So you want to become rich, correct? Do you want to have loads of money coming in while you are lightly resting comfortably on the beach? Well, there is only one way to get there—by reading. Wait, let me take that back. There is a second way to get there.
The second way to get there is to work for 45 years (minimum), save into your 401K, pray you can reach $3 million, and hope it’ll last another 20-30 years. Which way sounds better to you?
Don’t worry; I was like you once before. In fact, I didn’t start reading until about a year ago. I was at the ripe old age of 39 when I became an avid reader; however, it has become a life-changing daily routine that I will never stop.
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Why is reading so powerful? Without reading, you are living your life based on your experiences. Sure, you may run into someone that tells you a story, or you can watch their lives unfold, but for the most part, you walk in the line that your brain tells you to.
For example, I was taught to work hard to get ahead. My parents instilled in me a sense of discipline that most people can’t fathom. I want to excel at everything I do. When I worked at McDonald’s between 1997-1999, I studied hard to be the best employee.
I joined the Marines in 1999, and ever since then, I have fought hard to stay the best Marine that I know how to. That is all I knew, how to work hard and get promoted on someone else’s ladder.
But one day, I realized that no matter how hard I worked, we would never have enough money to travel freely to visit my wife’s family in Turkey. Each trip to Turkey would be a minimum of $10,000-$15,0000, and more if we brought along more family.
Kristina (Kris, my wife) and I had a decision to make. Either we see family once every five years, or we do something to get ahead financially. In January of 2019, we began to rent rooms in our home, which was the start of our passive income journey.
We started paying down debt and investing in dividend-paying stocks. We were becoming more comfortable financially and building a little cushion of safety. The thought of passive income took hold in my spirit. I loved the idea of learning something and watching it grow.
How Do You Define Being Rich?
In June of 2020, I opened my blog, Military Family Investing, and started putting out content. It is important to note that I had not read one book on blogging or otherwise at this point. I kept blogging and getting no traction for months.
Then, in September 2020, I stumbled upon a podcast where Ramti Sethi talked about his book “I Will Teach You to be Rich.” So, I picked it up and completed it. It was the first book I had read that wasn’t a science fiction book.
Immediately after that book, I read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” and the rest is history. It is important to note that I struggled to come up with content for my blog up until this point. I was trying to force topics into my brain without any actual content or way-forward.
After I finished these books, I decided to do a book report on each of them. Today, less than one year from finishing my first book, I am proud to say I have 54 book reports up on my site. You can see them all visually on my Pinterest.
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I am very proud of my book reports and even prouder that I have made reading an integral part of my life. Every night I have to read because it is just what I need to do. No questions, no internal fighting, I just do it.
How has reading helped my life? I can’t even describe how reading has helped me grow as a person, but I will try. First and foremost, it builds confidence in yourself and your situation. Reading does this by allowing you to live someone else’s life and learn directly from their experiences.
When I read a Robert Kiyosaki book, like “Unfair Advantage,” I get to understand what made him who he is. How his time at sea, in the Marine Corps, working at Xerox all helped him become an entrepreneur.
I also understand from reading multiple books that the path of an entrepreneur is not an easy one. When you first start creating content or selling a product, “no one is checking for.” That is slang meaning that no one cares about you in the beginning. Only through consistent and valuable information, content, and products will you start to see results.
These are essential mentorship ideas that have assisted me on my journey to become an entrepreneur. In fact, I think I will write part two of this article. In it, I will list one quick sentence of what I have learned from each of the 54 books I have read. This sounds like a fun thing for me to do on this lovely Saturday in Japan. Okay, back to the article.
Become Insanely Productive During the Magic Hours
How to make reading a habit? Now, becoming an avid reader, especially of non-fiction, can take some time. Here is how I recommend getting started to build a long, illustrious career as a reader.
Start with small books. Today’s books are super long and depressing to read. I’ll be honest; I don’t really care for reading 250+ page books anymore. I do because the content is good, but reading the same book for 7-12 days no longer appeals to me.
This reason is why I recently joined the Kindle Unlimited program. This is an affiliate link to join Kindle Unlimited on Amazon, and I will also post a two-month free program. I joined because you can find good, informative books that are 40-100 pages long. Direct and to the point, plus they are from subject matter experts in their field. The first book I completed from Kindle Unlimited was “How to Start a Microbrewery,” which has vital information on opening a physical business.
Download my free PDFs. Ah, what is life without a shameless plug? I have been hard at work, diversifying some of my content away from Amazon. I now have three complete books available for free pdf download. They are “Retirement Planning for the Average Person,” “Active Service Passive Income.” and “Write a Book in One Week.”
These are real books that I also have for sale on Amazon and other marketplaces. I just sold a copy of Retirement Planning for the Average Person (Amazon) today for $2. So these are good books that you can also email to work or friends. Download and share, please!
4 Steps to Become Rich
Follow Financial Independence Magazine. Another way to get free books to read is to follow my weekly series, Financial Independence Magazine. I have one issue up for free download every week. You can find the schedule here.
Jump in. From there, I have a ton of other books floating around Amazon. You can find a visual guide on Pinterest or through my Author Page on Amazon. You can see all the books I have read either through my website or Pinterest. I also have a couple more articles to help you find what you are searching for: “20 Books that Will Make You Rich” and “20 More Books that Will Make You Rich.”
Conclusion. My favorite line from Ramit Sethi is “Nobody is coming to save you.” That one line is probably why I bought his book. We are the only ones that can save ourselves. If we want to become rich, live a comfortable lifestyle, provide for our families, and become stress-free, we need to read.
Reading is what will keep your brain moving forward and help you process critical information and make informed decisions while you move forward through life. Outside of marrying my lovely wife, it’s the best decision I have made. Did I tell you that we are well on our way to becoming wealthy because of reading?
So please, do yourself a favor, grab a pdf magazine or book, and start training yourself to read. You will not regret it. Enjoy and Happy investing.
Free PDF Downloads: Download FREE PDF books here
Financial Mindset: Become CEO of Yourself (book)
Retirement Planning: Retirement Planning at Any Age (book)
Investing: How We Plan to Retire on Dividends (book)
Cryptocurrencies: My First Book on Cryptocurrencies (book)
Real Estate: Financial Independence through Real Estate (book)
Business: Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business (book)
Everything plus way more: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever! (book)
Read My Books for Free: Free Kindle Books Schedule also on Kindle Unlimited Join me on the best app for Crypto- Voyager
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20 Books that Will Make You Rich (here) part 2 (here)
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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