Very Successful People Read A Lot
By Michael J Griffin
“The most open secret in business may also be one of the simplest:
Successful people read a lot.” Preston Fore
7 minute read
A Fortune Magazine article alerted me to a new report from JPMorgan that highlights a tried-and-true practice: Reading is the most commonly cited behavior tied to long-term success, according to the survey of more than 100 billionaires with a combined net worth exceeding $500 billion. Here are some successful people who are avid readers and their “reading philosophies:”
Warren Buffett
The Oracle of Omaha is perhaps the most famous bibliophile in finance. He reportedly spends 80% of his day reading. Early in his career, he would read 600 to 1,000 pages a day.
The Philosophy: He views knowledge as something that "compounds" like interest. The more you know, the better your decisions become over decades.
Bill Gates
Gates is famous for his "Think Weeks," where he retreats to a secluded cabin with a stack of books and a notebook. He reads roughly 50 books a year
The Philosophy: He uses reading as a way to synthesize complex topics, moving from infectious diseases to climate change to global economics.
Elon Musk
When asked how he learned how to build rockets for SpaceX, Musk famously replied, "I read books." As a child, he reportedly read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and spent up to 10 hours a day reading sci-fi and non-fiction.
The Philosophy: Musk uses "First Principles Thinking," a mental model he largely refined through extensive reading of physics and engineering texts.
John Maxwell
To understand his commitment, you have to look at the evolution of his habits from his early career to his current "Rule of Five."
The Philosophy: 1 Hour a Day, 5 Days a Week. I have heard John speak about how early in his career, he made a commitment to become an expert in leadership. He decided to study the subject for one hour a day, every workday.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah turned her personal love of reading into a global phenomenon with Oprah's Book Club. She credits books as her "pathway to personal freedom," allowing her to see a world beyond the poverty of her childhood.
The Philosophy: For Oprah, reading is about empathy and expansion—understanding the human condition to better connect with her audience.
Mark Cuban
The Shark Tank star and billionaire entrepreneur spends about three hours a day reading. He treats it as a competitive advantage, believing that if he reads more than his competitors, he will eventually find the "missing piece" they overlooked.
The Philosophy: "Everything I read was public. Anyone could buy the same books and magazines. The only thing that stopped them was their own effort."
Malala Yousafzai
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist literally risked her life for the right to go to school and read. Her advocacy is built on the belief that "one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world."
The Philosophy: Reading is personal empowerment. To Malala, literacy is the primary tool for social justice and the dismantling of extremist ideologies.
Naval Ravikant
The entrepreneur and investor is often called a "reading machine." He doesn't just read books; he deconstructs them. He is a proponent of reading what you love until you love to read, and he often revisits the same 10 or 20 "foundational" books rather than chasing every new bestseller.
The Philosophy: "Read what you love until you love to read." Naval argues that reading is the only form of self-education that truly scales. He views it as a way to build "specific knowledge"—the kind of expertise that feels like play to you but looks like work to others.
I have been an avid reader since I was 6 years old. I can still remember the first time my mother took me to the public library. Was I excited! This parental guidance has sharpened my daily habit over the years where I spend about 2 hours every day reading. I love to read!
My reading habit is supported the “5 Hour Rule of Reading” Many of the people on this list (including Gates, Musk, and Buffett) follow this rule dedicating at least one hour every workday (five hours a week) to deliberate learning or reading. This practice distinguishes "busy" people from "productive, successful" leaders.
Most people don’t like to read. Why?
The "Dopamine Trap" (Digital Rewiring)
In a world of 15-second TikToks and instant notifications, reading a book feels painfully slow. Our brains have been "rewired" for high-speed dopamine hits.
The Conflict: Reading is a low-dopamine, high-effort activity. It requires "deep work" and sustained focus.
The Result: When you sit down to read, your brain starts "itching" for a screen. If a book doesn't grab you in the first three sentences, the "TikTok brain" checks out.
Academic "Scarring"
For many, the joy of reading was killed in a high school classroom. When reading is tied to obligation, testing, and analysis of books you didn't choose, it stops being a hobby and becomes a chore. (In my case my high school helped prevent this my intentionally teaching how to effectively read.)
The Conflict: If your only association with reading is "I have to do this to pass," you develop a subconscious resistance to it as an adult.
The Result: Picking up a book feels like "homework" rather than a choice. People often feel a sense of guilt or "should-read" pressure that makes the actual act of reading feel heavy and unappealing.
Cognitive Fatigue (The "Work" of Reading)
Unlike watching a movie (passive consumption), reading is active consumption. Your brain has to decode symbols, visualize the scenes, and hold the thread of a complex argument or plot.
The Conflict: After your workday spent staring at spreadsheets or responding to emails, your "mental battery" is drained. I see many people is never learned the discipline and skills of consistent reading in school and now are handicapped with poor reading habits. You might say their “Reading Lid is a Lid to Success.”
The Result: Reading feels like more work. Most people default to "passive" entertainment (like Netflix or YouTube) because it requires zero cognitive "lift" to enjoy.
Learn Different Ways to Read
Developing a reading brain is the same as learning a new sport: Your brain needs to have reading endurance: your brain must be exercised and trained to “be fit” so reading is not a chore but a daily activity you enjoy. I was lucky….In my high school I was taught the different ways to read: scanning, skimming, researching and speed reading. This visionary training has helped me all my life.
Scanning Moving your eyes quickly across text to find a specific piece of information — a name, date, or keyword — without reading everything. You're not absorbing the full text, just locating a target.
Skimming Reading quickly to get the general idea or overview of a text. You read headings, first sentences of paragraphs, and key words to build a rough map of the content without deep comprehension.
Light Reading Casual, relaxed reading for pleasure or general information with no particular pressure to retain or analyze. Most leisure reading falls here.
Active Reading Intentional, engaged reading with a purpose — highlighting, annotating, questioning, and connecting ideas as you go. This is the foundation of serious learning.
Research or Investigative Reading Slow, immersive reading that allows for critical analysis, reflection, and meaning-making. Associated with complex texts like philosophy, literature, or dense academic work.
Speed Reading Trained techniques to increase words-per-minute while maintaining comprehension — chunking words or phrases, reducing subvocalization, and minimizing eye regression. President John F Kennedy was an expert at this.
Train Your Brain to Read
When I was in my twenties I was fortunate enough to be trainer for the Xerox Learning Systems “Effective Reading” course. In my thirties, purchased the “Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics” and had all my staff do it to improve their reading skills and comprehension. The take away: sign up and take an effective reading course that improves your reading speed, comprehension and trains your brain to reduce fatigue to begin to enjoy reading. I am now coaching my grandchild Lara to enjoy reading rather get hooked on the “iPad pacifier.”
Be an Inclusive Reader
Having spent 50 years living in Asia, my environment guided me to become an “inclusive reader.” This meant that I actively read from different sources and authors, and from different cultures. An example: reading the Economist, then reading the news from Indonesia, India and China gave me rich perspectives on humanity, science, politics and health. The take away: vary your sources and authors when you read to broaden your world perspective. One app I use is Flipboard that consolidates world news on different topics into an organized matrix by topical area.
Start Reading, Researching Stuff You Enjoy
Reading what feeds your motivators is an easier way to exercise your brain. For example, I am a sales director and leadership trainer as well as an avid cyclist. I consume a lot of reading in these topic areas to improve my success at work and to keep up my health as I age. The take away: read and research areas that will improve your life to exercise your brain to eventually ramp up to reading for research or work assigned topics.
Read Blogs of Experts and Topics that Support Success
Sign up and subscribe to read a number of daily or weekly blogs, rather than having to read whole books. This is a good intermediate method to be a more effective reader. These blogs are from experts who can cut your time to learn about topics you enjoy or that support your success at work, relationships, hobbies or spiritual growth. Writing weekly blogs disciplines me to read and research new topics and ideas in areas that benefit my clients and subscribers. The take away: research using AI o give you a number of relevant blogs you can sign up for to increase your knowledge in topics important to you. Try them out and if you don’t like one, just unsubscribe.
Make AI Your Encyclopedia
Finally, use AI platforms as your “encyclopedias.” When I was young, I used Funk and Wagnalls or Britannia encyclopaedias as my go-to research tools, I now use AI the same way: not to be lazy, but to be efficient in sourcing, researching ideas, experts, and methods to improve my life, my clients, and those I care for. The takeaway: use different AI platforms for efficient personal research to grow yourself and other around you.
Learning to read effectively is like training to be fit to enjoy a sport.
It takes proper techniques, discipline, and consistent practice
to “train your brain” to get to a level to effectively read.
Research clearly shows reading is the key to open your door to life-long success.
My final note to you is inspire and help your children to enjoy reading. Give them a golden key to open doors for their future success.
Michael J Griffin
CEO and Founder of ELAvate
A Life-long, Well Trained Reader
michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com
+65-91194008 (WhatsApp)