subject: Do This One Thing to Succeed [print this page] Do This One Thing to Succeed Do This One Thing to Succeed
In high school, I did everything I could not to read. I don't remember actually reading a book in high school, but I do remember a heavy reliance on cliff notes. I didn't enjoy English classes, and I certainly didn't give a rip about symbolism. (For some reason, my teachers were hung up on symbolism. Just say what you mean!)
I read very little in college, and read only law school related stuff in law school (which was awesome). It wasn't until I graduated law school that I really started enjoying reading. Maybe part of my desire to read was the move to Kansas City in February with cold like I never knew, but I think my real motivation was that I wanted to continue my education in certain areas and I knew deep down inside that books where the answer.
Did you know that one third of all high school graduates and 42% of college graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives? 80% of American families did not purchase or read a book last year! If you commit to read just one book before you are dead, you will be in the top 50% of all Americans. It's unfortunate but true.
If you want to deepen your knowledge on a topic, influence people around you, and be successful in a certain area of your life, start reading books. From the statistics, you have very little competition in the area of reading, so go do it.
Here's my challenge to you: turn off the TV for the next two weeks and read one book that interests you. Just one. You may be amazed at how much you enjoy it and how much you learn.
Oh, and as an aside, if you have children please read to them! My wife and I are diligent about reading to our 2 year old and 8 month old. You may think your children are too young to read to, but trust me they are not. Both of our children love "reading" books with us.
Hopefully you have figured out the one thing you should do to succeed, but if not, it's reading.