How to Read Like Your Success Depends on It

Tom Bilyeu

I credit my success to reading. And I read a lot. A LOT. So the question that I naturally get asked all the time is how I manage to read as much as I do while still keeping up with the demands of running a company. So here is my definitive guide to reading like your success depends on it, because, well, it does.

1. Start with why.

Why do I read so much? Beca1use there is a critical math equation at work here and it goes like this: Ideas In = Ideas Out. I actually used to have a sign hanging over my desk that read II = IO to remind me. What I mean is I’m not worried about thinking new thoughts. I’m simply trying to make unique connections between old ideas. I believe that’s what makes all of us unique: We make different connections than the next person.

That’s important for two reasons:

1. It means I don’t need to memorize facts from the book; I’m just trying to truly understand the overarching themes that will then act as reactive molecules in the chemistry of my mind.
2. I always read the whole book (versus an abridged or CliffNotes version) because I’m looking for the ideas that stand out to me, which might be very different than the ideas that stand out to someone else. So I don’t skim, but I don’t get hung up on things that don’t resonate or I don’t understand.

2. Improve your reading speed.

I am a ridiculously slow reader. I once had a teammate at Quest show me something he had written. I read it and told him I liked it, but he didn’t believe me, “Something must have bothered you; you read it three times.” I had to laugh out loud, because I had only read it once. That’s just how slow I read.

Reading that slowly, however, simply wouldn’t do. So I had two choices:

1. Learn to speed read. Tried that, and though I could move my eyes across the words faster, I couldn’t understand or retain the information.
2. Use audiobooks.

I went with audiobooks. I use the Audible App. So when I say I “read” something, I actually mean I listened to it. The advantage here is that I can assimilate information aurally, very, very quickly. Also, the magic of the Audible app is that it allows you to speed up the playback—allowing you to go all the way to 3x the normal speed. That’s where I live: 3x. To be clear though, I had to work my way up to that. I started at 1.5x, then pushed myself to 2x, then ultimately to 3x. So don’t expect 3x to be intelligible from day one. But like anything, if you push yourself and stick with it, you will get better. So push yourself

3. Always be reading. 

There’s a saying in sales that I hate: ABC (always be closing). But I live by the mantra ABR—always be reading. Audiobooks are a huge help with this, because as long as I have my phone and headphones, I can read literally anywhere. As such, I not only read during stretches of free time, I also read in the transitional moments of life. Here is a nearly exhaustive list of the times and places I read:

• Driving
• In an Uber
• On an airplane
• Walking the dogs (or walking, period)
• In the shower
• While brushing my teeth
• While getting dressed
• While waiting anywhere (if I’m alone)

Without a doubt, I prefer to read when I can read for long stretches of time, but I’ve just found that all of the little moments add up to a lot of reading (especially at 3x), and thus a lot of new and exciting ideas.

4. Cover a topic from all angles. 

I don’t memorize books; I get the big ideas and move on. Don’t get me wrong, I lament that I don’t have a naturally prodigious memory (Kim Peek, anyone?), but since I don’t and I continue to get great results from simply focusing on the big ideas, I haven’t invested the energy into improving my memory, or felt it necessary to back off from digesting books at 3x.

Another thing that keeps me from worrying about remembering certain facts is that I usually read as many books on a given topic of interest as I can. When you do that, you’ll find that themes emerge, and those themes become very familiar. And when you collect them from many different points of view, they firm up in my mind in a much richer way than they would if I slowed down and read a book like I was preparing for a final exam. This approach also ensures that I don’t fall prey to the confirmation bias (reading only ideas that agree with what I already believe).

This is how I read and these are the hacks I use to absorb as many new ideas as possible. May those techniques serve you as well as they’ve served me.

The 3 Habits Productive People Find Time for Every Day

Daniel Dipiazza

Founder of Rich20Something

1. Become an early riser by going to bed early.

There was probably a period of time in your life where it was easy stay up late into the night (or early into the next morning) trying to get things done.

For me, however, that period was over a long time ago. Recently, I’ve come to realize that all eight-hour periods just aren’t created equally.

Going to bed at 10 pm and waking up around 6 am is EXPONENTIALLY better than going to bed at 3 am and waking up around 11 am, even though number of hours you sleep is the same. I’ve tested this over and over again, and the evidence is pretty clear: I don’t perform well if I stay up past 11 pm-ish. 

Early risers really do have a distinct advantage when it comes to mental clarity, acuity and energy.

Simply put: waking up early works better than any other strategy for becoming more productive. But you have to make sure you get enough sleep to back it up. So get to bed!

I’ve had to give myself a bedtime and be my own parent by ruthlessly enforcing it. It was harder than it sounds, because I’ve been programmed to stay up late for so many years.

2. Start every day with an intention, focus or meditation.

Starting your day with  a clear idea of what you want to do changes EVERYTHING.

Have you ever had a day where as soon as you woke up, there were already missed calls, text messages and emails screaming for your attention? You felt like you were struggling to stay afloat before breakfast. Oh, that sounds like every day, you say? That needs so stop.

 

3. Physical activity. Do it.

Working out is probably the highest-leverage tool in your arsenal. It predictably and reliable makes you feel  better and keeps you both physically and emotionally healthy, year round.

To have the mental energy to take on the full calendar of to-do’s that people want from you, you have to be in the gym.

Period.

Training yourself physically not only gives you benchmarks to hit on a regular basis, but it also creates a predictable backbone in your daily life that you can count on, even if everything goes wrong. Mentally, that’s very comforting.

Trust me, I know that integrating these habits into your life won't be easy at first. But if you're not healthy, your business can't thrive anyway. Consider them a long-term investment in your business.