Set Aside 20 Minutes Each Day to Do This.

Scott McEachern |

Maybe it’s because we had to do so much of it in school? Maybe it’s because of all the flashy electronics that steal our attention?

One thing you should set aside 20 minutes each day to do is read a book. As of January 2014, 76% of American adults said they read at least one book in the last year, according to a study done by Pew Research Centre. Full article here: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/16/a-snapshot-of-reading-in-america-i...

And I’m glad. Because recently I read on the internet (and everything on the internet is true!) that the average person doesn’t read more than 3 books after college/university. I guess the study above debunks that myth.

Read for Pleasure

If your excuse for not reading is because you did too much in school, well, I just can’t accept that. A friend of mine just completed a 52 week reading challenge and he’s an English lit major! Check out his blog here to see the entire list and his “why”: https://followthewhisper.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/2015-reading-challenge...

Some benefits of reading for pleasure:

  • It’s fun (duh.)
  • Expands your vocabulary
  • Improves your imagination
  • Makes you look really smart when watching Jeopardy with friends
  • Reduces stress
  • And more!!

Read for Growth

Personal development books are personally my favourite. I always get new ideas, new thoughts, new viewpoints and strategies, but the key to these books is implementation. Authors share their secrets to you for $19.99 but if you don’t implement what you’ve learned, then really, you’re not much further ahead and you’ll likely forget what you read by next week. That’s why there’s a huge collection of these books for $2 at Goodwill. People get excited about the idea, then scared off by the implementation! Not quite as intense as Jeremy’s challenge above, I challenged myself to read 1 personal development book per month for 2015. If the average book is 200-300 pages, then at the end of the year, I should have 2,500+ pages worth of new ideas, strategies, and goals that should result in being a better me.

Favourite Book I’ve read this year: The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.ca/The-Miracle-Morning-Not-So-Obvious-Guaranteed/dp/09...

Read for Riches

Would you believe that the average person spends more time planning their vacations than their finances each year? I just finished reading The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko as part of my own reading challenge and they reveal a secret that makes complete sense! “The more you study money, the more money you’re likely to accumulate.” How’s that for coming full circle and bringing this blog back to finances.

Have a great week everyone!