Want to be a Millionaire? Then Read Like One!

Want to be a Millionaire? Then Read Like One!

I once heard a statistic about how millionaires read at least one book a month.

I remember hearing someone's response being, "well then, I will read two books a month, so I can be a two millionaire."

I can't recall where I heard these lines, but they have stuck with me.

I don't see any possible way in which reading a book (or two) a month will make you a millionaire. But, I do think people who have become millionaires are natural learners.

They read because they know how important it is to keep learning and growing and becoming better than we were the day before.

With this in mind, I want to share with you why you need to be reading more books.

Get Smart

The obvious one is books help make you smarter.

Duh.

This could be because of the content you read or simply because you are keeping your brain active and engaged, fighting off the constant degradation we experience from so much time in front of screens.

Reading more books almost means you are taking in lots of experiences. It has been proven that people who read often are typically more empathetic towards others. Sometimes this is, again, because of the content we are reading. When we read a book written by someone else we are forcing ourselves to listen to their experience, whether this experience is real or not, and this is a huge factor in becoming more empathetic people.

People who read a lot also become smarter because they start to think differently than other people. Reading often can actually change the way you think about and process information!

More often than not, reading a book makes you take your time to soak in details and as you get faster at reading and retaining information you also get faster at taking in information in general. You start to become more aware of your surroundings. You are able to pay attention a little bit better.

Reading books helps you get smart, for sure.

Get Better

Reading books like Harry Potter may not necessarily make you better at magic. However, if you are reading on specific skills or topics, then there is a good chance you will get better at those things!

Again, this seems simple, but if you are reading a lot of books about meditation, whether you know it or believe it or not, you will start to get better at understanding and, hopefully, practicing meditation!

A shocker, I know.

It goes even deeper than this, though.

Reading on certain fields of knowledge helps you become accustomed to specific terminology, famous names in the field, or different avenues of thought within this field.

As you read more on a certain field or subject you begin to become more comfortable with what is going on in this area of knowledge. This means you begin to recognize these names in conversations, in the media, or in the news. You start to become more informed and aware of what is going on in this field or area of study.

You stop to become a semi-expert on certain topics!

This semi-expertise flows into my next point: spaghetti theory.

Okay, I made this one up, but I am calling it Spaghetti Theory. As you start to get better at a specific topic you will, inevitably, start to see where this topic overlaps with other topics.

The more you study Topic A the more awareness you have of Topic B, Topic C, and Topic D.

You may not read much on these other topics but your knowledge of them grows as well as everything you already know about Topic A.

As your awareness expands you begin to notice not everything fits into a nice, neat box. Things overlap. As you read about political science, you bump against readings which discusses environmental science. When you start to read more Harry Potter, you begin to know a bit more about British culture.

All these things to begin to touch each other, much like a pile of spaghetti with all the noodles overlapping.

Reading more books help you get good at what you are studying!

Get Kind

Now, this last one I am bringing up, may not seem so obvious.

It may not even be true across the board depending on what type of content you are committed to reading.

Reading more books opens your eyes to different perspectives than your own.

Right now, our mobile phones and our social media are created to keep letting us receive information which we already have a bias towards. The algorithms created within these devices help us find more like-minded people and more information to confirm what we already believe or think we know.

We are predisposed to seeing the world through our eyes only.

Reading more books increases the chance we will find something with which we disagree.

Which means we will have to think for ourselves a fraction more.

Over time this means we will become more critical thinkers.

Over time, we will start to see lots of people in this world who we may or may not agree with, but these same people, well, we might find we actually like them.

When we can see people as more than their opinions, then we begin to grow in kindness towards our fellow human beings.

Even if you start reading books which only support your beliefs and thoughts Spaghetti Theory will eventually kick in and expose you to new ideas and points of view.

From there, the options are to entrench yourself in your own thoughts and beliefs even more or start to open your eyes and heart.

Chances are, though, if you choose to entrench yourself in what you already know, then you will probably stop reading as much anyway and need to start reading this story all over again.

Go Read!

Well, there you have it. Three good reasons why you need to read more books. You get smarter, you get better, and you get kinder.

We could all use a little extra kindness these days. Honestly, I hope this is the number one reason to get you reading more! Kindness isn't natural. It's a skill which has to be honed and grown.

If you want to know how to read more books, then I'd highly suggest THIS story I wrote about that exact topic.

Now, go read!

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P.S. If you feel so inclined, there is a nifty way to leave a tip for me below! All of my tips help keep me being able to invest time into quality pieces of work for your eyes and brains to enjoy! If you consider and decide to leave a tip, then please know I appreciate it immensely! If you don't, then I still appreciate you immensely for reading!

I am a freelance writer with a background in Ministry and experience everywhere from technical document writing to copy writing to creative writing. I have interests and knowledge in Ministry, Marketing, Parenting, Leadership, and Technology. If you are looking for someone to work with and like what you see, then email me at [email protected] or check out my portfolio at dylmill.contently.com.