Future Habits Archives - Page 18 of 22

Why I Love Reading

Why reading is important for personal growth looking out a window — Photo by Kinga Cichewicz via Unsplash

Up until 23 I never read a book on my own from start to finish. Now at 30, I have read 34. That’s just under 5 books a year. My 18-year-old self would be shocked. In my family home, there was no bookshelf or bedtime reading. The only reading material I read was mainly football. (I loved the weekly Match magazine)

What led me to read my first book Think And Grow Rich was my mentor at the time had a great book collection and read all the time to better himself. I thought I will give this a go. For me, it’s one of my fondest memories reading that book and the sense of achievement actually finishing it. The amount of knowledge my brain soaked up was imminence. I came out of it with a better understanding of life and a full review of my own thinking and what I had to improve.

Also when I’m studying any successful person they seem to always have some sought of a library in their home. Two of the richest men on the planet Bill Gates and Warren Buffet consume books all year round.

The Positive factor

Now I knew why and I was hooked. I continued my journey up until I finished my latest book This Is Marketing and not only do I get lots of new information I can apply. Reading a physical book has become like meditation for me to not only focus my brain but it also fuels it to think more positively about life and myself.

Reading has become a part of my life that I will never stop consuming and below I will show you the main benefits you can get from reading. If you were like me who never read any books, this is definitely for you.

The 4 Benefits Of Reading

Unlocks The Imagination

What’s great about reading personal growth books is that it unlocks your imagination to tons of new ideas of how to apply and better your own life. Some of the ideas I have developed from reading have made me a better human being but have financially moved me forward in life. It’s like a dot to dot game where these new ideas connect with olds one to create the idea that can change how you think about everything. Just like with fantasy and Sci-Fi books you can gain a whole new world of ideas from personal growth books.

Makes You An Expert

Through reading, you become an expert on certain topics. I now know more about finance, leaderships and mindset more than school or a university lecture could teach me. I have found the best examples in any chosen field and absorbed all their information to know what they know. It shows university, for example, is not the only path you should take to do well in life and the information you seek to start your own business can be found just as easily in books rather than paying a fortune for a vast amount of degrees that are useless upon leaving university.

Move Your Life Forward

Reading is the fuel that moves you forward in life. Every book I have read has given me a source of information that’s benefited myself and others around me. It can allow you to forge a pathway you never thought possible. A new mentality to life than the one you have been taught all your life.

You should look at reading as building a skyscraper for your life. It helps you forge a strong foundation that you can build upon over time. As an adult, I had to build a brand new skyscraper and use only the good information I was taught growing up to facilitate my foundations. Build your foundations today with what you learn from books. The stronger you can make the foundation the easier your life will become to overcome challneges.

Only Through Action Will You See It’s Benefits

I could easily sit and read book after book but if I don’t apply any of the information I have read. It was just a wasted experience. The only success you can get from reading a book on personal growth is if you apply it and make it work for you. That’s when reading is beneficial to you. Don’t just read for the sake of reading. Read like your making a jigsaw puzzle. You have to find all the pieces from the book to put all the ideas together into action.

Why reading is important for personal growth with a young women reading — Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Conclusion

For me, reading has changed my life for the better. These benefits are from my own personal experience. There is a reason why people are the best in their particular field and it’s because they read regularly. It’s because reading is a major part of our growth strategy.

Of course, I gather information from all sorts of places like podcasts, online and in-person but for me there nothing like holding a book and turning the pages as you gather all those new ideas.

Do you read regularly? What’s your favourite personal growth book? Were you like me, not an avid reader?

I would love to hear from you in the comments.

By Adam Smith

how to make a daily schedule that wins your day — Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

The Importance Of A Daily Schedule

When growing up you probably noticed a major difference between mornings on a school day compared to a weekend. For instance, the school day was more regimented with a daily schedule. It was breakfast, get ready, brush teeth etc. The weekend was a lot more relaxed and watched a lot of Saturday morning children’s TV. As an adult, I look back and understand now the importance of what I was being taught and how a routine could allow me to take control and win my day.

The difference is that on a weekday I was productive and on the weekend I was less. This showed when I apply a daily schedule I achieve a lot more compared to days that I don’t.

If you have goals, a mission or a purpose you want to achieve. Having a daily schedule is a priority.

What Is Scheduling And Why It’s Needed

Scheduling the night before, every week and month can help organise your life. More importantly, it helps your brain for what’s to come. The more prepared you are the easier it is to execute your goals with little effort on thinking what to do next.

This is true if your building your own business where you have so many moving parts you have to deal with. It’s also the case for a manager, leader or a parent which is just as stressful as running a company.

Having a schedule gets things done and is the difference between executing and not. Just imagine your favourites sports team going out on the pitch without a plan. They would surely lose compared to someone who does if they are similar in their ability.

Is scheduling glamorous? NO! Of course, we all love days when we are free to do what we want when we want without responsibility. So schedule those days in and call them free days where you can anything you want. Sometimes we need that.

To move forward faster and execute all of your desires. Knowing what they are and when to apply them matters. You’re going to have to create a schedule to help you out. Treat it like a friend who holds you accountable for your life.

Benefits Of Scheduling

Your Never Be Late Again

What’s great about a schedule you know where you are in life and where you need to be and at what time you need to be there. How annoying is it when you forget to be somewhere or you miss that zoom call because your mind was busy on other tasks that went on for way to long. That’s why knowing beforehand and setting yourself an alarm reminder can make sure you don’t miss or be late for anything again. Also, it gives your subconscious a heads up and 8/10 times it will let you know.

You Become The Productivity King

With a schedule say bye-bye to lazy days of doing nothing and say hello to achieving your life purpose. When you have a plan of action, you act and when you act on something the law of motion takes over and momentum builds from there.

At times I never quite realise how far I have come in life. However when I look back on my week or month. I’m just amazed at the amount of stuff I have got done. That’s all down to planning and preparing my month and week ahead of schedule.

You Become A Person People Can Count On

When you know what you’re doing and act on those plans with success. People around you will take note. You will be a person who follows through on what they say and therefore become a person they can trust. On the other hand, somebody who doesn’t know what there doing in life and always say they are going do this and that but never acts upon it. Are people you can’t depend on.

If you want to be a person people can rely on. You need to plan and act on everything you set out to do. The return you will get from it will change your life with relationships, friendships and further opportunities.

Keeps You Focused And Engaged

What stops anything happening to a high standard is the focus you put into a task. When my 6-year-old son focusses, the things he achieves are incredible. When we take away a schedule from him where he can do whatever he wants to do. Just watch the chaos unfold. It can have it’s benefits and is just a great way to unwind.

Although compared to what he learns and accomplishes there’s a big difference. By him knowing his schedule that he creates himself. He stays on topic and focuses on what he has to do. A Skill that is crucial for adulthood with even more moving parts.

It Holds You Accountable

When you have a schedule and you tell people about it. It’s like glue, you’re stuck to completing it now. If your a person of integrity it acts as a motivational tool to put into action what you have set out. Make sure you tell people close to you or communities of like-minded people of what you wish to achieve. It can have some great effects.

The Tools To Set You Up For Success

Write It Down

This is a no brainier. When designing my schedule. First I write down my agenda and next to it I put a small square box. So when I achieve that intended goal. I can just tick it off. It allows me to have a sense of achievement for completing it and helps motivate me to do more.

Also, there are many apps out there that help you prepare your schedules on the move. I use Notebook to transfer my schedule onto my phone so I can have it everywhere. This helps to remind me and set me back on course

Get The Big Stuff Done

With every schedule, there are easy, hard, quick and time-consuming things to do. I always work best when I can start with the heavy stuff first with the hardest goal on your list.

Throughout the day your energy will diminish and no one wants to leave the hardest challenge to the end of the day. For instance writing, I always write in the morning because I need a fully engaged brain whilst doing it. Whereas later in the day, I do the easy stuff like networking, researching and reading.

To Conclude

Hopefully, there’s enough in this post today that inspires you to take on scheduling today. I guarantee the benefits you will gain from it will be life-changing. Just find out a strategy that works best for you and just go for it.

I would love to hear your tips and strategies of getting more out of your day. Do you agree with scheduling? Are you an avid scheduler yourself?

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