Reading is often thought of as a passive activity;a means to unwind or escape the monotony of daily life. But if you were to ask yourself whether reading every day was a catalyst for success, what do you think your answer might be? It might surprise you to learn that the world’s most successful people not only make it a point to read every single day, but they also credit their success to spending one hour a day, five days a week, leafing through the pages of a good book.  

One Hour A Day Is A Precursor To Success

If the world’s busiest, most successful entrepreneurs can carve out an hour per day to lose themselves in a good book, surely you can too. More importantly, have you ever considered how doing something as seemingly run-of-the-mill as reading can lead to financial success? 

The answer is surprisingly simple. If you actively dedicate just five hours of your week to learning something new, you’re far more likely to advance yourself and your career. Continued success isn’t achieved by working feverishly long hours in the hope that someone will take notice. Rather, it comes from gradually becoming an authority in a subject relevant to your chosen career and gaining so much knowledge about something that you’re able to come up with the next million-dollar idea. 

Many of us lose our desire to read as we grow into adulthood. Reading, which is considered a leisurely activity more than anything else, often tends to fall by the wayside when stacked against activities with tangible results: managing a home or keeping physically fit, for example. Unfortunately, these “tangible” activities don’t always result in success that permeates every aspect of your life. Reading keeps your mind moving, questioning, and experimenting with new ideas. Although it is perhaps only a “passive” activity, it is the best precursor to success in everything that you do.

Successful People You Might Know

You might be saying, “Okay, you talk a big game about reading, but can you name anyone I might know who benefits from following the five-hour rule?” Of course! We would never have written this article if we couldn’t list a few of the world’s top entrepreneurs for you to use as inspiration. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerburg all count themselves as stalwart practitioners of the five-hour rule.

Improve Your Intelligence

It goes without saying that you aren’t going to improve your intelligence by reading the back of a cereal box, playing video games until the wee hours of the morning, or sharing memes with your friends. You can, however, dramatically increase the breadth of your knowledge by reading about things you previously knew nothing about.   

Reading isn’t just about absorbing content—it’s about finding inspiration in a new subject that drives you to learn more, to ask new questions and to think outside of the box. It’s about developing curiosity and applying the knowledge you have gained in an attempt to create something new, or make something better. Improving intelligence is where success comes from, and intelligence comes from reading. 

Where To Buy and Order Books 

Hopefully, you’ve been inspired to accept the five-hour challenge, and are keen to acquire a wide variety of books. You can visit your local library branch, but it’s much more convenient to order books online, many of which can be delivered to your door in a day or two at a discount price.  

Five hours a week is likely not a significant time commitment for most people, so ask yourself: Isn’t the possibility of achieving continued success through reading worth such a modest investment?