Summary

The author of the article adopted the daily habit of reading or listening to nonfiction books for 15 minutes, which significantly improved various aspects of their life, from financial savings to personal health.

Abstract

The article discusses the transformative power of reading nonfiction books as a means to acquire wisdom and life skills. Drawing inspiration from the TV show "Avatar the Last Airbender," the author equates books to a repository of someone's lifetime of knowledge, condensing years of learning into a more accessible timeframe. By committing to a daily routine of reading or listening to audiobooks, the author achieved notable life changes, such as saving over $100,000 for retirement, developing healthy habits, and overcoming a fast-food addiction. The article emphasizes the importance of not only consuming knowledge but also applying it to see tangible results in one's life.

Opinions

The author believes that books are akin to a compilation of someone's experiences and wisdom, offering a shortcut to learning.
They suggest that even a small daily commitment to reading or listening to audiobooks can lead to significant personal development.
The author credits specific books for helping them achieve particular goals, implying that the right literature can provide actionable advice.
They stress that the act of reading alone is not enough; one must actively implement the lessons learned from books to effect change in their life.
The author recommends starting with a list of books that focus on habit formation, self-control, motivation, and personal development to kickstart one's journey to self-improvement.

The One Habit That Finally Helped Me Get My Life Together

When I was a teenager I used to watch the Television show called Avatar the last Airbender right?

In that show one of the main characters superpowers was the ability to communicate with hundreds of his past lives and drawn upon their wisdom and power to face whatever challenge he was facing at the time right?

When I first heard about this I was like,

“wow that’s so cool, I wonder how successful I’d be if I could borrow the wisdom of past lives…”

Then I realized I could — we all can.

That’s exactly what a book is.

You see a book is like a compact copy of someone’s lessons, facts, and memories right?

So what if instead of spending 100 years trying to learn something… you could just spend 2 weeks studying a book someone who spent 100 years studying something wrote?

Then you’d learn a lifetime of someone’s wisdom in under a month.

Think about that.

The one habit I used to finally start getting my life together was this, every single day I started reading or listening to 15 minutes of books per day.

If I had to work it was 15 minutes of audiobooks on the way to work.

If it was my day off it was 15 minutes of reading first thing in the morning after coffee.

This simple habit of reading 10–15 minutes of NONFICTION a day has allowed me to read hundreds of books over the course of 2–3 years.

Here’s a few of the results I achieved from this.

From the book the Automatic Millionaire I have over $100,000 saved for retirement.
From the book the willpower instinct I managed to form 10+ difficult habits from meditation to going to the gym consistently.
From the book The Power To Change I managed to beat a 10 year fast food addiction.

Point being is this.

If you feel stuck in life, ask yourself are you learning anything new each day that might help you towards your goals?

If not consider going to your local library and getting books on your biggest problems.

If you have more means than most, just start getting books on audible like me or trading books with friends who are also on self improvement.

But do not forget this most important note.

THE BOOKS WILL NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFE IF YOU DO NOT ACT UPON THE CHANGES THEY SUGGEST.

I’d rather read one book that I enact 100% on, than 50 books I do nothing with.

If you need to know where to start read these:

Atomic habits: How to start breaking and forming your habits
The Willpower instinct: How to get control over yourself
Dopamine nation: The science of motivation, depression, and happiness.
The Power To Change: Christian based atomic habits
The Slight Edge: How to use small changes to get enormous life results

If you need more, leave a comment and I’ll add more as time progresses.