Some days ago, I had the opportunity to read a post on the website Business Insider that talked about the importance of reading. However the article, which was based on a study made by Tom Corley, said that is not only important the reading habit but the type of content we read. This was the conclusion because he found that people who are less successful financially read entertainment books while financially successful people read books to improve that include subjects related with their career and self-improvement.
The truth is that even though the result of the study didn’t surprise me at all; I decided to write a little reflection about this subject. It must be clear to everybody that improving our competences will cement the road in order to have a better job and income. This is the reason why many people decide to study an undergraduate career, than a master and perhaps a PhD. Doing this is very important because a known institution will certificate you have acquire some knowledge with lectures, readings and works. But, what happens when we finish? Have we finished?
My answer is a definite “no”. I think even though these diplomas are important, training and studying has to come from ourselves. We should not read only when we are studying for a test this must become a habit. I know that in my career as a consultant I need to read because I have to be updated. But I also think that if I had other career I should also read because we must try to be the best in what we do, regardless of whatever it is.
Before I finish, I am sharing with you some data Tom Corley found in his study:
- 11% of rich people read books for entertainment while 79% of poor people do it
- 85% of rich people read two or more educational career related or self-improvement books compared with a 15% of poor people
- 94% of rich people reed news in newspapers or blogs while only 11% of poor people do it
I think the conclusion is evident: ¡time to reed educational books!
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