What Are Your Reading Goals in 2018?

Growing up in Jamaica, I would use my pocket money to buy things to read. Every Wednesday, I would head to the supermarket, to wait for the truck to arrive with new magazines. Many of these magazines, though they were new to me, were actually three months old. That is how long it would take or them to arrive in Jamaica. A lot of these magazines were coming from the United Kingdom. I was always proud of my purchases and I would devour them in no time. Fast forward over 30 years later, and my appetite for reading has not changed – in fact, I would say it has grown. Can you understand why I would ask the question, ‘What are your reading goals in 2018?'  

Reading Goals in 2018 

It is the start of a new year, so it makes sense to talk about reading goals. What are your reading goals in 2018? Many people often say that they want to read more books, but following through is another matter. Life is very busy, and there are many things vying for your time. But if something is important to you, you will make time to do it. To read more books, you must have a compelling reason for doing so. If you say you want to read more books just for the sake of reading more books, then it is unlikely that you will stick with it.  

However, if you want to read more books because you want to learn a new skill, so you can get a promotion, you will likely stick with that goal. You have a compelling reason for wanting to read more books. But it is a little more complicated than that since a lot of times people do not achieve their goals because they do not have a plan in place as to what actions to take. Let's take the example one step further. You want to learn problem solving, so you can get that promotion you have wanted.  

Learning Problem Solving Skills  

What problem solving books do you plan to read? When are you going to carve out the time to read each day? And how do you plan to apply the new information that you learn from the problem-solving books? I have mentioned this a few times now on this blog, that I read that if you want to master a subject, you need to read the top five books on the topic. The top books on the subject will not necessarily be bestsellers.   

Books to Teach Problem Solving Skills 

Some books became bestsellers not because they are excellent books, but because of a great promotion engine behind them. Good problem-solving books include: Problem Solving 101, The MacGyver Secret, Technique for Producing Ideas, How to Get Ideas, and Adapt. I have read all the books except  for Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford, which I plan to read shortly.  

To learn problem solving, you have to practice active reading. A good way to do this is to take detailed notes while reading each book. The skill problem solving has a structure, and you will discover the structure from the best books. After you have finished reading each book, review your notes several times to become intimate with the information, then pick out the big ideas from your notes. After you have finished reading all five books, start combining the ideas from the books, allowing them to cross-pollinate. Another thing I would like you to do is to attempt to map the structure of the skill, which will help you to learn it.  

As I evolve and advance my thinking on great ideas, I realize it is also important to tie ideas to a meaningful human need. This is one way to make sure that you profit from reading, that you get a return on your reading time investment. Do you see how by going through this process you will not only read more books. But you will likely achieve your reading goals because of this hands-on approach.  

 Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People The MacGyver Secret: Connect to Your Inner MacGyver and Solve Anything A Technique for Producing Ideas: The simple, five-step formula anyone can use to be more creative in business and in life! How to Get Ideas Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure

Avil Beckford's 2018 Reading Goals  

I am learning the 10 key skills needed for future jobs, so I am reading books that can teach me the skills. This requires reading 60 books in a year, but there are other books that I would like to read, so I have to organize myself. I am learning complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and judgement and decision making together because they are related skills. Many of the creativity and ideas books cover those four skills.  

Leading a Tribe to Learn 10 Key Skills  

I have a group of people in my Facebook group, Strategic Reading Challenge to Learn Key Skills, who are participating in the reading challenge to learn the 10 key skills. The participants in the Strategic Reading Challenge see the value of learning the skills to thrive in the future, and they recognize the importance of doing so in a community that they are accountable to.  

They recognize that it is not just about reading books to learn skills. It is so much more. They are practicing active reading. They take notes while reading, and they are asked to review their notes to mine the great ideas from the books. I want to add, that for me, I always have to read through my notes several times before the big ideas start to emerge. At the end of the month, after they have read the five books, they are asked to combine the ideas from the different books they read during the month.   

I created a template to walk people through the process of combining ideas, and I have written several articles about great ideas which will help participants to be able to identify them. Mining ideas from the books you read is a critical part of the process of learning the skills. As I mentioned before, I have read several books on how to get ideas, which is something that I struggle with, and a revelation that came to me, is that if there is information in a book that answers partially or fully the question you are trying to answer by reading the book, that piece of information is a great idea.  

Profit Reading in 2018 

If you decide to participate in the Strategic Reading Challenge, you are reading 60 books in a year. That is a lot of time you are investing in reading books in 2018. Therefore, I want you to profit from your investment in reading time. I am big on profit reading, I have thought about this concept for a while now, and it is time to release it to the world. I wrote a LinkedIn post, and I think it will take time for people to embrace it. I am an unknown quantity, so people have to get comfortable with my ideas first before they embrace them.  

People also want to see how serious I am first before they support me, and I cannot blame them. So you have taken up my call to go on the hero's reading journey. The path will not be easy, and there are times when you will question your decision. But imagine the payoff if you stick to the journey? At the end of a year, you have read 60 books, and if you have been following the recommended process, you have mined a large number of ideas, combined them, and tied them to human needs.  

Your reading journey will transform you because of the books you choose to read. Learning and mastering the 10 key skills will allow you to shake up your career. This is a New Year and time for a New You.