About one third of Americans say they read fewer books today than they did 10 years ago.
Half say itβs because they donβt have enough free time.
The other half say there are simply too many distractions competing for their attention.
More than a third also report that their attention spans have gotten worse over the past decade.
Meanwhile, the average person spends 10β20 hours per week watching short-form videos.
Letβs use the midpoint: 15 hours per week.
15 hours Γ 52 weeks = 780 hours per year
The average book takes about 6β10 hours to read.
Letβs use 8 hours.
780 Γ· 8 = 97.5 books
Thatβs roughly 100 books per year.
Now imagine someone went on a 5 yr short-form video fast and replaced that time with reading 500 books on:
Money
Business
Leadership
Human Nature
Great biographies
What do you think would happen to that person?
The way they think would change.
The way they see opportunities would change.
The way they understand people would change.
There are no guarantees in life, but the odds of success would certainly move in their favor.
Thatβs essentially what I did from age 21 to 35 after leaving the military.
And this doesnβt just apply to Gen Z, it applies to every generation.
Whether youβre 16 or 60, you can make this adjustment.
The future looks bright for those who remain curious, committed to learning, and willing to invest in themselves.