Recently I came across a Blog post by Bill Gates. In it he addressed one secret he learnt from associating with Warren Buffet, now the world’s third richest man, (Bill Gates is the second). The secret is Warren Buffett spends about five to six hours a day reading. This is not to say he has retired. He still works a full day at the age of 88, running his business Berkshire Hathaway. In the blog Gates identifies it as ‘a key to Buffett’s extraordinary success in investments’, which includes a sizable portion in Real Estate.

Not surprisingly, he loves to read books on business, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, especially articles about business problems. He sits in his office reading, with the belief that if he is better informed than the rest, he will win. ‘Everything he reads is public’, Gates adds, ‘Anyone can buy the same books and magazines, the same information is available to anyone who wants it’. Most don’t.

This post caused me to examine myself. As a writer, trainer, consultant my stock in trade is information. Do I read as much as five hours a day? The short answer is no, but I do read a lot, on average about two hours a day. But I compliment that with listening to at least one hour a day to YouTube informative programming. Still, I have challenged myself to increase my reading by one hour a day. I have placed a copy of Robert Greenleaf’s Anniversary Edition of Servant Leadership on my desk, together with my faithful, ‘Paperwhite Kindle’, which contains over 20 business books. I am committed to add an additional one hour a day reading.

I am also challenging you my readers in making the time to commit to reading at least 2 hours a day. I suggest you choose a mix of bestselling business books, periodicals and magazines on your career, and personal development books. I would also suggest YouTube for informative programming on any topic. Try to attend seminars and webinars regularly and sign up for online courses from the many excellent providers. I personally use edX.

Experts have labelled the times we are living in, in numerous ways, but they all agree that information and knowledge are two of today’s pillars for success, in any field of endeavour. I urge you to pursue continuous education, as the key for your success.