How many books does a person read in a lifetime? I did the arithmetic one night over beers with a friend.

First, we established that averages are useless. Some statistics say that people read 12 books per year on average. There are always a few people who read more than 100 books a year. So that number is inflated.

Based on our experiences, most people we know only read a book that’s popular. For example, this year’s book was 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson. Most people read books because “everybody has read this book!”

And then they might pick up one or two other books in a year. They probably won’t even finish them. But let’s be optimistic about people and assume most folks read 5 books a year. Over a 50-year career, that’s only 250 books.

I love to learn. And reading is my favorite way to learn. But sometimes I get tired from reading. Do you know that feeling?

I try to read two books per week. But when I’m working on a lot of things, and have an irregular schedule, like the past three months, I tend to read less.

But no matter what’s going on in my life, I must read at least one book a week. Why? Reading is simply my favorite time of the day. Reading gives me energy and new ideas. That’s why I do it.

But for the last three months, I’ve been working on a lot of things. We opened a new office, and I spent a lot of time with my hands tied: Moving, decorating, putting together new desks, painting walls, building a garage-gym in our warehouse, you name it.