Ryan Holiday is one of my favorite authors. I was reading his blog this morning and stumbled upon his article on writing. He says that wanting to be a writer is the number one mistake. (Hmm. Interesting!)

Till today, I have gotten a lot of writing advice like “write every day,” “focus on editing,” “don’t use adverbs,” “write short paragraphs,” “use active voice,” and so forth.

While these tips are great for good writing, they don’t matter unless you have something to say and communicate to others.

Ryan’s writing advice is:

Go do interesting things.

When you do interesting things, you will have something to say. You will have experiences and lessons to share. Your experiences and lessons can inspire other individuals, and that is what you should aim to do. It is about providing value and having things to say.

Grammar, structure, or choice of words will have no meaning if what you are saying has no or little value. So even if your writing is grammatically correct and you have used the most amazing words, it will not matter unless you are providing value to the readers.

When you read an article written by a professional writer, you think it is perfect. No grammatical errors, perfectly structured, and good choice of words. But the story behind it is different.

Most professional writers probably sucked at writing when they first started their writing journey. They had probably written hundreds of articles before anybody even knew who they were. They learned how to write well by being consistent. But most importantly, they understood that writing is more about having something to say, inspiring others, and changing people’s lives with their stories.

So the first thing to identify before you start writing is what value you are providing to your readers. All the other stuff like grammar and word choices come later. I am not saying that they don’t matter at all. Of course, they do. But what matters most is your story.

Among the 100+ articles I have written, the most popular ones are those where people can find the most value. They have contacted me for my work and the value I have provided. But no one has ever pointed out my grammatical errors, typos, and writing mistakes. I use simple words and try to write as clearly as possible. So even if there are a few mistakes here and there, readers will understand what I am trying to say. And, that is what matters.

Writing is just like any other skill. The more you do it, the more you will learn and become good at it. You can become a better writer by reading other people’s stories too. All you have to do is put on daily practice. But that does not mean you write whatever you want.

Do interesting things, meet interesting people, travel to beautiful places, listen to successful people, read great books, work for companies, watch movies, listen to music. If you do these things, you will have experiences and lessons to share. Then, start writing about them.

If you are a beginner, just start writing. Don’t give much thought to your words, writing style, and grammar. Keep it simple so that even children in Grade 4 can understand your writing.

Everything else about writing is a learning process. Don’t chase perfectionism from the beginning. “Go do interesting things.” Have something to say that might be of value to others. That is the best writing advice I have gotten.

The post The Best Writing Advice I Have Gotten Today appeared first on Biliz Maharjan.

In that article, I had discussed some easy and effective ways that I use to read more books. This is a “part 2” version of that article.

I read books every day. Most days, I read multiple books. My morning begins with reading a book for at least 30-60 minutes every day. I also read ebooks or listen to audiobooks throughout the day.

Reading is my daily habit. It has transformed my life. I have learned a lot about personal development, psychology, business, health, and finance. In fact, I have learned more from reading books than from school.

Over the years, I have become a better reader. When I first started reading books 5 years ago, I used to struggle to finish a book. It would take me about a month to finish a single book. Now, I read 3-4 books every month.

What brought this change?

There are several things I did that made me a better reader over the years. As I have discussed in my previous article (linked above), I had a clear intention (desire) to read books. I considered reading as a habit, not a hobby. It means that I read every day just like I brush my teeth every day. I research books before reading them. I check reviews, ratings, summaries, etc. This allows me to prepare myself before buying the book. I read multiple books. Whenever I am bored with a single book, I stop reading it. I pick up another one and start reading that one. You don’t have to finish every book you read. Lastly, I enjoy the process of reading.

3 Tips To Help You Read More Books

I have started using more techniques to read books. These techniques have allowed me to become a better reader over the years. Reading a book is in itself a learning process. When you do something every day, you become good at it. You learn from it.

I will be discussing some more tips for reading books that will help you become a better reader. I discovered most of these tips through trial and error. Some of them are advice from other readers/writers/creators online.

Here are 3 tips to help you read more books.

1. Carry A Book With You All The Time

Whenever you are leaving the house, make sure you carry a book with you. It doesn’t matter where you are going, you should have a book with you if you want to read more.

You can read the book wherever and whenever you want. Suppose you have to wait for a friend somewhere. Instead of using your phone to scroll social media feed or text a friend, read a book. Whenever you have some free time at work, read a book. You can go to a cafe to grab a drink, eat, sit, relax, and read.

You do not have to carry a physical book with you. Everybody has a smartphone these days. Download ebooks on your phone. You can read the ebook whenever you want from your phone.

You can also download audiobooks to your phone and listen to them.

I usually carry ebooks on my phone. It is a quick and easy way to read books. I complete about 5-10 pages while waiting for a friend or waiting in a line.

2. Set Reading Goals and Track Them

Setting goals, in general, is a great exercise for personal development. You must set long-term and short-term goals.

You should also set goals for your reading habit as well. How many books per month do you want to read? The answer varies depending on your reading skill and the size of the books you are reading.

You must decide on how many books you want to read each month. My goal is to read at least 4 books a month. Since I read multiple books during the day, I can easily achieve my goal.

It is good to write down your reading goals. Research shows that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. I have prepared a spreadsheet to set and track my reading goals. You can write down your reading goals on a piece of paper or use any online tool you want.

Setting reading goals will push you to read more books. You can also set goals together with a friend so that it will be a fun challenge for both of you.

3. Practice Speed Reading Techniques (Without Losing Comprehension)

I have been experimenting with speed reading techniques for a while now. They work. For me, the most effective one is using my finger to read. I run my finger through the line I am reading. Sometimes, I use a pen or highlighter to do it.

Using my finger keeps the focus on what I am reading. I have noticed that my reading speed has increased.

You can experiment with different speed reading techniques and see what works best for you. Skimming and scanning are other popular techniques.

I have also experimented with a new speed-reading technique. I pick a book and listen to its audiobook at 1.75x speed while I am reading the physical book as well. This simultaneous practice of reading and listening has helped me increase my reading speed.

But remember that you should not lose comprehension trying these speed reading techniques. If you feel like you are losing it, do not try speed reading. The goal is to understand what you read, not to finish the book fast.

Bonus Tip

A bonus tip for reading more books is consistency. Consistency is key for achieving your goals, developing new habits, and learning new skills. You cannot read more books if you are not consistent with your reading habit. Start small, read slow, but be consistent. If you are a complete beginner, start with an easy book. Develop your reading habit first. Keep reading more books.

In Conclusion

Reading is a habit you must develop. It will change your life. Ever since I have developed the habit of reading, my life has not been the same.

Reading will make you skillful. You can find a book on any topic you like. But you have to be willing to pick it up and start reading.

Reading books is about experimenting and developing your habits. The techniques that I use might not be helpful to you. You should experiment with different techniques. If you are consistent with reading, you will discover the techniques that are best for you.

But the most important thing is that you must have the desire to read. Otherwise, no technique will work for you. I have a lot of friends who ask me for reading tips. I share a few tips with them but they still struggle to finish a book. It is not because that the tip did not work, it is because they did not have the desire or the interest to read books.

The post 3 Simple Tips To Help You Read More Books appeared first on Biliz Maharjan.

School and education had to be the number one priority for us. SLC used to be the biggest thing that mattered. Well, that’s what they said. I have studied different fields after my SLC – Science, Technology, and Business, to be specific. I studied Science in plus two, IT in Bachelor’s, and I have a Master’s Degree in Business.

Now, I’m not trying to brag about my degrees here. Trust me, I could care less about the degrees. But I did not know this back then. I have worked for a Software company as a Database Engineer and I am currently working at a Merchant Banking company as a Research Analyst. My fields of work have also been completely different.

Why did I choose all these different fields of study and work?

I really don’t have a good answer to this question. But, I can tell you this much – I did what I thought was right at the moment. Today, I have zero regrets. There have been some advantages and disadvantages of my choices. But, I took them as a lesson and I am going to share the five things I learned from studying and working in different fields.

1. You will Have More Knowledge

This one is obvious. If you study different fields, you will have knowledge about each of those fields. I have studied the toughest subjects during my plus two days. Even though I don’t still remember most of them, I know that they were tough. You can never really know everything you studied unless you are a superhuman or a genius like Sheldon Cooper. But, you will at least have the idea of what each one is about.

This is a good thing if you are really looking for what you want to do in life. Once you get to know all these areas, I’d say you will have more options to choose from. It’s always an advantage to have more knowledge. For instance, I know about the different areas of Technology and what each of them is about. Although I am not a tech professional, I still know the basics and the general things about each part of technology. After my MBA, I also have a broad knowledge of Marketing, Finance, and I can write a full-fledged business plan.

2. More Options

If you are not sure about what you want to do in the future, it’s really a good idea to explore multiple fields. Having basic knowledge about a specific field can guide you to further expand your knowledge in that particular field. You can choose a career in any of the fields you want later.

I worked for about a year and a half for a software company, where I worked in different departments. If I had wanted, I could have continued working there and specialized in a particular area of Software development. I quit the company to pursue my Master’s degree. I specialized in Finance. Now, I have a choice to work in Finance, which I am currently doing. I also have the option to quit Finance and go for Marketing, Business Development, and other areas of business management. I can even start my own business.

3. Learn New Things

When you step into a completely new field, everything is going to be new for you. It will be like a different world, which you didn’t know existed. This is exactly what happened to me when I enrolled for my MBA. I’d never studied Business or Management in my life. I only knew the names of a few subjects of management like economics, accounts, marketing, and finance. Back then, I didn’t even know the difference between Accounts and Finance. I thought they were the same thing.

A person like me, who didn’t even know what finance or accounts is, I not only specialized in Finance but also got a job in the same field. During my MBA, I found out that when you are about to learn a completely new topic, you must not think that you will be left behind because everyone else who came from the same field will be a step ahead of you. It is all about how you take it and how eager you are to learn about it. I was always keen to learn new topics. I decided to study MBA thinking that I will be starting a business in the future, but I ended up specializing in finance because I thought the subject was quite fascinating.

4. Knowledge about Technology is Always an Advantage

The one thing that has helped me the most throughout my career so far is my knowledge of Technology, and I know it will come in handy in the future as well.

With fast-growing technologies, you should have the knowledge of at least the basics of technology. It will never be a disadvantage to you. However, you need to stay updated with it because it grows really fast. In my current job, I am more involved in technology-related work than finance-related work. Because I am from the technology background, anything that comes up at work which is related to technology, I am wanted.

When I see people who cannot even install a simple software into their computers, I feel grateful that I studied and worked in the Tech field. The Internet is accessible everywhere these days. So even if you are not from the technology background, I suggest you make good use of the Internet and learn at least some basic skills. Trust me, we are living in a golden age where there is nothing that you cannot find on the Internet.

5. Don’t be All Over the Place

As I said before, knowing a lot of things can also be a disadvantage at times. You cannot do be doing everything at once. If you try to do so, you won’t really succeed. We need to focus on one thing at a time and stick to something that we really want to do.

For me, pursuing my MBA and studying finance made me want to work in this field. Now, I am sticking to it. Yes, I do the technology-related work as well. For instance, I am currently learning UI designing. But, I prioritize my work accordingly. I’m not doing both at the same time. It’s not like I am writing codes and preparing an equity research report at the same time. I know what my ultimate goal is.

What I am trying to say is, you will have to stick to a particular field of work and you have to be the best at it. To be the best you will have to collectively use the knowledge of everything you have studied and experienced in the past.

I recently read this article in the Harvard Business Review which suggests that you should have at least two different careers. The writer says that you don’t have to cut-off one career to start another. He says you can do both. I totally agree with him. What I like about the article is that the writer clearly says in the beginning to subsidize your skill development. This is an important point to consider. If you are planning to pursue multiple careers, you need to be able to sustain your career choices – both financially and skill-wise. He says that one of his careers supported the other. The article basically tries to say that you need to be skillful and only then, you will be able to start multiple careers. You cannot do little of this and little of that.

You need to be passionate about whatever you do and you need to give your best at it. I think it is a matter of time as well. Can you really take the time off of your existing career to start another, let alone do both? Time, skill, and money – these are the things you would need to balance if you really want to pursue careers in multiple fields.

The post 5 Things I Learned From Studying and Working In Different Fields appeared first on Biliz Maharjan.

I used to prefer books with pictures in them. They were more fun to read. Surprisingly, I liked Science textbooks because they used to have a lot of pictures in them. I hated English literature books. It was difficult for me to understand what the writers were trying to say in those books.

I hated reading and comprehending those books. Also, they had very few pictures. Some had none.

Things Changed

Today, I am a book-lover. Yes, I still have my likes and dislikes but they are not based on the pictures present in the books like it used to be. I am a consistent reader now. I started becoming a book reader about four years ago. Now when I say “a book reader” I do not consider academic textbooks. Although, even when I had grown up and been to college, I still only considered reading my college course books. I never understood why people read other books. I mean who has the time. Why would you spend your time reading a book instead of watching TV, playing games, sleeping, or anything that’s fun? That’s what I used to think about books.

The first book I ever bought was Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. The book was talked-about everywhere on the Internet. It was highly recommended by successful people and entrepreneurs. I mean the title itself was enough to attract readers to it. I went to the local bookshop and bought it.

When you are a first-time reader, it is not easy for you to capture all the information in the book. I honestly did not understand everything in the book. It was not because the language was complicated or anything like that. It’s just that I was not used to reading books. I slowly began reading more often. I took the time to sit and read for at least 30 minutes a day. Four years later, my book-shelf is almost full.

My Experience from Reading Books

Each book has its own lesson. There are a lot of genres in books. I mostly read non-fiction, self-help, psychology, and science-related. I am not into fiction. So, no novels and stories for me. Every book I read is a different experience. The authors have different styles of conveying their messages to the readers. I have read different books on the same topic and felt that one was interesting and the other was not-so-much interesting.

The first time I started reading was not a good experience. I had difficulty understand the context properly. But instead of trying to understand everything in the book, I went to another book. After I had read about 4-5 books, things started changing slowly.

Firstly, I had developed a habit of reading. Whenever I had nothing to read, I felt that something was missing in life. I had to have something to read regularly. Secondly, I started understanding books, not just what was written inside them but the experience itself. I understood why people read. Thirdly, my reading skills improved. When I started, it took me about a month to finish a book. Now it only takes about a week or two. Once, I finished a 100-paged book in a single day. Lastly, it’s just fun. I feel good when I read a book. It’s even great when I have something new and interesting to read.

Must Read: 5 Key Takeaways from RICH DAD POOR DAD – A Must-Read Book

How Can You Start Reading More Books?

I can go on and on about my experience from reading books. Here, I would like to share some tips for people who want to start reading books but are having a hard time doing so because of various reasons. I know a lot of people in my circle who say that they want to read more books but they somehow can’t. My friends borrow books from me and they return it back to me unread or partially read. Some don’t return it back at all, which reminds me – I’ve got to make some calls. Anyway, so here are some useful tips for them and for anyone having similar issues.

1. Intention

First and foremost, you have to be clear that you want to start reading books. The intention is very important. When you have clarity, it motivates you to go and get the book and actually start reading it. Some people just buy the book and keep it unread. I suggest you find a book that you want to read and be prepared for what you are going to get out of the book. Don’t buy a random book just because it has a fancy name or a cool cover. Be clear that you want to develop a habit of reading. Your mindset must be ready. Also, don’t start reading the book just because your friends do it. It must be because you want to do it.

2. Reading is a HABIT, Not a HOBBY

This is very important. I learned it through experience and this has helped me till today. What most people who want to start reading do is they think that they are going to read a book whenever they have got “free time”. I promise you there will be no free time. There will always be something to do and something to be involved in. Thinking of reading in your free time will never be helpful. Take reading as a HABIT, not a hobby.

What you can do is set a time during your day to read, just like you set time to wake up, go to work, eat lunch, and all your daily habits. If you are a morning person, set aside at least 30 minutes in the morning to read. If you are a night owl, set a time at night. It would be great if you do it at the same time every day. That way you will develop a habit and you subconsciously think of reading at that time during the day. I am a morning person, so I do it in the morning for at least about an hour. So take a particular time of the day that is best for you to read.

3. Research on the Books

Before you buy a book, it is always good to know about the book first. I always read the book reviews and check the ratings online before I buy it. This helps you to set the intention as well. Know what the book is about, who the author is, what is the genre of the book, and so forth. This helps you save time and money.

It is also good to read book summaries once you finish reading a book. This is especially useful for starters. If you understand the book completely then that’s great. But if you still seek clarity then it is good to read summaries after you finish a book. There are plenty available online. Try to read more than one summary because it helps you understand the book from different perspectives of different people.

4. Switch Books

So you researched a book online, you read its reviews, you read about the author, you like it, and you bought it. You start reading it and somehow you get stuck in the middle. Either you don’t understand the book or you start feeling that this book is not meant for you. What to do then? This happens to me a lot.

What I simply do is stop reading the book. Yes, I leave it as it is. Then, I find another book. I find something else to read. After I have completed a few books I come back to the first book which I thought was not good for me. When I read it the second time I begin to understand more because by now I will have developed a reading habit and a good way to understand books. The first book will now have become a good book to read. So don’t stop reading when you get stuck, just switch to another one.

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” – J.K. Rowling

5. Have Fun

At last, just have fun with reading. Once you get into the habit of reading, it starts becoming fun. Really, it does. It’s good to find a reading buddy as well. That way the fun is expanded. When you have a friend who reads, it will be fun to discuss the book with him/her, talk about your experiences with the book, and it will always be helpful to find good books. You can also join a book community. It always keeps you updated. Reading a book is not as complicated as it sounds once you start having fun with it.

Must Read:

• 4 Steps to Change Any Habit – The Power of Habit
• FAKE FREEDOM vs REAL FREEDOM – Everything is F*cked

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