John Maxwell once said "readers are leaders" and I couldn't agree more. To be a leader, you need to read books that are inspiring, educating, informative and insightful. And also, apart from aiming to be a leader, reading books generally is an important factor in human lives. At one time in my life, I don't fancy reading books, especially academic books but as time goes on, I realized that it was not about what I fancied doing but what reading will achieve for me. I took out time to read and I can remember reading this particular book by Dr. Ben Carson titled "Think Big: Unleashing your potential for excellence". This book shaped my thinking and mindset. And many other books like this that I've read. Reading has remolded me, and developed me, even beyond what I learned in the four corners of the school. Reading has such power and this is why this blog post is aimed at explaining the "5 importance of reading". Do read to the end. 
 
Why is reading important?
1. It increases your knowledge: Knowledge is power. A person that knows is inarguably powerful. There's no magic to knowing things than reading about them. Through reading, you can know all you need to know about any subject in any field of study. Those who thirst for knowledge today are those who are ready to get answers, solutions, and great strategies in books. 
2. It helps to build a better version of "YOU": You can never go wrong with reading the right books because you can find your strengths, weaknesses, and answers to questions that you have no answers to before. Also, If you want to lead yourself and others aright, then you need to read books on leadership, personal development, etc to build yourself and others around you. 
3. It helps your mindset get better: readers are the people with the best mindset. When you read, you don't think averagely, you think aptly and intelligently. With reading, you can always differentiate between an intelligent person and an unintelligent person, there's always a knowledge gap. Reading structures your mindset, you're always on point, excellently standing out in perfection. 
4. It makes you a good communicator: reading makes you thoroughly proficient and helps you articulate your ideas thoroughly, thus making you a great communicator. One of the quickest ways to acquire and assimilate new information is by reading. Reading helps you know which words to use and when to use them. A reader carefully processes words and uses them meaningfully and appropriately. 
5. It allows you to build your network: one common thing about readers is that they love to share with others books they think are worth reading and might benefit the other party. And this is a great method for networking. Sharing ideas, perspectives, opinions, and research materials that encourage dialogues and debates with fellow readers which can furthermore add to your knowledge. 

Final words
After reading this post, I want you to know that reading doesn't end. You might have attained all your goals in life and think reading isn't necessary but the truth is, there's always more to learn. And if you want to be at the top front always, then you should keep reading. Do you by chance have a poor reading habit? If yes, then you should take a step towards improvement today. I'm gonna leave you with the first steps to take in doing this: 
√ You can either buy a print book today or,
√ Download a book online or,
√ Listen to an audiobook online, 
√ Then, set a monthly calendar for yourself, marking out the days you're free and available to read
√ And finally, follow your set up reading timetable!
 To this end, I say: Read a book today! Do not procrastinate! 
Dear readers, thank you for reading through ❤. Did you find this post insightful and educating? If you did, let me know in the comment section?.