As a person interested in self-development, business, success, the world and just learning in general, I like to read books & I have an aim to read 1 a month on any subject I’m interested in.
Now one a month may sound like a lot to you, or it may sound a little; I mean Aimee must read more like 3 or 4 a month! But I cant, I juts don’t have the reading stamina that she has, but I do still read what I can. I read to learn and I read because I recognize its influences on my future success. Whether that’s now or later, I realize what I read can make a difference.
And while many people (Including Aimee!) read fiction like others will watch TV, I do not. I like to learn and feel a gain from reading, I read non-fiction about business or business related topics, I read the biographies of business people like Steve Jobs and I read self-improvement books.
And while some are good, some are not (You can read some of mine and Aimee’s book review’s here) but the key is, I learn or gaining something from every one none-the-less, and that’s what I want to talk to you about this blog post today. Whether a book’s about business, science, technology or childcare, whether it’s directly about the topic or about a person who changed it, it can have a lasting influence on you.
The 5 Influences of Reading Books for the Self-Developer
Education
By reading books on any subject or person you gain an education. Perhaps not as a big an education as one you could get from school or college, but an education non-the-less. And by reading on a variety of subjects can teach you many things, things that you can quite often relate back to your own aims.
In my case, I read books about many things but more recently I’ve read a book about economics, which although not business exactly, I learned quite some interesting things from it, all applicable with a little twist to business.
As Steve Jobs has said many times (Related Post: Steve Jobs – How To Be Intelligent) an innovative mind comes from varied experiences and knowledge, and for me, reading has to be the easiest way to gain more and more varied knowledge every single day.
Inspiration
Books are inspiring. Books, particularly biographies can inspire anyone and that must be one of the best things about them. After reading Steve Jobs’ Biography following his death, I felt inspired for months… in fact, I believe it was that inspiration that lead me to complete in the competition which lead to the creation of this website with Aimee.
Inspiration is invaluable and you never know where it could take you. Reading and being inspired by what you read really could change your life.
Self-Realization
Following on from Inspiration, the contents of books can not only inspire you for the short term but it can inspire you for the long term to. 14? 16? 21? Unsure of hat career you want to pursue? Or maybe you’re older and fancy a change but don’t know what, books can easily tell you.
Reading can inspire you to change careers or influence your decision on the one you choose in the first place. The stories, lessons and opinions you read may cause a spark in you to ignite and a realization of a new goal.
Motivation
Motivation although not a big part of reading, is something certainly quite related to inspiration in most cases, and is something else that can occur from reading books. The motivation to read another book after finishing your first, or the actions you make following the motivation you get from the feel good factor of ending a chapter.
But not only can you be motivated to act from the reading itself, but also from the content you’ve read. Either way, motivation is certainly a benefit to reading and could influence your life in any number of ways.
Skill Development
Again, this may be a benefit to reading that’s perhaps not as beneficial or big as the others, but skills can be developed to. Only basic skills, but yet skills. By reading you can improve your ability to read, write and spell, as well as your ability to speak and put good sentences together. You may also develop skills in a particular way of writing (e.g. non-fiction writing) or improve on your ability review and critique a piece of work to.
Conclusion
So as we can see there are several benefits to reading as a self-developer. Reading may be seem boring, I first thought so (and for many books, still do now!) but it can be extremely beneficial to our success in the way it can influence our lives. It can influence our decision now, tomorrow or next year, but a minute spent reading is in my eyes not a minute spent wasted. So get book today now and start reading! It can be about anything, but make sure it suits you and brings out the best of benefits for you.
