Master New Skills Through Nonfiction: A Practical Guide to Lifelong Learning

Curiosity and lifelong learning is number five on the list of 10 skills the World Economic Forum says you need to thrive. Reading nonfiction books alone will not help you learn the skills. It’s important to apply the information from the books you read. I’ve been taking part in a 30 books in 30 days reading challenge I created for myself. This time around, I’ve been very intentional about connecting ideas across the books I’m reading and with books I previously read.

What I’ve discovered is that I have a deeper understanding of a topic by following this process. For the reading challenge, instead of listing the books I want to read, I went by instead. I don’t recommend you doing this. This is about the sixth or seventh time I’m doing this reading challenge. I’ve learned skills by taking part in a reading challenge. As an avid reader, I’ve used books to learn skills. So, I can explain to you how to do it.

Skills to Learn

There are specific skills you need for your current role, and there are skills you need for your next role. It’s important for you to be future ready. And there are other skills you’ll need based on what is going on in the environment. To know which skills you’ll need to learn requires research. Pay attention to a variety of future jobs…