5 Surprising Things They Don’t Tell You About Reading 52 Books in 52 Weeks
I finally did it — for the first time in my life, I read a book a week for an entire year.
I was surprised by what I learned in the process. Since most people I know haven’t read this much, no one had told me what to expect.
Here are 5 surprising lessons they don’t tell you about reading 52 books in 52 weeks.
1. Reading 52 Books in 1 Year is As Hard As You Make It
In his famous book Rich Dad Poor Dad, New York Times best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki told a story of a fundamental mindset shift he made that started his path to incredible financial success.
Instead of saying “I can’t afford it” when faced with an expensive purchase — as most people around him did — he decided to change his response to:
“How can I afford it?”
This simple tweak in mindset opened up a world of possibilities. Kiyosaki found out how creative, innovative, and tenacious he could be when reaching towards a goal.
Whereas most people’s thinking was immediately shut down by the first response, Kiyosaki found that he could continually achieve huge goals by simply asking “how.”
This “I can’t afford it” vs. “How can I afford it?” debate is also how most people approach a book-reading goal. Tell someone to read 52 books in 52 weeks, and most people’s response is something like the first response: “I can’t do that! It’s too much.” And so it is. As James Allen once wrote, “As a man thinketh, so he is.”
But what if you changed your response? What if instead, you asked:
“How could I read 52 books in 52 weeks?”
I guarantee you’ll be surprised at how creative, innovative, and hard-working you can be. Most people never give themselves a chance to earn a million dollars/year, or read 52 books in 52 weeks.
Ask yourself “how” and see just how far you can go. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
2. …But Reading 52 Books in 52 Weeks is Hard
There are a ton of studies of how much the average person reads. Some studies say as little as 4 per year, or as many as 12.
Average and commonplace are powerful. People are drawn to average, because that’s where most people are. As uber-successful entrepreneur Tim Ferriss once wrote:
“It’s lonely at the top. 99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive.”
If you’re surrounded by people who read a low number of books, it’ll be harder to reach a high number of books. The pull towards average is strong.
The rewards — increased cognitive functions, memory, vocabulary, intuition, focus, and concentration (and decreased stress and irritability) — are too numerous to count. The few who commit to reading this much despite the pull towards average will reap a huge reward.
Don’t be fooled — reading 52 books in 52 weeks is hard. I’ve seen several stories by individuals who claim to have read 100, even 200 books in a single year. Good for them. But when they say it’s easy, you know they’re lying.
Despite the difficult, reading this much is worth is. Resist the pull towards average.
“All around you is an environment that is trying to pull you down to Second-Class street.” -David Schwartz
3. Reading Books Can Make You a Ton of Money
“Every skill you acquire doubles the odds of your success.” -Scott Adams
I wear a lot of hats: I’m a writer, entrepreneur, coach, and a dozen other things. I need to know a lot of skills. I use a lot of tools.
For the most part, I didn’t know how to use 90% of the current tools I use just a year ago. But in the past 12 months, I’ve gotten very comfortable with:
- Landing pages
- Email providers
- Funnels
- Sales letters
- Online course creation
- Automated sequences
- Webinars
- Coaching
- Networking
There’s so much more I need to learn, too. This year, I’ll be focusing on physical products, a book launch (my first published book!), paid ads, automation, and brand mastery.
I’ve learned that the more I learn, the more I can earn.
Which really motivates me to learn.
Reading books can make you a ton of money. You don’t know what you don’t know. In 2019, an enormous amount of money and income will flow to the individuals who know how to solve complex problems in a variety of areas.
Reading books will help you rise above 95% of the competition who didn’t invest in their learning.
4. Reading Books Gives You Deeper Relationships, Higher Self-Confidence, and Conversational Skills
If you’re like me, deep and meaningful relationships are a top priority.
One surprising thing I learned about reading this many books is how my relationships were affected. You know when someone tell you, “You have to read this book!” Most people say, “Yeah, sure!” but never do.
But when you actually read that book recommendation? Man. The relationship grows incredibly deeper.
The fact that you:
- Took their advice
and
2. Read a book that was meaningful to them
…does wonders. It gives you whole new talking points, and lets you enter a place few of that person’s friends ever do.
When you prioritize consuming what others consume, you grow closer to them in ways most people never will.
One of my best friends loved the book The Way of the Superior Man. It’s probably not a book I’d normally read, but he said it profoundly changed his way of thinking about masculinity and himself.
I read it (only took about a week) and we’ve had several deep, complex conversations about it. He told me why the book was so meaningful to him and hung onto my every word about what I liked and didn’t like about it.
Want deeper, more meaningful relationships? Read the stuff that has a hugh impact on your friends.
And finally:
5. You Realize Just How Many People Choose Entertainment Instead of Learning and Growing
“Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.” -Hal Elrod
This was huge for me.
As someone who wants to make a dent in the world, I constantly feel the fears and self-doubt that so many people are better than me. That what I have isn’t enough. That anything I produce and create will only be average-at-best.
But when you read this much, it’s easy to rest in the fact that you’re way ahead of the curve. When you do things most people don’t do, you get results most people don’t have. In the words of Darren Hardy, founder of SUCCESS Magazine:
“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.”
Reading books actually has a much higher impact on your success than most people realize. It’s why so many high-powered individuals like CEO’s read a book/week, despite being “busier” than 95% of other people. They make time, because they know how important it is.
The truth is, most people will choose to turn on the TV or play on their phone instead of reading. As whenever the majority does something, it’s time to pause and reflect on why that is — and perhaps why you should do the opposite.
Choose learning and creating, not entertainment and distraction. You’ll get better results and experience more success than most people do.
In Conclusion
If you’re curious, here’s the list of books I read. (I’ve highlighted my favorite ones):
- The Old Man and the Sea
2. The Alchemist
3. Animal Farm
4. The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster
5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
6. The Count of Monte Cristo
7. The Firm
8. Total Recall
9. Forgotten God
10. Kitchen Confidential
11. Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
12. The Three Musketeers
13. The Partner
14. Big Little Lies
15. The Girl on the Train
16. On the Shortness of Life
17. Born Standing Up
18. The Book Thief
19. From the Outside
20. Seasons of Life
21. I Am Pilgrim
22. The Wild Robot
23. Be Obsessed or Be Average
24. Modern Romance
25. Homeland
26. Exile
27. Sojourn
28. The Crystal Shard
29. The Way of the Superior Man
30. Poverty, Riches, and Wealth
31. How to Be an Adult
32. DotCom Secrets
33. A Life in Parts
34. Mere Christianity
35. Streams of Silver
36. The Halflings Gem
37. The Legacy
38. The Millionaire Fastlane
39. Starless Night
40. Siege of Darkness
41. On Writing
42. Passage to Dawn
43. The Silent Blade
44. The Spine of the World
45. Build Your StoryBrand
46. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
47. Sea of Swords
48. Shoe Dog
49. The Thousand Orcs
50. The Lone Drow
51. Bossypants
52. The Two Swords
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