What I Learned After Reading 52 Books in a Year

At the start of 2021, I knew that I wanted to read more. I’ve always enjoyed books of all types, but as a new business owner, I also realized that it would be valuable to learn more about business, habits, and productivity.

This small desire grew into concrete action when I unexpectedly came across a challenge to read a book a week for an entire year. What made it even more interesting? You had to check in twice a week (once to state your book and again at the end of the week to talk about it). If you missed a check-in, then you owed $20.

So, I did it. I signed up and read 52 books in the year 2021. The content I read varied. Some weeks I read business and growth books, other times I escaped into fantasy and adventure. But the challenge made a surprisingly HUGE impact on my life and business. Here are the key lessons I took away:

1. Learning is a Superpower

What I noticed, more than anything else, is that most people spend very little time on learning. The latest news, movies, and video games are what the majority do in their free time.

Quite frankly, this made my new weekly reading feel like a superpower. In one year, I tripled my income and up-leveled my life. And it wasn’t really that hard. I just read about marketing while most people watched Ozarks.

The lesson: Learning often gives you a massive advantage.

2. You Reading Helps Your Kids Read

In the span of 12 months, my kids saw me read A LOT more. Instead of scrolling my phone I usually have a book on my lap. Funny enough, now they both read a lot more too.

The lesson: I fully believe modeling it is the best way you can get your kids to be learners too. Here’s a great list of books for 10-year-olds.

3. The World Is At Your Fingertips

It turns out that everything I need is within my reach. Reading so much made me realize that I have the power to find out anything I need to know. For my business and for my life. That epiphany brought freedom.

The Lesson: I am in control of how my life goes.

4. Reading Makes You an Outsider

Finally, the same thing that makes you excel also makes you fit in far less. I spent so much time on books that I didn’t know what happened in the latest Bachelor. Or who’s popular on Facebook or Instagram. I don’t have much to contribute to typical conversations now.

I’m not upset about it, but if you have a FOMO problem, reading 52 books will expand it.

The Lesson: Know that reading a book a week makes you different.

5. It’s Not That Hard

The biggest thing I learned from the last year is that knowledge is POWER. And so few people take learning seriously. By doing so, you’ve entered an entirely different world. It reminds me of a saying I heard once that goes something like this…

The Lesson: If you want to be ordinary, it’s crowded and your competition is fierce. But if you do just a little bit more than the average person, if you go the extra mile often, you’ll find there’s really not much competition. It’s not all that hard to get to extraordinary.