Most people who get laid off update their résumé. I started a business called One Percent Readers, teaching CEOs how to read.
I had an unusual safety net—the ability to read and digest books at an extraordinary rate.
For the past year, I’d been reading 70+ books while working full-time, a habit that was about to become my unlikely business foundation.
What began as a personal optimization hack for my previous job turned into a revelation: entrepreneurs needed to expand their knowledge but couldn’t finish the books they started.
Little did I know this observation would transform my entire career trajectory.
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From Side-Help to First Paid Client
I’d been helping founders discover their reading speed and dial up retention for free. When a CEO insisted on paying me $500 for a single session, two things clicked:
- Pricing signals value.
- Speed-reading and memory coaching could be a real business, not a hobby.
I remember thinking, “Wow, I’ve literally never made money on my own before—just paychecks.”
That moment changed everything. From there, I began helping entrepreneurs, CEOs, and companies increase their learning speed systematically.
Why One Percent Readers Exists
85% of self-made millionaires read at least two books a month.
Yet, most executives I meet can hardly finish two books in a year. One Percent Readers was born to close that gap—so busy leaders can learn as quickly as their industries evolve.
I saw a recurring pattern when talking to business owners. They weren’t finishing the books they wanted to complete.
When I asked if they even knew their reading speed, they looked at me blankly—they’d never considered that they could increase it.
Many didn’t realize they could improve their memory either; they just assumed they had to read a book four times and it would stick.
Why Most Entrepreneurs Struggle with Reading
The biggest objection I hear is:
“I don’t have the time to read.”
But there are two fundamental problems here:
- Time perception: You have to make time to eat, don’t you? Reading should be treated the same way—it feeds your mind and soul.
- Reading inefficiency: It takes many entrepreneurs an hour or two to read just a couple of pages. If I can help them read 60 pages in 60 minutes, suddenly they can make the time.
The reality is stark: if I meet a hundred people at networking events, most have read zero to two books in the past 12 months.
Poor literacy costs governments trillions, and in business, memory lapses—forgetting names or meetings—cost companies billions of dollars.
The Physical Book Advantage
I recommend physical books over digital formats for several compelling reasons:
- Brain engagement: When we learn from a computer, our brain physiologically knows that, and it hurts our attention and comprehension because we know we can quickly switch tabs.
- Spatial memory: Your brain has spatial memory awareness with physical books. You know that a certain story is somewhere in the back or front of the book, or on a specific page.
- Memory anchors: Think of your brain as a web—the coffee stain on page 42, the fact that your mom gave you the book, the signature inside—these are all memory “thumbprints” that help information stick. PDFs don’t give us these anchors.
My Core Promise
I won’t hand you a stack of “should-read” books; I help you hit actionable speed and retention targets tied to your business goals.
To get people reading, especially those who haven’t in decades, I look for what excites them.
Most people treat reading like homework because school taught them to hate it. Teachers assigned books without explaining why they mattered. But humans need intrinsic motivators.
When clients ask for book recommendations, I ask, “Are you 10 out of 10 motivated to read this?” If not, we remove it or explore why they’re not excited.
Studies on reading attitudes show that if your attitude toward reading is low, your comprehension and memory will be poor.
One Percent Readers Results
- Two founders doubled their monthly reading volume within six weeks.
- A SaaS executive shaved prep for board meetings from five hours to one.
- Multiple clients report feeling “energized” rather than drained after reading—proof that the right techniques can flip a lifelong script.
A tangible transformation I see repeatedly is reading becoming an energizing, addictive habit rather than something that hurts their brain or puts them to sleep.
This shift comes from changing both mindset and technique.
Beyond the “Audiobook Excuse”
Many potential clients tell me, “I’m an audiobook person” or “I’m an auditory learner.”
This mindset is often a barrier to real growth. If someone has a diagnosed reading disorder like dyslexia, I understand their hesitation.
But even Richard Branson, who’s dyslexic, still recommends books and has found ways to read effectively despite his condition.
There are specialized programs for dyslexic readers that focus on about 1,000 trigger words that, once mastered, can transform their reading experience.
The “learning styles” concept—the idea that some people learn better through listening while others learn through seeing—has been thoroughly debunked by scientific research.
When scientists tested people who claimed to be “auditory learners” against control groups using multiple learning styles, the multiple-style learners consistently performed better.
By limiting yourself to one learning method, you’re constraining your brain’s amazing capacity to form connections through multiple channels.
The question isn’t whether you’re an audiobook person—it’s whether you’re willing to expand your learning capabilities beyond a single modality.
The Books That Shaped My Approach
When people ask about my favorite books, I struggle to name just one. But three have been particularly influential:
- Think and Grow Rich — I’ve studied this book so thoroughly that I’ve memorized the entire table of contents.
- Moonwalking with Einstein — This book demonstrates how memory champions retain information and shows me that the more you know, the easier it is to retain new information.
- 10x is Easier than 2x by Dan Sullivan — This book challenges business owners to scale properly while maintaining fulfillment.
Conclusion
The accidental journey that led me to create One Percent Readers has shown me that the reading crisis among entrepreneurs isn’t just about time or ability—it’s about mindset and technique.
By transforming how we approach books, we can unlock extraordinary learning potential.
Whether you’re building a startup or leading an established enterprise, your competitive edge comes from the knowledge you can acquire, retain, and implement.
The leaders who learn the fastest end up winning. My mission is to ensure that entrepreneurs like you can stay ahead of the curve by reading not just more, but better.
As your industry accelerates, your learning must keep pace. One Percent Readers exists to make that possible through proven, science-backed techniques that turn reading from a chore into a superpower.
Your brain is ready—are you?