TheReadingLists founder Phil Treagus shows why you should read books loved by successful people

TheReadingLists.com catalogues books that have impacted the lives of successful people because founder Phil Treagus believes life is too short to waste on 'rubbish' books

If you don't like to read, you haven't found the right book" – 28-year-old founder of TheReadingLists.com (TRL), Phil Treagus quotes JK Rowling when asked about his dream "to inspire people to read amazing books". Two books that turned his life around were Think and Grow Rich (by Napoleaon Hill), his first non-fiction read "that lit a fire, a quest for knowledge (through books)" and The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss that inspired him to become an entrepreneur. Treagus launched his first venture, Giraffe Social Media, six years ago with a friend. "Starting a company always seemed complicated, but The 4-Hour Work Week provided a roadmap for how to start a business that worked for you."

Then in July of 2016, Treagus launched TRL, his passion project, because "every time I watched interviews, if the subject of books came up, I'd go on Amazon. Partly, I went after what I wanted, and partly TRL happened because I realised how books can impact lives – studies say books can actually increase levels of empathy in people. Yet so few people read them."

Phil believes anything is possible because "usually, someone has already done what you want to do and written about it". What about the mantra of 'doing' over 'reading'? "You're talking about paralysis by analysis – I think that's very true. At some point, you need to put the book down and do something. Lessons from doing are different." The right reading: doing ratio? "Totally depends on balance you want," he quips.

Author interviews and book lists aren't uncommon, but what makes TRL different is that Phil interviews not only recently published authors, but also successful people from across industries, who are also bibliophiles. "There are enough websites doing wonderful collections of book reviews, but more than just opinions, interviews tell you about the person's relationship with books," says Treagus.

Because the website segregates content subject-wise – Academic (Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Science), Business (Entrepreneurship, Investment, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Non-Profit), Creativity (Art, Design, Food & Drinks, Illustration, Music, Photography), Performance (Comedian, Entertainers, Health & Fitness, Movies & TV, Podcasts, Sport) and Writing (Blogs, Fiction, Journalism, Non-Fiction, Poetry) – you can explore it as per your interest and use interview insights and readings to get ahead in your profession.

And who are these successful people? On TRL, you'll find the likes of restaurateur and MasterChef Australia judge Gary Mehigan as well as lesser known industry experts. "Success is hard to define. Who someone might deem successful, another might not. I try getting people I think are interesting, awesome, inspiring or all of the above!" shares Treagus. His favourite initial interviews – Henry Rollins, B Dolan and Dr Jill Bolte Taylor.

Getting interviews in the early days was tough "but I was relying on people's passion for books to agree. Because of the unique concept, most are open to it and offer positive feedback post-interview," says Treagus, who studied films and at one point fancied being a screenwriter. TRL consumes four-five hours of his day, before and after the 9am-6pm at Giraffe.

Today, TRL has 356 interviews and 17 reading lists, viewed by 50,000 readers from various countries – the top ones being USA, UK, India, followed by Canada and Europe. Now when someone's publishing, they reach out to Phil and readers send in requests to have specific authors interviewed as well.