I believe, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the fastest ways to succeed is to read. Leaders are readers. Reading great books will take you further than you will ever go on your own.

I have found over the years though that many people either don’t read enough or don’t let what they’re reading change them. If you are in the first group you need to start reading more. You need to set yourself up on a growth plan immediately.

Regardless of which group you are in, many people have read lots of books but never let it change them. Here are some thoughts I have developed about reading, I call it the 4 levels of reading:

• If you want INITIATION start to read
• If you want INFORMATION study what you read
• If you want INSPIRATION think about what you read
• If you want TRANSFORMATION act on what you read

Initiation

You have to start reading if you’re going to benefit from it. Sounds simple, but let’s be honest, how many books do you have piled up next to your bed that you told yourself you’re going to read one day? According to Pew Research Center, the average high school graduate only reads 1 book per year the rest of their life (that number is actually inflated due to avid readers who read much more. Also, that number doesn’t mean they completed the book, just that they read something from it.) The most avid readers tend to be CEO’s who average 4-5 books per month. If you want to initiate personal and professional growth you must start reading as often as you can. The more you read, the higher you’ll go.

Information

Reading informs you with what you need to succeed. The more information you expose yourself to, the greater your awareness becomes. And the greater your awareness, the greater opportunities you’ll have. Your mind is a cognitive library. Studying is a way of collecting information that you can store in the library of your mind. Now that you have that information, you’ll be amazed at how many opportunities will come up for you to access that library and use that information. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” Don’t gloss over what you read. Make sure you are focused and gathering information that you need for your future success. It’s not enough to just initiate your reading, you must study what you are mentally digesting.

Inspiration

The word inspire comes from the Latin word inspirare, meaning to breathe in. The word depicts your inner spirit being awakened to life. Inspired is to have something invigorating in your spirit. Inspiration is the pathway to innovation. When you read content that inspires you, it will breathe life into your soul. All it takes is one idea to launch your possibilities to a new level. When information goes from our mind to our heart it inspires us. The more you can surround yourself with resources that will not only inform you but inspire you the further and faster you will go. Information must lead to inspiration in order to change us. It’s not enough to just inform yourself, you need to find things that also inspire you.

Transformation

The highest level of reading is transformation. When you take the initiative to read, then study to inform yourself, you’ll be inspired within, which transforms your life.

Initiation + Information + Inspiration = Transformation

The purpose of reading should be transformational. If you want to read a book and truly let it change your life, you have to live out the principles you are learning. Too many people don’t take what they read and live it. Transformational reading enters through the eyes, stores information in our mind, inspires our heart but then transfers to our actions. If you want to transform your life in the most powerful way, live out what you’re reading about. American philosopher Mortimer Jerome Adler said, “In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” We only change when the benefit of doing something different is greater than the comfort of staying the same.

Hope this helps you get a framework for the books you are reading (or should be reading). In fact, here is my newest book, Scripture Breakdowns: 12 Pivotal Verses Unpacked Line By Line get a copy and jumpstart your spiritual growth!