Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday! Thanks for spending part of it reading The Lake Street Journal.

This week we're talking about the reading habits of history's greatest leaders, book recommendations, and Jocko Willink. Let's get into it.

The Greatest of Companions

"If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent because your personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain you."

That's a quote from four-star general Jim Mattis, and I bet it just put you on your heels.

Hundreds of books. That seems crazy, right?

I've been tracking the books I read since 2016, and my total is somewhere around 180. That's about 18 books per year for ten years—well above what the average person reads.

But by Mattis' definition, I'm functionally illiterate.

We can debate the number in the Mattis quote, but one thing that isn't up for debate is the value of reading. To be a good parent, partner, friend, investor, teacher, coach, entrepreneur, leader, human—the list is endless—you need to be reading.

Often. Constantly. More than you are now.

You need to devour books like kids devour candy on Halloween.

Those words feel like an exaggeration, so let's put some substance behind them.

In the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Mattis and his advance staff deployed to Kuwait to prepare. By day, they ran planning meetings and rehearsals. By night, Mattis read books, studying for the test ahead.

He read The Siege, about a British defeat in Iraq. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, on building trust with Arabs. A book on modern Iraq and a book on Alexander the Great's campaign in ancient Iraq. He read about Sherman's march to the sea for strategy and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations for mindset.

"I may not have come up with many new ideas," wrote Mattis in his memoir, "but I've adopted or integrated a lot from others."

Four years later, Mattis had two new jobs: head of US Joint Forces Command and Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Feeling slightly out of his depth, he again turned to books. With input from experts, he built a reading list of 22 books to prepare for his new roles and guide his leadership.

Twenty two books for one new job. More than I read in an average year. That's a leader for ya. Holding himself to a higher standard.

Maybe you're thinking Mattis is an outlier. After all, crypto genius Sam Bankman Fried famously said, "I don't want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that."

What happened to him again?

Back to the real leaders. Abe Lincoln—arguably America's greatest president—he treated reading like a duty.

People who knew him as a boy said he "scoured the countryside to borrow books and read every volume he could lay his hands on."

Lincoln's father ended the boy's formal schooling around age nine, but that didn't stop Lincoln from reading. Every chance he got—even if it meant neglecting his farm work—Lincoln was reading a book. He did it in spite of his dad who, "on occasion, would go so far as to destroy Abraham's books and whip him for neglecting his labors."

The historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote of both Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt that books became their "greatest of companions. Every day for the rest of their lives, both men set aside time for reading, snatching moments while waiting for meals, between visitors, or lying in bed before sleep."

Speaking of Roosevelt, he is possibly the most voracious reader I've ever encountered. His reading habits are almost unbelievable.

As president, he read at least a book per day, and he could summarize them in detail, from memory, often referencing direct quotes. On some nights, he would devour two or three books. He read more than 500 per year, wrote biographer Edmund Morris, "on subjects ranging from tropical flora to Italian naval history."

But it's not just presidents and generals burning through books. It's leaders of all kinds.

Tom Brady, at the urging of his QB coach, read "biographies on everyone from General George Patton to former Giants quarterback Phil Simms." He was trying to learn the art of leadership from the great leaders who came before him.

Just like we're doing here every week.

Wilbur and Orville Wright grew up in a house full of books and read them constantly.

My high school football coach kept a copy of John Wooden's book under his arm and would read us passages before practice.

The examples are endless.

As Truman said, "not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers."

Read books about your industry. Read biographies of leaders who held similar roles as you. Read histories of the places in which you operate. Read how-to books to hone your skills. Read fiction to develop empathy. Read about biology if you work in engineering. Read about math if you teach English.

It doesn't matter how you read. It doesn't really matter what you read.

What matters is that you read—as a habit, a practice, a compulsion. A book should be an extension of your being.

Centuries of collective wisdom and practice can't be wrong. Take it from history's greatest leaders. Take it from Mattis, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman, Brady, the Wright Brothers. Take it as your cue to pick up a book.

Or don't. Being functionally illiterate is always an option too.

What to Read Next

We just established three facts:

• History's greatest leaders are voracious readers.

• I don't read as much as history's greatest leaders.

• I read more than the average person.

Considering the above, two things are probably true:

• You want to read more.

• I can suggest a good place to start.

Occasionally I compile lists of the best books I've read recently. Here are all the places I've recommended books.

• Books I Loved

• Books I've Based My Life On

• Four Books Everyone Should Read

• Ten Books Every Leader Needs to Read

• Books From the Best Minds - A curation of book recommendation lists from my favorite writers.

Happy reading!

Jocko on Modern Wisdom

This issue has been longer than normal, so I'll be brief here.

Jocko was just on Modern Wisdom, and it was a great conversation. For those who don't know, he is a Navy SEAL commander turned author, podcaster, and management consultant.

If you like Jocko, don't miss this episode. If you're new to his work, this is a great place to start.

Workout of the Week

As the name suggests, you'll feel this one in your forearms, but it smokes your lower back too.

"Grips of Wrath"

12 minute AMRAP

• 6 pull-ups

• 9 deadlifts (165)

• 12 Russian kettlebell swings (70)

Six rounds should be pretty easy here, but I think that's a good goal. Much faster and you risk a tweaked back from bad form and fatigue. I did 6 rounds plus 6 reps.

Quote of the Week

"The one quality that can be developed by studious reflection and practice is the leadership of men." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Have a question or a comment? Respond to this email.

Talk soon,

Joe