Paytm CEO reveals he has read only 2 books since high school; here's why

A socio-economist, Randall Bell, claims that people who read seven or more books per year have a 122 per cent higher likelihood of becoming millionaires than those who never read or only read one to three books.

Successful people, however, are selective about what they read or the amount of reading they do. One such rarity is Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm. He tweeted recently that he had read only two books since graduating from high school. In describing himself as “really bad at reading books”, the CEO said he has only read Steve Jobs’ biography and Straight from The Gut since Grade 12.

“I am really bad at reading books. I just completed my 45th and only book I have read few chapters of is: Psychology of Money. In fact, since class 12, I have only read two books: Steve Jobs Biography and Straight from the Gut.” He desired, “I wish, I get better & read these awesome books. On other side, when I was in school, I would read my sisters’ B.A. / M.A. books on unrelated to my subjects so keenly,” Paytm’s CEO wrote on Twitter.

See the tweet here:

I am really bad at reading books. I just completed my 45th and only book I have read few chapters of is : Psychology of Money.
In fact, since class 12, I have only read two books : Steve Jobs Biography and Straight from the Gut.
I wish, I get better & read these awesome books.… https://t.co/zqDj16IYLp

— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) June 11, 2023

The CEO tweeted in response to a listicle shared by Deep Wisdom titled “10 Must Read Books Before You Turn 45.” In his opinion, the language barrier hindered him as he read his first book in English later in life. Although he admitted he wanted to become a better writer and read awesome books, he said he hoped to do so. He added, “Could it be because of language comfort? My first subject book in English was in engineering college.”

Responses on Twitter

The tweet prompted a range of responses, from those saying it was never too late to start reading to those recommending some books for him.

One user asked, ”Ok, so then how do learn, do you watch a lot of biography films, or how? How do you learn, inspire, motivate and grow? What do you do in your spare time?”

Ok, so then how do learn, do you watch a lot of biography films, or how? How do you learn, inspire, motivate and grow? What do you do in your spare time?

— Akshay Shah – Founder CEO, iWebTechno (@AkshayiWeb) June 11, 2023

Another user suggested “Try listening to audiobooks or videos books it has helped me to learn from hundreds of books.”

Try listening to audiobooks or videos books