I’ve been studying (again) Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich mastermind online hosted by Paul Martinelli and Roddy Gailbraith. It was fantastic just as expected! This being my second mastermind study with them in as many months.
While listening to Paul the other day, he mentioned something profound (paraphrasing), “If you want to go through the book faster, read alone. If you want to master the concepts, study with a group.” That I personally believe is to be true for a mastermind group study since I host them myself every quarter. Paul’s emphasis was on not just reading the book but learning, studying, and applying the principles to be successful.
I know it contradicts what’s trending — read a 50 or a 100 books a year because some influencer says so. Or perhaps you heard somewhere that “leaders are readers.” So you rip through these books faster than you can even comprehend, log them on Goodreads, and share the stats/accomplishments for props and likes on the socials. All that is great! But then what? How much of what you’ve read was actually useful in your personal and/or professional life?
What is that one idea that has transformed your life for the good? Chances are you haven’t. It’s hard to assimilate so much information without losing track of all the great ideas that you can implement but don’t have the time to because you’re already on to the next book. And that’s a tragedy, given that you’re missing the whole point about reading books.
It’s not about the numbers but the value a book provides to you. I believe you’re better off reading a single book and applying its principles instead of reading a 100 without changing anything. This isn’t a competition. It’s your life we’re talking about. And if you see meaningful change, you need to run after and apply the ideas that you gain from all this reading instead of chasing fancy stats.
That’s one reason why I participate in mastermind study groups. They force you to slow down the reading of a book and delve deeper into the principles, concepts, and applications of the ideas presented in a book. Now, the best part is that you don’t have to join an official mastermind study group. You can create one yourself!
All you need is a book and bunch of people. Make a commitment to focus on this one book for the next four weeks. The members of your little group are to read each chapter (or perhaps two or three) before you huddle up for the study session where you explore deeper, understand the concepts better, and identify how best can you apply the concepts in your life. It’s that simple. But we know simple ain’t easy. Right?
Don’t chase the stat. Chase knowledge and its application. It’ll reward you in the long run.