READING – AN INTEGRAL PART OF PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY’S SUCCESS!
I celebrate ACHIEVEMENT EVERY DAY! WEDNESDAY SERIES – “A Rainbow of Role Models”, highlights role models of ALL colors. “There is dignity, in achievement and success—in becoming a great factor in civilization.” Carter G. Woodson.
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Disclaimer: Good Day, Readers. WealthBuildingPowers blog is a financial literacy/competency blog and does not provide specific investment recommendations.
JFK’S READING SPEED WILL LEAVE YOU FLOORED
STYRON’S INTRODUCTION
It’s hardly a revelation that President Kennedy deeply loved reading. I’ve noticed a consistent trait among the individuals I hold in high regard—their unwavering commitment to continuous learning through avid reading. The roster is extensive: my parents, brother, cherished uncle, and influential figures like Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Charlie Munger. The message is clear: neglecting to enrich your mind with knowledge is a missed opportunity for the incredible organ that is your brain.
Embrace the wisdom of books—READ.
Reading: that thing you’re doing right now. Whether or not folks realize it, modernity affords us the chance to read more than ever — albeit in a shallow, scrolling, scattershot way. But how about real, deep, focused reading that leaves the mind clear and calm? While everyone might not sit and read for long, uninterrupted periods of time, sites like Toner Buzz say that the global book market reached a whopping $132.4 billion in 2023. Golden Steps ABA says that folks usually read 1,000 to 2,000 words per sitting, at a rate of 250 to 300 words per minute and two minutes per page. In other words: not that fast or that much, no matter how many books are bought.
Former United States President John F. Kennedy, however, was a different story. As the JFK Presidential Library and Museum cites, JFK hit about 1,200 words per minute — about four times the current average reading rate. While speed doesn’t automatically equal comprehension, we can safely assume that JFK wasn’t just skimming. After all, he’s got some whoppers on his favorite reading list, a list that portrays his intelligence, upbringing, and inclinations. As JFK Library says, we’ve got biographies like, “John Quincy Adams and the Foundation of American Foreign Policy” by Samuel Flagg Bemis (1949), historical tomes like, “The Price of Union” by Herbert Agar (1950), and precisely one recognizable piece of fiction: “From Russia With Love” (1957) by Ian Fleming — the creator of 007, aka James Bond.
It should come as no surprise that JFK’s reading speed stemmed from a lifelong, dedicated reading habit. And when we say “habit,” we really mean “near-obsession.” As the National Park Service quotes his wife and renowned first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, “He read in the strangest way … He’d read walking, he’d read at the table, at meals, he’d read after dinner, he’d read in the bathtub … He really read all the times you don’t think you have time to read … He was always reading — practically while driving a car.”
JFK’s love of reading started with his mother, Rose. The National Park Service says that Rose curated reading lists for her children — all nine of them. JFK, however, was the only one who obeyed the lists. The JFK Presidential Library and Museum not only lists JFK’s favorite books as an adult but also his favorite childhood books. The list reads like a who’s who of some of the most prominent, well-recognized children’s fiction in English literature: “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling, “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson, “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell, and many more. There are also some more mature, well-respected works in there, like, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe and “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan.
The National Park Service says that JFK was a sickly child diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, a potentially life-threatening disease involving hormone deficiencies. Reading became the young, bedridden JFK’s refuge.
To JFK, reading wasn’t a hobby, and the goal wasn’t to read fast, slow, or anything in between — no matter his 1,200 word-per-minute reading speed; reading was a way of life. When he was heading towards the Solomon Islands in the Navy during World War II he “gobbled up” adventure novels like Sir Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe,” as Inc. cites. When he started courting his future wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the Christian Science Monitor says that he gave her a copy of “Pilgrim’s Way,” a book about life in the trenches during World War I — Jacqueline was extremely impressed and “captivated” by the gesture.
JFK’s commitment to reading didn’t flag when he moved into politics. The National Parks Service says that he took a speed-reading course from 1954 to 1955 — this would have been after he’d been elected senator of Massachusetts in 1953 and gotten married that same year. A few years later in 1957, he released “Profiles in Courage,” a book profiling the lives of eight different U.S. senators, and for which he won the Pulitzer Prize that same year. Christian Science Monitor says that JFK cited Ernest Hemingway’s definition of courage in the book as the now-well-known phrase, “grace under pressure.” All in all, it’s not hard to see how JFK’s love of reading not only granted him his reading speed but made him the person that he was.
Read More:
https://www.grunge.com/1498689/jfk-john-f-kennedy-reading-speed-leave-you-floored/
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ABOUT ME
I am a proud nerd (as my beautiful wife and daughter have told me) investment and finance blogger with an N.C. State, Chemical Engineering, University Rutgers, MBA and Harvard University, Advanced Management education.
I left a corporate career because I desired to make a difference as a speaker and writer. I was blessed to be coached and mentored by strong women and men in my family and professional life. It is my time to serve and give back.
DISCLAIMER
I started my first business at ~13 years of age (a small but brilliantly created plant nursery). I am a successful investor in stocks, options, real estate and am happy to share my finance and investment lessons. I am NOT a licensed financial advisor. Please do not construe my suggestions on this blog as recommendations for your situation. As an investor, you must establish your risk/loss tolerance. Investment in any asset involves risk, including complete loss.
Please seek your licensed CPA or fiduciary financial advisors for individual financial advice.
I write this weekly blog to make an impact by reaching an audience and demonstrating the need for financial literacy. I will help you get there.
