The Smart Reading System That Helps Me Read 1 Book Per Week

Happy Thursday everyone!

Hope you’re having an amazing week!

Every time I tell people I read a book a week, 52+ books a year, they’re always surprised and confused about how I do it.

Well, today I want to give you my exact formula and secrets.

Almost everyone always asks me how can they read more.

I think we all understand the intrinsic value of being able to take in the wisdom of the smartest people.

You will run into people that say books aren’t important, but I suggest you ignore those people.

There’s very to no little evidence that proves that to be true.

The average CEO reads a book a week and 50+ books a year.

Or just look at the top of the Forbes list, of the most successful people, just look at how much they invest into their education.

Warren Buffet says he reads 8 hours a day.

Bill Gates takes think weeks which are weeks when he goes on a vacation with just books.

Elon Musk from a very young age always kept a book in his hands.

Alexander The Great traveled with a library.

Having mentors and education is a clear pattern of success.

It’s a pattern that hasn’t changed through history.

But unfortunately, most mentors are either too busy or no longer alive, and that’s when books come into play.

Charlie Munger calls them the imminent dead.

People that aren’t alive anymore but you can still make friends with them by reading their books.

Taking in the knowledge of other smart people that have stood the test of time is called simulation.

And simulation might be the most powerful tool that humans have.

We have the ability to copy and imitate other people.

A majority of the reason why most people don’t get what they want out of life is that they don’t spend their time simulating the experiences of other people but instead try to prove things themselves.

You must stand on the shoulders of giants and not waste your life trying to figure out something that’s already been figured out.

If you want to shave decades off your learning curve, start simulating.

And reading is still the best way to simulate and download knowledge into your brain.

As Buffet says, the more you learn, the more you earn…

If you follow this system you’ll see how you’ll start to see the speed of how you read, the quality of books you read, and the retention of what you learn will all increase.

But more importantly, you’ll become someone that can improve your own life and keep up with the pace of knowledge that’s out there in the world today.

So let’s get into it.

My Reading Ritual

So first things first, I have a pretty simple reading ritual.

Most of the time I’m reading 2 books a day, not completely from front to finish but I dabble in them which we’ll get into in just a second.

I read a how-to book throughout the day and these books are about all topics including health, wealth, love, and happiness.

Something that gives you tangible ideas.

Then I end my day off reading a biography before bed to calm down as it helps to build courage reading the stories of these amazing people.

When I read normally I’m not sitting as I’ve learned sitting is not really optimal for humans.

Instead, I lay on my chair or bed and put my feet up.

I like to really mark up a book when I’m reading as it helps me write key things that stood out to me that I can go back and look at.

I write the key takeaways and most important points at the back of the book.

I also use Evernote to store those notes somewhere other than the book just in case I want to go back to those notes and I don’t have the physical copy with me.

Evernote is good for me, I’ve been using it for years but there are other good ones out there like Notion as well!

Underlining, circling, taking notes inside the book, whatever it is never be afraid to write in the book.

I personally just read 1-2 chapters per day but if reading with a specific time like 30-45 mins or an hour works for you, then go for it.

I start by reading the back of the book as it usually has testimonials and thoughts from other people about the book and sometimes it has a quick summary of what the book is about.

Then I go into the table of contents and see what each chapter is about and which one would interest me most.

I always read the introduction/first chapter and the conclusion/last chapter.

How I Read 1 Book Per Week

So people always ask me how I read so much.

I read a book a week and this is the exact system and secrets that help me do that.

And not just speed reading, but smart reading.

It’s built on 3 components and the speed with which you read is only one

The volume of books you read is important but it’s not everything.

What you read and how often you read it is important too.

This is one of the components.

I think the more you read, you should start to pile up your list of the 100 greatest books you’ve ever read that changed your life.

30-40 books on health, 30-40 on wealth/finances, 30-40 on your social life/love, and 30-40 on happiness/fulfillment.

Read them over and over.

You’re better off reading those great books twice a year than to move onto new books consistently.

Jeff Bezos would re-read Made in America By Sam Walton the founder of Walmart over and over.

So yes read new books to form new ideas, but constantly go back to your list and reread those repeatedly.

I do know how to speed read, and there’s actually a great book called Speed Reading For Dummies that can help with that.

But what I’m going over today is smart reading.

Not speed reading, not skimming, instead a smart reading system to fully optimize your reading.

The second component is having specific goals and intentions with every book you read.

My goal with each book is to get 1-2 golden nuggets I can take away from it.

If I can get one or two big nuggets, I’ve accomplished my goal.

So I look for the chapters that would most benefit me, look through things, and walk away with my golden nugget.

Once I’ve got the golden nugget, and I see there’s no need to read the rest, I’ll move on to the next.

I’m not afraid to stop and move on to the next book without finishing the current book I’m reading.

Because I have an agenda with every book I read.

There’s no rule that says you have to read a book from start to finish, so why are you following it?

You already bought the book and made the author money, no need to make up rules in your own head.

If it’s a REALLY great book, I’ll read it from start to finish.

But the problem with most books is that they’re filled with stories, and I mean understandably so right?

Authors wouldn’t be able to sell if the book just contains the golden nugget, they need to fill the space, and they do that with stories.

They have 1-3 golden nuggets, then the rest is just fluff.

So If your intention is to learn a specific thing, then just go to the chapter that will most fulfill what you’re trying to get out of that book.

It’s a very counter-intuitive way to approach it because we’ve been taught by the masses that books should be read from start to finish.

But these rules and pressure you put on yourself are the same reason you’re held back by the available amount of knowledge that you have.

Work smarter, not harder.

The third component is actually speed reading, but I’ll have a separate newsletter on that topic as it’s a lot to cover.

I just covered the two most important components of this system.

Question:

What’s your goal with reading after learning this system?

Reading a book a week, a book a month, whatever it is leave a comment below!

P.S. I post daily tweets on frameworks, guidelines, and overall great thought's I learn from mentors ahead of me.

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