I started reading daily at age 23.
It's amazing how much I have learned the past decade from doing this.
Today you and I can read the thoughts of the greatest thinkers in history.
And it costs almost nothing.
In terms of money vs. the value you get, that is.
I understand that it costs a lot in terms of dismissed opportunities, time, energy and attention.
But, with knowledge you will not fear growing older.
Instead you will embrace growing older because you get wiser.
And the wiser you get, the more rich and nuanced life becomes.
In this article you can find the first books I would start reading if I had to start my journey over.
I have wasted time on a lot of trash books, but these are books I will re-read.
These are the books I would recommend to my 23 year old self, starting his journey.
How To Win Friends And Influence People
You cannot do anything worthwhile in this world alone.
Nothing.
This book teaches you how to get along with people and how to gain influence.
If I could only recommend one book in the whole world, it would be this book.
If you can't get excited about the principles in this book, life will be hard for you.
If you can truly understand everything in this book, the world is yours.
Atomic Habits
Everything you have in your life, right now, is the result of your habits.
Habits in thinking and habits in doing.
This books tells you everything about habits, how they work and how you can change them.
A goal is great, but what accomplishes the goal is habits.
Get your habits right and everything else becomes easy.
Start With Why
While this book is written by a marketing consultant, the idea is good.
Before doing anything you should know why you are doing it.
If you don't know why you are doing what you are doing, then it doesn't matter.
How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success
Frank Bettger who wrote this book was a miserable failure who played professional baseball.
In this book he describes all the principle he used to go from failure to success.
It's a really good book that can apply to any person, no matter their circumstances.
Scientific Advertising
This book might not be for everyone, but it will give you a great understanding of how to advertise and sell things.
And we are constantly selling things.
If you want to understand the principles behind effective selling and advertising, this is the best book there is.
Almanack of Naval Ravikant
My favorite section in this book is Naval's thoughts on creating value.
Value is what makes you rich, and it is what makes the world a better place.
This section alone makes the book worth it.
But there is of course far more wisdom in this book as well.
The Magic of Thinking Big
If you want to accomplish big things, you need to think big.
Everything starts with your thoughts, even your habits.
Therefore, you will need to get your thinking right.
And this book will help you do just that.
If you think; "No, this can't be done"
Then it cannot be done.
Allow this book to help you to correct that to; "This will be hard, but it is definitely not impossible"
Or even better; "Absolutely, this can be done, and it will be a fun challenge!"
Bonus Tip
As a bonus tip on reading I would suggest you start with 1 page a day.
Just 1 page.
It takes 2 minutes.
This is how I started.
And I had never read voluntarily until age 23.
Slowly you will build up your attention span for reading.
7 years later, I can now read a full day without any problems.
Start small, but make it a daily habit.
See you in the next one.
/ Mads