Want a great ROI idea? Read something!
Paul White's nationally distributed syndicated column, “Want a great ROI idea? Read something!” is published in 22 publications across seven states. This includes the following newspapers and digital publications: Midland Daily News (MI), SFGate (CA), Seattle PI (WA), Connecticut Post (CT), Laredo Morning Times (TX), Huron Daily Tribune (MI), The Telegraph (IL), and more. In this week's article, Paul offers advice on achieving the highest return on investment (ROI) by reading more. He invites you to take four minutes to read this article and discover how to begin a new journey toward consistent joy and happiness by investing more time in reading.
One of this country’s most admired thought leaders was asked at one of his open forums what he felt was most important in a person’s pursuit of success. He responded that there were three key things every person should do throughout their lifetime if they wanted to achieve the highest level of personal success.
He said, “In no particular order, the three things are: a person should READ, READ, and READ!”
It took just a moment for the people in attendance to realize that he was serious. He had thoughtfully answered the question and was ready to stand by what he had said.
If someone were to ask me if there was one thing I considered most important in the success I’ve experienced in life, I would enthusiastically reply that it is the knowledge I’ve gained through reading.
But there’s trouble. Reading books is on a serious decline. Long articles, whose length is necessary to properly present the information acquired through diligent research, are often beyond the short attention span of today’s society. Social media has influenced learning into snippets. If it takes more than a few minutes to read, it won’t be read. Same with videos. Go beyond two minutes and you’ve lost your audience.
What a shame. I’m unable to comprehend why everyone on this planet can’t come to the conclusion that reading offers the highest Return On Investment (ROI) of any possible investment a person can make, including both money and time. I see consistent reading throughout one’s life as a life principle that should be adopted at an early age and pursued consistently in unison with the different stages of life we experience as we age….until death do us part.
Recently, I’ve read three books that have had a powerful impact on my life and how I process information.
The first was “The Deepest Well” by Nadine Burke Harris. I gained incredible knowledge about how the brain develops in the first five years of life and the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences. My wife and I had the privilege of adopting our youngest son at the age of five and a half. My ability to effectively parent grew tenfold with the new understanding this book provided.
The second book was “Think Again” by Adam Grant. This author is a genius! The book helped me navigate a paradigm shift in the way I approach thought processes in every area of my life. It gave me the willingness to employ the power of rethinking everything when I’m able to acquire new data and information that I didn’t possess before. Reading this book has helped me to be excited to listen to other people’s opinions which may differ from my own, and to enter into courteous debate that leads to all of us growing together. As a person, I’ve grown immensely since reading this book.
The third book was “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel. It gave me key insight about what drives behavior regarding a person's financial life. Think about how huge an impact money has on each of our lives. I was able to gain keen insight into how different people value a college education, what drives their thoughts regarding retirement, and why some people find their happiness with having enough, and why others will never be able to reach enough. Bottom line is that my financial IQ increased dramatically and I have a better understanding of what drives my financial decisions. All for an initial investment of $27 (which is less than what some people spend on coffee in a week).
Oh, and by the way, you can read the books at your local library for FREE!
As an adult, I’ve read hundreds of books. When asked which book has had the most powerful positive impact on my life, I gravitate towards three: The Butterfly Effect, The Traveler’s Gift, and The Noticer which were all written by Andy Andrews.
Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, Dale Carnegie, Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Todd Gongwer, Tony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, and many more have all written books that have had a powerful positive impact on my life. I’m grateful to all of them. I also read a lot of fiction for simple pleasure.
Clive Cussler and John Grisham are a couple of authors whose books I’ve been devouring for decades.
I LOVE reading the local paper every day front to back and embracing well-written magazine articles.
In our current society, we’ve become experts at filling in time with activity. It appears that our pursuit of happiness drives us to schedule as much as possible into every available time slot we have. Much of this is being driven by FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). We even rate the anticipated quality of scheduled experiences so they can be replaced if an opportunity for a better experience comes up in the meantime. Maybe THAT’S why reading books is at an all-time low.
The value of reading is misunderstood, undervalued, ignored, and frankly, can’t be marketed as “sexy.” But it CAN be marketed as valuable and time-worthy with the greatest potential ROI of anything else you can spend your money on. I’d like to witness an increase in people reading books that are of interest to them. I could use your help.
I’d like you to take immediate action right now. Read a paper (even if it’s the online version), purchase a book that will help you grow as a person, or drive directly to the library, where you can read a paper, a magazine, or a book.
Make the commitment to pursue the three things necessary to achieve the highest level of your own personal success: Read, Read, and Read. GiddyUp!
In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist, Paul White is an author, motivational and inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, and life coach located in Midland, Michigan. He offers self-help and culture development to start your journey towards consistent growth and joy. If you’re interested in getting in touch with Paul, please submit an inquiry via our Contact Page.