of forming Microsoft.
“Few people took notice of the 4004 early on, but I was a college freshman that year and had time to read every magazine and journal around. It was a fertile period for computers, with new models coming out almost monthly. When I first came across the 4004, I reacted like an engineer: What cool things could you do with this?”
What cool things could you do with this?
- Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs – In iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It 4, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recalls how a lucky accident led him to a journal article that was the start of his love for computing. He writes
At about this time, there was another lucky accident. I found this article about computers in one of the old engineering journals my dad had hanging around. Back then, back in 1960, writing about computers wasn’t common at all. But what I saw was an article about the ENIAC and a picture of it. The ENIAC— which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer—was the first true computer by most people’s definition. It was designed to calculate bomb trajectories for the military during World War II. So it was designed back in the 1940s.
- Warren Buffet: American business magnate Warren Buffet, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is one of the most respected business leaders in the world. Buffet is a voracious reader who spends much time studying and reading. Buffet’s typical day 5 goes something like this:
- Warren starts every morning by poring over several newspapers and estimates he spends as much as 80 percent of his day reading.
- 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.
- I read and think, So I do more reading and thinking and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life.
I still spend five or six hours a day reading. Buffet spends as much as 80 percent of his day reading.
Become a learning machine – Charlie Munger
In his 2007 Commencement Address to the graduating students at the University of Southern California Law School, Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway heaps high praises on Buffet on his ability to learn continuously, he refers to him as a learning machine. He observed:
Wisdom acquisition is a moral duty. It’s not something you do just to advance in life. As a corollary to that proposition which is very important, it means that you are hooked for lifetime learning. And without lifetime learning, you people are not going to do very well. You are not going to get very far in life based on what you already know. You’re going to advance in life by what you learn after you leave here.
If you take Berkshire Hathaway, which is certainly one of the best-regarded corporations in the world and may have the best long-term investment record in the entire history of civilization, the skill that got Berkshire through one decade would not have sufficed to get it through the next decade with the achievements made. Without Warren Buffett being a learning machine, a continuous learning machine, the record would have been absolutely impossible.
Without Warren Buffett being a learning machine, a continuous learning machine, the record would have been absolutely impossible.
Success they say leaves clues and I have observed that the wealthiest people in the world are also the most curious individuals. They are voracious readers of books, magazines, and they often lead with their curiosity by making learning a way of life. They spot opportunities easily as they have built various mental models to have a varied world view. I also try to emulate these individuals as I try to read biographies, non-fiction personal development book, watch documentaries and study the greats. Since 2016, I have been experimenting with the 100 Books Reading Challenge (2022, 2021, 2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic; I added other challenges such as the 50 Magazine reading challenge, 50 Biographies Reading Challenge and the 50 reports reading challenge.
Reading has really transformed my life as I strive daily to become a better version of myself. Anytime I am trying to figure out a subject matter or trying to navigate a challenge in life; the first thing I do is a google search for books on the subject matter. For example, If I am having issues hiring, I do a google search on “top 10 books on hiring”. The joy of reading is enormous as you can figure out almost anything in life by reading, there is a book for every situation and challenge.
Meditation
Podcast
- Ep. 258: Godel’s Deep Life Stack – Deep Questions podcast.
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