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Case Study: How To Read 30 Books In 30 Days

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readAfter my first year of college, I decided to do something different over the summer—read a lot of books.

I used a portion of my Monthly Performance Reports to put my reading lists on full display. While I normally read 5-10 books in a given month, the summer days allowed that reading list to morph into 30 books every month.

I didn’t take time off from my business during this time. In fact, I dramatically increased the amount of books I read while preparing to lead a Content Marketing Success Summit, one of the biggest projects of my life up to that point.

In this blog post, I’ll share my story so you can reap the benefits of reading 30 books every month without feeling overwhelmed by work, your personal life, or anything else.

#1: Have The Books On Hand

Before I began my 30-book per month reading journey, I knew I needed to have all of the books readily accessible. So, to put it bluntly, I went on a bargain buying spree.

I knew that by the time I finished reading any given book it would be filled with notes and underlines, so I didn’t mind buying used books (as long as they didn’t have any underlining or highlighting included).

My adventure began on eBay where some people are desperate to part ways with their books. Because the bulk lots included anywhere from 10-20 books per order, I bought books at a rate from $1 to $4 per book depending on who was selling them.

And all of these books were LEGIT, not aged books that are no longer relevant. In fact, I published several books before social media taught me the marketing tactics that work today (often overlooked in the new age of digital marketing).

If you prefer to read books on a device, you’re all set. You can buy all of your books in a few clicks. I prefer reading paperback editions, which is why I decided to purchase books in bulk on eBay.

Buy in bulk

The only problem with book lots is that you don’t get to choose the books on offer; I have multiple copies of the same books because they were a part of a bulk order.

But eventually I learned about Thrift Books, which help you avoid that problem as well as enjoy a wider range of choices and ridiculous bargains.

You may think it’s not worth going through the trouble to find book bargains, but if you want to read 30 books per month, that’s 360 books every year.

In a worst case scenario, saving an average of $10 per book (very possible with book lots and Thrift Books) results in a savings of $3,600 every year!

Don’t Read Word-For-Word

Once you have assembled all of your books, it’s time to read them. But don’t read them in the traditional word-for-word style. Sure, you’ll absorb all of the material if you do, but it will take a longer period of time before you move onto the next book.

When I read books, I skim through them for the most pertinent information. If there’s a section that explains how to create a Twitter account, for example, I skip it because I already have a Twitter account. There’s no need to waste time reading things that you already know.

Similarly, when I buy a productivity book I skip through familiar tips like setting deadlines, 3-Year Plans, and how to set SMART goals. Unless the author shares these common tactics with a very different flavor, I skip to the next part of the book.

Skip Entire Chapters

Not only should you skip over things you already know, you should also get into the habit of skipping portions, or even chapters, of books containing information you don’t want to learn. For instance, I don’t want to learn much about Vine because Vine is a dead social network.

And yet, many of these books have entire chapters dedicated to Vine. Some books are dedicated entirely to the social network. Just remember that information that was once relevant may be outdated today.

You can also skip chapters outlining tasks you don’t want to perform. For instance, I’ll skip a chapter in a podcasting book about editing episodes because I already have a trustworthy freelancer who edits my podcast episodes.

Skipping that chapter allows me to move to the next chapter sooner and, ultimately, to a new book.

Write In Your Book

For a long time I resisted writing in my books, especially signed copies. While I rarely write in books, I often underline with a pencil.

Underlining important points in each of your books makes the re-reading process easier. After all, you have a plan to re-read the best books, right?

At the beginning of each month, I go through my favorite books from the previous month. I skim through what I underlined, and brainstorm ideas. I commit a few hours of one day to this task.

Underlining important text makes this process much faster as I can literally skip hundreds of pages of content. I only focus on what I’d underlined previously because my past self regarded only those points as important.

A Technicality On Book Length

One thing to remember when reading 30 books in 30 days is that book length matters. It’s much easier to read 30 books that average 200 pages than to read 30 books that average 600 pages.

When dozens of books are delivered to me in one day, I start by reading the shorter books first. It’s likely a good thing that I read Tools Of Titans before I began taking my reading goal seriously.

I like reading the shorter books first because finishing a shorter book gives me the dopamine rush to start reading (and finishing) another book.

Get a string of small wins, and it won’t be long before you can read the occasional 400-600 page book with ease.

It It’s Not Scheduled, It Won’t Happen

If you want reading to become a habit, you must schedule it into your day. I schedule at least one hour of reading time every day.

You should also choose one day a week to dedicate entirely to reading books, no professional work. I designate Fridays as my reading days. And even though I spend several hours reading books on Fridays, it doesn’t feel rigorous. Why? Because Fridays feel like a day off from work.

It’s important to find what works for you, but don’t forget that if it’s not scheduled, it won’t happen.

Turn Your TV And Surfing Time Into Reading Time

Professional work can take up hours of your day, but so can TV and internet surfing. You need to eliminate digital surfing from your life because you’re simply watching life happen instead of making life happen. Spectators watch, superstars perform.

The average American watches 32 hours of television every week. If we all switched from digital surfing to reading self-development books, the world would truly be a better place.

The next time you want to watch a marathon, the last episode of a series, or reruns, crack open a book instead. Repeat the process with other bad habits, and with greater intensity, and you’ll have no problem reading 30 books in 30 days.

In Conclusion

Reading 30 books every 30 days will dramatically expand your knowledge and open the door to a variety of possibilities. Reading all of these books requires a mindset shift and the elimination of bad habits. And, of course, the 30+ books you’ll need on hand before you get started.

What are your thoughts on reading 30 books every day? Have any good book recommendations for us? Please share how you plan to implement this habit into your own life. Sound off in the comments section below.

How A Structured Schedule Will Make You 10x More Productive

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structured schedule

If I tell you that a structured schedule will make a huge impact on your productivity, would you believe me? You should.

While too much structure might seem to run contradictory to entrepreneurship, most entrepreneurs pursue their dreams precisely so they can do what they love at a time they choose.

Thus, adhering to a structured schedule (of your own creation) not only makes sense, it will also make you 10x more productive and drive the results you crave.

In this post, we’ll dig deeper into why a structured schedule works and how to commit to making it part of your life.

The Biggest Myth

When people think about a structured schedule, they usually envision all their free time suffocated by work. They even imagine their work time (not to mention their creativity) becoming suffocated.

They think, “No, I can’t make a video at this time because my schedule says that I must write a blog post.” It’s true that a structured schedule is very specific, but that’s exactly why it works.

The problem with free time — even the time spent thinking about what to work on — is choices. Let’s say you’re trying to decide whether to:

  • Write a blog post.
  • Send an email to a particular person.
  • Write an email broadcast.
  • Make a YouTube video.
  • Interview someone for your podcast.
  • Write a chapter of an ebook.
  • Create a training series.
  • Read a book.
  • Participate in an online course.

Tell me in TWO seconds which one you’ll choose: 1…2…

Have you made a choice? Do you need more time to ponder the list? Have you thought of something to add to the list? Did the list remind you of something else?

What usually happens is all of these ideas (and others) will float around in your head until you eventually decide on one. But even when you do, you’ll likely wonder if you’ve made the right decision, or if you’ve forgotten about something more important than your chosen task.

Let’s say you decide to write a blog post. After you complete the post, you’ll once again have to decide what to do next. It’s an endless, anxious cycle. And a huge waste of time.

Should I make a video? On what topic? Should I scrap that idea and read instead? Actually, should I read or watch a training course?

A structured schedule creates clarity and takes the guesswork (and anxiety) out of deciding what to do next. And a structured schedule even offers flexibility.

For example, bloggers try to avoid writer’s block — when ideas aren’t flowing and they’re left staring at a blank screen, sometimes for hours. Lots of people experience this feeling several times a day or week.

A schedule can save you in times like this. Simply switch up your tasks and keep moving.

Plan Out The Bookends Of Your Day

While writing this blog post, I anticipated one common response might be: “How can I structure my schedule when it’s bound to constantly change?What if someone cancels an interview? What if a real-time emergency comes up?”

Like the writer’s block example above, you may have to make adjustments during the day so you can maintain an optimal level of productivity. And a structured schedule will help you switch things up with efficiency.

With that said, there are two untouchable portions of the day during which no person or unrelated task can ruin your productivity.

These are your bookends: early morning and late in the evening. Think about what you usually do at 3pm and 5am. I’ll bet that at 5am nothing is standing between you and your productivity. At 3pm, however, it may seem as if everything is standing in your way.

Realizing that you won’t likely get as much done at 9pm as you would during the work day, plan out your day from start to finish paying special attention to the bookends — because virtually nothing stands in the way of your productivity during those times.

Wake Up Earlier 

The earlier you wake up, the more poised you are for success. I strongly believe that, and here’s the logic: no one is going to interrupt you or make a request at 5am. That’s when “everyone else” is sleeping. If you wake up at 5am, you’ll have several hours of undisturbed productivity.

Being an early bird works better than being a night owl. I’ve tried both, and it’s better to get to bed earlier so you can wake up earlier. The biggest reason for that is because starting fresh lets you get much more accomplished than you can after a taxing day when your willpower has been tested to the max.

Just one aggravating issue during the day can interrupt your concentration at night. As an early bird, nothing has happened yet so there’s no prior events from the day that can distract you from your work. Rising early and getting things done also makes you feel more productive as the day goes on.

In addition to feeling (and being) more productive, you’ll enjoy improved health. I don’t understand why so many people take their health for granted. I’ll just say that the healthier you are, the more productive you are. Think about that the next time you go to McDonald’s (if you don’t eat there, good for you!).

Putting that shade aside, here’s the truth about early birds and night owls:

Your brain is still active when you sleep. If the last thing you think about is how anxious you feel about your work, those thoughts of anxiety will carry over into your sleep and still be there when you wake up.

This is why I read a personal development book before I go to bed. I feel mentally charged when I go to bed, and that feeling carries over into the beginning of the next day.

And did you know that the first hour of your day determines how the rest of your day will go?

Track Your Results

Once you identify how to structure your day, keep track of your progress. This is where you walk the walk instead of only talking the talk. The best place to track your results is in a notebook because you can refer to it at any time and make any necessary adjustments.

Tracking your results in a notebook lets you see in which areas you struggle and in which areas you thrive. If you timestamp when you accomplish certain goals, you can also identify which times of day work best for accomplishing specific objectives.

Are you better at writing blog posts before 11am or after 2pm? Tracking your results and adding a few details allows you to answer that question. The more of these types of questions you can answer, the more productive you’ll become and the more you’ll optimize your structured schedule.

In Conclusion

Creating a structured schedule allows you to gain clarity into what goals you need to accomplish and when you need to accomplish them. Structured schedules don’t remove the freedoms of entrepreneurship. Rather, they amplify your potential.

What are your thoughts on creating a structured schedule? What would you like to accomplish with a structured schedule? Have any productivity tips for us? Sound off in the comments section below.

*image credit: Pixabay 

Myth Busting: The Role Model Status

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It’s great to be inspired by role models. However, I believe that some people are inspired by role models without thinking of how they can reach the same level of success from the role model standpoint.

Get inspired by your role model, but also have a desire to become a role model. I’ll talk more about it in this video.

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The 4 Step Plan To Hulk-Smash The Wall That Holds You Back

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Conquer a limit

The reality about business is that it isn’t always smooth sailing. The product launch may not go as expected, or you may believe that you need more connections to get more speaking gigs.

It’s easy to envision an imaginary wall blocking our progress. Some people think of this wall the moment they face an obstacle. All of these walls are created from within the mind. Things happen to us and the way we interpret what happens determines how we view challenges.

Even though we have many motivational quotes about the mind we can refer back to, it’s easier to imagine a wall and acknowledge its existence.

However, that wall needs to be broken. And more specifically, since I am excited about the next Avengers movie, that wall needs to get hulk-smashed!

We can’t punch into walls quite like The Hulk. However, the way to smash any wall holding you back is by starting within your mind. You have more control over your mind than anything else. Here’s how you gain control and smash the wall.

 

Assess

The first step to solving any problem is to acknowledge the problem. Then you plan out a solution. The planning process is when you assess the challenge and identify the steps you will take to conquer the challenge.

The key thing to do when assessing a challenge is to keep it simple. If you make the work look impossible, then you won’t be able to get it done.

Within the planning, you should assess your strengths and weaknesses. Once you identify your strengths and weaknesses, you can do some or all of the following:

  1. Focus on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses
  2. Fix the weaknesses
  3. Focus on your strengths and stop spending any time on the weaknesses

The goal you are trying to accomplish will determine which of those three paths is the best one for you. Assessing the situation gives you a theoretical approach to solving a problem.

 

Assemble

Once you assess the wall and have a theoretical approach to hulk-smashing that wall, preparations must be made.

Depending on what is holding you back, you may have to assemble online tools, expertise in multiple topics related to your niche, and a team of people who can help you out.

No matter what you do, having a team of people to help you out is always beneficial. Whether you hire a freelancer to do some of your work or enlist the help of a mentor, you want to have someone helping you.

This step of the process is to ensure you are prepared to effectively proceed to the next step.

 

Action

This is the most important step of the entire process. You can do all of the planning and preparation that you want. However, if you do not take action, then that wall will continue to loom in the same spot where it is now.

Taking action is the scary part. Once action is taken, the theory is put to the test. Will the wall get smashed or will it stand?

An important thing to note about taking action is that one day of action won’t result in a smashed wall. For the worthwhile challenges, you’ll have to take consistent, daily action for days, weeks, months, or even years.

The only advice for taking action is to start once you feel prepared enough. You don’t want to wait until you feel fully prepared because that is the perfectionist mindset that holds too many people back.

 

Adjust

Once you take action, you have taken a significant step towards smashing the wall. Once action has been taken, there is one final step to smashing the wall.

Taking action is based on following a theoretical plan that you believe will succeed. Therefore, the plan looks good on paper, but plans on paper have the potential to exceed our expectations or fall below our expectations. That is why we must track the results we get from carrying out our plans.

Identifying the strong and weak points of your plan will allow you to get better results. You can spend more time on the strong points of your plan and outsource the weaker points of your plan to more qualified people than yourself. It’s okay to admit that you can’t do something as well as a freelancer. You must only focus on doing the things that you are good at and that you enjoy. Everything else should get outsourced.

As you continue adjusting your plan, it is essential to continue looking at your results and asking yourself, “What can I do today to get better results tomorrow?” In some cases, you may get better results the very next day by asking yourself this question. In other cases, better results come in the long-term.

If you look at what you are doing and ask yourself how you can do better, and you put in the work, then you can expect better results–whether those better results come in the short-term or the long-term.

 

In Conclusion

We get held back by different walls that we create for ourselves. Conquering those walls is not a matter of punching a hole straight into the wall. To conquer the imaginary walls we set for ourselves, we must approach that wall with a plan for its destruction. Knowing how you will conquer any type of setback will put you in a significant advantage.

Of course, not all plans happen the way they were supposed to happen on paper, but if you continue making adjustments, you’ll eventually have a solid, implemented plan that you can be proud of.

What are your tips for hulk-smashing the limitations we put on ourselves? Which of these methods did you like the most? Sound off in the comments section below.

Myth Busting: It’s Too Late For Me

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It’s easy to see other people who are successful on platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook and think, “It’s too late for me.”

With numerous options available already, how could I even compete with the leaders within my niche?

This myth dissuades people from trying the already established platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. However, regardless of how late you join the party, you can become successful on any platform.

The same goes for opportunities that still bring in a lot of results.

In this video, you will learn what it takes to become successful on a platform, just released or well-established, regardless of how late you join the party.

What To Do When You Get Discouraged

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what to do when you get discouraged
The response is what matters the most.

Is it worth it?

When I started out, I found myself asking myself this question too often. My confidence wasn’t what it is now.

Was it worth it to start a blog and put in that much effort? Is all of the time I am spending on Twitter amounting to anything? Does my age put me at a disadvantage?

The transition from hobby to business was stressful in the short-term. In the long-term, it was a great decision.

Regardless of what I got discouraged about, I knew it was essential to shake off the discouragement as quickly as possible.

It’s easier said than done. But the doing part isn’t as hard as most people think. It usually takes me 5-10 minutes to shake off any discouragement.

I’m not a superhuman. I just know my ideal response to discouragement. Creating responses to challenges makes it easier for you to conquer those challenges.

Once I shake off the discouragement, I go back to my work feeling more reinvigorated than ever.

The way I respond to any type of discouragement can be replicated by any individual. Here’s my three step process:

 

#1: Listen To Motivational Songs

Music plays a big role in our culture. It’s also played a big role in cultures that existed thousands of years before our current culture.

One truth about music is that some of the songs we listen to impact the way we feel. Some songs automatically make us feel happy while other songs automatically make us feel sad.

Listen to the songs that make you feel motivated. Put an entire playlist together if you have to. The right songs can give you enough motivation for you to shake off the discouragement.

Certain songs are guaranteed to motivate you based on the way you interpret them. These are the songs you need to listen to the most.

There is one song that I always listen to when I feel discouraged. The song I choose to listen to doesn’t matter for the purposes of this blog post (but I promise it’s clean).

The way I interpret the song may be different from how you would interpret the song, so you may not get as motivated by it.

Anyway, there is a song you’ve heard for years that holds a deep meaning in your heart. That’s the song you need to listen to…not the song that I listen to.

 

#2: Take Some Type Of Action

Every type of motivation you receive is just temporary motivation. It eventually fades away and must then be replaced with another form of motivation.

Idle around after listening to the song, and then that song loses its effectiveness.

Listening to the song is meant to provide you with motivation to take action. Regardless of how significant or minuscule your action looks, take action.

If you are in the middle of writing a book, and you take a break to listen to your favorite song, make it a point to write more content for your book.

Regardless of whether the song motivates you to write an extra 500 words or an extra 5,000 words, you need to take some form of action.

Taking a small action will make you feel better about the task ahead of you. Back when I would get discouraged from doing videos, I would listen to a motivational song.

Then I would go back to creating videos. Each time I listened to the motivational song, I made more progress.

 

#3: Plan For Next Time

You’ll have to write more words for that book the following day. You will have to put in the work tomorrow just as you did today.

At this stage of the three step process, your motivation is at a high point. When your motivation is at a high point, you do everything you can while your motivation is at its high point.

After I take some type of action, I plan out how I will take my next action. The night before, I will always identify what I must do the following day.

That way, I’m not thinking about what I must do. I already know what I must do.

The more prepared you are for what lay ahead, the more motivated you will feel to tackle the big challenges. Then, discouragement gets washed away.

 

Continue To Believe

This three step process helps you shake off discouragement. We get discouraged during challenging situations. This discouragement happens to be a part of the hero’s cycle.

It’s natural to feel discouraged in the middle of a challenge. The people we admire felt discouraged at some point in their lives.

They wondered if what they were doing was worth it. They wondered if they could fulfill their dreams. They wondered if they could.

It turns out they could. And we can. The amount of belief you have for yourself determines how far you go in life.

We are all like Ferraris. We have potential to do great things in our lives. Not believing in yourself is like hoping the Ferrari with an empty tank will provide an epic driving experience.

The Ferrari can provide an epic driving experience. Without any gas, it’s no better than a used car from the 1990s.

Choose to believe in yourself throughout your journey. You’ll be glad you did.

 

In Conclusion

Discouragement hinders our progress. It makes us doubt and wonder if what we are doing is worth the effort.

The way to beat discouragement is with overwhelming motivation. Motivation isn’t challenging to acquire. Listening to the right songs is a quick way to get an instant boost in motivation.

With that instant boost in motivation, you can then take more action and plan out how you will take even more action in the future.

Motivation will take you far, but motivation isn’t permanent. We must motivate ourselves throughout the day (and often in the simplest ways imaginable) to be our best.

What are your thoughts about this three step process? Do you have any other tips to beat discouragement? Sound off in the comments section below.