John Wooden said it best. “Live as though you will die tomorrow. Learn as though you will live forever.” I try to say this out loud every morning. It helps remind me to appreciate every second of every day. It also reminds me that I will never stop learning, improving, and growing.

The best way I have found to learn is to always have a book nearby. The best entrepreneurs, fitness gurus, thinkers, business owners and leaders of today always seem to be reading at least a book or two per month. Why? Because they are hungry to learn more, hungry to learn from the best. They understand others have come before them and wrote down what they learned – whether it’s what to do or what not to do. We have the opportunity to have the words of the world’s greatest thinkers and leaders right at our fingertips.

I have incorporated at least fifteen minutes of reading into my “miracle morning” the last five years and it has changed my life (thank you, Hal Elrod). I love knowing that through new books I am always learning how to do something that has already been accomplished by someone else! I have a roadmap of the do’s and don’ts on how to accomplish something I can take in with a casual cup of coffee every morning.

Whether it’s how to lose weight, invest in real estate, or grow your business, odds are someone has already accomplished what you are trying to do and likely wrote a book about it. Pick up the book. Learn from them. Write it down. Write specific steps to get you to where you want to be. Always be hungry to learn more.

This will keep you sharp, and remind you that you are always growing, always improving.

Learn as though you will live forever.