Improve Yourself in Just 15 Minutes a Day

As a college professor for over 20 years, I've come across some pretty smart people.  A few years back, a student was taking my graduate leadership class.  I didn't know it at the time, but he happened to be an oral surgeon who ran a successful practice.  Apparently, he decided to take my course because he wanted to "improve himself."  He told me one day after class that he calculated he has about 10,000 days left to live (if everything goes as planned) so he wanted to make the most out of each day.  As I discovered that semester, Dr. V. (not his real name) was an extraordinary person and I found myself wondering who was really teaching whom.

At the end of the term, each student was asked to complete a leadership presentation. When Dr. V. stood up to give his oral report, he said something that forever changed how I thought about education.

This is what he said:

"We all are born with the same amount of knowledge.  None.  We each have to learn everything we know."

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but as someone with four college degrees, I had never thought of learning like that.  I simply went to school because I enjoyed it and didn't know what else to do at the time.  Dr. V., however, taught me a valuable lesson — it's up to each one of us to put knowledge into our brains.  It doesn't get there any other way.

Sure, we learn by our cumulative life experiences, too, but Dr. V's point was that there's only one person who can make you a smarter, more successful person.  You.  

You don't have to take Dr. V's word for it though.  Most successful people will tell you the same thing.  In fact, what do Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg have in common besides their fortunes?  Their love of books and consistent dedication to reading.

Oprah once said, “Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.”

Bill Gates reads 50 books a year.  Mark Zuckerberg isn't far behind.

In other words, reading is essential for us to unlock our full potential so we can grow and become our best selves.  

This is especially true of our real estate career.  

Improve Yourself in Just 15 Minutes a Day

It's probably not a surprise that I encourage my students and own real estate agents to Read! Read! Read!  But now I hope you know why.

It's up to each one of us to put valuable knowledge in our head.  I can't do it for you.  No one can.

That's why I love encouraging people to read.  I know of the impact and difference it can make.  I've seen it in my own life and see it every day with my students.

So if I may, without sounding too much like a college professor, encourage you to read, too.

But don't read just anything.  Read books that help you grow as a person and a professional.

Now, I know what you are thinking, "I don’t have time to read 50 books a year like Bill Gates!"  I get that.  Not many people do.  So, I want to show you something really encouraging.  When this was shown to me, it changed how I thought and felt about reading.  

Suppose you read about 250 words a minute (300 words a minute is the adult average so we'll assume you're a slower reader than most) and you resolve to devote just 15 minutes a day to reading.  Let's do the math and see what happens.

In one year (365 days) you would read for 5,475 minutes.

Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year.

Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page.  So, if we take 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year, we get 3,910 pages per year.

This means that at 250 words a minute, 15 minutes a day, you could read about 20 average-sized books a year.  

Think about that. 

How much richer would your personal and professional life be if you read 20 books a year?  You could become a better parent or spouse, you could learn a new skill (or two), grow your faith, or dramatically improve your career.

Aren't all of those things worth 15 minutes of your time a day?

Read Well, Not for Volume

Hopefully, I've convinced you to pick up a book and get started.  But where should you start? 

There's really no wrong place to begin.  I'm often asked about books I recommend, so below are 5 books I suggest every real estate agent read. 

1.  The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy

2.  The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg

3.  Building a Story Brand, Donald Miller

4.  The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale

5.  The Richest Man in Babylon, George Clason

Let me close with a word of caution.  Beware of reading for quantity to impress anyone.  Read for your soul.  Read well.

If we could live a thousand years and experience a thousand relationships in a thousand times, places, and cultures, perhaps we wouldn’t need books to become wiser.  But our lives are short and we're fortunate to have the wisdom of many places, times, cultures, and people distilled into books.

Take advantage of other's wisdom.  Put it deep inside your brain and make it your own knowledge.  Read books that strengthen the areas in your life that are important to you.  When you do, you'll become a smarter, better person.  And surely, that's worth 15 minutes a day.

Here's to your success,