Have You Read These Books?

What’s the most impactful book you’ve read? How did it change you?

Can a powerful book have a similar impact in 2023?

In this newsletter you’ll find 5 ways that knowledge completely empowers and transforms your life along with BYB’s 2023 “book list.” Check them out. Note which ones you’ve read, and jot down a title or two that can inspire you in 2023.

Knowledge is Power

The word “power” comes from the Latin word potere, which means “to be able.” But things with power are much more than “able” — they exert force. When you acquire knowledge and wisdom, you “become able” to “exert force” on your world and the world around you. You’re a force to change the world in profound ways. That’s the power of knowledge.

Knowledge is Renewable Power

Most sources of power are finite – they can run out. Not knowledge. It never runs out. It can give you “enabling force” in perpetuity. And, you can share it with others an infinite number of times. Knowledge’s abundance as power never runs out and has no limits in its capacity and quantity. Knowledge is renewable power.

Knowledge Liberates

Miles Davis said, “Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.” Frederick Douglass taught, “Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave,” and “Once you learn to read, you will be free forever.” This is why Benjamin Rush taught, “Freedom can only exist in a society of knowledge. Without learning, people are incapable of knowing their rights.” When you gain knowledge, you free your mind, soul, emotions, and even body from the constraints of your prior ignorance. That’s powerful. That’s liberating.

Knowledge Improves Financial Well-Being

In our studies, and many other studies, it is proven and clear that the most successful people in the world (financially and by other measurements of the word successful) are avid readers. As you learn to free yourself through the power of knowledge, you can also learn to free yourself from financial constraints and limitations. Knowledge is a powerful key that opens the door to financial well-being, saving, investing, and a long and prosperous life.

Knowledge Improves Mental, Emotional, and even Physical Health

Reading reduces stress by a whopping 68 percent. It’s clinically shown to help you relax. Reading is also shown to reduce mental decline in old age by up to 32 percent. It improves overall health.

And, new knowledge can also transform physical health directly. Consider the knowledge we have available to us today about anatomy, physiology, nutrition, disease, and mental and emotional health! We should be the healthiest generation ever! And, we can be if we acquire and apply the right knowledge.

So, What Books Will You Read?

Looking for an inspiring book? Below is BYB’s 2023 reading list. These books cover topics of “personal development,” “philosophy,” “history,” “leadership,” et al.

We invite you to find one to a few titles that stand out to you and put them on your 2023 personal reading list. Without further ado, here’s the list (click to enlarge):