Exploring why Bill Gates credits his success to reading

The habits of a person speak a lot about them. Honestly, it's not too hard to understand that if. one develops good habits, they are bound to be on the right track in life. While parents often look to inculcate some important habits in the lives of their children, one crucial habit that's often left out is the habit of reading.

Reading is an essential tool if a person wants to achieve success. While reading surely improves the knowledge of an individual, it also helps them in communication and increases their capacity to imagine. Apart from these benefits, there are many other benefits reading has and in this article, we will look at how it impacted the success Bill Gates achieved.

In today's world, who does not know Bill Gates? The co-founder of Microsoft, Gates is one of the most influential people in the world. Throughout his career, he has contributed to various sectors like technology and philanthropy. Gates' contribution makes him one of the most successful people on the planet.

While there is more than one reason behind Gates' success, the Microsoft co-founder credits reading to be an important reason. During an interview with the famed TIME magazine in 2017, Gates said reading fuels a sense of curiosity and added he was lucky to have parents who encouraged him to read. Gates said:

"Absolutely. You don’t really start getting old until you stop learning. Every book teaches me something new or helps me see things differently. I was lucky to have parents who encouraged me to read. Reading fuels a sense of curiosity about the world, which I think helped drive me forward in my career and in the work that I do now with my foundation."

- Bill Gates

Those who constantly follow Bill Gates and read his blogs know about his immense love and passion for reading. Gates regularly keeps recommending some amazing books to his followers. In one of his blogs, the 68-year-old also mentioned 5 of his all-time favorite books:

1. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, 2. Surrender by Bono, 3. Team of Rivals by Doris Goodwin, 4. The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey, 5. Mendeleyev's Dream by Paul Strathern.

While Stranger in a Strange Land is a classic science fiction book, the remaining books recommended by Gates are non-fiction. Surrender is the autobiography of U2s lead singer, whereas Team of Rivals details the historical accounts of Abraham Lincoln's time as US President. The Inner Game of Tennis focuses on the mental aspects of the sport whereas Mendeleyev's dream focuses on the periodic table and its creator.