Mastering a Self-Help Book in Just 90 Minutes

How many self-help books are on your reading list? If you’re like me, the number is far more than you’ll ever be able to get through. And that list keeps expanding, right? After finishing a great book, I look for similar titles or ask friends, colleagues, clients, and readers for recommendations.

Yet, I know I’ll never manage to read every book on my list. But the good news is that you can read more than you might expect — especially if you read to learn new things like me. About 80% of my reading list consists of non-fiction.

To tackle this, I’ve developed a simple system that helps me get through more of these books. It works best with books that start with ‘How To’ — though it’s limited to self-help and doesn’t apply to biographies.

You don’t read self-help books for their literary qualities. You read them because you want to learn something.

Even though self-help writers might think they are good writers, 90% of the content of their books is just fluff. It’s filler material.

Every self-help book just contains a handful of ideas. But books are a business. So they package the idea in a 300-page product with a nice book cover. And somehow, we think that a bigger book justifies the 15-dollar investment.