If you're not spending 5 hours/week learning...

Culper

Member
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
968
Location
NC
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
You're being irresponsible.

Article by: Michael Simmons, 2017
"In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time — none. Zero.”  — Charlie Munger, Self-made billionaire & Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner.
Why did the busiest person in the world, former president Barack Obama, read an hour a day while in office?
Why has the best investor in history, Warren Buffett, invested 80% of his time in reading and thinking throughout his career?
Why has the world’s richest person, Bill Gates, read a book a week during his career? And why has he taken a yearly two-week reading vacation throughout his entire career?
Why do the world’s smartest and busiest people find one hour a day for deliberate learning (the 5-hour rule), while others make excuses about how busy they are?

What do they see that others don’t?

The answer is simple: Learning is the single best investment of our time that we can make. Or as Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
-----------
Interesting perspective (personal opinions of some names mentioned aside.) Recently, I have made a better effort to read more. I feel it has already paid dividends, but reading is only one of many ways to learn. Most of my recent learning has involved increasing my technical knowledge and efficiency at work, history (specifically the Japanese invasion of China, 1937) and psychology.

If you would, post up topics you have been into lately.
 
Last edited:
I read murder mysteries mostly, but do lots of research online about a whole range of things I find interesting. The 10 years I spent at Sandhills Community College were among the best of my life, as I got to read a lot, about a lot of different things! It was an awesome way to keep my mind (fairly) sharp. We read as a family all my early life, and I read my current book at least 3 hours a day.
Topics: psychology, meditation, crime-solving, various crafts, cooking/baking, social work, various mental illnesses, ADHD, PTSD, gardening, prepping, brain damage, gun training (duh)......on and on.....
 
Last edited:
Why did the busiest person in the world, former president Barack Obama, read an hour a day while in office?

LMFAO. I read when I'm on vacation too.

I'll read anything from tawdry crap to dense Russian literature to the last one the Clive Cussler factory cranked out. My problem is that I will stay up all night reading.
 
There's a significant difference between reading electronic stuff and reading real books. As helpful and informative as online sources can be, when we're talking about developing wisdom--which means, among other things, real depth--it can't compare to books. I learn a lot online, including here! But for real knowledge, I believe you can't beat face-to-face, in-depth discussions, or books. Preferably lots of both.

Recently, I've been reading the same kind of stuff I typically read. 1. Organic farming. (Have a new book arriving this week on raising hogs.) 2. Shooting and related disciplines. (Have a new book arriving this week on pepper spray. Not very optimistic about the likely quality. But I've been wrong before. Also, I'm waiting on Left of Bang to get here from the library.) 3.Various work-related matters. (Currently working through Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem and Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy). 4. Most importantly, the Faith. (Currently reading Dom Anscar Vonier's The Angels.)
 
Last edited:
LMFAO. I read when I'm on vacation too.

I'll read anything from tawdry crap to dense Russian literature to the last one the Clive Cussler factory cranked out. My problem is that I will stay up all night reading.

Russian lit... You aren't playing around! My brother has a few Cussler books on his shelf, but I've never picked one up.
 
You would think I would read more, considering how much time I sit on my rear.

Alas, I read more pages here than I do any books. But, if I were to start reading books, I'm not certain which I would be interested in.
 
School comes and goes, reading is forever. The only thing limiting my reading is my time: only 24 hours in a day, and most of those hours are accounted for elsewhere. Still, I get in around 5-7 a week.
 
I've been digging around for some more interesting podcasts lately. Usually have talk radio on or one on podcast. But recently started listening to Econtalk. Very cool podcast. I try to catch some of the better, ie non political, NPR content on certain days too.
 
Geez, kind of a tough question to answer...

On the fiction side, I bounce around between Science Fiction and Fantasy mostly, with classics sprinkled in. Just finished a collection of Lovecraft's stories. Non-fiction tends to be science, programming, DIY, or gardening/homesteading related - Chaos theory currently, and whatever comes in my latest magazine. At least an hour every day average with books & magazines, probably another 3 or so online, including current events.

Yeah, never stop learning.
 
You would think I would read more, considering how much time I sit on my rear.

Alas, I read more pages here than I do any books. But, if I were to start reading books, I'm not certain which I would be interested in.
I'm with @kcult , I do more reading here than anywhere else, sad but true.
After reading SOWs, daily reports from my techs and sanitizing them before sending to clients, checking Visios, fielding calls etc I barely find time to read much else And I certainly need the laughs from some of the goofy stuff some of y'all post.
But maybe I should find something else to read....



Nah.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 
^^ That's hard to do on NPR....

It is and it’s a shame. Some of their programming is amazing. The interview about MK UKTRA the other day was fascinating. The Project Angelfire program. Moth radio. And some others. Then They start in on politics and I move to Spotify.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Agreed... there's some good programming in there, but the amount of "In today's news of why conservatives are ruining the world" drumbeats drowned it out for me.
 
Best thing my parents did for me is instill a love for reading, and a healthy skepticism that there's anything of value on TV. That's more true now than back in the 60's.

I watch about 3 hours of TV a year in total (usually when there's tornado warnings and we're watching Mike Mays). I read a couple hrs a day.
 
Best thing my parents did for me is instill a love for reading, and a healthy skepticism that there's anything of value on TV. That's more true now than back in the 60's.

I watch about 3 hours of TV a year in total (usually when there's tornado warnings and we're watching Mike Mays). I read a couple hrs a day.

I enjoy Science Channel, especially How the Universe Works, but I often find them to be a bit behind on the science. Lately, they've been rather Nazi obsessed though, so it's no longer worth watching.
 
I suppose that's kind of like how the "history channel" apparently has morphed into nothing about history.
 
I have gotten in a rut where I find myself re-reading favorite authors. Genre varies but I read a lot AJ Lebling,Harry Crewes,Robert Ruark,Jim Harrison and James Crumley. Currently reading The Foods of France by Waverly Root. For whatever reason each time I read any of the above authors I gain new insights.
 
Last edited:
Just started the collected works of HP Lovecraft that I got on sale. What I read is usually history related. The fiction I read is all over the place.
 
The Bible (NKJV). After that, mostly history and political philosophy, plus lately some research into Orthodox teachings. I don't read much fiction, and I'm very selective in that category; i.e. I'm much more likely to re-read old favorites than to read anything "modern". Same for poetry.
 
I think its important to learn new things all the time. Usually I'll read something on wikipedia, or watch a short documentary or how-to video on youtube every day. Prior to the internet, I would have been reading national geographic, history books, or Scifi novels.

I'll admit I've gotten a bit lazy when it comes to reading printed books. I've got a stack that I've bought that are still waiting to be read.
 
Don't forget to go out and try to do things as well as just read about them. I've got a stack of failed projects that were still learning experiences.

The other day the neighbor says to the wife "your husband can do anything!" in reference to one of my latest side projects, to which the wife replied "obviously you haven't seen his attempted drywall repairs in the closet". I read about it, tried it... and realized it's something I need to outsource. #learning Also, I don't tend to show off the failures, so it makes me look like I'm awesome. :)

I read too much garbage scifi/fantasy, always have. Should either try to turn that into a side gig a writer of garbage fantasy myself or use that daily reading time to cover more useful topics.
 
I have gotten in a rut where I find myself re-reading favorite authors. Genre varies but I read a lot AJ Lebling,Harry Crewes,Robert Ruark,Jim Harrison and James Crumley. Currently reading The Foods of France by Waverly Root. For whatever reason each time I read any of the above authors I gain new insights.

Grit lit?
 
Back
Top Bottom