An Intriguing Observation

In the About this Blog page, I listed a few links leading to webpages claiming that reading 7 business books a year would dramatically increase one’s earning compared to others in the same profession. In fact, the exact figure was to be able to earn 230% more.  A colleague inferred perhaps the people that do so are already motivated in their work and that the reading was not the catalyst to earn more, but a characteristic of the type of person who earns more. However true this might be, it was soon contradicted in only the third month of running B2B Books.

The other day, the same colleague pointed out something he had been experiencing while reading B2B Books latest book, a great increase in motivation and inspiration. I was very surprised by given his initial statement about increase earning potential and that he join the club. It turned out that even by the second chapter of our latest book, Bargaining for Advantage, he was not only motivated but influenced to take actions toward professional development.  I was absolutely thrilled with his drive to improve his abilities in business – hell, it motivated me as well. That being said it did make think about reading and motivation a little more in depth.

I have read that everyone wants to be good at what they do. It seems only to be natural. In fact, it would seem that everyone follows a similar path to getting better, a mental one. Each of us accomplish a work task and then mental review what we did and how we could improve upon what we have done. For instance, after a discover meeting with a client I often pick my and my colleagues brains about how I could have listened more intently, how I should asked more in depth questions, or how I could have validated concerns. I mentally compartmentalize the answers to these questions for future reference hoping to replicate them in the future.  Reading seems to pull this personal reflection to the forefront of our minds and empowers us to take action with the many different nuggets of information we come across. Basically, it enhances an already intrinsic system to improve.

What a powerful tool and it does strengthen my already held belief that reading business books will lead to increased proficiency in my career and to higher and higher incomes.