“Go to bed every night a little wiser than you were when you got up”
-Charlie Munger
Humans tend to live their lives on an autopilot mode by not doing much every day and never learning anything, these are the same people who often wonder about people’s success in life, keep procrastinating and take no actions towards making a better living for themselves. However, when we dig deep down at the habits of this successful lot of people we found that among other habits these people are voracious readers.
Yes, the ability to learn constantly is one of the most essential traits of any successful entrepreneur. It may sound irrelevant to you but in the world of business, change is constant and with change comes either business growth or decline.
And for you to survive in a world of constant change, it is a must to keep updating your knowledge base and stand out with a crunch. Reading is the one and the only best way to do this. To testify this practice, I being an entrepreneur with a hectic schedule every day still make out time to read. Want to know why reading is good for an Entrepreneur? Here are a few reasons from my experience:
- Be Fashionable with the time
‘When in Rome behave like Romans’
Being old-fashioned and outdated with your information and knowledge is the worst nightmare every entrepreneur is scared of. The world we live in is prone to ‘CHANGE.’ The change is constant and so rapid that if you are not on guard, you might be left behind. Thus, be ready to be on the go about everything and anything through constant reading ritual.
- Be Well-Fed
As an Entrepreneur, I am expected and supposed to be a well-informed person with a mind to troubleshoot any problem that comes my way. In order to understand and know about the threats and issues of the market, I am supposed to keep my eyes open for solutions and opportunities. Reading as a habit keeps me well fed about the solutions and causes that I or my business can get caught with.
- Know The Upcoming Market Trends:
An entrepreneur is like a media reporter when it comes to ‘trends.’ Having a hold on any of the upcoming market trend and understanding its worth to implement it to business on right time can be a competitive advantage in business. Reading helps you to spot it fast enough and take advantage of it. For instance, I am not an industrial analyst, but after the analysts have done the dirty work, I can always pick up their journals and learn about their opinions and analysis for the business which can turn out to be of great help for my business as well.
- It helps you to become a Generalist:
Having a business that you own and have to take it to a different height altogether builds a pressure and responsibility on your shoulder. In order to grow your business and understand the dynamics through which it has to undergo, your intellect needs to have a wider understanding of terms and fields you are good at and also, the ones you aren’t great with…after all, you can’t build your own castle without getting your hands dirty.
In the end, always remember, you’re the driver of your own car, the direction you chose and the gear you move your car is always your decision. But, the right decision can take you to your destination and the wrong one will make your doom.
The choice remains yours…