Read Widely
No matter what age and stage you are at, if you want to improve your lifestyle you should read widely and read often. This may mean disconnecting your television (see the TV chapter). But it will be one of the best things you do.
Warren Buffett (the world’s most successful investor) recommends reading material completely outside your areas of interest and area of knowledge. I agree with him. I once went to the library and deliberately took out five fiction books whose authors’ last name started with K. All but one were written by Eastern Europeans and they had a fascinating perspective I had never encountered before.
Fiction is often the richest source of unfettered creativity and new ideas. I spend most of my teens devouring fiction and I still read a lot today.
Of course reading the local and national newspapers is a good source of interest and inspiration. After all a newspaper is made up of dozens of small articles written by different journalists, editors, commentators, all with different ideas and opinions. I also recommend reading international newspapers. The internet is great for this. Also, most large bookstores generally carry a number of major international newspapers. It is critical to get a different perspective on the world than just our local one!
Finally of course, you should always read in your areas of passion and interest.
Buying a book is a great and cheap investment, so never hold back! And if you are having trouble locating a good book go to Amazon. Their range is global and almost exhaustive and their delivery service is impeccable, especially Ebooks which you can download and be reading within minutes.