I was recently listening to an episode of Founders where they were talking about the book “Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon“. One quote that they shared really stood out to me:
“I know a bunch of middling entrepreneurs, who aren’t that successful, and they don’t read at all. And then yet I spend time with all these billionaires and they read all the time. It’s like, why do billionaires read so much?”
The question is kind of tongue-in-cheek, but there are a few ways to think about it. The main thought I had was this: do billionaires read more because they’re billionaires and they have more time to read, or did all of that reading help them get there?
- Bill Gates was a voracious reader earlier in life, and today he still reads more than almost anyone.
- Before he co-founded Paypal, and way before he became the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk would read for up to 10 hours every day.
- Charlie Munger said that his kids used to “think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out.”
Of course, many of us didn’t read as much as we should have in our younger years, but that doesn’t mean we get to just bail on it. Starting today is better than starting tomorrow. For example, I don’t know about their earlier lives but:
- Warren Buffett spends 5-6 hours a day reading, often newspapers and financial documents.
- Mark Zuckerberg tries to read a book a week “with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies”.
- Mark Cuban reads three hours every day, and he says that this worked wonders at the start of his career.
Charlie Munger summed it up very well when he simply said: “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none, zero.“
It’s easier said than done, for sure. Between your work and your family, not to mention entertainment and rest, finding time to read can be challenging. The good thing is, it’s unlikely that anyone is forcing you to do it so it’s entirely up to you.
It *seems* to be so hard to find reading time, yet look at these people who make time! You mentioned entertainment. I wonder how much we’ve allowed ourselves to be entertained to our detriment. I’ve had seasons of life where I went weeks, even months, without watching TV. It may be time to do that again!
Someday I’d love for you to document how you carve up time in a day, or a week. I think I want to get into a regular habit of reviewing each day for how well I used my time. Two quick “pre” observations: 1) I’ve rarely regretted time with people, 2) when I’ve taken time to read, it always feels like accomplishment.
Side note: One thing I don’t want to give up for reading is sleep. It took me a long time to learn the value of a good night’s sleep. Maybe Tom Rath needs to do a new version of his book, ‘Eat, Move, Sleep’ and add ‘Read” to it!
Entertainment is certainly a vice of mine. Today there is a new season of Fortnite and a new course on my favorite VR mini golf game, so I’ll certainly spend too much time in those. 🙂
Carving a typical week is tricky, though. In the last year, my evenings opened up dramatically when my youngest got her drivers license, so I usually have 7-11pm for myself. That’s where reading and writing come in, but also some gaming and TV.
I’ve found what works best is pressure, often applied by this blog. If my stash of drafted posts gets too low (under 8-10 of them), I need to write more. Further, if my stash of ideas for future posts gets too low, I need to read more. Writing every day forces both of those habits to take a rather large priority most evenings, which is entirely the goal.
Thank you for writing this and thank both of you for the exchange in the comments.