I recently decided to dig in to understand the reading habits of some of the most successful people in recent decades, and quickly found one common thread: they all love to read. All of them. I have no doubt that there are exceptions, but my initial digging didn’t find any.
Here are ten people that I looked up, with some notes on their reading habits and a link to more.
Elon Musk
“Whenever anyone asks how he learned to build rockets, Musk replies that he read books. He doesn’t just read them; he devours them.”
https://fs.blog/elon-musk-book-recommendations/
Jeff Bezos
Is known to be a voracious reader, and often gives books to his top execs to keep them going.
https://fs.blog/jeff-bezos-read-these-books/
Larry Ellison
Often shares lists of books that he recommends, like this list (with his reasons for each book).
https://www.readthistwice.com/person/larry-ellison
Warren Buffett
“I still probably spend five or six hours a day reading,” Buffett says in HBO’s documentary, “Becoming Warren Buffett.” “I like to sit and think. I spend a lot of time doing that and sometimes it is pretty unproductive, but I find it enjoyable to think about business or investment problems.”
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/becoming-warren-buffett
Mark Cuban
“I read more than three hours almost every day”
https://blogmaverick.com/2011/04/07/shark-tank-success-motivation/
Larry Page
“American billionaire CEO and co-founder of Google Lawrence Edward “Larry” Page loves to read. In his incredibly busy schedule, he takes the time to flip through the traditional hundred pages of his favorite reading material. No more, no less.”
https://huxley.media/en/to-do-something-important-you-have-to-overcome-the-fear-of-failure-google-co-founder-larry-page-s-rules-of-success/
Bill Gates
“Bill Gates’ advice to his younger self is very simple: Pick up a book.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/26/bill-gates-took-solo-think-weeks-in-a-cabin-in-the-woods.html
Mark Zuckerberg
“Reading has given me more perspective on a number of topics — from science to religion, from poverty to prosperity, from health to energy to social justice, from political philosophy to foreign policy, and from history to futuristic fiction. This challenge has been intellectually fulfilling, and I come away with a greater sense of hope and optimism that our society can make greater progress in all of these areas.”
https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/how-do-your-reading-habits-compare-to-elon-musks-mark/305369
Phil Knight
“Phil Knight, the founder of Nike and author of Shoe Dog, spoke of how he was constantly reading books about combat, war strategy, and generalship to help keep him focused during the turbulent days of Nike.”
https://baos.pub/a-professional-military-reading-list-d47647e1739a
Steve Jobs
“While Steve Jobs famously once said that people don’t read anymore, he’s wasn’t one of them. The innovator, salesman and tech and marketing visionary was also a prolific reader with a penchant for poetry, LSD, Bauhaus and Zen Buddhism.”
https://radicalreads.com/steve-jobs-favorite-books/
I’ve noticed the same in my own life. Those around me that I look up to are almost all very heavy readers, most of whom read considerably more than I do.
Learning from your mistakes is wise, but learning from others is far superior.
What have you been reading lately?
I would love to hear how all these readers keep track of what they’ve learned in reading. I know you (Mickey) take great notes as you read. I wonder if that’s normal for these other readers? Can you image the value of the combined notes from some of these people who are consistent readers?
Wow, I hadn’t really considered that. Great question! I have no idea, and I’ve not really seen that shared anywhere.
I imagine that some don’t really have a system if they’re reading for many hours every day, but most probably have something. I’ll have to dig deeper and see what I can find.