“The most successful people never stop learning.”

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During a recent book signing a woman was checking out at the Austin airport store where my most recent book, The Leadership Playbook, was being promoted. The cashier asked her if she would be interested in buying a copy. She responded, “Nope, I work too much as it is, so I read only fun books.” A conversation ensued on what she did for a living. She answered, “I am a management consultant.” She was then asked if she thought that leadership or business books would benefit clients or herself. She responded, “Nope, I don’t teach my clients. They are smarter than I am anyhow, so to think I could teach them anything would only be arrogant.”

She is not personally known, and is probably a wonderful human, but one can only assume she unknowingly limits her value to her clients and her ability to become more successful, all because her ego is in the way. This lady, like many in business, has mixed up the use of confidence and arrogance. The fact that she did not see the need to learn or get better is arrogance, and the fact that she does not have the ability (or desire) to teach her customers is not humility — it is a lack of confidence.

Confidence makes people believe in their bosses, teachers and others. If a person is confident, then others will assume they are competent — which is good. But, when that confidence gets in the way of a willingness to learn and be taught, then it becomes arrogance — and that is bad.

In recent years, the term “one percenters” has become used to separate the rich from others; this is not the one percenters that will be referenced to in this writing. The one percenters discussed here are not defined based on their wealth, but are based on their learning (their desire, willingness and effort to learn).

The following numbers may vary based on the book or publication you read, but nonetheless they are all close to one another: the average CEO of Fortune 500 companies reads four to five books per month or 50 to 60 books per year. The average American reads one book per year — worse, 60 percent of those average Americans only read the first chapter. This doesn’t count “Facebook,” because everyone can agree that “Facebook” is not a book.

And with the assumption that the 500 CEOs, plus the other super successful people, make up no more than one percent of those who read over 50 books, which leaves the other 99 percent of people like the woman at the book signing. There are plenty of “reasons” anyone could give or have for not committing to bettering their lives by continuous learning, yet this habit is one of just a few big differentiators of the one percenters that are achieving great success.

Comparing Learning in College to Learning for Life

Most people would agree that while we were in college, and when their kids go to college, they must attend class and complete all the assigned readings to ensure information is learned and the class is passed to achieve the degree. The reason reading in college is so easy to prioritize is that the consequence of not reading the assigned chapter(s) is recognized within a few days or weeks by way of a test or graded assignments.

Professionals and business people do not experience immediate or visible consequences of not reading the “daily assignment,” however, those consequences exist, and they are costly in career, personal wealth and achievement of personal success. Keep in mind also if a 40-year-old person who graduated college at the age of 24 never read a business book or personal improvement book again after college, then they are no smarter than they were at the age of 24. They are wiser, older and more experienced, but they are not smarter.

Warning: Anyone trying to justify how this fact is inaccurate or if they are looking for the reason why this is wrong, then they might want to adjust their mindset before continuing their knowledge journey. When top leaders and knowledge seekers read something like this article, they ask themselves, what will be taken from this article to make things better? Seek to learn, not to justify.

Many people, like the woman at the book signing, feel they do not deserve (or need) to learn or get any better than they are. Many times, however, it is simply a habit that is not cultivated. It is a matter of recommitting oneself to daily routines for self-development and evolvement that includes learning, maybe fitness, family-focused activities, and more. Many times, a person knows (or thinks they know) what they should be doing, yet they are challenged each day to actually do them.

However, they can seek assistance from a coach, accountability partner, or trusted co-worker/boss. If they don’t feel it is a necessary part of living, then they should be challenged to understand what their purpose is — not just in life, but in their role and the role they play for their clients, their family and themselves.

The Challenge

1. Buy one self-help book/Leadership book, or get a recommendation from a respected person (audio books qualify).
2. Start by reading for 10 minutes every morning, then eventually increase it to 30 minutes, or listen to an audio book on the way to and from work every day (and then for 10-30 minutes on the days not driving to work).
3. Do this for three weeks (working days only 15 days).
4. If afterwards there are no feelings of excitement or a need to share what’s been read to others — then don’t do it anymore, but if it’s started, then keep doing it. Then, if signs of failure happen, someone will be there and will be ready to put things back on track!

When a person becomes a committed lifelong learner, others will seek their teachings.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].