Bill Gates(founder of Microsoft) once told an interviewer that he reads an average of about one book per week.
Gates tells us about his interest in reading and his favorite way to learn about new things (according to one of his blog posts)
How much is Bill Gates Worth and bit of his background?
According to Present-day information from Forbes. Bill Gates 129.2 (USD) Billion dollars. Bill Gate's father was a lawyer by profession who started his practices after earning a law degree in 1950.
Bill Gates Scored 1590 on his SAT exam and didn't complete his formal college education from The Harvard Crimson.
Microsoft went public in the year 1987. At the age of 31, Bill Gates became the world's youngest billionaire.
Success come to those who seek them and, knowledge is the best path to seek.
The Most individuals aspire to have affluence and power but, not many get to his level of success. Self-discipline and focus are the key aspects of any successful person.
The path forward for success is tedious and requires meticulous execution of plans.
However, it isn't the only way forward, and knowledge has a crucial role in a person's intellectual development. Lack of understanding about something can raise unusual circumstances where an individual might not feel confident and sometimes get a sense of being trapped.
How times have changed?
Today being expertise in your area is not sufficient. The world has become more open and, in a way, it has become a global village.
The lack of understanding about culture and history can harm your interests in the long term.
The great Greek philosopher once said,
The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.
-Herodotus
Why do you need to read more?
Nurturing reading habits and developing healthy reading has become the need of the hour in the present era. Competition is fierce and, employers want the best human resource possible for their company. Employers want a confident employee and someone who can sustain in this rapidly evolving world.
Group discussion as a way of eliminating candidates has become more mainstream than earlier.
Why Group discussions are important? (Click the link to Know More)
Most people freeze during a debut or a discussion because of their lack of understanding of a particular topic.
Reading is one of the most common traits found among all successful people. Most ambitious people value reading as a way of learning new information. Books are the best mode of gaining knowledge and updating one's vocabulary.
Here are some of the few books that Bill Gates recommends.
And in the conclusion section of the article. You can find a video where Bill Gates talks about his reading habits
#1 The Ride of lifetime, by Robert Iger
What the book is all about: This book describes the journey of former Disney CEO Robert Iger.
Bill Gates called it one of the best business books which he has ever read. He describes it as one of the best books which most people will enjoy.
This book is for entrepreneurs especially, those looking for some business insights. Perhaps, someone who is looking for something entertaining to read might enjoy it as well.
Focuses on: Business / Entrepreneurs
#2 The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry
The Theme of the book: The great pandemic of 1918, better known as the Spanish flu.
This book details the pandemic of 1918also sometimes called as Spanish flu. These past experiences can guide us better prepare for a pandemic and control present challenges posed by Covid-19.
Gates feels that the 1918's influenza pandemic comes as close as we can get historical to understand the difficulty of a pandemic.
After All, the emergence of the Covid-19 as a pandemic gives humanity spine-chilling reminders about the 1918 Spanish flu.
Focuses on: Pandemic and human suffering
#3 The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness, by Andy Puddicombe
Gates states that it is because of this book and the author's app that he turned from skeptic to believer of meditation.
A book brought by a former Buddhist monk, it offers helpful metaphors to decipher tricky concepts.
Gates states that it is because of this book and the author's app that he turned from skeptic to believer of meditation.
A book brought by a former Buddhist monk offers helpful metaphors to decipher tricky concepts.
If you are looking to get your mental Zen back, then it's a perfect book for you.
Focuses on: Mental Health / Self-Help
#4 Moonwalking with Einstein, by Joshua Foer
Gates believes that this book assisted him in improving his memory across the domains.
The book describes the accounts of the US Memory Championship. It describes the methods that the author used for winning the championships. And his experiences are shared in his book that can help improve memory power. It talks about applying methods to improve and stretch the person's ability to store information. Many people struggle nowadays and, this can be something that can help regain your youthful memory cells charged.
Focuses on: Memory/ Mental Health(Self Held)
#5 Good Economics for Hard Times, by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo
The writers of the book are winners of the Nobel Prize in Economic in 2019.
According to Bill Gates, these two brilliant economists explain hot-button issues on the present day challenges. The book concentrates on strategy and discussions wealthy countries by talking about income inequality and political divisions.
Focuses on: Economics / Wealth Inequality
The videos were Bill Gates talks about the books mentioned above and his reading habits.
Conclusion
The ability to learn and improve makes us humans better than most animals.
Reading is a shining example of such an invention. The ability to record one's experiences of stone tablets and paper has improved humanity over the ages.
Reading helps improve interpretation skills, vocabulary, and a way of learning new topics, etc. Reading and writing are academic skills, to be sure. Reading is an essential life skill.
Unfortunately, a large population of this world is still uneducated and can't cherish the great gift of learning.