I wanted to share an excerpt from author Ryan Holiday with you. In a recent email that he sent out regarding recommended books, he wrote the following:
My entire career has been made possible by what I read, and yet most people don’t even bother to look inside a book! Is there a better investment you can make in yourself than a book? Certainly there is not much better in terms of return on investment… for a few dollars, you can read something that changes your life.
Books bring life’s experiences to light. They reveal mistakes and, most importantly, lessons learned from those mistakes. If you read a book and heed the author’s words, you will benefit from the situation versus becoming someone who had to learn it the hard way.
Besides, wouldn’t you want to follow the habits of those who have experienced great success? Bill Gates reads, on average, 50 books a year. He says he reads 3 hours a day when he goes on vacation. According to CNBC, Warren Buffett spends 80% of each day reading.
Romans 12:2 comes to mind when talking about books.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Reading is influential in the development of knowledge and beliefs. No more will you be susceptible to “crowd think.” You will stand firmly on your own beliefs with a renewed mind.
Of course, the great thing about reading is that few barriers get in the way of a good habit. Availability is not an issue. In most cases, you can download a book in a few minutes. However, it does come down to personal choice of how you prioritize your time. It is about investing time in yourself versus binge-watching shows on Netflix (guilty of that one). Of course, if you are talking about reading God’s Word daily, you are talking about the ultimate investment of time.
So the next time you pick up a good book, consider that it might be placed in your path to teach you something important. That changes the perspective of how you choose to invest your time.
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