Successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates read 50 books a year on average. How much do you read? While it’s not necessarily about reading more books than the next guy, there is something to reading that is fundamental to your growth as a working professional.
For one, reading is known to decrease stress. It also mentally sharpens you and teaches you things you wouldn’t have learned otherwise. But that doesn’t mean that every book under the sun is fair game; to grow in your career, you ideally should be reading material that is relevant to your industry and the greater professional world around you.
In general, the most successful individuals don’t consume a lot of fiction. They spend their time reading self-improvement books pertaining to business, finance, entrepreneurship, or other related subjects. The problem for many of us, however, is finding the time to read.
In reality, we consume tons of content on a daily basis. From texts to social media posts and articles, we do a fair share of reading — we just aren’t very selective about what we read. For those of us with a busy 9-to-5 schedule, we also aren’t selective about how we manage our time throughout the day.
Do you want to know a secret? Successful entrepreneurs and professionals have the same (or similar) time constraints as the rest of us, yet they still find the time to read. How? They take advantage of the gaps in their days. The good news is that you can do the same.
Lunch breaks present the perfect opportunity: Rather than socialize with your coworkers every day, take two or three of those days to make headway in a book. Not sure what to read? That’s also not a problem.
While there are literally thousands of books published on a weekly or even daily basis, there are some true staples that helped the most successful individuals advance in their careers. To make the process a little easier, Fundera compiled the 18 best business books available for you:
