If, somewhere in the world, there was a paragraph, chapter, or book like this, you read it and it would change your life. I call this information "breakthrough knowledge," and in a world of information overload, the ability to discover breakthrough knowledge is one of the most important skills we can develop. We've all been affected by a "breakthrough message" - a word from a parent, mentor or teacher that has stayed with us to this day and changed everything; a book of earthquakes that hits the depths of our souls.

For example: Warren Buffett's "Earthquake Book" is "Investing with Smart People," which he read when he was 19, a book that encapsulates telemarketing list the core investing ideas Buffett has used throughout his career; Elon Musk's "Investing with Smart People" "The Quake Book" is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which he says helped him ask bigger questions and therefore be able to think about solving the world's bigger problems; my most recent "quake book" is "Poor Charlie's Book" from Scratch Billionaire Charlie Munger. This was the first book that introduced me to mental models. Learning and using mental models is very important, I recently created the Month Club mental model. "Earthquake books" are very rare, but one is worth a thousand good books.

The experience of "breakthrough knowledge" may only last a few minutes, but its impact lasts a lifetime, the ultimate form of learning leverage. Now imagine that instead of having a "breakthrough knowledge" experience every ten years, if its frequency could be increased to once a year, or even twice a month, it might change everything for you. The impact of breakthrough knowledge is very powerful, but it is not easy to find such knowledge. One of the most fundamental questions we need to ask ourselves is: How do we use limited time to find breakthrough knowledge in a distracted world?