How to read profitably: 6 tips from successful people

1. Set aside enough time to read

You may have already heard about the “five hours a week” or “30 pages a day” rule. We hasten to upset - this is the minimum. American entrepreneur and one of the world's largest investors, Warren Buffett spends about five hours a day reading newspapers and reads about 500 pages of financial documents every day.

This is how knowledge is formed. They accumulate like compound interest. Everyone can read a lot, but I assure you that not everyone will do it.

Warren Buffett

The decisive role of reading in achieving success is noted by the head of SpaceX and Tesla Elon Musk. When an Esquire journalist asked him how he learned to build rockets, he gave a simple answer: "I read books." Already at the age of nine years, Elon completely read the encyclopedia "Britannica", numbering tens of thousands of articles. Elon Musk also loved science fiction and could spend up to 10 hours a day reading books by Douglas Adams and Isaac Asimov.

2. Don't focus only on fiction

Fiction is great, and of course it can teach you a lot. But if we are talking about applied knowledge, then the non-fiction genre will be much more effective.

Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year (roughly a book a week), almost all of which are non-fiction. Gates reads to learn more about public health, technology, business, science.

The entrepreneur admits that at times he can get carried away with some novel and even read it in one go, but prefers the literature that gives him new knowledge about the world around him.

3. Try to learn more about your business through books

American entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, Mark Cuban, combines the two previous tips. Viewing entrepreneurship as a sport, he compares business competition to a competition where skill, talent, and, most importantly, careful preparation are the factors that win.

Everything I read was in the public domain. Anyone could buy those books and magazines. My education was available to everyone, you just had to want. It turned out that almost no one wanted this.

Mark Cuban

Cuban read for three hours daily, while concentrating on literature that gave him more competitive advantage - knowledge of the industry in which he worked.

4. Set yourself challenges and deadlines

A popular enemy of systematic reading is lack of discipline. Promises to read a certain number of books in a given period of time will help to cope with this. The most famous example is the personal challenge of Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg called A Year of Books.

Books allow you to fully explore any topic and help you immerse yourself in the subject much deeper than modern media. I am looking forward to my media diet, when I can concentrate on reading books.

Mark Zuckerberg January 3, 2015

Zuckerberg has set a goal of reading the book every two weeks throughout 2015, with an emphasis on exploring different cultures, stories, beliefs and technologies. The action was successful: Mark not only successfully completed the challenge, but also motivated thousands of people to read these books and read in general.

5. Pay attention to the appearance and organization of books

Reading is not only the process of fixing printed words in memory, but also the appearance, smell of books, tactile sensations that they cause. Organization is also important - tidy bookshelves motivate reading more than a pile of tattered books.

Nike founder Phil Knight has particularly excelled in showing respect for literature. His personal library was right behind his office. The few who managed to get into it said that it was impossible to go there without taking off their shoes and without first bowing.

Of course, Phil Knight's example is an unnecessary extreme, especially since many people prefer e-books to paper ones. The main thing to remember is that if you plan to devote a lot of time to reading, then it is better to make sure that this process is comprehensively enjoyable for you.

6. Love to read

The obvious truth of successful readers. No matter how many hours of childhood and youth they spent over books, no matter what other joys of life they were deprived of, they did not read by force. The desire to succeed or strict discipline in the family were much less motivators for them than their own fanatical thirst for knowledge and the opportunity to move to another world described in the books.

The books showed me the world behind my grandmother's porch and helped me see opportunities beyond what was allowed. Going beyond classrooms without books and teachers without education, beyond the false beliefs and prejudices hidden in the minds of men and women of the time.

Oprah Winfrey

American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey has repeatedly talked about how books supported her in difficult moments of her life. It was her love of reading that allowed her to get an education, get out of the ghetto of Milwaukee and become one of the most influential figures on American television.