How to get wisdom

Education does not stop when you are done with school my friends.  That is a mistake that will cost you dearly. If you never have the curiosity to learn more about the world around you,  what an empty live that must be.

Luckily you are different – you have a healthy thirst for knowledge otherwise you would not be reading this in the first place.

A vigorous man continuously strives to better and educate himself – not because he feels ‘inadequate’ but because he knows he is capable of more, a lot more, no matter how successful he already is.

That is where reading comes in to play. Books are filled with knowledge – and sometimes it truly is, life-changing in my experience.

Before I go on to that let me quickly tell you why I feel reading is so important:

1. Reading helps you think outside the regular rules of society.

In every society there are laws and there are rules. Rules are usually implicitly present for example: you ‘shouldn’t just walk up to a girl you like. Reading helps you think outside the box and play with the rules.

2. Reading helps you get perspective.

Sometimes it might feel as if you are the only one in the world going through what you are going through. Not true. Reading can therefore really help you get perspective on things because usually it is not as bad as you think it is.

3. Reading can inspire and motivate you.

There are books I enjoy reading every now and then just because they are motivating as fuck. Reading can move us in mysterious ways and inspire us to get more out of our own life.

4. Reading can teach you things you would otherwise never learn.

Don’t know jack-shit about programming but you want to startup your own site? Well, get a book and learn it. You can learn a shitload on just about anything that peaks your interest – why wait?

5. Reading helps you get that edge.

Because I’ve read a shitload in my life I can tell that in a lot of situations you truly have an edge over people that do not read at all. You simply know more about more stuff – so they can never bullshit you. And you will be able to have a conversation with just about anyone, because you will always find a topic, that the other person can relate to.

6. Most books contains decades of life-experience.

There are books where ultra-successful people wrote down all the things they learned during their life here on earth. That means that if you read just one book like that you gained at least 50 years of life experience.

In a world where the media is numbing your brain and overloading you with information I would say it is a no brainer to start educating yourself about stuff you enjoy to get that edge.

I have literally read hundreds of books in my life – last time I counted them I was just shy over 250 books. I’m lucky though, I can very easily consume and process an absurd amount of information.

That being said, not all I read was worth it though. I have always adopted the growth mindset: Believing that all knowledge accumulates over time. That means that if I only learn one new thing it is worth the read for me.

However, there were some books that blew me away. Books filled with golden nuggets of knowledge and power. I share one of these books in the bottom om this article.

One last thing I want to point out: You can never replace consistent action with the passive consumption of knowledge. In other words do not get paralysis analysis. Instead make it fucking happen- but arm yourself with knowledge to get that edge.

I have made two mistakes when I was younger when it came to reading:

I never made extensive notes and therefore never fully understood what was being said.

I never took action to field-test suggestions I read in books.
As Confucius once said: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

Thus, whenever I read a book nowadays I always make a shitload of notes in my personal notebook (more on this in another article) that I keep with me at all times. After that I go through it again and apply the suggestions I read about in the book.

That is how you supercharge yourself.

What i am reading at the moment:

The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason

A story about two men in the ancient city of Babylon who decide that they want to learn all there is to know about financial mastery.

A fictional book about the fundamentals of handling finances,  though not all principles discussed are still applicablein our modern society it is beyond any doubt an amazing book. If I would ever have kids I would read them bedtime stories from this book.

The book takes us on a ‘Arabian-nights’-like journey with about a dozens different stories that all revolve around the wealthiest city of all time: Ancient Babylon. Each story is filled with little gems of wisdom and teaches us a new financial principle at the end of each chapter. An very fun read with a deep core message.

Read if you want to learn about financial wisdom in a entertaining way.

So tell me dear gentlemen, what are you reading at the moment, or what do you suggest?