How to Make Yourself Read

Making yourself read is just as easy as making yourself brush your own teeth each morning.

While at one time during your childhood (hopefully not your adulthood), this may have been an inconvenient chore, after some time and consistency, it has become an inseparable part of your daily routine.

Why?

Most likely because you value the consequences of a clean mouth, healthy teeth, and good breath.

If you agree that reading books is to your intellectual health as brushing your teeth is to your dental health, you can now set out to ensure your mind stays as sharp as that pearly white sparkle on your pristine smile.

So, let's take some lessons from how you learned to brush your teeth to ensure you begin reading, and never stop.

First, let's go over the steps you must master:

1. Set Goals: Create a time during the day that will be the best for you to read
2. Foster Consistency: Start reading during that time everyday, and if you miss it, make it up as soon as possible
3. Buy Better Toothpaste if Needed: Sometimes a book just sucks. Ditch it, and get a new one.

Now let's go over each step

1- Set Goals

When you set out to brush your teeth each day, you planned on doing so when you woke, and when you went to bed at night. You knew you would be brushing them in the bathroom, and you even knew how long it was going to take you to finish.

Now, set these same goals for reading each day.

Firstly, ensure you read everyday. You should ideally have an exact idea of where and when you will be reading. Maybe it's during your 1pm lunch break at work. Perhaps it's after your workout, first thing in the morning.

Next, decide how much you're going to read. Some people read for an hour, and some people read at least 10 pages a night.

If you read 10 pages a night, you will have read about 1 book a month, 12 books a year and 60 books every 5 years.

How many books have you read in the last 5 years? Exactly.

The bottom line is create a concrete routine, and stick to it! You can easily see how even reading 10 minutes a day can increase the amount of knowledge you currently posses, tenfold.

2- Foster Consistency

What happens when you forget to brush your teeth? You probably brush them as soon as you are able to, right?

What you want to do here is read on a daily basis so that when you are unable to read for whatever reason, you feel physical guilt.

That guilt is what will keep you reading. So, when you miss reading during your designated slot, you will be compelled to read during your next available time.

3- Buy Better Toothpaste if Needed

Last year I had a real problem.

My problem was, even though I loved working out and had a gym membership, I just couldn't motivate myself to get to the gym consistently.

Then one day I stumbled upon a gym in my area that I hadn't noticed. I stopped inside, and it was big, bright and beautiful with exactly the type of cardio machines and dumbbells I love to workout with.

Even though I had a gym membership somewhere else, I immediately signed up at this new gym.

The very next day I went in and worked out at the new gym.

Then the day after that. Then the day after that, after that and even after that.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks:

I didn't dislike going to the gym, I disliked going to the gyms I had been signing up for.

To this day, I still go to this same gym, and have never looked back. Wait a minute, I never cancelled the other gym membership..... ugh.

The point is, if you're reading a book that is just plain boring and not enjoyable on any level, get a new book!

You will slowly but surely notice yourself starting to love to read, but not if you happen to pick up a book that just sucks.

I didn't keep a crappy gym from stopping my workouts, so don't you stop a crappy book from stopping you from reading.

So, do you agree that reading is critical toward helping you achieve success? If not, read: Why You Should Read, and then subscribe to my Monthly Marketing Book Club below.

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