Adopting CEO (Crucial/Effective/Organized) Habits 1.0

Entry 1: “The more you learn the more you earn” -Tai Lopez

I’ll admit that when I turned 24 in March, I felt old. And no matter how many times people tell me how I’m still “so young, and full of energy”, my brain understands and my heart refuses to listen – I feel old. As a child, whenever I watched the news, I would always hear statements like “A 20 year old man did this, a 25 year old man did that” , and as a younger kid, I always told myself – these are adults… old adults. And yet now, if I were on the news, I would be a “24 year old man”. I accept that I’m young, but it’s the feelings of being aged that have pushed me to adopt a different lifestyle- one that pursues personal growth, and what’s one of the best ways to grow? To learn. But damn do I hate reading…oh well, I’m an adult now I guess. Just part of growing up.

That’s why this year I decided to adopt a new habit, swallow what I don’t like, and develop one of the most praised habits of CEO’s – reading every day. It hasn’t been easy, there’s always an urge for me to turn to audio books, and put them on play. That’s because when I initially pushed myself to consume more books – I turned to the easy option of listening to them. Whether or not I was paying attention, I would get through a couple books every month, but the retention of information wasn’t really there. So as I decided to commit to reading every day, I made sure I had it on my daily checklist inside my goals book. More on my Daily Goals book in my previous article- an important habit I developed working at IBM:
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@edrameth/the-single-most-important-habit-i-developed-as-an-ibm-intern

Book's I'm reading through. Notepad has all the books I've read so far 2018.

So far this year I’ve grinded through a few books, and I’ll admit some have more “fluff” than others. I’ve targeted self-help and finance books mostly, as these more easily integrate into my lifestyle and studies, but if this article gets you to kick start your reading, whatever the genre, that's good enough for me.

And so what? have these books made a difference?
They have. It’s not that I’ve suddenly made more money – I’m actually on my summer break, so I’ve made less money than before, yet I feel more rich. It’s a different feeling I’ve never previously had before. I feel equipped with knowledge to take on whatever is to come. Each book I go through develops a sort of feeling for me, and it sticks with me even after I’ve completed it. As I read more, it’s these feelings that help me feel more equipped to tackle the future.

Rise and Grind by Daymond John – Opened my eyes to the multitude of ways in which ordinary people push themselves to become extraordinary leaders in whatever they pursue. Rise and Grind left me feeling inspired and motivated –“Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard”. Some of the folks in this book grind 12+ hours a day for years on end. That is ridiculous, and so uplifting- if they can do it, I can too.

The Millionaire Next Door by T. Stanley & W. Danko- The book is somewhat dated, but I still believe many of these teachings hold true. The average millionaire (in USA), wasn’t at all what I had pictured in my head: a 50 year old man with 3 kids living in a low-medium income neighborhood driving a used car. Doesn’t really drive home the word “RICH”, and yet that’s exactly what they are: Experts in wealth accumulation through smart investments, practices of frugality, and living below their means. The book taught me that it’s not always the income that you have, but rather how you “play defense” with it over the 20-30 years you work. I’ve always wanted a nice sports car, but this book has made me think twice- I’d rather look average and be rich, than look rich and be average.

I was lucky enough to get an autographed copy of the book : The Day the King Defaulted

Here’s to another week of pursuing self-growth, for those of you reading, and for myself. This will be Part 1 of this series I’m starting: C.E.O habits. Let’s keep this going.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Victor.