Reading Your Way to Success

Austin
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1
Reading Your Way to Success

What Makes Reading so Important

Have you ever wondered what makes some people more successful than others? In most cases it’s the amount of time someone spends reading. Reading gives you a chance to look into the mind of someone that came before you or has more experience. Another common trend with people that read often is the formation of a keystone habit. Keystone habits are habits that are so influential on your life that creating one will change how you view the world. It can take many hours of work to create the habit of reading but the trade off is more happiness and success. Let’s take a look at ways to create a new habit.

How to Get Started

Getting started is always the hardest part of any task. When it comes to reading it can be even more difficult. I find this stems from being forced to read books we’re not interested in for a significant portion of our lives (think back to school).

  1. The first step to getting started will be experimenting and finding out what kind of books you are interested in reading. If you can’t decide take a look at best sellers on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Narrow it down to a few books and pick the one that you think will be the most entertaining.
  2. The second step is to read small portions every day. The best way to do this is find a time that you can consistently read or 15 to 30 minutes every day. Many people like to read right at the end of the work day. Another great choice is reading before bed. Reading before bed can be a great choice because it gets you away from electronics and calm you down.
  3. The third step will be to set goals and monitor your progress. At first it may be hard to stay consistent but make sure you have goals that push hard enough that you have to try but, not so hard that you give up. As you achieve your goals right down what you’ve accomplished even if it’s as simple as reading 1 chapter. No achievement is too small when creating new habits.

Once you have started to take the small steps you need to create your new habit you will realize that you want to keep learning more. As this desire for new resources grows you will need to start exploring what reading options are out there waiting for you.

Explore Your Reading Resources

Sometimes reading a book isn’t the best option. They can be difficult to transport and can be hard to read without the right lighting. Don’t let that get you done, there are greener pastures. Technology has advanced to the point where no matter where or what you’re doing you have access to reading or books of some form. Just to name a few we have eBooks, magazines, forum posts, blog posts, and to really get into left field audio books. Every reading resource you can find is worthwhile to look into. Sometimes you have to experiment to find out what is best for you. Speaking of what’s best for you the only way to know is to track your progress.

Tracking Your Progress

Statistics may be a boring topic but it’s the only way to optimization. When you take the time to look back at what you have accomplished you will see the progress and be excited by it. There are many way to track your progress when you read.

  • Log all the books you’ve read – Logging all of your books lets you see trends in what you enjoy reading, how quickly you read, and lets you go back to reread in the future.
  • Make Notes – It can be difficult to remember what you have read. Making notes allows you to refresh your memory without having to start from scratch. You can use note cards, notebooks, or even the book itself to take notes. Don’t forget you can highlight books too just make sure they are yours and not borrowed.
  • Quiz Yourself – We all know taking tests and quizzes can be boring or even stressful. Quizzing yourself on a book can be as simple as asking yourself what just happened or as complicated as creating a test. A test could be flashcards, multiple choice, true or false, or maybe even a quick essay.

Remember that reading can be difficult. Track what you have done to show yourself that you can make the most difficult challenge look easy.

Share Your Experiences

Now that you’ve taken your first step towards creating a keystone habit. It’s time to get your friends and family involved. Reading doesn’t have to be something you do on your own. Tell people about what you are reading and what you would like to read in the future. Get others excited about the same things you are excited about. If you can’t convince your friends and family seek out peers that are like minded. There are book clubs and mastermind groups around the world. These groups are there to help each other. They will be there to help you.

Just remember you are forming this habit for you, don’t let others bring you down. Everytime you read it should be something you want to read. Reading will change your life. Make sure you enjoy it and follow through with creating your new keystone habit. As a first step towards sharing your experiences share this post on your favorite social media.  If you really want to get involved sign up for our newsletter and updates.

The Magic of Thinking Big Review

Austin
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2
The Magic of Thinking Big Review

Thinking Big Matters

When you think big you will achieve more. Thinking big can start with the right choice of book. It can be difficult to find a good book if you aren’t already in the habit of reading regularly. I originally decided to read “The Magic of Thinking Big” because I had seen the name in multiple books and I had 2 mentors recommend it to me. I didn’t find this book on my own, someone shared it with me and now I want to share it with you.

How The Way You Think Makes a Difference

Your mind is a powerful thing. It dictates what you are going to do at any point in time. If you want to have a great life you need to start out by thinking in great ways. The person with positive thinking will have a much more positive life than the person that has negative thinking. If you want to achieve your goals, the really big goals, you are going to have to start thinking big.

The Magic of Thinking Big
The Magic of Thinking Big

David Schwartz gave us the book “The Magic of Thinking Big” because he realized how important it was to think big. In this book there are many chapters that can make a difference in your life. I picked 3 to summarize because I want you to get a taste for the book. These 3 lessons come from the first 30 pages of the book. Can you believe that it has over 300 pages and in the first 30 pages David Schwartz was able to create 3 life changing lessons? Now let’s take a look at those lessons.

Win Success by Believing You Can Succeed

Success starts with your mindset. When you think you can do something it is more likely to happen. Be optimistic about what you can achieve. Ask for more than you normally would and believe that you deserve it. Everything in your life is center around your mind and the way you think. Once you can believe you’re successful you will become successful.

Get Big Results by Believing Big

Believe you are worth more. Don’t let yourself get in the habit of thinking you are second best. If you do you will only get second best results. Go big and believe you deserve big results. You are the most important person in your life. Make decisions that show how important you are and get the results you deserve. Never settle for second best.

Plan a Concrete Success-Building Program

Success is built on the plan that you follow. You must create a plan that follows the steps and experiences of the successful people that came before you. Question how they have done it and what you need to do to replicate it. You are going to create a personal training program for yourself. Your goal is to continuously grow and pursue self-development. Seek mentorships, training, and insight that will guide you on your way to success.

About the Author

David J Schwartz
David J Schwartz

I’ve mentioned the author multiple times at this point but he has helped millions of people achieve more. David Schwartz wasn’t just a best selling author. He was a professor at Georgia State University. He also created his own company Creative Educational Services Inc. Dr. Schwartz was an amazing man that wanted to see more people succeed. Here are a few motivational quotes from Dr. Schwartz that you can apply to your life.

“Do what you fear and fear disappears”

“Think little goals and expect little achievements. Thing big goals and wing big success”

“How we think shows in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect thinking”

Reflecting on Others Experience

As you can see David Schwartz was a firm believer that your mind controls your life. It can be hard to understand this at first because it is such a simple concept. The more you think about it the more you will realize that small choices make big impacts. The 3 chapters I shared with you are not enough to fully grasp the concept of Thinking Big but they are a great start. If you want to improve your life with the power of your own mind, I highly recommend picking up the book “The Magic of Thinking Big”. You won’t regret it, I know I didn’t!

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