HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING THE MOST OF THE BOOKS YOU READ?

Do you read books or do you just pass by?

Reading books is of enormous value and its importance cannot be overemphasized. The act of reading is likened to having a conversation with the author. That is why an author can mentor you from afar without having any intimate relationship with you. Acquiring wisdom from a book is much more than just reading in between the lines.

I have come to tell you the extra thing to do to make the most of the books you read.

Until the book you read fuels you, you haven’t made the most of it.

You can view reading a book as eating energy-giving food. When metabolism occurs, the food you have eaten then releases energy to the body system.

The part of reflecting on the books you read and writing the action items down is where metabolism takes place. You should read a book and also take away action items from the book.

Why should a person boast of reading 40 books on building and scaling a business and has nothing to show for it in results?

I believe that you will agree with me that the volume of the books you read does not amount to much until you are able to convert it to results or outcomes.

Many years ago, I was chatting with a good friend and he asked if I had read a particular book. I actually read the book but it didn’t make so much sense to say “yes” because I could barely remember anything from a book that had 381 pages…I know that’s totally absurd.

Do the books you read impact on your results?

It’s actually possible to read to acquire general knowledge, but what I want to majorly address is reading for results(Results here means improvement).

Earlier this year, I published a post on my birthday where I shared 7 things I learned over the years. The fifth point in that post was about self-reflecting on the books you read. I will expatiate more on that point in this post.

3 Tips to help you make the most of books

1. Why are you reading?

I think the first question I should ask you is why you are reading this post. If you let me answer for you, then I will say that it’s because you want to make the most of the books you read.

It’s so important to know why you bought, collected, or downloaded a book to read. This helps to drive you all through the book with curiosity and expectation.

Let’s paint a scenario of someone who wants to know more about real estate investment. The person should be sure of what they want from any book they pick to read.

For example, a person wants to know:

• How much a newbie can invest
• How to meet buyers
• How to engage an agent to manage it…

Whatever it is, being clear on the purpose of reading ascertains a result in view. The next time you want to read a book, pen down the reason you want to read it.

2. Document Your Aha Moments Per Chapter And Self Reflect On Them

This is so much of a big deal because it aligns with the first point mentioned above. Once you are on the lookout for something when reading a book, along the line, you begin to observe lots of wisdom that you perfectly need. Your “aha moment” is a moment of sudden insight or discovery.

“The most important part of reading a book is the 5–10 minutes when you come across something that hits you and then have to self-reflect (carefully look inward to see how it applies to you and how you can change)”

You can then write down the wisdom that you discovered and begin to engage in a conversation with yourself on how it applies to you and how you can change your current situation with the new wisdom that you have interacted with.

3. Have A Final Review Session When You Are Done

This helps you to go over everything you have documented per chapter all through the reading process. This can include writing a list of action items that you intend to work on to get the results you desire.

I will love you to start taking cognizance of these tips, use them, and get better rewards for the time and effort that you put into reading books.

NOTE: If you have a problem with finishing books, you should really visit the purpose of reading, it helps you hold on till you get what you want.

Share your thoughts with me in the comment section.

I’m rooting for you!!!